Keeping Kane (Face-Off Legacy/Campus Kings 2)

I lean my elbow on the table, thinking over her question. Am I nervous about seeing them? Yes, to some extent, I suppose I am. So far this week, I have lucked out and not had the misfortune of running into either of them—not even their friends.

But with Shannon, my Big Sister, dating Jameson O’Connor, I will run into them at some point. He’s their teammate and roommate, and she’s the one girl I’m supposed to bond with, go to when I need a shoulder to lean on or an ear to vent. And yet, I find it harder to bond with my sorority sister, all because of the twins and her connection to them.

“Maybe I’m overreacting,” I confess.

“No way.” Jordan’s tone grows serious. “They played with your head. Those assholes should consider themselves lucky I haven’t murdered them for what they did to you. If you had let me, I would have issued a campus-wide warning to every girl not to talk to them.”

I roll my eyes at her. “I thought you were joking about that. It would be impossible to do that on a campus of this size.”

She leans back in her chair and laughs. “You underestimate the power of a Kappa girl, and with Abby and the rest of our sisters’ help, Tucker and Trent would spend the rest of their final semester without sex.”

“It’s hard, you know. I don’t know what to do about them. At some point, I will have to confront them.”

“You’ve spent weeks avoiding them, refusing their presents and declining their calls. So far, so good, right?”

“We’ll cross paths at the charity auction. There’s no way around it.”

She scrunches her nose as if thinking. A beat passes between us, and then she says, “Do you want to be with one of them? It kind of seems like you do.”

“Yes,” I admit. “But I’m not sure which one I even like. I’m so confused.”

“Trent is the one you kissed at the kissing booth, right?” I nod, and she continues, “He’s also the one you had sex with first. And the one who asked you on a date. Based on everything you told me, I’d say Trent is the one you want. Plus, Tucker is kind of a fuck-up. He’s always over at the Delta Sig house getting drunk with Romeo and the guys.”

She’s right about Trent. The more I think about it, the more I see he was the one who was capturing tiny fragments of my heart. Tucker is equally as charming and funny, but he’s not the right twin for me.

“What about Trent? I felt like I knew him when I had sex with him, but after everything that’s happened, I don’t know anymore.”

“He’s okay, I guess. Better than Tucker, in my opinion. I hear stories from Romeo about Tucker all the time. Not so much Trent. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Trent is just as much of a ladies man as his brother, and they’ve been known to swap places with girls on occasion, so it’s not like he’s without fault.”

“But you would rather I didn’t talk to either of them.”

She bites the inside of her cheek, mulling it over. “I want what’s best for you.”

“You didn’t think Corey was good for me either, and he’s never done anything like this.”

“Corey is a good man, but he isn’t going anywhere. You would have been stuck living in Lancaster, working at the farm with him. That’s not the life I want for you. Mom doesn’t want that either. And even though you’ve never said it aloud, you don’t want that either.”

I cock an eyebrow at her. “Mom never said anything like that to me. I had no idea she felt that way.”

“She loves Corey like a son, but she never thought he was right for you. He’s a good friend, a hard worker, and a nice guy. It’s just…”

“He wasn’t the one.”

I knew it when he asked me to marry him that I would have been making a horrible decision, despite the fact he’s an amazing guy.

“I suppose one good thing came from the twin’s incident,” Jordan says.

“Yeah. How was that a good thing?”

“It helped you make your decision about Corey much faster than I thought you would.”

“That’s true.” I cover her hand with mine, holding it against the table. “Thanks for this. You helped me more than you know.”

She flashes a bright smile. “Good. Now, let’s get back to work before our sisters notice we’re gone. Abby will have a stroke if she thinks we’re dodging our duties.”

I return her smile, feeling less stressed than before, though still somewhat confused and frustrated about my feelings for Trent.

Twenty-Three

Jemma

Crammed with several hundred people, the auditorium comes alive with excitement. Girls crowd the front rows of the room, holding bidding paddles in their hands. According to Jordan, this event raises the most money for charity all year at Strickland University. Everyone is in attendance, even Dean Whittaker and the heads of the departments.