Hazed (Palm South University)

“Afternoon, Herb,” I reply with a fake British accent. I don’t really know how it started, but when I met him, I pretended to be British after he greeted me so formally. I’m ninety percent sure he doesn’t think I’m actually British, but it’s still fun to keep up the façade.

“A Mr. Kade Brewer is here for you. Shall I send him up?”

My eyes bulge out of the sockets as I throw the covers off and jump out of bed. “Uh,” I say, taking one look at myself in the mirror before promptly cringing. “Can you give me five minutes?”

I don’t use the accent.

Damn it, my image is ruined.

“How about ten?”

“You’re my favorite, Herb.”

He chuckles before ending the call, and I promptly grab a brush and comb through my tangled mess of hair. Once it’s secured in a high ponytail, I strip off my sweats and throw on leggings and a sports bra, as if I was doing something active or have plans to. A bit of mascara and tinted moisturizer later, and I’m satisfied.

When I’m looking slightly less hellish, I survey my room, picking up the loose articles of clothing and tossing them in my closet before I haphazardly make my bed. It’s not perfect, but not half-bad when two loud knocks sound at the front door.

My feet feel like lead as I drag them down the hall. My room is the last one at the very end, with Erin and Ashlei’s framing up either side. My dad was an absolute gem to understand that we’d not only need our own bedrooms, but our own bathrooms, too. And the living area is one giant room where the kitchen, dining room, and sitting area sit as one.

My favorite part of the entire condo is the gas fireplace that serves as a sort of centerpiece under the television and in front of the giant white couch the girls and I picked out together. It’s actually cold today — well, cold for Florida, anyway, at a brisk fifty-seven degrees — and so the fireplace crackles softly as I pass it on my way to the front door.

Steeling a breath, I force a smile and open it, launching myself into Kade’s arms as soon as I see him.

“Hey, you!” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck and inhaling his scent. “What a surprise!”

It’s a show at first, my lame attempt to assure him I’m fine, but the moment I’m in his arms and that familiar scent of eucalyptus that always seems to cling to him finds me, I nearly break. I forgot what it was like to have his beastly biceps holding me close, to feel his hard chest softening just for me, to hear the relieved exhale that always came when he held me.

I swallow down the urge to cry right then and there.

“Hi,” Kade says — cautiously, like I’m a rabid animal head butting him for pets after just trying to bite his arm off the day before. “Uh, yeah, I just… I haven’t heard from you so…” He frowns a little but tries to smile through it. “Thought I’d just pop by.”

God, if the smell of him wasn’t enough to undo me, the sight of him is doing the trick. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but he seems even more ripped than the last time I saw him, his biceps bulging against the sleeves of his olive-green, long-sleeve shirt. That buzzcut he’s always had has grown out a bit, giving him a boyish look; his brown hair now mussed like he’s been dragging his hands through it.

I instantly want to do the same.

“Well, I’m glad you did. Come in,” I say, holding the door open.

Kade walks in with his hands in his pockets, his warm brown eyes scanning the length of the windows. He lets out a whistle. “Well, I’d say this is a step up from the KKB house.”

“All thanks to Daddy. Though, if all goes according to plan, I’m hoping the girls and I will be able to afford this place on our own this time next year.”

“How’s the job hunting going?” Kade asks, looking at the couch like he’s going to sit, but then he doesn’t.

“Good,” I lie, folding my arms over myself across the room from him.

“That’s good.”

We stand there for a long pause, Kade watching me and me watching the floor. Finally, I let out a sigh, lifting my gaze to his. “Kade, I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Ah, there’s the truth.”

I shake my head. “I just… seeing Jarrett… finding out he was your brother,” I add with wide eyes. “It was a lot for me. On top of graduating and moving out and…”

“Hey, I get it,” Kade says, moving a little closer to me. “I figured you needed the space, and I’ve been giving it to you, haven’t I?”