Frayed (Connections, #4)(12)

When his eyes returned to my face, it was my turn. I scanned him in the same way he had swept his gorgeous blue eyes over me—from head to toe. His mop of shaggy blond hair was even more of a mess than usual. I wanted to run my fingers through it and comb it into place. His tall, lean, muscular body looked tan. I wanted to touch it to see how smooth it felt. He wore a white button-down shirt; he seemed to wear those a lot. This one was frayed around the untucked edges, which made it look comfortable—I wanted to wear it. I smiled and with a wicked grin he smiled back. He seemed to understand the purpose of my presence before him, but he didn’t release his hold. Something passed between us and then his stare went blank and he finally let go of the cup.

I twirled in a half turn and bounced over to the keg. I was extremely uncomfortable in this overtly short skirt and tried to shimmy it down with one hand as I walked. Claire’s shoes were too big and I kept slipping out of them, so I had to walk slowly. On my way back I saw Ben motion as if he was unzipping his pants and make a sucking gesture to the guy he was talking to. At that point I wondered if Claire was wrong about him. Maybe he didn’t have a girlfriend? Maybe he liked guys? I wasn’t close enough to hear what he was saying, but in the next moment he was laughing hysterically. The sound of his laugh made a heat creep up my chest.

Just as I approached him he turned around. I was sure I had a look of horror on my face because he said, “What?” with another laugh.

“That’s not really a part of hazing, is it?” I naively asked, wondering if Claire wasn’t kidding after all.

“Fuck no. I was just busting his balls,” he said, taking his beer. Then he said, “Thank you . . .”

“S’belle,” I finished for him.

“I know your name.”

The sound of his voice caused a tingle between my thighs.

That tingling only magnified with the grin he wore. I was surprised he’d remembered. But before I could say anything else, he excused himself and walked away. I tried to mingle, but my eyes kept roving back to him.

Claire checked on me. “I told you he was a dud.”

I didn’t think that at all.

“Do you want to be assigned to someone new? A few guys just arrived and I’m pretty sure they’re looking for attention.”

“No,” I immediately protested.

She raised her hands. “Okay. Your boredom, not mine. I have to get back to it.”

I nodded, glad for her to be gone. During our brief conversation, I had lost sight of Ben in the crowd. People were pushing and shoving or maybe they were dancing I couldn’t tell. All I knew was the majority of them were drunk. The place stank of cigarettes and beer, and even more disgusting sweat. Even in heels, I was shorter than most of the people and they kept running into me. I threaded my way through the crowd but tripped when one of my heels caught in the fringe on a throw rug. I fell into someone’s hard chest and his girlfriend or dream girl looked as though she wanted to kill me.

“Watch where the f*ck you’re going!” she snarled.

My eyes widened. “I’m so sorry!”

She looked as if she wanted to punch me.

“Relax, Ella, it was an accident. Don’t get your panties in a wad.” His voice boomed over the music.

I looked up into Ben’s eyes. My hero had saved me. He took my elbow and tried to steer me away from the crowd, but the center of the room had turned into a mosh pit and I kept getting dragged behind him. That’s when he grabbed my hand. He moved fast and with my pulse pounding he guided me to the safety of the wall. But as soon as we reached it, he released his grip on my hand. I felt an immediate loss, and my body temperature seemed to dip, as the heat that was there between us had suffused me and I missed it.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Some chicks are vicious,” he commented.

I giggled, using the wall to support myself as I recovered.

“I like your laugh,” he said, his eyes unknowingly or maybe knowingly scanning the length of my body.

I melted on the spot.

He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “You look a little shaken. Let me get you a drink.”

I was shaken, that was for sure, but not from what had just happened. I snapped out of it and grabbed his arm. “No, let me get you a drink. That’s my job.” I slapped my hand over my mouth. “Shoot, I didn’t mean my job. I didn’t mean it that way.”

He smirked and then winked. “I won’t tell anyone you said the forbidden word. Don’t worry.”

I swallowed deeply and tried to gather myself as I watched him saunter across the room. God, everything about him was so electric.

When he returned with two cups of beer, he clinked his to mine. “To making it through rush—unscathed,” he joked.

His voice was warm, seductive, and I wanted to hear it again. I smiled at him, but before I could say anything else that blank look crossed his face once more. Then just like that, he nodded and turned back around, getting lost in the crowd. I made sure not to lose sight of him again. I refilled his beer whenever it was empty for the rest of the night and he thanked me, but the conversation never went any further. He laughed and carried on with pledges and brothers as I admired him from afar. I couldn’t do any of the things Claire, or Stacy, had encouraged, because he didn’t give me the opportunity.

The night ended before I expected when all of a sudden Ben stood on a chair and announced to the new pledges their task. They were to comb the campus for pink lace panties. If I could have run home and changed my underwear, I would have, even though the thought was so unlike me.