Page 48 of Torrid Little Passion

"That doesn't make sense."

"Again, you aren't letting me finish. I'm tired of us being stereotyped. Anyone can be a superhero. It shouldn't matter what we're wearing. And if you've ever studied those women, they are incredibly strong, smart, beautiful, and talented women. And I think we are as well. Which is why I want us all to go as bunnies for Halloween and say screw the theme."

She's not making sense. In one breath she's saying bunnies are superheroes, and in the next she's saying we're not dressing as part of the theme. I can feel the unease in the room. Especially when Cleo glares at a few of the sisters who are known to push back.

When the tension becomes too much to bear, I finally stand and show my support for my best friend.

"Can I have the floor?" All eyes fall to me, a few girls snarling because they know how close Cleo and I are. "This might not be your favorite idea. It might not be something you agree with. What I love most about this house is that we all ban together and support each other. And in doing that, in dressing alike, we show solidarity and unity. We become a force to be reckoned with. We become superheroes."

"Thank you, Mya," Cleo says, interrupting me, but I'm not finished.

"Listen. Do I want to walk around in a bodysuit and fuzzy ears? No, but I'm also sick of the same theme being used over and over again. And instead of dressing as Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel for the third year in a row, this will be a nice change of pace. You might not think so now but wait until you're at the party and everyone is paying attention to you instead of one of the eighteen girls dressed as Cat Woman. This is an original idea, and I vote yes. I vote to be original. To go against the grain. To stand out from the crowd. We like to pride ourselves, to pride this house, on being unique. That's why we're all here. We wanted something different out of Greek life. This is our chance to show everyone that we are what we say we are. So I urge you to stand with me on this. To stand with Cleo, our president. To support her."

The room is silent as I retake my seat in the front row. Cleo smiles at me, the first genuine smile I've seen grace her face in a week. Someone behind me begins to clap, and soon the entire room follows.

"I'll take that as a unanimous yes," Cleo says as the clapping subsides. "Now, on to how we're going to move the party here. As you all know, the Kappa house president, Max Palmer, can be a bit of a stubborn prick. He's not going to give up the Halloween party without a fight. It's his favorite event of the year. We fought about the theme for two days before I relented so I could get the hell away from him. Recently, there have been rumors floating around that he's been sleeping with multiple members of this house. Those rumors have been proven false, but I'd like to use that against him just this once."

Oh, shit.

This is going to be bad.

"Sisters, members of this house are officially banned from sleeping with Max Palmer. And if he wants to keep his house’s reputation intact, he will hand the Halloween party over to us without a fight."

Shit. Fuck. Damn.

This is worse than I imagined. Because one of my sisters is actually sleeping with him.

Glancing around the room, there's a lot of commotion, but no one seems to be overly distraught about the announcement. And Cleo is grinning from ear to ear.

Did Max lie to me? Was he sleeping with Cleo all this time? Did he break up with her to cover his tracks?

She does have a broken heart. And the timing lines up. Not to mention the look of satisfaction on her face at ruining Max's chances of sleeping with anyone in this house.

I need to tell Brady what's going on.

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