I lean over and grab his phone, but he clicks it off before I can.
“What the hell, Corbin?” Brock jumps to his feet and gets in my face.
I square off with him, my heart pounding.
“We made you; we can make you fall,” he spits out.
I step forward, and we are almost nose to nose.
“Threatening me, Brock?” I shove his chest, and he comes back at me, swinging with a right hook but I block it.
“Oof,” I grunt, doubling over when his left fist hits my stomach. Running forward, I hook him around the middle and take us to the ground.
Sitting on top of him, I sock his face. Blood spurts from his nose and covers my shirt. Brock’s knee comes up, knocking the air from my lungs, and he twists sideways, dumping me to the floor. He jumps to his feet, rushing toward me as I come up on my hands and knees, struggling to breathe.
“Okay, okay. As much fun as this is to watch, we have to be able to function tonight. Cut it the fuck out,” Bodhi yells from the table.
Brock pauses, and I get to my feet. We look at each other before Brock spits blood onto the floor and stalks away, walking out the door. We are no closer to resolving anything, opening a deeper chasm between us.
“Come on, dipshit.” Bodhi slaps me on the back of the head as he walks past me. “Time to fuck some freshmen up.”
He throws a grin over his shoulder, and I grin back.
At least tonight will be fun.
7
Landry
A noise wakes me. Déjà vu settles in as the knob to our door rattles softly and then turns, the moon coming through our curtains highlighting the figure standing in my doorway.
“Trixie,” I hiss, but the guy moves, stalking across the room and throwing my covers off.
He has a hood on, his face hidden in the shadows, and I shake.
“What the hell? Who are you?” I say loudly, hearing Trixie gasp across the room as she sits up.
The guy doesn’t move.
“Oh!” she exclaims after a moment, scrambling from the bed. “I’m coming too.”
The guy stares her down, and she quickly throws on a sweatshirt over her cami and sleep shorts.
Sliding her feet into some sneakers, she grins. “Ready.”
“What is going on?” I ask, looking between the guy and Trixie.
She peers into the darkness, getting closer to him.
“It’s just Corbin,” she says, turning back to me. “Come on.” She grabs me, pulling me from the bed as I try to cover myself.
I’m wearing panties and an oversized shirt, but I still feel exposed.
“It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.”
My eyes dart toward him, but he’s turned around, not facing me anymore.
She throws a pair of leggings at me and then grabs another sweatshirt. “You’ll need this later.”
Corbin is grumbling behind us as we make our way down the side stairs and out onto the front lawn of the girls’ dorm. Other girls are trickling out in various stages of sleep and disarray. Down the street, I see shadows of what has to be guys exiting the boys’ dorm.
“Now, will you tell me what’s going on?”
“Hold on. I’m pissed.” Trixie turns to Corbin, hands on her hips, and frowns. “Why wasn’t I told about this?”
“You know why,” he says, the first thing he’s said to either of us.
“No, actually, I don’t know why,” Trixie retorts, still standing her ground.
“You don’t get to disrespect us and then join our ranks,” Corbin spits out, basically reiterating what he said earlier in the commons, while stepping up to Trixie, who manages not to shrink back at the wild look in his eyes. “You are still here because we don’t deem you important enough to get you kicked out.”
Trixie shrinks back at that.
“You don’t deserve Almadale, and you know it.”
At that, Corbin stalks away, leaving a trembling Trixie in his wake, and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, glaring at his retreating form.
“It’s initiation night,” Trixie murmurs.
“Initiation for what?”
“Almadale. Happens with incoming freshmen, but I guess you got looped in with the new girls as well.”
“That, or my lovely new brothers want to mess with me,” I say with a sigh.
I spot Corbin in the distance, standing in a group of guys but he’s facing me. It’s weird how he manages to infuriate and intrigue me at the same time. We’ve barely even talked, and yet I can sense an attraction. I shrug and chalk it up to physical chemistry, which can mean everything and nothing, all at once.
Tearing my eyes from his, I look around, noting that most of the girls standing around look scared.
Some fucking initiation this is. More like hazing.
“Gather round, gather round,” a loud voice booms close to us, drawing the groups of guys and girls together.
I can tell it’s Brock from the cocky gait of his walk. Bodhi and Corbin stand next to him. Trixie and I hang on the outskirts as everyone presses in closer. A herd of cattle marching to their deaths.
“Welcome to Almadale, bitches. It’s time for each of you to prove your loyalty to your fellow man, woman, and one-percenter in the ranks of Almadale alum. Failure to do so will result in immediate expulsion.” He pauses as murmurs break out in the crowd around them. “Don’t test us; you won’t like the outcome.”
At that, all three boys push their hoods back and smile, the bright white of their teeth glittering like fangs in the dim light outside.
“Follow.”
The command sends everyone into a tizzy, pressing to keep up, walking behind the stupid Three Kings of Almadale Prep.
What a joke.
How dumb can people be?
I guess I’m one of those people because I keep up with the pack. We take off across the field Trixie and I crossed yesterday and into the woods. The path seems exactly like the one we took, and I get a sinking feeling in my gut. I grab Trixie’s arm, stopping her as everyone else walks on.
“What exactly happens during this initiation?” I ask, keeping my voice low so no one will know we stopped.
“I don’t want to ruin the fun,” she says with a smile, putting one finger to her lips.
“Trying to escape?” A voice sounds in the dark behind us, causing me to jump and whirl around.
“Fuck,” I say on an exhale as Corbin stands there, grinning menacingly.
He puts one hand to each of our backs and prods us forward. My skin tingles on contact, all my senses heightening as soon as his fingers touched me, and I have the sudden urge to stop, letting him push further into my skin. I want him to quit touching me as much as I want him to touch every inch of me, leave me breathless, aching, wanting.
“Do you enjoy swimming?” Corbin’s mouth is right by my ear, his breath tickling my cheek as he whispers his question.
“Yes,” I whisper back, making the mistake of looking at him.
I watch as his smile grows, teeth open, and he trails his tongue along the bottom of his top teeth. My eyes track the progress as I feel my core clench. It should be illegal to be that damn sexy and infuriating at the same time.
“Do you like plummeting to sudden death?” he asks, and it’s like he doused me with a bucket of cold water.