be close to the team? I get plenty of hot male attention at home.”
I heard Petra’s snort of laughter from behind me, and Kelsey’s oh-so-fake smile finally fell. “Why are you always such a bitch?”
Pointing a thumb at myself, I asked, “Me? I was minding my own business. You’re the one who can’t seem to stay away from me.” She’d been the instigator behind every one of our confrontations.
“Whatever.” I thought she was going to walk away, but she couldn’t seem to resist getting in one more barb. “The entire campus hates you now, anyway.”
At that point, Petra stalked up to the counter and got in Kelsey’s face. Literally. Their noses were probably only two inches apart. “I don’t hate Thea. Levi over there doesn’t hate her. I know Leo and Hayle don’t. So your little assertion couldn’t possibly be true.”
No mention of Tristin. Probably for the best.
Kelsey gave up ground, moving back a good foot. “Haven’t you ever heard of exaggeration?”
“Oh, I’ve heard about it. But there’s exaggeration, and then there’s making shit up. You’re blaming Thea for the football team’s ban on parties, but you’re part of the reason behind it when she’s blameless.” Petra leaned over the counter as far as her legs would take her. “So, if I were you, I’d get your perky sorority ass out of here before I announce to the entire shop that you were partially responsible for Hadley getting drugged at the party that started this whole thing.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened, and without another word, she spun and stomped out of The Grind.
I turned to Petra. “I’m so confused. What the hell is going on with the football house?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “I heard some customers talking about it before you got here. Apparently, the coaching staff found out about a girl being slipped GHB at the house, and they banned all football parties for the rest of the season. The fraternities are already vying for the honor of getting to host the official after-game party this weekend.”
“Huh.”
That wasn’t all that surprising. Though none of the football players had been involved in the incident, it didn’t look good that it went down at a house where six of them lived.
Petra removed the chai latte that had gotten cold while I’d been squabbling with Kelsey from my hand. “Let’s re-make this. And, then, we can talk about ways to make that rich sorority bitch pay.”
“Revenge isn’t really my thing.”
What were we going to do, slash her tires? That sounded like a fabulous idea, since I was still a pseudo-suspect in the case of Bodie’s missing nuts. Lug nuts, that was.
“Besides, Kelsey already lost Hayle. That’s punishment enough.”
Petra’s face brightened. “Does that mean you’re going to tell me what’s going on with you and the sexy nerd?”
“He’s not a nerd.”
Hayle had way too much James Dean swagger to fall into the nerd category. He was simply smart. And frustrating. And I didn’t even know what anymore.
Part of me still couldn’t believe he’d broken into Vincent’s safe for me. But then he’d turned around and insisted that we should tell his father everything. We were on the same page one minute and reading completely different books the next.
“Either way, what’s going on?”
My answer should be “nothing,” considering I’d agreed to be Leo’s girlfriend. But I wasn’t going to lie to Petra even if I preferred lying to myself. Because, whether we ever acted on it or not, there was something between me and Hayle. What that something was...
I looked at my friend and admitted, “I have no freaking clue.”
Chapter Nineteen
Thea
From my spot on the deck, I stared out at the water gently lapping against the shore. It was almost too peaceful to concentrate on my sociology textbook, open in front of me but unread. Maybe because I’d spent too much time studying over the last ten days. Too much time alone.
Leo wasn’t ignoring me, by any means, but between classes and training the backup quarterback, he was busier than ever. We’d had stolen moments here and there but nothing like our early morning together in his bed. Unfortunately.
It hadn’t helped that I’d chosen to spend most of my extra time in the library. Ever since discovering that Vincent had known about the threat Green Industries posed, I had trouble simply being in the mansion. No matter which room I escaped to, everything seemed to reek of Vincent Sharpe.
Sitting right outside of it wasn’t much better, but the fresh air cleared my mind. Well, usually,