BAD REP(41)

Riley shook her head.  “No, okay, that came out wrong.  What I'm trying to say is the more hopeless the situation, the more you try to change it.  And I know you feel something for Jordan, just like I know he has feelings for you.  You'd have to be blind not to see it.  But you say you're keeping your distance and pushing him away, but are you really?  I mean, I see the looks you give each other.  You practically orbit around each other.  What you both are doing is engaging in nonphysical foreplay.”  I swallowed audibly.

Riley raised her eyebrows.  “You know I'm right.”  Damn her, she probably was right.  I hated how perceptive she could be at times.

“Yeah, well that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it.  I have no desire to be the hussy home wrecker,” I said sharply.

Riley patted my arm.  “And that is what makes you better than your sorority sisters and most of the girls we know.  Because they would jump at the chance to get with Jordan Levitt, girlfriend or not.  But you're better than that. And that's why I love you.”  Her compliment took me aback.  And it felt really good, if a little undeserved.  Because I still thought about doing Jordan every which way to Sunday.

“Love you too, girlie.” I said.  We hugged each other for a moment.  Which was unusual for us because Riley was not a touchy feely kind of gal.  Maybe the whole Damien thing was breaking through her guard a bit.  And I for one, was happy to see it.

“Okay, you rest. I'm going to go take a shower and start the waxing process.”  Riley shuddered.

“How you can torture yourself like that is beyond me,” she said.  I ruffled her hair in a way that I knew annoyed the shit out of her.

“If you need anything, just holler,” I told her before heading down the hall.
Chapter Nine



An hour later I came out of the bathroom, tweezed, shaved and waxed within an inch of my life.  My legs were smooth, my skin had been buffed and I had even taken the time to wax down south, leaving only a thin strip of hair.  I had conditioned my hair and plucked my eyebrows.  Surely, this would pass Gracie's hawkish inspection.

“No wood picks underneath your fingernails?” Riley asked from the couch.  She still hadn't moved from the spot where I had left her.  She did not wear hangover well.

“Shut it.  There's nothing wrong with wanting to look nice,” I retorted, turning to head into my room, not waiting for my roomie's response.

It was only 4:00.  I had four hours until the party.  Gracie had sent me a text while I was in the shower saying she and Cira, another one our pledge sisters, would be over around 5:30.  She said they'd bring their outfits with them so we could all get dressed together.  If there was one thing I had come to learn since joining Chi Delta, was these girls took their parties seriously.

I spent the next hour and half watching TV with Riley, who was finally almost human again.  She had stopped groaning and even allowed me to open the blinds.  “You want to come to this party tonight?” I asked her.

Riley looked at me like I was crazy.  “What part of me throwing up all night and feeling like my brains were being pulled out of my ears,  makes you think I want to go anywhere near a party?” she asked.

I laughed.  “Just thought I'd ask.  Maybe we could have a few Green Eyed Monsters...” Riley jumped up and ran to the bathroom.  Okay, maybe the hangover wasn't completely gone.  I heard a knock at the door and jumped up to answer it.

Gracie and Cira came in with their arms full of bags.  “What is all this stuff?” I asked, leading them back to my bedroom.

“The essentials of course,” Gracie replied, dropping it all on my bed.  Cira immediately went to my closet and started rooting through it.

“You have to wear this!” she said, pulling out a my sexy short white denim skirt and dark green tight fitted tank with spaghetti straps.

“Yes!  That's perfect!” Gracie enthused as she started sorting my shoes, finally holding up my black, strappy Stella McCartney sandals.  “You will look so hot in these!  I need to borrow them sometime.”  Gracie slipped off her shoe and tried them on.

“Okay, let's do your hair first,” Cira said, pulling me by the shoulders until I was seated at my vanity table.

“I am capable of doing my own hair, you know,” I joked as Cira started separating large sections of my dark hair.