“I ain’t kissing my sister, Wellesley.”
Oliver nods, suddenly serious. “Is this your final answer?”
Reid seems to think about it and then confirms that he isn’t up for playing this game. His frat president suddenly sets his intense green gaze on me.
“Well Kaya, it looks like we have a problem. The rules of this game clearly state that if you fail to perform a task, the challenge is doubled. So now you owe us two kisses.”
I open my mouth to protest: I really don’t care about kissing Oliver but I especially don’t want to kiss Hoyt.
The burly master of ceremonies smiles in what I’m sure he thinks is a seductive grin but I’m ready to gag at just the idea of locking lips with him. Especially because of the way he’s rubbing his hands together. I swear to God if he does anything more than kiss me, I’ll knee him in the balls.
Don’t ask me why but I instantly disliked him. The look in his eyes reminds me of Marc.
But I know that there’s no way out of this without looking like a poor sport and instantly withdrawing my attempt to rush the Zetas. I debate it internally for a second: I don’t feel particularly strongly about being a Zeta but I know how much it means to Mom.
If I don’t get in, fair enough but with my legacy status, the only way for me not to get in is pretty much refusing to complete a challenge. And Mom would live through the disappointment but knowing her, she’d think that I didn’t want to do this challenge because of Bryce. She’s already harping on about not letting my first ever ‘boyfriend’ deprive me of a great college experience and I don’t want her to dislike Bryce, despite the fact that Mom is totally projecting her own regrets on me.
I look at Oliver trying to sound as nonplussed as possible, not wanting to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing how uncomfortable I feel. “Ok, so let’s get this over and done with. Who is it, you and Hoyt?” I internally shudder at the way Hoyt adjusts himself, trying to actually show off his hard-on. Yuck, it’s just a kiss dude, gross.
But Oliver’s smile widens as he shakes his blond head. “I applaud the eagerness, darling but it’s not going to be Hoyt.” He turns to look at the rest of the room, everyone is paying their full attention to our game. “You’ll be kissing me and Chase.”
Tonight I don’t seem to be able to put a word in edgewise, because Hoyt booms his protest, his face growing red with fury.
“Hey dude, what the fuck? The rules say that she had to kiss one guy in the panel. If she has to kiss two and Reid ain’t doing it, it’s me and you.”
Oliver’s head snaps to his ‘brother’, his voice totally devoid of the well mannered tone he was using before.
“Not quite. And if you want a chance at deputy, I wouldn’t interrupt your president. The rules say that if a pledge can’t perform a task, the challenge is doubled and the details have to be decided by the president. So that would be me and Valeria. And I’ve made my decision. To pass her challenge, Kaya needs to kiss me and Chase.”
I don’t get why he’s so hellbent on making me kiss Chase, so I ask. “Why Chase?”
He smirks. “It’s either complete your original challenge and kiss Reid, or kiss me and Chase.” He then leans closer to me and whispers in my ear. “The reason? You’re cute and I don’t mind a little kiss. And quite honestly, the idea of seeing you kiss one of your stepbrothers is quite a turn on. Deliciously naughty.”
The Gamma president looks at my stepbrothers. “I’ll get started. In the meantime, decide who’s taking one for the team. Come on, don’t look so pissed. Your stepsister is a little cutie, I’m sure you must’ve rubbed more than one out thinking about her.”
And then, just like that, he pulls me to him and crushes his lips on mine.
How was it, you might ask. And I’d be lying to you if I said that it was bad in any way, shape or form.
This hot looking, sexy sounding, super posh and slightly douchy guy definitely knows how to kiss a girl.
His lips are daring and aggressive but not overwhelming, he attacks my mouth in a sexy, confident exploration and I don’t even realize that I’m kissing him back until I feel his tongue tangle with mine and compelling me to let him taste me while I savor his manly and decadent taste. Like whiskey and with a touch of spicy smokiness, like a good, expensive cigar.
When we part, my chest is visibly rising and falling, and I’m trying to get my bearings as the room comes back into focus.
Oliver’s arrogant smile is back in place as he looks at my stepbrothers. “So, who will it be? Let me just guarantee you that you’re missing out. Your stepsister is delicious.”
“Fuck you, Wellesley!”
Reid is about to walk out of the room when Chase takes a step forward. “Yeah, my brother is right, fuck you!”
And for the second time tonight, I’m pulled against a strong chest but this time it’s different.
Chase’s hand cups my jaw and while he doesn’t say anything out loud, his dark blue eyes say everything he isn’t putting into words.
He’s missed me as much as I’ve missed him and he still loves me, nothing has changed since that fateful night in Star Cove.
Chase and I made love once, my first and only time so far and while we’re in a room full of people and our clothes are definitely not going anywhere, he makes love with my mouth.
It’s the only way I can describe his kiss, it’s something sweet, hot and passionate. Something that makes every fiber of my being, every cell of my body sing with happiness and excitement. Chase’s kiss destroys my soul at the idea that I have to remember every second of it because it won’t happen again and at the same time it’s like coming home.
Very few people have ever hurt me as much as Chase has but it’s also true that very few people are a part of me the way Chase is. Actually there are four people that have his same power to destroy me and put me right back together just with one kiss.
I don’t know how long it lasts, I only know that I drink Chase in greedily like when you breathe the first gulp of air after being under water. Our chests are smashed together and I know it isn’t just my imagination when I feel his heart beating as fast as mine.
We part when the room that had grown totally silent starts filling with laughter and cheering as our drunk peers start chanting: “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
Chase’s hand lingers on my cheek for a long moment and I’m still lost in the dark blue depths of his eyes, reluctant to put anymore distance between us.
“What did I tell you, mate? Your sis is one fine bird. Definitely Reid’s loss, hey?”
Oliver’s smug expression makes me hate him with a ferocity I didn’t think I could ever be capable of, all the more because I can’t control my physical reaction when his gaze takes a slow perusal of my body, making me feel exposed.
Chase and Reid walk away together and I’m left there, grateful to have Bryce and Parker in my corner but dazed and confused by the intense looks on their faces.
5.
Hangover
Kaya
BRYCE CLOSES THE CAR door as I get in and the soft ‘thud’ of the door reverberates in my head like a million bowling balls striking the pins all at once.