Chapter 17

Alex

The final touch of my Mistletoe Meltdown outfit sat on top of my desk. The mistletoe laced crown that the fraternity president wore for many years mocked me. The party already started downstairs, but I was unable to get up from my bed. Tonight’s uniform was more casual than the rest. The central part of the party was the girls. The pledges passed out little mistletoe pins, and as long as a girl wore one, she was up to participate in the meltdown. It was entirely voluntary, but it was rare that any girl who attended wasn’t aware of the rules.

Next to the crown sat my Cost Accounting book. I smiled at the fact that I did well on the exam yesterday and unless I completely tanked the final, I was going to pass the class. That was all because of one girl. The one girl who hated me because I couldn’t admit my feelings for her. With my time away from Lily, I had a lot of free time to think about what went down between us.

The victory wasn’t as sweet because I didn’t have her to celebrate with me. I missed her, more than I ever had before. Her missing from my life was a great loss, and I started to second guess everything in my life. The other brothers, especially Bret, always talked about how girls flitted in and out of their lives and that was okay for them. They wanted to explore all that college had to offer. But after finding a girl who I connected with mentally and physically, I was done with all that. I wanted just her. Why hadn’t I told her that when I had the chance? Did it take losing her to finally realize my deeper feelings?

Glancing around my room, I was somewhat disgusted by my surroundings. I didn’t want this anymore. I wanted something more, and I wanted Lily. The idea of resigning as AKA president floated through my mind over the last few days. I couldn’t fully commit to her when I had the fraternity looming over my head. Without the frat as a distraction, I could completely focus on my classes and maybe even graduate with honors. That would also mean I’d have to pay for on-campus housing, which my parents couldn’t afford. I was in a dilemma, and Lily was at the center of it.

I wanted to talk to her about all of it, but by the way she avoided me, I knew she wasn’t on the same page. Was this love? Was I willing to risk it all for her?

I shook my head. The idea was so foreign to me. Besides, she had at least two more years of college after I graduated. I had to think of my life outside of AKA and UT Dallas and getting a job to pay back every cent of what my parents gave up to send me to school. Almost failing and losing my scholarship opened my eyes. Figuring out my next steps had to take precedence over everything else.

My phone went off, and I glanced over at it.

Bret.

I rolled my eyes. All week he acted even more arrogrant than normal, almost as if he were laughing at an inside joke at my expense. I tried to put him out of my mind, but I had a feeling that something wasn’t right. I steered clear of him for most of the week, not returning home until later in the day. Spending time at the library, I hoped to run into Lily studying, but I never did. I wondered if she somehow knew that was my plan.

“Come down,” Bret’s text said. “The ceremony is about 2 start. U need to be here as prez.”

I gritted my teeth. I considered ignoring the text until I heard the deafening cheers from two floors down.

Bret was right. I lifted the crown from the desk. At least after I started off the meltdown, I could come back up here for the rest of the night. This was Bret’s favorite party of the season I doubted he’d notice my absence.

I placed the crown atop my head and plastered a smile on my face. Keeping up appearances was key until I made a decision. If Bret got even a whiff of me wanting to resign, he would jump on the opportunity and never let it go. Dealing with that for a semester wasn’t what I needed right now.

Heading down the main stairwell, I expected everyone’s eyes to be on me. My speech would be short and sweet, more of a send-off. No one wanted to hear a long speech or poem as previous presidents did. The guys wanted to get on with the main event.

Instead, everyone focused on something else in the living room.

It didn’t take long for me to understand their distraction.

All of the furniture was removed from the room, making it appear bigger. A makeshift stage was against the back wall. It was where the main event would take place.

Did they start without me? That wasn’t part of the plan. I wouldn’t have minded but why did he call me down here? I hoped he didn’t plan on pushing another girl at me.

There was a girl. But not who I expected. When I saw her, I immediately knew what Bret was up to. A weight settled in my stomach, and my hands gripped the banister as if the thin piece of wood was my lifeline.

Bret was on the stage with a girl. Not just any girl. My girl.

He had his arm around Lily. And for the briefest moment, his eyes met mine. A wicked smile crossed his face.

“Welcome everyone,” Bret said. “For those who don’t know her, I want to introduce our guest of honor. She helped our president in so many ways this semester and tonight she’s here so we can all show our appreciation to her.”

My throat tightened as Freddy stepped onto the stage holding a long metal pole. Strung on the end was a large bunch of fake mistletoe.

Whoops and cheers clamored up from the crowd.

Lily searched the crowd, her eyebrows knitting together. She had no idea what she was in for. Somehow Bret made her come there without telling her what really happened at the Mistletoe Meltdown. If he did, she would have never come.

Through the cheers, I couldn’t hear what Lily was saying to Bret. He pointed his finger toward the ceiling.

She looked up at the mistletoe and then back to Bret. Without warning he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him, crushing her mouth against his.

Heat coursed through my body. I barreled down the stairs to stop his little game. I saw red as I pushed through the crowd toward Lily.

Bret let Lily go and twisted her around to face the line of brothers who impatiently waited for their turn. They were sorely mistaken.

Brian was up next, and he flexed his muscles at the crowd, making them cheer more. I drove my elbows into everyone that was in my way, focusing on Lily. She looked even more fragile than she did when I first met her at Freaky Friday. She had no idea what was coming to her when Freddy moved the pole to position the mistletoe between her and Brian.

Once I reached the stage, I leaped up just as Brian grabbed Lily’s arm.

Brian leaned toward her, his eyes closing as I shoved him as hard as I could. I barely noticed him falling to the ground as I grabbed Lily and pulled her against me.

“Alex,” she said breathlessly. Her eyes were wild.

The brothers whooped and cheered again, thinking I was taking my turn with her.

My stomach churned as I ignored them and said to Lily, “What the fuck are you doing?”