Check, Please (Book #2)

Eight.

I made a point not to talk to Gemma for the rest of rush, instead focusing on my classes and getting to know the potential new members who came out to events. Lucas confided in me on the third day of recruitment that he hoped to receive a bid and, to his obvious delight, I told him that was something that Parker and I could probably make happen -- and we did. Not that it took much effort; everyone in the frat either liked Lucas or at least liked the idea of having a football player in our pledge class. Still, he didn't know that, and the humongous smile that filled his face when Parker handed him his bid letter gave me an enormous pang of secondhand embarrassment.

Including Lucas, the fraternity took thirty-two pledges at the end of rush, which was a relief for Parker and Corey and a godsend for the rest of us. We didn't haze -- at least, not as badly as the other frats on the Row -- but we definitely made our pledge class work for its right to be initiated. I had a laundry list of tasks that I planned on doling out as the semester went on and I knew that if I played my cards right, I'd be able to have breakfast in bed and my room cleaned every day for at least three weeks.

The Friday after bid night, Mattie sent out an email to remind us about our mixer with Delta Kappa. Be in the foyer by 9P.M., his message read. Tacky tourist attire is highly encouraged. I pocketed my phone after scrolling to the end of the email, which ended with his traditional sign-off: Whatever you do tonight, don't be a creep. It was a good rule, and one that most of the guys were capable of following. With all of the negative stereotypes that fraternities already faced around campus, the last thing that anyone in Kappa Omicron wanted was to be known as a house that gave off rapey vibes. We all knew that nothing cleared a house's social calendar faster than a reputation like that, no matter how fun the parties were.

By nine-thirty, the downstairs of the house was overflowing with girls wearing everything from bikini tops to D.I.Y. sarongs. The aroma of perfume, sweat, and spilled beer had already begun to cling to the air, the combination of scents resulting in a putrid mixture. Top 40 hits and electronic remixes blared through the sound system at a deafening volume and the pounding reverberations caused the windows to tremble against the insistent bass. The dining room had been turned over to accommodate a dance floor and it wasn't long before the members in our respective houses began to pair off and make their way over to the strobe-lit space.

Sipping an unidentifiable mixed drink that one of the pledges had poured, I leaned against the main area's bar and watched while almost all of our guests carefully teetered around in sky-high heels and platforms. I didn't really see the point in shoes like that. Gemma loved them for some reason, but everyone knew that the girls wearing them would end up barefoot by the end of the night. Still, despite their near-universal inability to walk in their chosen footwear, it was obvious that the Delta Kappas had come out dressed to impress. Collectively attractive, the DKGs were a fantastic example of pretty girls being friends with other pretty girls; I couldn't think of a single one of their members who wasn't a total knockout.

"Scott!"

To my surprise, I turned to see Sophie hurrying towards me. She looked great, as usual, though I doubted that she ever left the house looking anything else. Rather than dressing strictly to the theme, she wore a hot pink dress with a giant flower in her hair.

"I'm so glad I found you," she exclaimed, her face bright with relief. Reminded of the fact that I really wasn't very tall, I found myself looking up to her as she bent down to give me a hug. She smiled at me as she pulled back and I glanced down at her feet, hoping that our height difference could at least be partially accounted for by a pair of six-inch heels. Instead of stilettos, however, I saw that she'd opted for sandals with a relatively low sloping heel.

"That was smart," I heard a girl walking by say to her friends, "I should've worn wedges, too."

As Sophie looked around, I asked, "Where's Parker?"