The Mistake (Off-Campus #2)(54)

Once the hosts sign off, I switch on the rap mix Morris gave me to use as a placeholder while the next deejay sets up. His name is Kamal, and he’s a rabid hip hop fan who plays obscure tracks that almost no one has ever heard of, myself included.

When I leave the booth and step into the main room, Morris wanders over with a lopsided grin. “Were you listening to that manscaping call?”

“How could I not? It was one of the most ridiculous debates I’ve ever heard.” I pause, then grin back. “But I did enjoy when Evelyn said that if she wanted to see foliage, she’d take up hiking or gardening.”

He laughs and rakes a hand through his hair, drawing my gaze to those unruly dark strands.

He’s got the most interesting appearance. Honeyed skin, jet black hair, golden brown eyes. I honestly have no idea what his background is. Asian maybe? Mixed with…no clue. Like his fashion style, his features are a collection of unique elements that I find incredibly attractive.

“You’re staring at me.” His lips twitch with humor. “Is there something in my teeth?”

“No.” My cheeks warm up. “I was just wondering about your ethnic background. Sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

He looks highly amused by the question. “My face is like a melting pot of ethnic goodness, huh? Don’t worry, I get asked that all the time. My family is like the United frickin’ Nations. My mother was born in Zambia—her mom was black, her dad was a white doctor who ran a clinic there. And my father is half-Japanese, half-Italian.”

“Wow, that is a lot of culture.”

“What about you?”

“Not as interesting. The Ivers family practically founded Massachusetts, and we’ve got some Scottish and Irish roots, I think.”

A high-pitched giggle sounds from behind us, and we turn to see Pace and Evelyn making out against the wall. On my first day here, I asked Evelyn how long they’ve been dating, and she looked at me as if I’d just gotten off a spaceship, then informed me that they only make out at the station because “radio is so boring.”

As Morris and I exchange amused looks, Pace catches sight of us and grins over Evelyn’s slender shoulder.

“Yo, Morrison,” he calls out, even as the blonde continues to nibble on his neck. “Kegger at Sigma tonight. Fat Ted has a new game he wants you to try to beat. You should come too, Gretchen.”

Even if I’d wanted to correct him, Pace is no longer paying attention to us, because his tongue is in Evelyn’s mouth again.

“Why does he call you Morrison, and who on earth is Fat Ted?” I inquire in a dry voice.

Morris chuckles. “He calls me Morrison because he thinks that’s my name, no matter how many times I tell him it’s not. And Fat Ted is one of his frat brothers. He’s a hardcore gamer, and we sorta have this competition going on. Whenever one of us gets a new game and beats it, we pass it off to the other one and see if they could do it better. Ted’s awesome—you’ll meet him at the party tonight.”

I have to laugh. “Who says ‘Gretchen’ is even going to that party?”

“Morrison says so. He’s wanted to ask Gretchen out since he met her.”

I blush at the impish smile he shoots me. “So this will be a date?” I ask slowly.

“If you want it to be. If not, then it’ll be two friends going to a party together. Morrison and Gretchen, taking on the world.” He cocks a brow. “Take your pick. Date or friend-hang. The choice is yours.”

Logan’s face flashes in my head, making me hesitate. Except then it makes me mad, because Logan shouldn’t be part of the equation. We’re not together. We weren’t together before. And Morris is a really cool guy.

“What do you say, Gretch?”

His mischievous voice summons a laugh from me. I meet his twinkling dark eyes and say, “Let’s make it a date.”





21




Logan


I’m not in the mood to go to a kegger tonight, but Garrett informs me that if he has to go, then I have to go, because, and I quote, “best friends suffer together or not at all.”

I politely pointed out that we could always pick the “not at all” option, which earned me a dark scowl and a menacing you’re going finger-point.

At least he’s the designated driver tonight, so I can slug back a shot or two. But no hooking up. Nope. I have a strict new rule about party hook-ups, and I plan on sticking to it. No more meaningless BJs in bathrooms or hurried f*cks in bedrooms that don’t belong to me.

John Logan is officially in relationship mode.

“I don’t understand why you’re in a fraternity when you clearly hate being a member,” Hannah remarks. She’s in the backseat of Garrett’s Jeep, because I don’t believe in the automatic-shotgun-for-girlfriends rule and therefore called shotgun before she could. Dean and Tucker caught a ride with Hollis earlier, so the three of us are meeting them at the Sigma house.

I’m with her about the frat thing. Garrett is a member of Sigma Tau, yet he doesn’t live in the house, attend the meetings, or chill with a single one of his “brothers.” His only contribution to the frat is making appearances at the parties, and even then, he barely stays more than an hour.