You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,13

show my face, check on Valerie, then get the hell out to prove I did what I wanted? Or, I could just stay home and forget the text ever came.

Dammit.

I grabbed a pair of jeans from the stack on the top shelf of the closet and a sleeveless black shirt with sparkles along the bottom and pulled them on. For someone who didn’t want me walking on campus alone, he had to know he was forcing my hand and making me do it.

After pulling my hair up into a high ponytail, I stepped outside. For a Saturday night, campus was dead. I looked around, knowing I was about to do something incredibly stupid.

A car idled by the curb with a man in the driver’s seat. “Sophia?” he called through the open passenger window.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

I ducked my head to speak to him. “Who’s asking?”

“Your Uber driver.”

“I didn’t order an Uber,” I challenged.

“Your friend did.”

My friend? Right. “Where are you supposed to take me?”

“Kappa Sigma.”

I scoffed. “Of course you are.”

Was this his idea of an olive branch? Or, was I just that predictable?

I pulled the door open and slipped into the backseat of the car, cursing every move I made. As we drove, I stared out the window at the deserted campus, wondering why I was doing this. Was I proving I didn’t take orders? Or was I doing the complete opposite and proving I did?

The car stopped in front of Kappa Sigma a few minutes later. Light poured out of the windows. I pushed open the car door and stepped out, glancing back at my driver. “Thanks.”

I made my way up the sidewalk to the pounding of bass beneath my feet, hating every step I took. I steered clear of stupidity. So why was I there?

I climbed the front steps and paused. I didn’t need to do this. I had nothing to prove.

I turned back around.

“Where are you going?” a deep voice asked.

I inhaled sharply. My eyes shifted to the side of the front porch where the voice had come from. Ryan sat there, his phone in his hand. A relieved breath rushed out of me. “You scared me.”

He laughed. “Sorry. You just looked unsure if you wanted to go in or leave.”

I walked over and sat beside him on a glider chair. “Why are you all alone out here?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes it gets to be too much in there.”

“I bet.”

We sat in silence for a long time. Crickets chirped in the dark and a passing car sped by.

“Thanks for making me feel welcome last time I was here,” I said.

“I could tell you were uncomfortable.” He looked to me and grinned. “And it was clear you weren’t like the Alpha Phis. They can be a little…”

“Extra?”

He chuckled. “Intimidating.”

I shrugged. “I think they’re all just trying to figure out where they fit in. Isn’t that what we’re all just trying to do, really?”

He thought about it for a minute, then nodded. “I think you’re right.”

I bumped him with my shoulder. “I’m always right. You best remember that.”

He laughed as he pushed himself to his feet. He turned to me and extended his hand. “Come on, Maine. Let’s go fit in.”

I smiled as I grabbed hold of his hand and walked inside the crowded house. Music echoed from below as we made our way through the packed hallway toward the basement door. He didn’t release my hand as he led me downstairs. We stopped on the second to last step, taking in the dance floor. Bodies jumped around to the party anthem pounding through the big speakers on the bar. I spotted Valerie, who waved excitedly, clearly happy I’d changed my mind. If only she knew why.

The dance music suddenly switched to a slow song. Those without partners abandoned the dance floor and moved to the side of the room. As the floor cleared leaving only couples, my eyes collided with Chase’s. He swayed with Chantel, but his blue eyes were locked on mine. It was uncomfortable to maintain eye contact with someone for such a long time. But, I wouldn’t look away. He’d gone to great lengths to get me there. Not only did I want to know why, I wanted to see what he planned to do.

“Come on,” Ryan said, pulling me onto the dance floor, still holding my hand.

Chase’s eyes dropped to our hands, watching us as we moved to the opposite side of the dance floor.

Ryan turned to me and pulled me in to