Hazed (Palm South University)

“Are you kidding?” Adam shakes his head again, and then his hands are framing my face. “For better or worse, drama free or up to our necks in frustration — I’m yours.”

“It’s probably going to be the latter, knowing us.”

“Probably,” Adam agrees. “But as long as I’ve got you at the end of the day, I’ll take every challenge that comes our way.”

“That kind of rhymed.”

“Poet and didn’t even know it.”

I laugh, kissing his cheek before I pop out of my chair. “Dance with me, Adam Brooks.”

And for the rest of the night, he does.

“LITTLE, IF YOU DON’T get your shit together right now, I’m going to put you in a cab and send you back to Greek Row.”

My goofy-ass Little, Josh, who is usually mouthing off and getting himself into trouble with girls, is currently a sobbing mess in one of the hottest bars downtown.

His red hair is disheveled, and thanks to his fresh spray tan, he’s starting to leave streak marks on his face. If it wasn’t so pathetic, I’d be laughing.

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do without you here,” he says, and he grimaces with another wave of emotion.

Until I punch him in the stomach.

He doubles over, coughing, but when he’s upright again, he nods. “You’re right. I needed that.”

“You’re going to be fine,” I assure him, resting a hand on his shoulder as I inch a shot of whiskey toward him. “You’re going to party and hook up with girls and do all the things you’ve done every year since you joined Omega Chi.”

“But you’re my partner in crime,” he says, shaking his head. “I mean, you’re the reason half these guys put up with me.”

At that, I laugh. “Hey, that’s not true. We all love you — even when you annoy the shit out of us.”

He looks down at the shot, not convinced.

“Listen to me,” I say, leveling my gaze with his. “You need to stop playing this role you think you have to play, being the jokester all the time. You spit the corny lines to the ladies because you think that’s what they expect from you. You’re the clown, right?”

Josh nods.

“But I know you, the real you,” I say, poking his chest. “And you’re actually funny. Not in the stupid way either. You’re also smart. And you’ve got ideas for this fraternity that you would rather shuffle through me than stand up and say on your own. But this is it, little brother. This is the passing of the torch. You can either let it fall to the ground and extinguish itself, or you can grab it and hold it high and run on. The choice is yours.”

The more I talk, the more Josh nods, his brows furrowing together. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right, man.”

“Obviously.”

He smirks at that, and then he claps a hand on my shoulder. “I really am going to miss you, bro.”

“Well, I’m not gone yet,” I say, lifting my own shot glass. “So, let’s get fucked up while I’m still young and broke and without adult responsibilities.”

“Hear, hear!”

We slam back the whiskey, wincing as it burns our esophagi. Then, Josh nods toward a few girls at the other end of the bar.

“Shall we?”

Every single one of the girls looks older than us by at least five years — the perks of being at a bar downtown as opposed to one close to campus. We loaded up two vans with brothers to take on the downtown area, and I have to admit, the women coming out after a long day working at the office in their designer heels and pencil skirts is a fresh and welcome change of scenery.

Still, even with the tallest of the girls batting her lashes at me, her long legs crossed, skirt inched up over her knees — I can’t help but feel like something’s… off.

“You go ahead without me,” I say. “I need some air, I think.”

Josh frowns, and I can already see him opening his mouth to argue.

“You’ve got this,” I say, giving him a pointed look as I stand.

At that, he zips his lips closed again with a determined nod, and then he brushes past me, puffing his chest out and holding his shoulders back as he approaches the girls.

I should have told him to wipe his fucking face first, but lucky for him, it looks like the blonde of the group is into sensitive guys. She wipes the wetness from his cheeks and even though I can’t hear her, I see her lips mouth what happened, are you okay?

Josh gives me a wink over his shoulder, and I shake my head on a laugh, knowing he’ll be just fine.

One glance around the dark bar and it’s easy to see all my brothers are enjoying themselves. They’re dancing under the lights on the giant dance floor, hitting on girls older and wiser than them at the bar, competing in beer pong back in the corner. They’re all smiles and laughter, living it up.