Fighting Fate (Granton University #1)(68)

An evening in alone, thinking about Logan, might kill her. As Mariah slipped on a pair of black leather boot stilettos, an idea hit Paige, and she spoke before she could stop herself.

“Hey, can I come with you?”

Mariah paused and gaped at her. “What?”

Paige shrugged. Hadn’t she been the one to tell her father he needed to get out and meet people? Well, maybe she should listen to her own advice. And what if Logan was there, designated driving again? Maybe she could catch a peek of him.

She quickly dismissed the idea. Grr. She was supposed to be avoiding him. That was why she wanted to go tonight. To block out his memory with more guys, like Mariah had said. He probably wouldn’t be there, anyway; he couldn’t attend every party. Besides, if she wasn’t scheduled to work at The Squeeze, that meant he undoubtedly was.

“Are you serious?” Mariah demanded.

“Only if you have something I can borrow to wear.” Thank goodness Tess’s vomit had laundered out of the last dress Mariah had loaned her. Her roommate had no idea how close it had come to being ruined.

A proud grin splitting her face, Mariah rubbed her hands together with relish. “Oh, have I ever.”





The party was loud and rowdy and took Paige’s mind off pretty much everything. Mariah ditched her the moment they arrived. Reggie appeared, greeted Paige with a grin and a quick hug, and then he whisked Mariah away.

She meandered through the different rooms, surprised at how similar the only two fraternity houses she’d ever been inside were to each other. Spotting Logan nowhere, she relaxed a little even as she tensed more, not sure how to engage anyone in a conversation.

Not that she had to worry about that.

A large form loomed in front of her, hazel eyes glittering with approval as the behemoth grinned and checked her out from head to toe. “Hey, I’m Dorian.”

She nodded. “I know. I’ve seen you play football.”

The star quarterback of Granton’s football team brightened. “Have you? And what’d you think?”

They’d lost the one game she had attended with Tess and Bailey, and Dorian Wade had thrown two interceptions along with getting sacked four times. Not wanting to hurt his feeling, she nodded and smiled politely. “It was fun.”

His gaze slid back down Mariah’s outfit. The emerald dress hugged her frame like a second skin and the spaghetti straps barely held her bust up. Self-conscious under his intense scrutiny, she wiggled her fingers at her sides. Why couldn’t he just look her in the eyes?

“Ever had a Jell-O shot?” he asked, finally lifting his gaze.

She shook her head. He grinned and wrapped a meaty hand around her elbow. “We got a bunch in this other room here. Strawberry flavored.”

Her taste buds despised beer; the rotten barley scent of it reminded her too much of her father. But strawberry flavor she might be able to handle. And she could do with a little bit of liquid courage at the moment. Tess had seemed pleasantly happy after doing Jell-O shots with Dorian Wade—before she’d gotten violently ill, anyway. Paige just wouldn’t let herself drink that much.

As soon as he led her into another room and ordered a round of shots, everyone around her cheered and about five co-eds scurried forward to offer her tiny plastic cups of red Jell-O.

With a shy smile, she accepted from one of them. Dorian took another. They faced each other, and she tried to drink hers as if it was a liquid, getting nowhere.

“No, honey.” Dorian laughed and took the shot from her hand. “Here, like this.” He slowly demonstrated the proper procedure by wrinkling the bottom of the cup to dislodge the gelatin. “Then you wrap your entire mouth around the rim and suck it out with your tongue.”

He brought it to her lips, and she opened her mouth, trying his suggestion. He moved in closer beside her, his chest brushing her bare arm. A warm hand settled on her lower back as he leaned in to watch her in action.

She flushed but wiggled her tongue into the small shot cup and sucked out as much Jell-O as possible.

“That’s more like it.” He grinned.

The helpful co-eds cheered her on and offered her another. Since it tasted just like strawberry gelatin, as Dorian had said it would, she took one. Vaguely she wondered how many Tess had swallowed until she’d gotten as drunk as she’d been. But it didn’t really matter. Paige would stop as soon as she began to feel the effects.

Two shots later, she found herself sitting on a couch with four guys, Dorian among them, and turning down a fourth.

Dorian tugged on her hand. “I love this song. Let’s dance.”

She nodded and let him pull her to her feet. But the music was too loud and the gyrating bodies were too crowded for her to move much. Plus all the active people crammed into the room exuded a humid heat that made the Jell-O in her stomach gurgle in a nauseating way.

Leaning up into Dorian’s ear, she called, “I think I hit my limit.”

He must’ve thought she meant alcohol-wise and not dancing-wise because he gave her a strange look before his mouth tipped into a big smile.

“Want to get out of here?” he called back.

She nodded, so he took her hand and led her through the horde. Once they reached the back door and stepped outside, she sucked in the cool January air. Though she wished they could’ve stopped to grab her coat, she welcomed the much-needed space.