“Jealous? Of me?”

“They think you’re taking their place.” He rolled his eyes and then froze. “Oh. God.”

I turned to see what he’d seen, and my heart sank. It was Dante, looking amazing in a white wifebeater and a pair of cutoff jeans. Damn it! I swore to myself. This is all I need. He saw us, smiled, and walked over. “Hey guys.” He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “Hi, Chad.”

My eyes went back and forth between them. I was torn between leaving them alone or staying and watching. I didn’t want to watch them go through a mating dance—but maybe Chad wasn’t interested. . . .

“How are you?” Chad asked stiffly, his face tightening.

“Doing good.” Dante smiled, flashing his perfect teeth. “I just bought a new car.”

“Cool. What did you get?” I asked when Chad didn’t say anything.

“A Mercedes. Maybe I’ll take you for a ride sometime.” Dante brushed against me.

What’s going on here? I wondered. My body was reacting, and I gulped down the rest of my drink. I smiled. “Excuse me, guys, I need to get another drink.”

“I’ll get it. What are you having?” Dante flashed his teeth at me again.

Is he flirting with me? In front of Chad?

“Vodka cranberry.”

“Be right back.” He turned and headed for the bar without asking Chad if he wanted anything.

Chad’s eyes narrowed. “He’s being awful friendly to you.” He sniffed. “I suppose he’s trying to make me jealous.”

“Because of course he couldn’t possibly be interested in me,” I said before I could stop myself.

Chad gave me a weird look. “I didn’t say that.”

“Forget it.”

“No.” Chad crossed his arms. “Why did you say that?”

“Well, you always act like I’m a leper or something,” I replied, cursing myself for saying anything. “I’m not.”

“Here you go, Jordy.” Dante handed me my drink.

“Thanks, Dante.” I took a big gulp. Chad was still staring at me.

“I can’t get over you,” Dante said, looking me up and down. “I haven’t seen you in what? Three weeks? And look at you. You look incredible.”

He is flirting with me, I thought, trying not to get excited about it. This was too, too perfect. I glanced at Chad, whose face was turning red. He was furious. And in that instant, I made up my mind.

Because of course, Chad, anyone who’d ever been interested in you couldn’t possibly ever want ME, right? Because I’m just a loser, right? Well, I’ll show you loser, you fucking asshole.

And I saw everything with perfect clarity in that moment.

I could lose weight, I could build muscle, I could build the kind of body an underwear model would envy—but to Chad I would always be that loser who wasn’t good enough for him. He was never, ever under any circumstance going to want me. I was never going to be “his type.”

It was all I could do not to throw my drink in his arrogant face.

I turned to Dante. “You want to dance? I love this song.”

“I’d love to.”

We left Chad standing there and went out onto the dance floor. I took my shirt off and tucked it into the back of my jeans as I started moving. Dante was dancing with me, and our chests brushed against each other. “You’re a great dancer,” he breathed into my ear as he came up behind me and rubbed his crotch against my ass. “Very sexy.”

I laughed. “Well, you’re a god.”

His big arms snaked around my waist, and he pulled me back against him. I turned my head back over my shoulder and we kissed. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Chad watching us with no expression on his face. His arms were folded, and if he could, there was no doubt in my mind he would have shot laser beams out of his eyes at us.

We danced for a couple more songs, and Dante excused himself to go to the bathroom.

I walked over to Chad, using my shirt to mop sweat off my face.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chad said angrily.

“Dancing.”

“You’re breaking the code.”

“Code? What code?”

“You don’t sleep with your friends’ exes,” Chad hissed through clenched teeth.

“Who said I was going to sleep with him?”

“You’re practically fucking on the goddamned dance floor!” Chad snarled. “You don’t want to get on my bad side.”

“You need to calm down,” I replied, not allowing myself to get angry. “We’re just dancing, Chad. What is your problem?”

“You’re right.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jordy. I—you know what? I think I’m just going to leave.”

“Why?”

“I’m just not into this anymore.” He looked at me. “You want to go grab something at the Iron Skillet?”

He looked so sad my anger melted away. “Sure. What about Rees and Brandon?”

“We came in Brandon’s car. You drove, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

The Iron Skillet wasn’t very crowded. I ordered a club sandwich without mayonnaise, Chad a grilled cheese. I was going to regret the sandwich, but I figured I’d do an extra ten minutes on the elliptical machine the next day.

“I’m sorry I was being such a bitch,” Chad said as we ate our food. “Brandon just really pissed me off, and then seeing Dante—” He made a face. “It just kind of threw me off.”

“He probably was just trying to make you jealous,” I replied, keeping my voice even. “Very junior high school.”

“Well, Jordy, maybe, maybe not.” He gave me a sad smile. “I hope you don’t think I think you’re unattractive.” He swallowed. “It’s amazing the way you’ve transformed. You look completely different.”

But you didn’t say I looked good.

“I’m so glad we’re friends,” he went on. “I mean, Rees and Brandon are good guys, but they’re not like you.” He looked down at his food. “Sometimes I think you’re my only real friend.”

In spite of myself I was touched. “You mean that?”

He nodded. “I mean, Rees and Brandon are fun, but that’s all they think about—partying and getting laid. You’re different. You’re serious.”

He touched my hand.

Here it comes, I exulted.

“I’m so glad we never slept together,” he went on. “That would spoil everything. You can’t stay friends with someone after you’ve slept with them.”

My heart shattered. “I know,” I managed to say.

I dropped him off at the house and headed home.

As I pulled into my parking space, my phone beeped. I flipped it open. There was a text from Dante.

Hey, man, where did you go? I was enjoying dancing with you. Some other time?

I smiled to myself. Fuck you, Chad, I thought as I got out of the car.

It was time for a change in plans, and strategy.

Chapter 10

Ihesitated for a moment, my hand poised to knock on the president’s office door. I wasn’t sure why I was there—but I doubted it was something good. I’d gotten the e-mail that morning, asking if I could stop by at three. No explanation, no hint as to what the meeting was about, so I’d wondered about it all day. Now it was three on the dot. Don’t be a pussy, Jordy, I chided myself, and knocked.

The door opened almost immediately, and I wondered if Chris Moore had been standing there waiting for my knock. He smiled, which relaxed me a little. “Thanks for stopping by.” He stuck out his hand and gave me the fraternity handshake. “Come on in and have a seat.”

“I haven’t been in here since I accepted my bid,” I said. Chris’s room was just on the other side of the office. His door was open, and I could see how messy his room was. I sat down in the very same chair I’d sat in to get my bid. Then I was too nervous to pay any attention to the room. It was really small, and there was another door behind the desk. A group photo of the brothers in tuxes was the only decoration on the white walls, and it was captioned SPRING BETA KAPPA FORMAL. I crossed my legs and waited.

Chris closed the office door. “We’re getting a little concerned about you, Jordy,” he said, walking around and sitting down behind his desk.