I almost said ‘showtime’ when the car slid to a stop outside the entryway to the sorority house that had been standing for more than a hundred years. There was a good crowd of people already gathered on the lawn outside, with more passing through the doors. As was usual, anytime Cody showed up somewhere, everyone turned and stared, which brought me into the spotlight as well.
I put on my best poker face as he reached for my hand and pulled me along with him, leaving the others to follow behind. A few of the guys called out to him and his friends, some of them coming over to say a few words, most of which questioned his presence since it was known far and wide that he had no interest in being here.
For someone with his ambitions, it’s a bit surprising that he himself had not joined a fraternity, but just like me, he had no use for them either. Alexis gripped my other hand, and I felt guilty for not realizing how important this was to her. “Don’t worry; everything’s going to be fine.” I gave her hand a little squeeze before Steve came gliding up beside her with one of his infectious smirks on his face.
“They won’t have booze in this place, right? Everybody watch your cups, especially if that Susie chick is around.” I pretended not to see the glare Cody gave Steve over my head or the way Steve almost swallowed his tongue at his faux pas. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, regretting my hasty actions with each step. And then I remembered how I felt when looking at that picture, and what Cody must’ve felt after what she did to him and all but slammed through the door looking for blood.
She wasn’t here yet, of course, she had to make a grand entrance after all, and that wouldn’t have as much effect if everyone wasn’t here to see her performance. I was hoping that whatever mom had put in place didn’t happen until after she arrived because if I know mom, it was not going to be anything short of overwhelming to us lesser beings.
Just as proposed, Cody stuck to my side for the ten minutes we were there before Susie arrived. She looked stunning, no two ways about it, but this evening, my girls and I outshone her by a mile. I’d seen her dress in the store where we’d bought ours, which means there’s a good chance she’d seen mine. Then again, she wouldn’t need to go to the petite section since she had a good few inches on me.
I wasn’t about to be intimidated by her, though, because I had what she wanted most in the world, and he was stuck to my ass like a second layer of skin. Her eyes searched the room, and I had no doubt from the look that came over her face that she was ready for a good fight. What form that would take was left to be seen, but I was pretty much ready for anything she had to throw my way.
If she got physical, which I doubt she’d do in a roomful of people, Cody might knock her on her butt, that’s if Jess didn’t beat him to it, and from the way his teammates grumbled and went on alert at the sight of her walking through the room, there was a good bet that either one or all of them might give her a good kick or two. Not that I condone violence or anything. I’m just saying.
Who am I kidding? I’ve had plenty of imaginary sessions where I was kicking the stuffing out of her or dragging her across campus by her hair for everyone to see. I wasn’t a bit surprised when she walked right by us without acknowledging our existence though I did wonder about the snide smirk on her face.
I got my answer not five minutes later when she returned trailing behind another bombshell with a thousand-watt smile. She looked around the room until her gaze fell on me, and she made her way over with a questioning look on her face. I didn’t get the crummy feeling in my gut the way I do when facing one of Susie’s ilk in the wild, so I had a pretty idea of what came next.
Before she could say anything, though, Susie beat her to it. “This party is by invitation only; I’m sorry. You’ll have to leave. Cody, you can stay, and your friends too, I guess.” She said with an unmistakable sneer, which said friends answered with a well-coordinated middle finger salute.
If she hadn’t said it loud enough for the people next to us to hear, she would’ve saved herself the embarrassment when she reached out as if to touch him, and he stepped back out of the way, wrapping his arm around me in the process. Score!