Yep. He is definitely an Ace.
Shit. I bet he’s gay. No way a straight man can dress that well.
Because I’m staring like an idiot and there’s no more appropriate time for dream boy to glance up at me, his eyes flick to mine and I make that damn sound in my mouth again. He offers a soft, curious smile before turning back to Adam. In the second his eyes were locked on mine I found myself lost in bright, almost neon blue eyes. He glances my way again and Adam follows his gaze, smiling when he sees me. Adam and I had a short fling last year, which totally doesn’t make this situation any more awkward than it already is.
Sarcasm alert.
“Skyler Thorne! About time you showed up. Come meet our new pledge,” he says, gesturing to weird-throat-sound-inducing man. I snap out of my trance and pull on my cool demeanor, hugging Adam before turning to face the pledge.
“Already accepted a bid? That was fast,” I say, trying to keep my eyes trained on his and refrain from letting them fall down his body. I can’t say I’m not tempted to peek at his arms again.
He smiles, his bright teeth and blue eyes radiating against the chestnut hue of his skin. “What can I say? I’m a man who knows what he wants.”
I lift a brow. “Mm hmm. Are you also a man who wears fake glasses to look smarter than you really are?”
A throaty laugh escapes his lips and I can’t help but smile because holy hell his laugh is contagious. “I wish. I’m blind as a bat if I don’t wear these or my contacts.” His smile fades into a soft grin and his eyes appraise me.
I nod, waiting for him to give away his bluff. Surprisingly, I don’t see any sign of his poker face falling, so maybe he’s telling the truth about the specs. I turn my focus to smiling and appearing calm. I’m a pro at flirting – hell, at boys in general. I can land a guy pretty much anytime I want and it’s a comfortable thing, I rarely ever get shy. So then why do I suddenly feel like the awkward, invisible Skyler from high school? “So are you going to tell me why you have a personal vendetta against tequila?”
Adam laughs. “Oh no, not that story again. You’ll have to hear that another time, Sky. We were just about to head back to the house so I could show him up in a game of foosball.”
“Hmm,” I say, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. “Guess that means I’ll see you again sometime… Matthew, was it?”
His brows pull together. “Actually, it’s Kip. Kip Jackson. Where did you get Matthew from?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, you just look like a Matthew. Kip sounds like a fun, interesting name. So far, you seem more on the safe side to me. Like a Matthew. Or maybe a John.”
Kip laughs and crosses his arms over his chest again, his left brow raised. “First I’m faking my intelligence, now I’m boring and safe? I must have really screwed up this first impression.”
I hear my name called from across the courtyard and turn to see my Little and Jess waving me over to the Mu Beta Chi tent. I smile and wave back before pivoting to face Kip again. “Lucky for you, I don’t judge on first impressions. Guess you better practice that tequila joke before we meet again.”
A grin breaks on Kip’s face and I purse my lips together and raise my brows, challenging, before spinning and heading toward Cassie and Jess. I make sure to move my hips just enough to look natural but enticing and chance a glance back over my shoulder. Adam is shaking his head, no stranger to my games, and Kip is still smiling, his eyes not leaving me until after I reach the Mu tent.
“Latching onto the transfer already?” Jess asks, looking over my shoulder at the Alpha Sig tent. She’s pulled her long blonde locks back into a loose pony and a few strands are waving across her face from the breeze. “Can’t say I blame you. I’ve dreamed about near-perfect frat daddies who couldn’t compare to that.”
“That’s the transfer everyone is talking about?” I ask, realizing now that it should have been obvious. He’s clearly not a freshman.
Cassie nods. “Moved here from somewhere in the Midwest from what I heard. Although dressed like that, my bet would have been on New York. What do you think of him, Big?”
I glance back over my shoulder at the tent just as Kip’s eyes lift. He smiles and I inhale deep, steadying my voice. “I think I might have acquired a new target.”
After about an hour of making the rounds at each tent, rush finally started dying down and the girls and I made our way to Alpha Sig. Usually, the best post-rush parties are at Omega Chi Beta, but they got put on probation after suspicion of hazing last semester and are on pretty strict watch. So, tonight we ended up in the cleaner, more classy house of Alpha Sigma.
“You know, I think I could rock those glasses he has on,” Cassie says, eying Kip as a new string of girls begin to parade themselves in front of him. Jesus, the kid has been on campus for all of two days and already he’s being hunted like the shiny new toy in daycare.
“I think he looks ridiculous,” I lie, because I still hate the fact that I’m kind of turned on by a guy who wears nerd glasses. Maybe I’m just a little jealous that the glasses I was forced to wear for all of middle school and most of high school were absolutely hideous on me. I blame them for most of my awkwardness in high school and the fact that I was completely invisible. Luckily, my parents got me contacts senior year and when I came to Palm South I got a fresh start. I was dealt a new hand. No one knew me and that was exactly the way I liked it.
Cassie shrugs. “I love nerds. And do you see his arms? Something tells me he’s not just a book reading, chess playing kind of nerd.”
I bite my lip and adjust my hips against the kitchen counter when she mentions his arms, trying not to let them affect me. “I think you may be reading into this a little too much, Little Nug.”
“Maybe,” she says, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. “But at least I’m not denying his hotness when I’m clearly affected.”
I try to fight back my smile but fail miserably and settle for tossing a nearby pong ball at her. Damn it, she’s so right – I am feeling him. And watching the piranha swarm of Zeta Pi Alphas circling him right now is driving me more crazy than I care to admit. I cross my arms over my chest and sigh before I notice a small gold bottle to the left of Cassie.
Jackpot.
“You know what?” I say, snatching the bottle and moving to the fridge to dig up a lime. “You’re right. He is delicious – like a cool slice of key lime pie on a hot summer day. And have you ever known me to turn down key lime pie?”
Cassie laughs and shakes her head. “Nope, never.”
“Exactly. Which is precisely why I can’t start now. After all, I have a very demanding sweet tooth.”
“Right,” she asserts, handing me the shaker of salt from behind her. “I mean, you have a reputation to uphold. You can’t let other girls go scamming on your pie.”
“Indeed.” I wink, walking backward toward Kip and the group hovered by the foosball table. “I’m glad we talked this out, Little Nug. Thanks for being my voice of reason.”
She flicks her wrist and shrugs. “What are Littles for?”
I shoot her a grin before turning on my heels and walking with more purpose toward the table. Sliding between two of the girls gathered around him, I hold the bottle out to Kip and toss the lime up and into the air with my other hand. “What do you say we make this party a little more interesting?”
Kip stops mid-sentence, which irritates pretty much every girl around him but I really don’t care. I don’t consider myself a bitch, but I’ve definitely gotten less shy over the past couple of years. I was shy and timid and lame for my entire life. Palm South woke me up, and there was no way I was going back to that.