Page 5 of #PhiThetaForever

"I only take it off for games, Declan." She reaches out and lays her hand over my heart as I stuff my hands in my front pockets. "I jammed my fingers during our last game. They swelled up a bit, and the coach had to get the ring off with freezing water and a ton of soap. And that almost didn't work. She said I was lucky she didn't have to have a medic cut it off. I don't want anything to happen to this ring because it means so much to me. So, I took it off for the game just in case I hurt my fingers again."

She never told me she got hurt during a game, and it hits me like a gust of wind that I'm being stupid. "I'm sorry, baby." I wrap my arms around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. "Why didn't you tell me you go hurt?"

She leans back to look at my face, her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrow cocked. "Jammed fingers? Seriously? I'm not that big of a baby."

I laugh as she grins and snuggles into my side. Turning around, we join Candice, Jackson, and Justus. "Lena, this is Justus O'Felein. He's on the team with Jackson and I."

Justus holds his hand out, and Lena shakes it. "Great game tonight, Lena. You play hard. I'm impressed."

Lena's cheeks redden just a little, and I snicker. "Thank you. It's good to meet you, Justus."

Justus gives her a genuine, broad smile. "Well, we should get going. We're expected for an hour of ill-mannered shenanigans."

We all turn to walk, but I'm stopped short when Lena bulks, her legs going stiff. Turning around, she's staring up at me with just enough anger in her eyes that I'm a tad worried. "Please tell me you didn't commit us to go to Sigma Nu tonight, Declan."

Crap. "Babe, I told Bo an hour. That's it."

She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. Jackson lets out a low whistle behind me because he knows that look too. It took all summer before Lena lost her cool with one of us, but when she did, that was the same glare she had right before she exploded. "I'm not going to anything at Sigma Nu. Have fun." With that, she turns and starts walking toward her dorm, which is in the opposite direction of Frat Row, which is the street right off campus where all the Fraternity houses are located.

Before I can take a step, Justus breaks out into a jog and catches up to her. I tilt my head and watch, a knot forming in my stomach as her shoulders shake with laugher, and the bright white smile never leaves Justus' face. After a few moments, Lena turns back around and starts walking toward me, rolling her eyes and laughing as Justus says something else to her.

Jealousy has never been an emotion with me and Lena. I never cared when other guys at our high school talked to her. It doesn't bother me when guys stare or flirt when I take her out. She's my girlfriend, and I know she loves me. So, I can't understand why my teammates, even looking at her, bothers me. It does, though, more than I care to admit. First Bo, and now Justus. Ugh. It's irritating.

Lena stops in front of me while Justus walks past us to Jackson and Candice. I open my mouth, but she pushes onto her tippy toes, and I lean down so she can wrap her arms around my neck. My arms go around her waist and I lift her, her legs encircling me and turning me on in one motion. She runs her nails against the back of my head and brings her lips down to mine, pulling a low groan from my throat.

Someone behind us chuckles, but I'm too lost in the softness of my girlfriend's lips to really give a damn. When Lena finally pulls back, she stares directly into my eyes and I swear, my heart stops for just the briefest of moments. "I'm sorry for being rude. Bo is your teammate, and it would be ignorant of us not to show up for a little while after we've been invited."

I let out a breath and kiss her again. "One hour, then we go back to the dorms, and we can stop at the cafe on the way for some tea."

"How about hot chocolate?" She smiles and presses her lips lightly to mine again. I could literally spend all day doing this. It never gets old with her.

"Whatever you want, baby. Whatever you want."

6 Lena

I've stood on the sidelines watching Declan play one stupid game after another with Bo and all the other frat-heads. I can't, for the life of me, understand how Sigma Nu is considered the best fraternity at the school. There's over two hundred people in this house, and I've seen less than a handful of intelligent ones. Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean back against the wall. Being over here and ignored by my boyfriend is way better than being with him and under Bo's attention. That guy really does give me the creeps.

A blue tank top blocks my vision, and as I tilt my head up, the sour smell of booze waifs over my face, and I almost gag. This is why alcohol isn't appealing to me. Because when people overdo it, it's disgusting. Standing over me is a guy that only looks a year or so older than me, but his eyes are bloodshot as hell and as he leans his hand against the wall next to my head, he sways a little. "Hey, beautiful. Wanna go for a walk?"

"Not really. Thanks for asking, though." I move to push off the wall, but his other hand presses, open palm, against my chest right below my neck and holds me against the wall. If he moves his hand up a few inches, he could easily choke me. The blood in my veins turns cold, and for a second, I think about kicking him right in the balls. Before I can do anything, though, another hand grabs the drunk dude's arm.

My eyes slide over, and I almost sigh in relief at the sight of Justus's coppery blond hair and deep voice. "Shawn, go find a sorority slut to take tonight. This one is off-limits."

Shawn presses a little harder on my chest. I hold my breath, but a second later, Shawn winces, and his hand drops from my body. Justus steps in front of me, blocking my body and says something so low to his teammate I can't make out what it is. After the drunk guy stomps off toward the kitchen, Justus turns around to face me. Tears burn in my eyes, and it's like I can't get the air in my lungs. It's been a long time since I had a full-on panic attack, and I'm trying really hard not to have one here.

"Lena, focus." Justus's voice breaks through the fog in my head, and I bring my eyes down to meet his. They're this dark gray color, almost like storm clouds, but they go perfectly with the coppery tint of his hair, which is also a darker reddish-blond than I've ever seen. "That's it, look at me. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, taking a big breath of air. Something shiny catches my eye over Justus's shoulder, and I take a step forward. He turns side face but stays next to me. My eyes widen as across the room. Many of the football team screams and cheers as Bo and Declan take a shot together. "What in the hell?"

I stare at him, confused and pissed off. Since when does my boyfriend drink? Glancing down at my watch, I huff. We've been here for two hours. Declan said one hour, and then we could go back to the dorms. Now, it's two hours, he's drinking, and I just got scared to death by one of his drunk teammates.

Something light touches my arm, and I spin around. Justus holds his hands up and steps back a little to give me some room. He glances over my shoulder, shakes his head, and then looks back at me. "Lena, do you want me to walk you home?"

Tears well up in my eyes again, and I glance over my shoulder in time to watch Declan do another shot. Nodding my head and turning back to Justus, the tears spill over. "Please."

Part of me thinks I should go back and at least tell Declan I'm leaving. The other half of me wants to slap him silly. It's our first weekend of classes, and he's already screwing up. We both knew this transition would be hard. For the love of God, we spent an entire two weeks this summer talking about this kind of stuff. Setting boundaries, ensuring that education came first, we stayed loyal to each other and didn't cave to the first instance of peer pressure.

What does Declan do? Caves to the first instance of peer pressure.