“You don’t have to be coy,” she says, cutting me off. “Taylor already filled me in about some bits of it. I just want to know the grey details.”
“A lot of things happened fast,” I say. “I did ask to pledge, and I did stay overnight, but I don’t have anything to prove it.”
“But,” she says, lowering her voice, “are you really going to live there with a bunch of guys?”
I swallow. “I think so, yeah.”
Everyone shrieks in unison. It seems like excitement, but I’m not sure. “Oh my god,” Melody gushes. “Taylor said it but I didn’t think it could possibly be true, what a badass you are.”
“It’s just another room,” I say. “I’ll be sleeping there, it doesn’t really matter.”
“Yeah,” a pretty blonde on my right says, “but you’ll be sleeping there with a bunch of guys. Granite House guys. I don’t think that I would be able to keep my hands to myself.”
“I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” I say.
It won’t, if any of the guys are in the same category as the one that Malcolm saved me from, then I want absolutely nothing to do with them. No, my mind whispers. You want nothing to do with them because you’re already interested in Malcolm.
I shove the thought aside. “It’ll be fine,” I say. “I’ll have a big room alone which will be perfect for studying.”
“And fucking,” Melody says.
Blood rushes to my cheeks. Not everything is about sex. Even as the memories of last night flood my mind, I know that not everything is about that. “Will you still let me pledge Tri Delta?” I ask.
Melody waves a hand. “Sure. When people are rushing you’re free to put your name in.”
My stomach plummets. That’s a far cry from what she made it seem like yesterday, like if I did what she asked that I’d be as good as already in the sorority. But it doesn’t matter. She probably has a lot on her mind, and at the very least she didn’t say that I was disqualified because I wasn’t going to be living with Bailey.
“I still can’t believe that you’d do that,” Melody says. “I mean, I don’t need any proof now that you’re going to be living in the house. But don’t you want to have a normal college experience before you sell yourself out?”
I gasp, the words lodging like a bullet in my chest. “That’s not what I’m doing,” I say. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
I have to rein myself in if I want to remain on their good side, because they only reason that I’m even in this position is because they put me there. They’re the ones that asked me for the fucking proof. I could have curled up in a corner of the house and just slept there without that fucking vase and none of this would have happened.
Melody doesn’t have a chance to respond, because she’s looking behind me, and then a large body lands beside me with a thud. An arm is slung around my shoulders, and I’m wrapped in smoky cologne. I already know who it is, my gut dropping and twisting in some strange combination of longing and anxiety. “How’s my favorite girl?” Malcolm asks while the sisters of Tri Delta gape.
“I’m okay,” I say.
“Good,” he says, pulling me closer. I try to wiggle out of his grip, but he holds me fast. “I overheard Melody asking you some questions, and I realized the Tri Deltas were circling you like sharks smelling blood, the way they do with all their victims. But, given that Juno here is the newest member of Granite House, you should know that she’s not bait for you or anyone else, so stop picking on her.”
That is…the last thing that I ever expected to come out of his mouth, but I’m glad he said it. Warmth fills my chest. Does belonging to him mean that he will defend me too, because if it does, then I’m on board with at least this part of our arrangement. I’m no longer trying to wiggle out of his grasp.
“Malcolm,” Melody says, her voice overly sweet, “we were just commenting that it’s strange that you would take in someone like Juno.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Why is it strange?”
She’s still smiling. “It’s just…weird that she’ll be the only girl in a house full of guys, you know.”
“Juno is awesome,” he says, “and we’re happy to have her. And if she pledges Tri Delta, you all would be lucky to have her.”
“I’m sure we will,” Melody says.
“Who knows,” Malcolm says, “maybe if Juno makes it into Tri Delta, I’ll even consider letting you come to Granite House again.”
Melody goes pale, and everyone in the group goes deadly silent. Slowly, she smiles again. But this smile looks brittle and not at all friendly. “Of course,” she says. “I look forward to an invitation. You know that everyone loves your parties.”