24 hours earlier
“The winner is…” Isaac was known for making choosing the sober brother out to be a huge display. It was like he was announcing the fucking winner of a new car or a two-week paid vacation to some exotic nude beach. Did he really think any of us wanted to hear that we’d been chosen to babysit a house full of grown men while they turned into total tools of themselves? I think that was what triggered the majority of our revenge pranks. We wanted to pay those idiots back for making our nights fucking hell. Just know that I live with savages.
I’d been puked on and pissed on; don’t ask, because the how is not important. They are the most vulgar, offensive, and nastiest bunch of douchebags at the University of Florida, but they are my brothers.
In this house being chosen for such a task was like having each one of your ball hairs pulled out slowly one by one. You knew it was going to hurt like a bitch in some way. You knew that by the end of the night you would most likely feel violated in some form, and shit like that could scar a man. Believe me…I have a few of my own scars to prove it.
On the other hand, I found it to be a great joy on most occasions. I always jumped at the opportunity to be able to pull shit on my brothers. I thrived on making them fear the nights I’d been chosen to babysit. It was fucking thrilling to watch them sweat. It had been a while since I got to shave someone’s head or color someone’s face with permanent marker. I was getting pretty good at piercings.
I was beginning to think the choosing was now somehow rigged, considering the last time I was picked it was when I tied Corbin and Clayton together naked and placed them on the front lawn of the sorority house down the road. It would have been fine had it not been the father of one of the girls who found them there, all snuggled up the next morning.
“Clayton.” Isaac made the announcement, dragging out the name like he’s some famous star taking the field.
I tried to not react, but the little fucker Clay zoned in on me and offered me a wink, pointing at me like he’d chosen me out of the crowd. I already knew I was his number one target; hell, I was the number one target for every guy who lived in the house. Good thing I was double his size, so whatever it was he was dreaming up couldn’t be all that bad. I still held the record in this house for the biggest and best pranks; no one could outwit me.
“Let’s try to keep all the naked displays off the porches of other houses.” Isaac looked directly at me. “Lock your rooms, even though we know that a certain someone will still have access. At least we know who to blame when wild shit happens, so there’s the upside.”
“When dealing with Red there is no upside,” Brent interjected, and before I could defend myself everyone began to agree. Rounds of “ain’t that the truth,” “the guy’s an ass,” and “true that” rang out from around the room.
“Fuck y’all, it isn’t my fault you assholes aren’t smart enough to pull one over on me.”
“How is anyone supposed to pull shit over on you when you don’t get sloshed? Even when you’re not SB you still stay sober.” Corbin looked like a scorned child, his arms crossed over his chest, slouching back against the wall. The only thing he was missing was a pouty lip.
Wait, no, nevermind, there it is.
“Even if I was hammered none of you would be able to outdo my past pranks.”
Every single one of my brothers began to exchange looks with one another. I waited for any of them to challenge me, because they knew I was only telling the truth. I chuckled when the room remained silent and pushed up off the couch heading for the exit, feeling satisfied. Just as I stepped into the doorway I halted to the sound of Clayton’s voice.
“I accept.”
Looking back over my shoulder I arched a brow, fully expecting him to backtrack only he didn’t. The ass stood tall, shoulders squared, and stared directly at me.
“I guarantee that I’ll outdo you.” He lifted his chin a little higher and gave back just as much as he got. “I’ll take all the other pranks you’ve thrown our way and make them seem like child’s play in comparison.”
No one interjected, no one denied his claim, only watched in near awe. I think they were shell-shocked at Clayton and his cocky confidence. Me, I was simply amused.
“It’s on,” I said with a smirk. “Have the tequila ready.”
I didn’t wait for his response as I left and began climbing the stairs to my room.
I may have been setting myself up for nothing more than a disaster but I had to give the kid the chance. The chance to fail and be humiliated.