Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Sneaky,” she said. “Can I try it?”
“Sorry,” I said. “It’s for members only.” I didn’t adhere to all the rules and traditions of the fraternity, but I agreed with that one. Especially since it meant that Hailey wouldn’t be drinking at this party. Hopefully.
Theo danced his way over to us. As an officer, he was on duty during this party, but it was clear he was enjoying himself as well. That was good. Sometimes my friend had his head in the clouds and looked at the world through an artistic lens. This scene was anything but artistic, but he seemed to be enjoying it.
To Hailey’s delight, he asked for the signature drink, and she skillfully made it for him, handing it over with a smile. He took a gulp and declared it to be perfect. Hailey beamed with pride. Or maybe she was just happy to see Theo.
Things got busy, and I had my hands full preparing drinks and scaring off the guys who tried to hit on Hailey. Thank God there was a rather substantial bar between them. If Bennett or Grant had demanded that she circulate among the crowd with a tray of drinks, she would’ve been toast.
The party went on for hours, and we were both exhausted. “My ears are ringing,” Hailey complained at one point.
“Mine too.” I decided against telling her what research showed about the effect this level of noise had on people’s hearing. I believed in trying to be as healthy as possible, but you couldn’t guard against all future problems, or you'd never live your life.
Hailey looked up at me. “My feet hurt too. Don’t tell me yours do too unless you’re wearing three-inch heels.”
I couldn’t help glancing at her bare legs. The heels made her legs look longer and her ass look round and pert. While I’d been spending all that time in my room studying, I’d neglected to fully appreciate what a gorgeous woman we had living with us.
Perhaps I did spend too much time studying like everyone kept saying.
I closed the bar at one a.m. The party wasn’t over, but everyone was officially cut off from all drinks except the ones in the beer fridge in the kitchen. This caused a lot of people to bitch at me, and it also brought a lot of guys around, each one clearly hoping to tempt Hailey into coming home with him.
But she was home. Or at least her temporary home, and I intended to see her to her room safely. My efforts to guide her through the crowd didn’t work all that well. There were just too many drunk people stumbling around. Finally I put my arm around her bare shoulders and guided her along. That way we wouldn’t get separated.
Her skin was warm under my arm.
She breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the stairwell. The heavy door only partly muffled the noise from the party, but Hailey seemed relieved as it closed behind us. She kicked off her shoes and bent down to pick them up, showing me far more of her breasts than she likely intended to.
Not that I was complaining.
“Is it always like that?” Her voice was too loud, no doubt because of the volume of the party we just left, and it echoed around the stairwell.
“Sometimes,” I said. “And sometimes worse.”
She shook her head. “I can’t even imagine that.”
On the second floor, I held the door for her open and she trudged down the hallway, looking exhausted. We stopped when we reached her door. She looked up at me, and I saw that her mascara or eyeliner was smudged a little. Whatever it was, it was sexy as hell.
“This is my stop,” she said as if our train had just pulled into a station.
“So I see.”
She giggled. “I wasn’t sure if you knew. You spent almost as much time in your room as Nelson does in his.”
I laughed. “Well, you know me. Life’s not worth living if I don’t have my video games and pot.”
She grinned, and I couldn’t resist the urge to tuck a strand of hair that had worked its way loose behind her ear. God, her hair was soft and silky.
“Thanks for showing me the ropes tonight.”
She was thanking me for making her attend a party where men tried to grope her and hit on her every other minute? Well, Bennett had been the one to require her attendance, but I still felt complicit.
“Guess I should go inside.” She paused, her hand on the doorknob. “Do the partygoers ever come up here?”
“Rarely. But it is the summer, so we don’t have as many of our members here to keep order.” And some, like Grant, seemed to have forgotten their responsibilities all together.
She noted. “So I should definitely—”
“Yes,” I said firmly before she could even finish her sentence. “Definitely lock your door.” Living in a house full of frat boys, she probably did that anyway, but it was even more important tonight.