“They gave me a bid!” I’d said, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

Blair’s face had lit up and he’d thrown his arms around me. “Hurray! Jeff, did you hear that? They gave Jordy a bid!” He’d pulled me inside their apartment. “We were just about to spark up a joint—care to join us?”

“I don’t smoke,” I’d reminded him. He was always offering me pot, and I always turned it down. It killed brain cells.

“This is a banner day!” Jeff had come out of the bedroom, wearing only red underwear. “Did you tell him, Blair?”

“I got the lead in the theater department’s production of Sweeney Todd,” Blair had said with a big grin. “Oy, the rehearsal schedule is going to be brutal.”

“But that’s great!” I’d replied, watching him light the joint and take a deep hit before passing it over to Jeff.

“It’s going to take up almost all of my time,” Blair had replied. “But if you ever need me, you can text me.” He exhaled. “Good thing we went alum, huh, Jeff?”

“Alum?”

“We’re alumni,” Jeff had explained. “At the house. You can do that after six semesters as a full active. We don’t have to attend things anymore if we don’t want to.”

“Oh.” I’d felt a little disappointed. “So you won’t be around the house much, either, Jeff?”

“I’m not a genius like you,” Jeff had replied sadly. “I’ve got eighteen units this semester, and I need to get a 4.0 to get my GPA up—this semester and next.” He sighed. “Between studying and dancing at Fusions, I’m not going to have a spare moment.” He had patted Blair on the leg. “So, Blair getting the lead is kind of a godsend. I don’t have to worry I’m ignoring him.”

“Well, if you need any help studying . . .”

“You just need to focus on making sure you make the most out of your pledge semester,” Blair had interrupted me. “That’s the most important thing—and you can always reach us if you need to.”

The rest of Rush Week had been really nice. Chad was friendly but occupied with everything that was going on, and I found myself watching him whenever I thought no one would notice. I couldn’t get over how good looking he was. He was always dressed nice, and the clothes flattered his physique. Roger told me Chad was one of the gay brothers, and his two best friends in the house, Brandon Benson and Rees Davidson, were also gay.

Brandon and Rees were also really good looking. Not as good looking as Chad—no one was, except maybe Jeff Morgan, and he was taken—but still. Rees was really tall, about six three, and was about 220 pounds of solid muscle. He’d played football in high school and still seemed like a jock. He always wore tank tops and sweatpants or basketball shorts. I didn’t understand why all three of them were single. Roger had said that despite their closeness, none of them had ever hooked up together as far as he knew. The major difference between Chad and his two best friends, though, was obvious as soon as either Rees or Brandon opened their mouths.

Rees was dumb as a post, and Brandon not much smarter.

“Chad’s the brains in that outfit,” Roger had said bitterly. He’d been in their pledge class, and I got the distinct impression Roger really didn’t like any of them. “Not that it would take very much, if you know what I mean.”

Roger didn’t seem to fit into Beta Kappa. During Rush Week, none of the other brothers said anything negative about any of the others. They gave the impression the house was just one big happy family. Roger was the sole exception. Roger seemed determined, in fact, to say something negative about everyone else in the house. It confused me. If Roger disliked so many of the brothers, why had he bothered to pledge and go through initiation?

I liked Roger, though. He was actually kind of funny. And I liked that he spoke his mind. There was something almost refreshingly honest about him. And from all the reading I’d done, the notion that all the brothers were close was a little hard to believe.

Surely, some of them didn’t like one another.

I sighed and sat there on my bed for a moment, debating on whether to go back to bed and sleep some more. My first class wasn’t until nine. But I was wide awake, and so I went into the kitchen and started the coffee.

The pledge meeting had actually turned out to be a lot of fun. I had studied the faces of my pledge brothers. They were an interesting assortment of guys. I had been just about to say something when the door opened and our pledge marshal, Eric Matthews, walked in. He slammed the door shut behind him, startling everyone, and silence fell on the room.

“Welcome to Beta Kappa!” he had said with a broad smile. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and I couldn’t help but stare at his chiseled torso. A patch of dark hair sat in the deep cleavage between his pecs, and a line of black hair ran down his flat stomach from his navel and disappeared inside his gray fleece sweatpants. From the way his bulge moved around inside the sweatpants, he didn’t appear to be wearing underwear. I made myself look away and locked eyes with one of the pledge brothers whose name I couldn’t remember. He was cute, with blue eyes and dishwater blond hair. He grinned in an oh, you caught me looking kind of way and winked at me. I grinned back.

Eric sat down on the floor. “All right, guys. You are about to embark on a journey that’s going to change your life—for the better. Your pledge semester is all about learning about the house, learning what Beta Kappa stands for, and getting to know all the brothers. But before we go any further, I want to make something very clear: While Beta Kappa has to be a priority for you, if there is ever a conflict between your pledge responsibilities and school, school wins every time. Our motto is alma mater first, and Beta Kappa for alma mater. You are here to get an education, okay?”

Everyone had murmured assent.

“So, first things first.” He grinned. “I know some of you already know each other, and you met during Rush, but we’re going to go around the room. Say your name, what year you are in school, your hometown, and your major. I’ll start. Eric Matthews, senior, San Diego, California, and my major is business administration.” He turned to the pledge I’d made eye contact with. “Okay, you’re next.”

“Jon Preston, freshman, Madison, Wisconsin, and I’m pre-med,” the cute boy said. He was tapping his right foot on the floor.

I was next. I cleared my throat. “Um, I’m Jordy Valentine, freshman, undecided major, and I’m not really sure what my hometown would be,” I said, feeling kind of silly.

Eric frowned. “How can you not know where you’re from?”

I felt my face color as everyone in the room stared at me. Great, your first pledge meeting and you’ve already made a total ass out of yourself. “Well, my parents’ main home is outside of Seattle, but I haven’t lived there since I was ten,” I had said, struggling to keep my voice from cracking. I could hear my heart beating, and resisted the urge to flee.

“Their main home?” Eric had looked confused. “Well, where have you lived since then?”

“Inhofen, Switzerland.” I bit my lip.

“Seriously?” This had come from a guy on the other side of the room, and I forced myself to look at him. To my surprise, he was actually looking at me in awe rather than contempt. “Switzerland?”

I nodded. “I attended a boarding school starting at ten. Mom and Dad are hardly ever in Seattle. They travel a lot. They have several other homes as well.” I shrugged. “So I don’t know what my hometown would be. I’m sorry, I know that probably seems dumb—”

“No, it doesn’t,” Eric replied. He smiled. “Why don’t you just call Seattle home? That would be easiest.”

“Okay.” I smiled back at him. “I’m Jordy Valentine, a freshman from Seattle, and I am undecided.”

“Great.” Eric beamed back at me.

The guy sitting to my right said, “My name is Mark Dunne, I’m from Merced, California, I’m a sophomore, and my major is graphic design.” He gave me a reassuring smile. He had brown hair and was kind of slender, almost too skinny. His shirt and shorts were too big for him, and his legs were covered with thick black hair.