Page 40 of Necessary Roughness
Me:I don’t know what that means, but good job!
Knox:You coming to the party tonight?
Logan:Oh, yeah! You’d better come.
Me:What party?
Knox:The big party at the Kappa house. You didn’t hear about it?
Me:I’m just a lowly student. I don’t get invited to the cool parties with all the athletes.
Knox:You do now. I’ll send you the address.
Me:I’ll think about it. Depends on how much work I get done between now and then.
Logan:Fuck that! Come party with us.
Me:You just want to fulfill our agreement
Logan:Maybe ;-)
Knox:No pressure or expectations. Just come hang out and play beer pong.
Logan:Right. No expectations. Totally.
Logan:But if something happens? Then so be it.
Me:I’ll see if I can pop by.
There was never any question in my mind about going. I was eager to hang out with them some more, even without the potential for sex. Knox and Logan had this charismatic pull to them that I couldn’t ignore.
The twins already had plans tonight, so I made the walk to the party alone. It was a cool evening now that the sun had set, and the neighborhoods bordering campus were alive with activity as students walked from one party to another.
When I reached the Kappa house, I hesitated. This was one of the popular fraternities. There was no rule that I couldn’t be here, but it felt like I was crossing a line by going inside. Like I was disrupting the natural hierarchy of the college campus.
I went inside, still feeling anxious about whether or not I belonged. Music thumped somewhere deeper inside the three-story house, and it was so crowded that I had to squeeze through people just to get out of the foyer. There was a commotion in one of the back rooms, so I did my best to head in that direction. It turned out to be the dining room, and they were using the long dining table as a beer pong table.
A ball soared through the air, landing in a cup with a soft clink and splash. The room erupted in cheers, and the man who had thrown the ball—Knox—triumphantly thrust his hands in the air.
“This arm’s on fire today!” Logan said, grabbing his teammate’s right arm and patting it appreciatively. “Touchdowns in the afternoon, and beer pong cups at night!”
I was immediately struck by how many women were in the room with them, watching and fawning over their every move. Sorority girls in dresses that were alotsluttier than the sun dress I’d selected for the party, cleavage and blowouts as far as the eye could see. A few of them glared at me when I tried to squeeze through, and blocked my way, as if this was a rock concert and they had already staked out their spots as close to the stage as possible.
“Do you fuckingmind?”one of them snapped at me.
I already felt like I didn’t belong, but that was the final crack to my confidence. It was probably for the best if I went home.
Logan’s voice cut through the crowd. “Sloane! Get up here.”
16
Sloane
“Sloane!” Logan repeated, waving at me. “Let her through. She’s up next.”
Knox’s face lit up when he saw me. “Sloane! You made it!”
“Of course she made it.” Logan put his arm around me. “She wouldn’t miss celebrating with us. You’re just in time. We’re about to start another game.”
