Page 22

Chapter 22

Rush Sleepover

ZARA

“ S o, did you do it?” Heather asks as she joins the main road after leaving Ares’s apartment complex.

Redness rises to my face, and I squirm in my seat. Maybe my lips are too swollen and she can tell I was making out with Ares, despite how heavy-handed I was with the lip gloss.

“Or did Lev get stuck elsewhere because of the storm?”

Relief floods me when I realize that she’s talking about my date with Lev last night.

Heather and I are on our way to becoming good friends, but until I know if she can keep a secret, I’d rather not tell her about my involvement with my stepbrothers. Until we figure out what the confusing feelings between us really are, we can’t afford Scott and Mom to find out.

I give her a redacted version of last night. “Lev made it to my house before the storm got really bad. He cooked me dinner and then…”

She’s hanging onto my every word. “And then?”

“We went to my room, and it happened.”

“Yay!” Heather squeals. “How was it? Did it hurt? Did you come?”

I let out an embarrassed giggle. “Yes, and yes. Heather! Concentrate, keep your eyes on the road, please?” I scream when she turns to look at me but keeps driving toward the edge of town where the campus is located.

“Relax, Zara.” She laughs, but thank fuck she sets her eyes back on the road. “I know these roads like the back of my hand. But come on, you need to give me more details. How is Lev in bed?”

I look outside the passenger window, looking for a nice way to tell her that I would like to keep the details private. Or at least to find a way to give her some details without giving away that Chance was a part of it.

As if picking up on the fact that I’m holding back some juicy details, she slows the car as we’re about to drive into campus and looks at me again. “Wait a second. Were you two alone at home? Where was Chance?”

The lie rolls out of my mouth a lot more easily than I would have given myself credit for. “He had dinner with us, but then he played video games and we went to hang out in my room.”

She doesn’t question it. “Good. Sometimes I think those two are joined at the hip. Usually you can’t see one without the other. They’ve always been super close, but they have gotten closer since… you know.”

I nod.

The guys and Scott aren’t the only ones who avoid even mentioning Atlas’s name.

My heart breaks for Heather. It’s impossible to miss the way her eyes well with tears at just the thought of her late boyfriend.

“So will you see Lev again?” she asks once she composes herself.

“Yeah.” The fact that Lev asked me to be his girlfriend is on the tip of my tongue, but I decide to wait before I say anything. I should probably make sure the guys are on board with the plan, but if people—especially our parents—saw me out and about with Lev, that would take the heat off Chance and Ares. At least until we figure out things between us.

Until I choose.

The thought of choosing leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m grateful for the distraction when Heather says something I hadn’t thought about until she mentioned it.

“I wouldn’t tell Angie anything for now.” She says. “Not until you and Lev are official. And make sure I’m there when you tell her, she’s not going to take it well.”

“Really?” I groan. “I thought you said that she knows that Lev isn’t into her.”

Heather sighs, parking on the lot closest to Greek Row. “Knowing that he isn’t interested and seeing him with someone else—someone who isn’t just a hookup—are two very different matters.”

We walk the short distance to the Zeta house.

“Ok, thank you for the heads up.” I sigh. “Talking about Angela, I thought she’d be riding with us?”

Heather lowers her voice, as if she were about to tell me a secret. “Her roots were showing, so I told her to get them touched up before tonight. The ideal Zeta sister is polished and pristine at all times, so if she wants a chance to get invited to pledge, she better look the part.”

“Weird,” I muse. “I hadn’t realized that Angela wasn’t a real blonde.”

The sheriff’s daughter laughs. “That’s because our hairdresser is a genius with colors. Let me know if you want to try something different, and we can go together. I think you’d look super hot as a redhead.”

I thank Heather, but I’m happy with my dark brown hair. I have my dad’s coloring and I love having something that always reminds me of him.

“Welcome potential pledges!” a girl in a pink Zeta Theta Beta sweatshirt greets us. “Come on in, and leave all phones and smart watches in this basket. You will retrieve them in the morning.”

Heather ushers me in first, following right behind me. “Babe,” she frowns. “Where did you get that hoodie?”

“Why?” I whisper, as we follow the Zeta sister, who welcomed us into a huge, modern living room.

“I mean, nothing wrong with supporting our law enforcement, but wearing a Star Cove Sheriff Department hoodie wouldn’t be my first choice for a rush party.”

I turn to look behind me. “Huh? Does my hoodie say that?”

Heather narrows her eyes. “Duh. It’s in big, white letters. Did you get dressed in the dark?”

“No, I spilled something on myself at lunch, and Ares let me borrow something, since there was no time to go home to change.”

We’re invited to join a group of potential pledges—Angela is one of them and waives at us excitedly—in a line up for the sorority president to evaluate.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.” A tall, skinny brunette smiles. “Girls, welcome to the Zeta Theta Beta House. Tonight is the first official Rush Week event. We’re going to hang out, have dinner and have a sleepover and a pancake breakfast tomorrow morning. During this time, my sisters and I will observe and evaluate each of you. On Friday morning, the ones among you who will have been deemed worthy, embodying the qualities of the ideal Zeta woman, will receive an invitation to pledge. Be aware that Zeta Theta Beta is the most selective sorority on campus. But now, let’s hear from you. Each of you introduce yourself, and tell us where you’re from, a hobby and a fun fact about yourself and why do you want to be a Zeta.”

I stifle a groan.

This feels like a beauty pageant, or at least how I imagine one would be, since I’ve never been in a pageant. The feeling is confirmed by the way several of the Zeta sisters circle around us with clipboards in hand, taking notes about each of us.

I’m grateful to be at the end of the lineup, so I can listen to what the others say. I don’t know if I want to be a Zeta, but I don’t want to make a fool of myself by saying something stupid.

“My name is Heather Marie Pullin. I’m nineteen-years old and I’m a freshman. I was born and bred in Star Cove. My hobbies are dancing and cheerleading and I was just selected for the A-team of our school’s cheerleading team. A fun fact about me is that my daddy is the town’s sheriff and if you’re nice to me, I can probably get you out of a speeding ticket. Just kidding, of course,” she winks. “Oh, and I’m a legacy. My mom and my aunt were both Zeta sisters respectively at Yale and Stanford. I’ve always wanted to be a Zeta to follow in their footsteps and because they’ve always told me that in their time in the Zeta house, they earned sisters for life. I want that too, since I’m an only child.”

My palms begin sweating as I panic about what to say. It kinda feels like these girls knew they would have to do this icebreaker, and they came prepared.

“Your turn.” The Zeta president smiles.

I swallow, willing my heart to calm the fuck down. It might sound ridiculous, but I’d ride a bike at two hundred and fifty miles per hour, rather than speak in public.

I’m gonna kill Heather, I promise myself. This is the last time she drags me into the unknown. I was more than happy to blend in with the freshmen crowd. I don’t care about being popular or whatever this is about.

“You’ve got this, Zara.” Heather cheers, her smile warm and encouraging.

That does the trick. I can’t stay mad at her because I know she genuinely wants to include me and be my friend. Heather is the classic popular social butterfly, but she’s kind and supportive, so I want to make her proud.

“My name is Zara Fields,” I begin. “I grew up all over the place, moving often to follow my dad’s job. I spent the past two years at a prep school in Connecticut, and I just came back to California to attend college here. I don’t know many people in town just yet, but Heather is my next-door neighbor, and she invited me to come here tonight. My hobbies are reading and baking. A fun fact about me? My dad was a professional motorcycle racer, so I can tell most motorcycle makes and models by the noise they make. I’m an only child like Heather, and I’m excited to make new friends on campus and in town.”

I must have done ok. Heather is beaming at me.

“That’s awesome stuff,” Candace says, doing that strange silent clapping thing by snapping her fingers. “The Zeta sisters and I would like to offer you dinner. Then the fun part of our sleepover will begin with rom-coms, pillow fights and some yummy, low cal snacks. But before we begin, you can set up your sleeping bags in the den. Follow Courtney. She’s going to show you the way.”

Under different circumstances, I would laugh at how cliché the activities planned by the Zetas are—pillow fights? Seriously?—but I have something else to worry about.

“Heather,” I whisper-yell, as she walks out to her car to get her night kit . “I didn’t bring anything. I don’t even own a sleeping bag. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Heather links her arm with mine, smiling at the Zeta sister who’s watching us and making notes on her clipboard. “I’ve got you, babe. These rush events haven’t changed since my mom and my aunt were Zetas, so I’m prepared. You can’t come in here with any old sleeping bag. There are certain designers that will make you look good in front of the sisters. And I made sure I got everything in pairs, so you and I match.”

Oh. “Thank you, Heather. Can I pay you back for the stuff you got for me?” I ask as we arrive to her car.

“No way.” She pulls me into a hug. “I’ve liked you from the second we met Zara. Now you’re my neighbor and you’re Chance and Ares’s sister. We’re family. If I keep saying it, you better believe I mean it. Besides, I know rushing Zeta Theta Beta wouldn’t have been your first choice. I’m grateful you came here just because I asked you. This is what friends do, and getting you the stuff you needed for the sleepover was the least I could do.”

“You’re such a sweetheart.” I smile, hugging her back.

But you know what they say about speaking too soon? Everything Heather has gotten us is Pepto pink. I feel like I’ve been catapulted in a remake of Legally Blonde . The PJs she bought are skimpy pink silk camisoles with matching shorts. They would be ok, if all the edges weren’t trimmed with feathers. Pink, fluffy feathers. There are also pink slippers with a kitten heel and… more pink, fluffy feathers.

I’m too shocked to say anything, but Heather must have known exactly what she was doing when she chose this nightwear.

After dinner, we get shown to the downstairs bathroom to get changed and when we join the other girls in the den, I understand the method to Heather’s madness.

Candace and the other Zeta sisters are in very similar PJs and sleeping bags; our stuff isn’t identical—which would probably be a faux pa—but we look like we fit in.

“Good night, potential pledges,” Candace says. “Just be aware that Zeta sisters don’t snore.”

A myriad of candles come to light once the light is turned off.

“Hmm, these are elegant candles,” I whisper to Heather. “I guess it’s safe since we’re going to be asleep. But the effect is a little creepy. Real candles feel more romantic.”

Angela fluffs her pillow, glaring at me from her spot on Heather’s other side. “Candles aren’t permitted in this house, since the old Zeta house burned down last year.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.” I say, surprised by the animosity in her tone.

Heather glares at her friend. “Angie, what’s your problem?”

I elbow her, shaking my head. I wonder if somehow Angela knows about me and Lev. Whether that’s the case or not, I don’t want to cause a scene in here, especially since being a Zeta is so important to Heather.

“Just so you know,” Candace sits up from her spot to look at the three of us. “Not allowing candles in the house is purely a precaution. Our old house did burn down last year, but that was arson and it didn’t involve a candle. The person responsible for the fire is in jail right now. But we almost lost our chapter because of what happened, so it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you relay Zeta history to someone, make sure you know what you’re talking about. This will teach you a lesson.” The sorority president grabs her pillow and hits Angela with it.

“PILLOW FIGHT!” The other sisters yell.

“Yay!” Heather squeals, hitting me square in the face with her pillow.

I gasp, looking at my new friend with mock outrage. “You didn’t.”

Before I know it, everyone is laughing and hitting each other with pillows.

At home, I use an orthopedic hybrid pillow made of recycled bamboo that supports my neck and back, even though I’m a stomach sleeper. Here? Almost everyone has pillows stuffed with feathers, and before I know it, those suckers are flying everywhere.

By the time the fight dies down, and everyone is settled into their sleeping bag, my stomach hurts from all the laughing. Who knew that pillow fights would be so hilarious?