The Space Between Us(30)

“Everything is changing, Asher. We are changing. But that doesn’t mean we can't change together. I want us to experience everything together. And we will get our chance to live together, just not this year.” I paused, hoping that finally he was taking in what I was saying to him.

He kissed the tip of my nose and then quickly moved away again.

“Let's get your stuff unpacked and then I'll take you to the frat.” And just like that, he seemed fine again. I shook my head at him slightly, marveling at his ability to go from angry to fine from one moment to the next. When Reeve finally came back to the room, she had an iced coffee in one hand and was furiously texting with the other.

“There is a coffee shop just three blocks over. And there were so many cute boys along the way! I got three phone numbers just on the way there.” Reeve was, for lack of a better word, boy-crazy. She was constantly dating, most of the time more than one boy at a time, and she had no shame about it at all.

“Pace yourself, Reeve. We've been here a total of one hour. There will be plenty of time to meet guys.”

“We're headed over to the house in a few minutes. Do you want to come with us?” Asher asked her. I rolled my eyes at both of them. The last place Reeve needed to be was a frat house.

“I have been waiting all summer to go to a frat house,” she said wistfully. This time Asher rolled his eyes too.

“Well,” I said, trying to sound excited. “Let's get this over with.”



Asher was what you'd call a “Legacy”. His father and uncle were both members of Gamma Beta Phi, and his cousin was a current member. Therefore, even though freshman weren't usually allowed to move into the house until after rush, Asher was given special privileges and given a room without question. He would eventually share it with whichever freshman was assigned as his roommate, but for the next two weeks he got it all to himself. Both his father and uncle made very generous annual donations to the house, so none of the brothers batted an eyelash at us as we walked in; he was as much a brother as any of the rest of them.

We drove by the house before, when we'd come to visit the campus during our senior year, but I'd never been inside before. We stood in a room that looked like it was used as a dining room. There were tables similar to those found in our high school's cafeteria with attached benches. The house smelled like beer. There was no other way to describe it – well, beer and boy. It was a distinct smell, not bad or good, but there.

Asher led us through the rest of the house pointing out different rooms, but they all looked similar. Pretty much empty, sparse furniture, and pretty gross. It was as if for the last ten years they hadn’t really given the place a good cleaning. There was no garbage or clutter, but no one had taken a mop to the floors in ages, cleaned the windows, or even thought about plugging in an air freshener. Our shoes made crackling noises as they were ripped from the sticky floors as we walked.

“Do all the frat houses look like this?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.

“Like what?” He asked, completely unaware of the state of his new living area.

“Like a bunch of college boys live here.” I answered, rolling my eyes. “Babe, this place is gross.” Asher looked completely shocked and a little hurt.

“You don't like it? It's huge. And fratty.” I could tell he was a little upset that I wasn't in love with the house, and I felt a little bad that I'd let my first impressions slip out to him. He didn't need me telling him I didn't like his frat house. He looked forward to being in this frat for as long as I had known him. I slipped my hand into his and gave him a gentle squeeze.

“It's definitely fratty,” I said with a smile. “It could just use a cleaning,” I said as sweetly as I could.

“Well, I'm sure once all the rushes are picked, they will have us scrubbing the whole house from top to bottom. That's what rush week is all about – being their bitches.” I nodded in understanding, trying not to let my face show how disgusting I thought it would be to have to clean the house. Just then a guy and a girl walked down the wide staircase that led into the foyer. They stopped on the bottom step and the blonde girl turned to kiss the guy on the cheek.

“I’ll see you later?” She asked, her hand lingering on his chest.

“Yeah. Sure. I’ll call you.” He smiled at her, but even I could see his smile was forced and fake. She smiled at him, lingering on the bottom step, but eventually turned towards us, heading for the door. Her eyes stopped on Asher and her smile grew even wider.

“Hello, Asher,” she crooned at him.

“Hey, Tracy,” he said politely. Her eyes wandered down his body as she took him in and I found my hand sliding into his, gripping it tightly. She winked at him and then pushed past us, leaving through the sliding door.

“Hey, Asher. Giving the grand tour?” The guy on the stairs asked with a smile. He was obviously older, an upperclassman. He had blonde hair that swooped over to one side and striking blue eyes. I saw Reeve perk up at his entrance and she adjusted her posture, pulling her shoulders back, pushing her chest out even further. Shameless.

“Hey, Caleb. I was just showing the girls around. This is Charlie, my girlfriend, and our friend Reeve,” he said gesturing towards us. Caleb smiled at me but his eyes moved over to Reeve with interest.

“Reeve, huh? That's an interesting name. Is it short for something?” Her eyes lit up with his attention.