Chapter 7

SEVEN

Jasper Ellison couldn't believe his luck when I called him to let him know a spot had opened up for him to pledge at Alpha Tau. He was a good guy, and he'd impressed me and the rest of the brothers enough during the interview process that it had sucked when we didn't have room for him. But now, since we'd gotten rid of that douchebag Ethan, Jasper slotted right in alongside the other pledges like he'd always been there, and Marty was happy to get a little brother who wasn't an asshole.

Ethan hadn't even put up a fight when Trey had told him he was out. Instead, he'd muttered something about his friend Fisher getting him into his new frat, Kappa Beta Rho. Honestly, he'd probably fit right in with those guys.

We were also in a position to offer accommodation to all the pledges this year—one of the reasons Trey had kept the intake small—and they'd be moving in once they passed their probation. I had a mental list of who was rooming with who, and everyone had seemed pretty happy when I'd shown them their rooms and explained the fee schedule to them. Well, most of them had. Charlie had been pale and quiet, but I'd been too distracted by the thought of being under the same roof as Briar to follow it up then and there.

I was just glad that the nuts-and-bolts part of the pledge process was over. The guys were in the hands of their big brothers now, and unless that went spectacularly wrong over the next two weeks—it wouldn't because I'd matched everyone up just right—my work was pretty much done.

Allison and the Zeta Taus had conceded defeat gracefully after the candy drive. Of course, there was nothing those girls didn't do gracefully. It was in their Southern DNA. Which wasn't to say they also weren't stone-cold bitches when the situation called for it. Just that, you know, if they ever curb stomped you, they'd do it with poise and charm.

With the pledges sorted out and the first fundraiser of the year done and dusted, I actually had some time to start paying attention to my schoolwork. I'd always been a decent enough student, but this year's course load was going to be a lot, especially because I intended to take the LSAT. The LSATs were a big deal at Alpha Tau, because we were all aiming for a decent law school, and a good score was key to getting accepted. The way I looked at it, if I screwed it up at the beginning of the New Year, I could retake it in April or June. April and June if I screwed it up twice. I wasn't usually anxious about exams, but the LSAT? I was definitely having those dreams where you turned up, and not only had you forgotten your pen, but you'd also forgotten your pants.

So yeah, the LSAT was looming large and not in a good way.

"Hey," Marty said one night, sitting beside me on the couch in the chapter office. "Am I late for the meeting?"

"There's no meeting," I said. "It's just quieter in here."

Marty laughed, probably thinking of the popcorn fight that was currently going on in the living room. If the guys didn't bust out the vacuum cleaner when they were done, Trey would have an aneurysm.

Marty leaned his head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. "How are your classes going?"

"Pretty good."

"Did you take that one on screenplay writing? You were talking about that last year."

"Yeah, I like it a lot so far. It won't help me get into law school though."

Marty poked me in the ribs. "Bro, when I have my face on a highway billboard touting for vengeful wives with cheating husbands, you're gonna be out there in Hollywood or whatever, all John Grishaming it up with hookers and cocaine."

"I don't think that's what John Grisham does. Anyway, you're not really gonna practice divorce law, are you?"

"Dude, I want to do tree law," Marty said. "It's a whole thing on Reddit. Can you imagine? Marty O'Brien, tree lawyer. I could get the coolest business cards."

"You could have a squirrel with a briefcase on them. It would kind of fit."

"I could!" Marty got a faraway look in his eyes, like he was mentally developing his branding.

"And how much money is there in tree law?"

"Why would I care?" He laughed. "Bro, my boyfriend's gonna be a doctor."

"I'm not gonna be anything if I don't up my game and get a good score on my LSAT," I said with a sigh.

"Hard same," Marty said. "Dalton's been helping me with the practice questions, but that's sort of unfair since he has his own doctor stuff to learn. Maybe we should start an LSAT study group?"

"That's an awesome idea," I said. "Maybe some of the guys who've already done it could help us out."

My mind went to Briar. It was doing that a lot lately, and it had nothing to do with academics and everything to do with soft, pale thighs and the shy, pleased smiles he'd been giving me since we'd hooked up.

Maybe he could walk me through it so at least I'd have an idea of what to expect. The practice quizzes could only take you so far, but studying with someone who'd not only taken the test in their freshman year but scored a 160? That was the good stuff.

The fact it would give me an excuse to hang out with him more was an added bonus. Unless I was reading it wrong, Briar was definitely flirting with me. We hadn't hooked up since the basement—Briar hadn't started anything, and neither had I. I was doing my best to follow Jamie's advice and wait until he was a fully-fledged Alpha Tau.

We'd hung out a few times though, and I'd discovered that although Briar in a skirt really got my motor revving, so did Briar in a hoodie and jeans. Turns out it wasn't the wrapping that attracted me. It was the entire package.

And the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see if Briar would be interested in taking things further. I got a flutter in my stomach when I pictured taking Briar out to dinner or something, but it was a pleasant kind of sensation, not a queasy one. Yeah, I wanted to date Briar Pendelton, and I hoped he wanted to date me too.

But for now, our tentative friendship would have to be enough. I might have handed all the pledges off to their big brothers, but I was still the chapter pledge master, and that meant that if there was some problem their bigs couldn't resolve, I was the guy who had to step up and help the pledges. And it didn't feel right asking Briar for a date while I was in charge of the pledge process. I mean, what if I was the problem he had to come to me about? "My pledge master won't take no for an answer." That was some Inception-level shit right there, and my head hurt just thinking about it.

So, I was holding off. Which was fine. That gave me another two weeks to get to know him better, and—in case this was all a crazy fever dream on my end and Briar wasn't interested in anything more—a chance to not make a total fool out of myself by coming on too strong. Being friends was enough for now.

Although, I couldn't think of any of my other friends I'd thigh-fucked in the basement. My dick twitched at the memory of his little skirt bouncing merrily and giving me flashes of pale skin, and heat curled in my belly.

"What's that face for?" Marty asked.

"Nothing." I suddenly got very interested in my English notes.

The door to the study opened, and Scout stared at us. "Is there a chapter meeting?"

"Nope," Marty said. "We're just chilling."

"You're chilling. I'm studying."

Scout shut the door behind him and crossed the floor to perch on the edge of Trey's desk. "I have a problem," he said. "With Charlie."

I set my notes aside. "What kind of problem?"

"The problem where even though we've offered him a room here, he's gonna keep living at Carmichael because his scholarship doesn't cover our live-in fees." He shuddered. "Have you seen Carmichael? It's not fit for dogs, and I hate dogs."

"No, you don't," Marty said. "You bought Squirrel a steak as big as his head."

"I was hoping he'd get pancreatitis."

"You were not," Marty said "Also, I'm gonna ask Dalton what that is."

"Anyway," Scout said, "I can't be going to Carmichael to check in on my little brother. Someone might see me there. Imagine if word got out. Jesus."

"Where are you going with this, Scout?" I asked. Because as much as it sounded like Scout was being an elitist asshole, I knew him better.

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Charlie's gonna get a letter from the executive telling him he's been selected as recipient of the Alpha Tau Accommodation Grant."

"Bro. We don't have an accommodation grant."

Scout's sigh came from somewhere around his knees, like he couldn't believe he was having to spell it out. "We do now. The Talbot-Smith Accommodation Grant for Making Sure Scout Doesn't Have to Be Seen Around the Sketchy Parts of Campus. I mean, Carmichael, Casey."

Marty laughed.

"Shut up," Scout said with a scowl I didn't buy for a second. "Anyway, we're not really calling it that. I don't want Charlie knowing it was me. He'll think I like him or something. So help me pick a name."

"And Trey's okayed this?" I asked.

Scout raised an eyebrow. "A conversation was had."

"So why do you need us for this?" I asked. "I'm pretty sure you could come up with a name on your own."

"Well, I don't really need Marty," Scout said. "No offense, Marty."

Marty grinned.

"What I need, Casey, is when Charlie inevitably starts asking questions like ‘Is this legit or do you just feel sorry for me?' for you to tell him that Alpha Tau has a proud history of awarding inhouse grants that just aren't mentioned in the literature because talking about how charitable you are is gauche."

"Gauche," I repeated.

Scout waved a hand at me. "This is why you have to say it. You'll make it sound better."

"You mean like, ‘We believe that true philanthropy takes place out of the spotlight'?"

He blinked at me. "My mother's Valentine's Day Ball raised half a million dollars for a homeless youth charity last year. Pretty sure she had more than one spotlight there."

"You don't need to come up with anything," Marty said. "Less is more when you're spinning bullshit. And it's not like he's going to check."

Marty really was going to make one hell of a lawyer one day, whether he was representing people or trees.

"Oh," he said, lowering his voice for some reason, "you guys are gonna give me a bunch of money so I can stay here in this fancy historic mansion on Fraternity Row? Well, how about I audit your chapter accounts first of all to make sure that your accommodation grant historically exists?" He snorted. "You fucking dumbasses."

"He's mocking us," Scout said, folding his arms over his chest. "We're being mocked by Marty."

"I'm mostly mocking you," Marty clarified. "Not Casey. Stop overthinking shit just because you're so fucking worried someone might actually see you do a nice thing, Scout."

I snorted. "Don't worry, Scout. Trey can call Charlie and tell him. He'll never suspect you had anything to do with it."

Scout almost smiled. He stood and drifted toward the door, pausing to ask, "Who's he rooming with?"

"Aw, you do care," Marty said. "You're a big marshmallow under that scratchy surface, aren't you?"

Scout scowled at him. "Fuck off. I just don't want him coming to me with roommate drama, that's all."

Scout was such a goddamn liar.

"I thought he could share with Briar," I said.

Scout gave the barest of nods, and then he was gone.

"Soooo," Marty said. "Briar, huh?"

"What about him?"

"You gonna ask him out, or are you just gonna keep looking at him like you wanna eat him? And I do mean that in every sense of the word."

I froze. "What?"

Marty grinned. "Bro, Briar's cute as hell, and you sure get all twitterpated around him. So, are you planning to do anything about it?"

My mind went to the banner in the basement that looked clean but would never hold up to scrutiny under a black light, and my cheeks heated. "Maybe," I mumbled.

Marty raised his eyebrows. "Like, I know you just came out, and I'm not sure if you've even dated a guy before, but for what it's worth, ten out of ten would recommend. I'd never even ridden a dick before Dalton's, and now it's my favorite thing to do. Oooh, unless you count that thing he does with his tongue where?—"

"Thanks," I said, before he could go into more detail.

"Just sayin'," Marty said, "since you're officially into guys now, Briar's a hot one."

"Yeah, I noticed," I said. "I'm also his pledge master."

Marty blinked at me. "Oh, that. How long has that got to go, anyway?"

"Twelve days, seven hours, sixteen minutes, give or take."

"Not that you're counting," Marty said, laughing. "I'm telling you, bro, you should go for it. Like, I've seen him checking your ass out at least as often as you check out his."

"I don't?—"

"Yeah, you do," Marty said easily, standing. "Oh, hey! He's done his LSAT, right? Maybe you can ask him if he wants to study sometime. And by study I mean make out. It worked with Dalton."

"I'm way ahead of you," I said and then felt my face burn. "I meant about studying, not making out."

"Fine," Marty said. "You study for twelve days and whatever and win him over with your charm, and then, when his probation is over, boom! You make your move."

"When you put it like that, it sounds like things could get really messy."

Marty grinned. "Well, only if you play your cards right, bro!"

"That's not what I meant, Marty."

Marty's expression turned serious. "You're, like, the most responsible guy I know, Casey. Apart from Trey. And Scout. And maybe Archer. And Dalton, obviously." He paused, counting under his breath, before amending, "Okay, you're one of the top five most responsible guys I know. And it's not like you're gonna pressure Briar to date you, right?"

"What? No!"

"Okay, then. What's the problem?"

And when he put it like that, I didn't have an answer.

Briar turneddown my offer to join us playing flag football, but he sat on the steps with Eli and watched. He watched with his face screwed up like he had no idea what the fuck we were doing or why we were doing it, but at least he showed up. I was more surprised that Charlie joined in, to be honest. He couldn't catch a pass to save his life, but if by some miracle he ended up with the ball, he was actually pretty fast.

We played for long enough to work up a sweat, and when Archer called a time-out and Marty peeled out of his shirt, I did too. The air was bitingly cold against my heated skin, but it was worth the goose bumps to see the way Briar sat up on the porch and suddenly took a whole lot more notice.

He nodded toward me and leaned in and said something to Eli, who grinned in response. I gave a wave in their direction, and Briar smiled and waggled his fingers before ducking his head. Eli stood and moved to the other end of the porch to hand a bottle of water to Archer, leaving the spot next to Briar vacant. I was pretty sure it was deliberate, given the wide-eyed look and thumbs-up he shot my way.

The Alpha Taus were Southern boys through and through—and apparently they'd all learned matchmaking at their mommas' knees. I rolled my eyes at Eli and jogged over to Briar, settling next to him on the porch. He didn't move away but inched closer. "Hey," I said. "You having fun?"

He tilted his head, considering. "It's football, so it's not really my thing, but at least the view is nice." He gave me a lingering gaze.

I found myself straightening my shoulders and puffing out my chest a little. I was long and lean, more boy next door than cover of Men's Health, but I thought I looked pretty decent. I even had a six-pack, kind of. "Thanks."

"I was talking about Marty." He nodded to where Marty was kissing Dalton in the middle of the field, heedless of the rest of the guys watching. "His boyfriend's hot too."

"Oh." I deflated a little.

"I'm kidding." Briar leaned in and bumped our shoulders together before shooting me a devilish grin, eyes twinkling with mischief. "You're plenty cute."

I gave him a grateful smile. That was one of the things I liked about Briar. Sure, he liked to tease, and his quick wit kept me on my toes, but he wasn't mean about it, and he always made sure I knew he was kidding. I suspected that he'd been the butt of one too many "jokes" in his past, and he wasn't willing to trigger anyone else's insecurities, even in fun.

"Right back at you," I said, just to watch him blush. I fought the urge to pull him close and kiss him and settled for brushing a lock of dark hair off his face instead. I felt the heat of his velvet skin where my fingertips grazed his cheek, and his eyes were dark as he leaned into it. I allowed my touch to linger before drawing back, and he let out a tiny sigh, lips parted. It made me want to pin him to the porch and grind down on him until we both came in a sticky, panting mess.

Fuck. Why was it that Briar affected me like nobody else could? I really needed to get a grip. I took a shaky breath and set my hand in my lap. "So," I said, willing my dick down, "who would have picked Charlie for a footballer?"

"Right," Briar said. "Because never in the history of the game has there ever been a gay footballer." He arched one dark brow at me. "Didn't you tell me that flag football isn't just for the straights? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stereotyping."

"Actually, I meant that, with his height, I would have pegged him as a basketball kid," I shot back, arching an eyebrow of my own. "I like Charlie."

Briar gave me a sheepish smile. "Yeah, that's fair. Sorry. Charlie brings out my protective side, I guess."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," I said dryly.

Briar snorted, and his smile became more genuine and less cynical. We were alone on the porch, with most of the other guys standing over near the drink coolers, so I took the chance to ask. "Why did you go so hard for him over the Ethan thing? I mean, you basically went balls to the wall with the chapter president. That takes some guts."

He sat there, and the click of his throat when he swallowed was audible over the music from the Bluetooth speakers. One hand tugged at a loose strand of hair, and the other clenched and unclenched in his lap when he said, "Because nobody ever went hard for me at Harvey, okay? And maybe if they had, things would have worked out differently. So when I came here, I told myself that if I saw someone getting bullied, I wasn't gonna let it fly."

It was the most he'd ever spoken about his last school, and he jutted his chin out in a defiant gesture I was becoming familiar with. I reached over and took hold of the hand in his lap, and he didn't pull away. "Well, I thought it was hot as fuck."

He blinked at me. "What?"

I grinned. "You heard me. Angry Briar is a turn-on."

That startled a laugh out of him, and the tension in his shoulders eased.

"Bro!" Marty called. "Catch!" I looked up just in time to see the football flying toward me. It hit me square in the chest, knocking me flat on my back, and Briar laughed even harder as I spluttered and flailed. Then he picked the ball up from where it had fallen onto the porch and sent it sailing across the lawn. Marty let out a grunt as he caught the ball. The force and accuracy of Briar's throw left me staring, open-mouthed.

I sat up. "You said you didn't play!"

"I said it's not my thing," he corrected. "My dad, though, he liked to throw a ball around on the weekends, and my brother plays, so I did it to make them happy. But I'd sooner just watch." He threw me a dazzling smile. "Still, maybe you're worth sitting out here and freezing my balls off for."

I couldn't help the dumb grin that spread across my face at the reassurance that the attraction I felt went both ways. And hey, if when we went back to playing, I maybe strutted a little for Briar's enjoyment, could you blame me?