Never Have You Ever (The Love Game Book 1) Page 6

  I shifted over into the next seat. “I highly doubt that.”

  “Does this say ‘blood’?” She pointed to a word that even took me longer than it should have to decipher.

  “‘Greed.’ I think.”

  “You think?”

  “It’s a business paper. Greed definitely makes more sense than blood.”

  She finished out the sentence and then handed me the notebook. “I’ll type this for you, but you’re going to have to dictate it for me if you want me to finish it before the semester’s over.”

  My eyes had to have shown my relief. “Seriously? That’d be awesome! This would’ve taken me all night. You’re the best!”

  Without giving it a second thought, I reached over and wrapped Sophia up in a huge hug. Then, when I evidently didn’t think that was enough, I kissed her on the cheek.

  “Aww, that’s sweet,” I heard someone say from behind us.

  I turned to see Emma walking toward us with Gina and a girl I didn’t recognize. Her large front teeth were gleaming with a smile so wide, she reminded me of a beaver who’d just eaten a bag of shrooms.

  “You guys are so cute,” Emma said. “My brother would never kiss me in public.”

  “Well, I wish mine wouldn’t either,” Sophia said through gritted teeth.

  “Ignore her. She likes to pretend she’s not related to me,” I explained. I wasn’t sure why I liked getting under her skin so much, but there was a certain thrill to it.

  She rolled her eyes and sighed, probably knowing I’d just continue if she responded.

  The other three girls laughed.

  “Sorry, I’m Sophia’s brother,” I said to the new girl. “Brody,” I added almost as an afterthought. It still felt strange to say the name aloud or respond to it, and I figured no amount of practice would change that.

  “Macy.” She extended her hand to me with a smile as she shifted her books from one arm to the other. “Sophia didn’t tell me she had a brother.”

  This seemed to be a common theme.

  “Are you older or younger?” she asked.

  “Older. I’m a senior,” I said proudly.

  “A second-year senior,” Sophia said.

  Macy didn’t even seem to realize Sophia had spoken. Her brown eyes were still on me, and I’d noticed her hand was still in mine.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had such a cute big brother?” Macy asked, but she hadn’t bothered to divert her attention from me.

  “Because he’s her big gay brother,” Emma said. “None of us has a shot with him.”

  This was going to be a long-ass year if people kept bringing this shit up. Couldn’t she have at least made me bi?

  “Right,” I said sadly. “I’m gay. Super gay.”

  None of the girls responded, and the silence was awkward…until Sophia said, “You should wear a rainbow cape with a giant G.”

  Maybe after all this was over, I’d have her make me one. I’d certainly earned it.

  S O P H I A

  Once Emma, Gina, and Macy had left, I went back to typing Drew’s paper. Or Brody’s paper. Whatever.

  “Are we allowed to eat in here?” he asked.

  “They’ve never said anything to me. I usually bring something if I plan to be here for a while.”

  “Okay, good. I’m starving.” He dug through his bag and pulled out a cardboard box with two slices of cold pizza in it.

  “Are you serious?”

  He took a bite and asked through a mouthful, “Want some?”

  I shook my head slowly. “How long have you had that in there?”

  He shrugged. “A few days.” When my eyes widened, he said, “I’m kidding. I threw it in my bag right before I came here. I had an ice pack in there with it.”

  “Don’t you ever get sick of pizza?” I’d noticed he’d eaten it almost every day this week. Sometimes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the same day.

  “Nope. Not Marco’s. Have you tried it?”

  “No, but they should give you some kind of discount with the amount of money you spend in that place.”

  He swallowed his bite and laughed. “Or a job. They offered me one the other day because I already know everyone who works there and most of their menu.”

  “That’s…” I didn’t exactly know what to call it, so I went with “impressive,” though that sounded more complimentary than what I’d been going for.

  “Thanks. So is that Macy girl in your sorority?”

  “Yes.” I typed a few more sentences. “You can’t hit on her.”

  “I wasn’t asking because I was interested in her. Just wondering if she’s Aamee’s friend or yours.”

  “Aamee doesn’t have friends. She has minions who follow her around like a bunch of ducklings scared to cross a street alone.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Interesting?” I stopped typing and turned to him. “Did you forget you’re supposed to be dictating your paper to me?”

  “Sorry. I got sidetracked.”

  “By what?”

  “I was thinking about how to get Aamee back. Have you come up with anything? Asked any of the other girls in the house?”

  There was no getting back at her, at least not that I could think of. I didn’t have a house I could kick her out of, so as far as I was concerned, I’d just have to sit this out until next year, when I could move back in.

  I hoped with the start of a new year and Aamee graduated, we could all agree to live in peace.

  “My hands are tied, Drew.”

  “No way. There’s gotta be something you can do. When my buddy stole my girlfriend in eleventh grade, I filled his whole car with those little Styrofoam pieces that come in packages.” He looked like that was a fond memory, which was surprising considering the transgression he was retaliating against.

  “I don’t think filling her car with Styrofoam is the answer.”

  “Maybe not. But it would be funny as hell.”

  I shook my head, but I couldn’t deny I found the image funny. It was a shame I couldn’t do something like that, if only for the entertainment value alone.

  “Anything I do will only make things worse. Aamee’s the president.”

  “So?”

  I knew this was his first time in a college setting, but the implications of Aamee being president seemed pretty clear to me. “So what?”

  “So what if she wasn’t president?”

  Chapter Eight

  S O P H I A

  “But she is president. And she will be until she graduates in May,” I said. This was a pointless conversation because there was no way to go back in time and campaign for someone who wasn’t a power-hungry monster who ruled with estrogen and an iron fist. “I just wish someone had opposed her last year. They probably would’ve won.”

  Drew stood abruptly and began walking around pensively, like he was more frustrated than I was at the whole situation. I figured most of his emotion had more to do with being bored in a library while I typed and less to do with his actual concern for me getting back into the house. Unless…

  “Wait,” I said. “You want me to move back into the sorority house so you’d get Brody’s room back.”

  Not that I wouldn’t understand that. Having his bachelor pad invaded by a pretend younger sister who told everyone he was gay had to be cramping his style. It wasn’t the college experience he’d probably hoped for when he’d agreed to switch lives with my brother.

  “No!” He looked momentarily shocked, but the surprise seemed to slide off his face as quickly as it appeared. “I mean, I won’t deny that sleeping in a real bed again would be a nice by-product, but it’s not my main motivation. I’d actually like to help you. What Aamee did to you was fucked up, and I’d love to see her face if we could find some sort of loophole or something that would allow you to move back in.”

  Drew looked so determined. I felt bad I didn’t feel the same passion. Well, I had when it had all first gone down, but since living with Drew hadn�
��t turned out to be a hardship by any means, my initial anger had dissipated quickly. Still, I had to agree that the injustice of it all was difficult to ignore, and I’d love to prove Aamee wrong on principle alone.

  “Maybe there is a loophole,” I said. “I never checked the Zeta Eta Chi handbook.”

  Drew’s face lit up. He stopped pacing and looked at me. “Is that the one Aamee cited to kick you out in the first place?”

  “The very same.”

  “And you never bothered to look at it to see if there was some way to get back in?”

  When he put it like that, it sounded ridiculous. But at the time, there was no debating what the rule said. Sure it was unfair that I’d been the one to get called out on it, but I’d broken it all the same.

  “It occurred to me the other day,” I said, “but I forgot all about it, to be honest. It’s just one of those stupid handbooks that probably hasn’t ever been changed. Every girl gets one emailed to her, but no one ever actually reads it.”

  “Except Aamee,” Drew said with that goofy smirk he had.

  “Very funny.”

  He leaned against a nearby table and folded his arms across his chest. “You think it breaks any rules if I read the handbook?”

  “I guess it doesn’t if no one knows about it.”

  “Can you email it to me? I’ll look it over while you type.”

  “I can barely read your handwriting, remember?”

  “It’ll be fine. Just put what you think it says, and I’ll read it over and correct anything before I turn it in,” he said, obviously not letting the suggestion go.

  I sighed heavily, shaking my head at him. “What’s your email address?”

  D R E W

  I picked a computer about five seats down from Sophia so as not to disturb her any more than was necessary. She was doing me a huge favor, and the least I could do was help her find a way to take down Aamee.

  As I scanned through the sorority handbook’s Table of Contents, I couldn’t shake the optimism that I would find some way to help her.

  My eyes locked on Bylaws and Code of Conduct, but both proved to be unhelpful. Other than Sophia calling attention to Aamee’s transgressions—which would be difficult now that she wasn’t living with her—I couldn’t find anything useful.

  Until I began reading up on Officer Transition. “I think I got it!” I could barely hide my excitement, and I didn’t try to.

  Sophia seemed less enthused. “What is it?”

  “You said you can’t do anything to Aamee because she’s president, right?”

  Sophia’s raised eyebrows let me know I should continue.

  “Well, there’s a clause here, or whatever you call it, that says if a current president ran unopposed, she can be challenged by another member of the sorority if that member was previously ineligible to run.”

  I was reading from the screen, but I couldn’t wait to see Sophia’s expression when I finished. She’d probably be so ecstatic that she’d immediately begin campaigning. Or maybe she’d run over and throw her arms around me in a grateful and much-welcomed embrace.

  In reality, she looked like I’d been lecturing her on how to properly install a car transmission or something else she couldn’t give a shit less about.

  “Why do you look like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like…not as smiley as I’d hoped.”

  “Because I can’t run for president,” she said simply.

  “Are you in a sensory-deprivation tank? I just said you can.”

  “I heard you. And I’m thankful you’re trying to help me out. I am.”

  I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me or herself, but she definitely didn’t seem thankful. She seemed…dejected. Defeated. And I hated to see her like that, especially when I thought if she ran against Aamee, it wouldn’t be Sophia who’d experience the feeling of defeat.

  “But?” I asked.

  “But I have absolutely no desire to be president.”

  “Why? You’d be great at it.”

  Of course I didn’t know that for sure. I’d only known Sophia for a few weeks, and I’d only been in college slightly longer. But while I admittedly knew little of Greek life, I knew leadership potential when I saw it. And Sophia definitely seemed to outshine Aamee in that department.

  “No offense,” Sophia said with an expression like she already felt bad for what she was about to say, “but do you know what it takes to be a sorority president? It’s a ton of work, and you need to know the ins and outs of pretty much everything and everyone in the sorority. I don’t think I’m cut out for all that, and more than that, I don’t want to be.”

  “That’s how you know you’re a true leader.”

  “I have little faith in myself?”

  That made us both laugh. “No. You’re humble. And granted, everything I know about Greek life I learned from Animal House and a sorority handbook I got ten minutes ago, but I think you have what it takes. You don’t seem like the type of person to shy away from something just because it seems difficult. You tutor Carter in psychology, for Christ’s sake. I don’t even know if he knows it starts with a P.”

  I was glad when that made her smile.

  “Well, that doesn’t say much for my tutoring skills.”

  “I’m serious, though. I think you should at least consider it.”

  Her expression told me she wasn’t going to. “And you should consider looking through the handbook some more. I’m not running for president.”

  I mumbled a “Fine, but I think you’d be good at it,” before turning back to the computer to continue my mission.

  There were other possible loopholes that I found—like Aamee not giving Sophia written notice of what she did wrong—but Sophia would’ve had to request that before the initial meeting. Sophia’s eviction should’ve also been cleared with the dean of students, but since Sophia technically had broken the rules, that likely wouldn’t help her case.

  I’d almost given up when I stumbled across something that I knew would pique Sophia’s interest. I read through the paragraph to make sure it was feasible before I alerted her to my findings.

  A stupid grin spread across my face. “You can appeal it.”

  Immediately Sophia’s attention was on me. Her eyes locked on me before she bolted up from her seat and hovered behind me.

  “Really? What does it say exactly?”

  “It’s right here.” I pointed to the spot on the screen and selected the text with the cursor. “If the decision was made in bias, you have a right to appeal that decision and ask the other sorority members to vote.”

  “Oh my God! You’re a genius! This is amazing!”

  Sophia was practically dancing behind me. When she stopped, she spun the chair I was sitting in so I was facing her. Then she leaned down, grabbed my cheeks, and brought her lips closer to mine than a sibling ever should.

  I was torn between fearing someone would catch this near-intimate exchange and hoping she’d do it.

  But for now, the excitement on her face was enough for me.

  “That bitch is gonna get a taste of her own medicine,” she said.

  I grinned proudly. “Fuck yeah, she is.”

  Chapter Nine

  D R E W

  I wasn’t sure if inviting such an odd group of people into a one-bedroom apartment was a good idea, but it was too late to reconsider now.

  When my business ethics group had wanted to meet in a place to study where we wouldn’t have to worry about our decibel level and could spread out in a more comfortable way than we could in the library, I’d offered my place. Well, Brody’s place.

  Xander enthusiastically seconded the suggestion, but Toby had asked if we could meet later. It would be an added distraction to have to play gay big brother to a beautiful debutante who was having her own study session with a guy who seemed to have been bashed in the head ten times too many, but I hadn’t wanted to rescind my offer.

  “How many peop
le did you say were coming?” Sophia asked me.

  “Three.”

  She gave me a long-suffering look. “You’re lucky you found the appeal thing yesterday. You practically walk on water to me right now.”

  “Want me to go fill the bathtub so I can show you I can actually walk on water?”

  She smiled a little too sweetly. “Not unless you want me to drown you in it.”

  “That’s no way to talk to your savior.”

  She opened her mouth to reply, but before any barbs flew out, there was a knock on the door. “Carter won’t be here for another half hour, so that has to be one of yours.”

  “One of mine? I feel like a cult leader,” I said as I strode to the door.

  “If the Kool-Aid fits.”

  I laughed as I swung open the door. There was Toby, wearing khakis again but with a blue sweatshirt and a timid smile.

  “Hi. I’m not early, am I?” he asked.

  I opened the door wider and gestured him inside with a sweep of my arm. “Nope. Right on time.”

  He took a few steps in but stopped when he saw Sophia. “Oh. He— Hello.”

  After I shut the door, I moved to his side. “This is my sister, Sophia. Soph, this is Toby.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said, giving him a warm smile.

  He returned her greeting in a quiet voice, his face a bit redder than when he’d first arrived.

  I made a decision then and there that in addition to our group project, Toby was going to be a personal project for me. I’d need a month tops to get this kid laid.

  “Want anything to drink?” I asked him.

  It seemed to take a minute for him to realize I’d spoken to him. “Oh, no. No thanks. I have a water bottle in my backpack.”

  I motioned to the sofa. “I figured we could spread out in there.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Toby went over and began setting up what he needed for the project on the coffee table. He seemed much more comfortable in work mode than he did having to be social. Maybe I’d need two months.