“Like that was even an option,” I say, kissing her again. After a few more cheers and some guys yelling out for us to get a room, I take her hand and pull her away from the fire. She looks over her shoulder just as Erin storms off and I see her cringe. Maybe this is about her, after all.

“Don’t worry about that,” I say, pulling her chin toward me. “She’ll be okay.”

Skyler sighs, her eyes following Erin as she disappears, but when she turns back to me, that same smile comes. But it’s not her smile. Not the real one. I know that smile, I take pride in putting that smile on her face – but this? This is not it. Her eyes are soft, but distant – the light is missing.

Holy shit.

I think she’s giving me her poker face.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” she says, tucking her hands in the front pocket of my hoodie. She eyes the letters and looks back up at me. “So you’re officially a brother, huh?”

I know something is off with her, but maybe it’s just the distance. Even though it’s only been a week and a half, we didn’t talk at all. Maybe she’s just a little shy. Did she smile like this the first night we met?

“Nah, I stole this sweater from Goodwill. Don’t tell.”

She presses her finger to her puckered lips and my eyes follow. “Your secret is safe with me.”

I swallow hard, remembering the way it felt when she came on my fingers and wanting desperately to hear the sweet sounds that escaped her mouth again. I grab her face between my hands and pull her lips to mine, sliding my tongue in to take full advantage. She moans into my mouth and my dick hardens, anxious to be inside her.

Down, boy.

“Come home with me,” I murmur between kisses.

She kisses me back, hard, needy, but then her eyes open and I see the conflict in them. It’s the same wall of doubt from before, but it looks like the bricks I had chipped away at were now back and stronger than ever.

“I can’t.”

“Stop overthinking it and do what you want to do.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Suddenly, a bright flash catches us from the right and we both turn. I grab Skyler protectively and pull her into me to shield her from whatever the fuck is happening.

“You two are so cute together,” a voice says in the darkness. The fire is behind the person the voice came from, making a haunting silhouette as my eyes try to adjust. “New boyfriend again, Skyler? Will he be with you in Vegas?”

My heart stops.

What the hell is happening?

“Shit.” Skyler grabs my hand and yanks it hard in the opposite direction and before I know it we’re running. The photographer chases us for a while, still shouting questions before we lose him, hiding in the family bathroom of Hawthorne Hall. When we’re sure he’s gone, we sneak out and walk swiftly toward the sorority house.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask as we walk. I tried asking when we were hiding, but Skyler wouldn’t make a sound and kept shushing me when I tried.

She groans. “Probably a reporter. Or a freelance photographer low on funds. Or maybe there’s another Hottest Poker Players issue coming out from some played out magazine. I always seem to end up on those shitty lists.”

“What are you talking about?”

She sighs. “This happened last year before I played a pretty massive tournament in Atlantic City. My parents told me it would probably happen again and maybe be even worse with this one in Vegas, but I guess I didn’t think they would find me here. They’re not supposed to be allowed on campus, but technically the bonfire isn’t on campus, is it? Fuck.”

She’s rambling, so I stop her just short of her sorority house’s lawn and pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her. I kiss her hair and wait for her breaths to steady against my chest before pulling back to face her again.

“It’s all good, they’re gone now and we can talk to the Dean tomorrow about this. Or President Whittington. They’ll take care of it.”

She nods, but for once I see concern laden on her face – not the kind about sorority functions or fighting her feelings for me, but legitimate concern. “Okay,” she says finally, but she doesn’t seem convinced.

“Hey, look at me.” I wait for her to bring her eyes to mine before continuing. “The only thing you need to worry about right now is picking out a dress for tomorrow night, okay? I’ll handle talking to the president. Pick you up at seven?”

For a second she just stares at me, a look of what seems like pain washing over her face. Slowly, she smiles, but this smile is even worse than the one she’s been feeding me all night. It’s not fake – it’s forced.

“Actually, Adam and some of your brothers are coming in a limo to pick a lot of my other sisters up. Could we ride with them? It would be so fun!”

I chew my bottom lip, definitely not wanting to agree but realizing I don’t really have a choice at this point. “Okay, yeah. I’ll talk to Adam.”

“Okay,” she says, smiling again. She lifts up on her toes and gives me a swift kiss before turning toward the door.

As I watch her walk away, my head spins with confusion. She kissed me in public, made a huge scene about the dance – it’s clear she’s not worried about our “friends only” agreement. But at the same time, now she’s being different with me. Is she still feeling weird about Erin? Is she using me to make Adam mad? Does she still have feelings for him?

God, why am I such a chick right now?

I roll my eyes and start walking toward my apartment, shaking my head. I’m overreacting, reading too much into shit. She’s fine, we’re fine – I’ve just been so worked up over the past week thinking about what was going through her head that I’m making shit up that isn’t even happening.

Pulling in a deep breath, I let the cool February air fill my lungs and then push it out, letting the stress go with it. I feel my chest deflate and realize how tense I’ve been all night. Everything is cool, nothing to worry about – except not killing Adam when I ask him to ride in that damn limo tomorrow night.

And that photo.

I try to convince myself I won’t have to deal with that, but something in my gut tells me I will. Not just with the president, but with my dad. I’m still in this game for him, I’m still here and doing what he wants me to do.

Right?

Yes. Definitely yes. UCLA is my dream school and I’m going to get there. But I can still have some fun with Skyler along the way, right? I mean, at this point she’s going to hate me no matter what.

Or maybe she won’t.

Maybe I should tell her I play, that I want to enter the tournament just for fun to see how I do. Then when I win, it’ll be like a joke – something we can laugh about together. Hey, remember that time I helped you train for that tournament and then I ended up winning? Hilarious!

Okay, so it sounded better in my head. But if I am still in this, if I’m still committed to figuring out her weaknesses and beating her in May, then I need to get her back at a table so I can watch. And I need to disconnect the feelings – hers for me, mine for her – a little fun, but nothing too crazy.

Although I’m pretty sure it’s already too late for that.

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

My dad’s voice rings in my ear as I pull the phone away, sinking my head further into the pillow. It’s just past eight and I am clearly not awake enough to answer any questions.

“Hmpf?” I manage, my head still aching from his booming voice.

“Get your ass out of bed and open the email I sent you. Now.” He coughs the last word, covering the receiver to cough more when he finishes. I roll my eyes and sit up, reaching for my laptop. When I pull up his email and click the link inside, a sudden rush of realization rolls over me.

It’s a photo of me and Skyler.