Chapter Eleven
There’s something sexy about a short dress and cowboy boots. It’s not my usual style, but I always have at least one pair of cowboy boots in my wardrobe and about half my closet is filled with short dresses.
I went with a violet dress and my brown boots the night of Kyle’s party. Mallory gladly let me borrow her cowboy hat— that was one item I didn’t have in my collection. I guess I just wasn’t country girl enough.
Kyle was waiting for me outside my house exactly when he said he’d be there. Dressed in jeans, a belt with a huge buckle, and a cowboy hat¸ he looked nothing like his usual preppy self.
I smiled. “Glad you decided to dress up too.”
“What? You thought I was going to make you do it and not come through?”
I shrugged. “Aaron didn’t usually dress up much for these things, but he always expected me to.”
“The more I hear about this guy, the more I wonder why you stayed with him so long.” Kyle started back down the street toward the Omega house.
“I thought I was in love. Or maybe I was. I don’t know anymore. I’m too confused.”
“Well, you still have two and a half years of college to spend without the jerk.” Kyle put a hand in his pocket.
“And the rest of my life. Can you believe I thought we might get married one day?”
Kyle shrugged. “You are a girl after all.” His grin saved him from getting a smack. “Just kidding.”
“Well, either way, I just hope we can avoid each other as much as possible the next few months.”
“One good thing about an Omega party is you won’t run into him.”
I laughed. “No, that’s for sure. I really don’t know many of the guys in your house though. I’ve practically lived at Kappa since freshman year.”
“It’s never too late to change that, or find non frat guys to fill your time.”
“I’m actually doing the second idea already.” I smiled, thinking of Chase.
“Oh yeah? I’m not messing anything up for you then, am I?”
“Nope. It’s not a problem. So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan?” A look of momentary confusion crossed his face.
“Yeah. Are we purposely going near the ex or steering clear?”
“Oh. We can stay away. It’s more that I didn’t want to show up alone. I do realize how lame all of this makes me seem.”
“Not lame at all,” I quickly assured him. “I may ask you to return the favor sometime.” The thought of showing up at a party dateless didn’t thrill me either, and I knew the likelihood of Chase making any events that semester was low.
“Do you really think any of your sisters would date your ex?”
“No.” I bit back a smile. “I heard my friends did a number on his reputation.”
“Exactly. With guys, it’s different.”
“Well, it’s not like an ex is always off limits for girls, it’s just what he did. I mean who would want to date someone like that?” I assumed Kyle knew exactly why I’d dumped him. Everyone else seemed to. That’s the problem with a smaller college. Everything spreads like wildfire.
“You never know.” He seemed to notice that was the wrong thing to say. “But your sisters wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Thanks.” I needed to believe that. I already had my perfect plan for my college years shattered. I didn’t need to worry about having issues at my house on top of that.
“All right, we don’t have to stay long.” He looked anything but excited as we neared the front steps of the frat house.
I moved to his side. The whole point of this was to make it obvious he had a date. Standing several feet away defeated the purpose.
Kyle greeted one of his brothers at the door, and we walked in. I glanced around the main living space of their house. The cowboy theme extended to the decorations. Hay bales were scattered throughout the room, and a Bluegrass band was set up in the corner. “Nice atmosphere.”
Kyle laughed. “Yeah, this is the one theme party we usually take seriously. What can I get you to drink?”
“Ah, I think I’ll do beer tonight.” Generally, I preferred anything but beer, but I wanted something bitter.