Footsteps sounded on the pavement, and flashlights broke through the dark. Two guys in bare feet and Kappa sweatshirts jogged into view, the beams of their flashlights hacking through the night air with a haphazard pattern.
“Where the fuck did they go?” one of the guys asked.
“I don’t know. Did you see what house they were headed toward?” the other asked. “God-fucking-dammit, I think I cut my foot. I’m going to kill those shitheads.”
“I bet it was the Thetas. We got them pretty good last month.”
Hunter snickered under his breath. “Sure, sweetheart, the uninventive Thetas just got your ass greased. Sure they did.”
“I once had a Theta grease my ass,” Devon said against Hunter’s shoulder. “He wasn’t lacking in creativity.”
Hunter scowled. “Ugh. I can’t believe you fucked a Theta. Have some standards, man.”
“I’m kidding. The Thetas wouldn’t be cool enough to have a gay in their ranks. Though one of those douchebags kindly offered to let me blow him at a party last year—like he was doing me some fucking favor.”
“Hope you punched him in the throat.”
“I let him take his pants off and then tied his wrists to the bed and left him there for his roommate to find him. Did I mention the room was really cold?”
Hunter’s shoulders shook in silent laughter. “Remind me never to piss you off.”
“Don’t worry, babe,” he said, putting a teasing lilt in his voice. “I know you’d ask nicely if you wanted me to blow you.”
“Want to do it now? These fuckers are boring me.”
“Sure, unbutton your jeans.”
Neither of them moved because they both knew it was a joke—even if Devon secretly wished it weren’t.
The two guys searched for a few more minutes, once throwing the beam of their flashlight dangerously close to where Hunter and Devon were hiding, but doofus number two kept whining about his foot and they eventually gave up the hunt.
When they were finally out of sight,
Devon rolled onto his back in the leaves and let out a big puff of warm breath. The mist twisted and dissipated above him, revealing Hunter’s face peering down at him. Hunter grinned, all dark eyes and rough beauty. “We fucking did it, Dev. We got the Kappas.”
The mirth in his eyes was contagious. Devon smiled back up at him. “I can’t wait to see them sliding and falling over each other on that buttered floor like a bunch of bowling pins.”
Hunter reached out and took the black knit cap off of Devon’s head, exposing the purple-streaked hair they’d made sure to hide during the prank. He crammed the hat on his own head. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here, because my nuts are about to freeze off.”
“Can’t have that,” Devon said, taking Hunter’s offered hand and getting to his feet. “May throw off your balance on the field.”
Hunter smirked, and they trudged toward the frat house, the wind seeming to get harder and colder as they walked. Where the hell did California get off having this kind of weather anyway?
But the chill only got marginally better when they slipped inside the front door of the house. Hunter’s breath came out in a white puff. “What the fuck?”
Ames, one of the brothers who’d run ahead of him, stepped out of the kitchen, coffee mug in hand. “Looks like we weren’t the only ones pranking tonight. Heat’s been cut off and some jerkoff threw all of our blankets and bedding into the pool.”
“What?” Dev asked, looking up the staircase.
“Maintenance can’t get out here until the morning. I’m heading over to my girlfriend’s apartment. You might want to find a place to crash, too, or plan on sleeping in your coats tonight.” He patted Dev on his way to the door. “Nice work tonight, gentlemen.”
Devon watched Ames go, and then both he and Hunter vaulted up the stairs to their room. When they pushed open the door, they both cursed simultaneously.
“Motherfuck.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Devon’s bed had been completely stripped down to the mattress, and a bag of ice from the local gas station had been opened up and spread across it. A note pinned to the headboard read, Sigmas wet the bed.