one laughed. Spirits were high, considering we were under such strict probation. In fact, the last thing we should have been doing right
then was drinking champagne out in the open like this. If Mrs. Naylor, our housemother, found us, we were screwed. "Naylor's out for
the night," Noelle told me, noticing my wary glance over my shoulder. "Just sit and relax and have some chocolate." She steered me
around the end of the couch where Constance, Kiki, and Astrid were sitting, and deposited me in the chair she had vacated. Rose lifted
a tray of chocolates and offered it to me. I took one and bit into it. Sweet caramel oozed into my mouth. This I could get used to.
"Now, here's how this is going to work," Vienna explained, walking over to the board of boys as Sabine squeezed back onto the
couch. "Each one of us has selected an Easton bachelor for you to evaluate. Our goal for the evening is to rank these guys in order of
desirability for you--" "And then you can go forth and conquer!" London finished, lifting her glass to the whoops of the crowd. I
squirmed in the cushy chair. "You guys, I already told you. I'm not ready to... conquer anyone." All I could think about when I looked
at those photos was how many of those guys were Josh's friends--his housemates. And how he was out there on campus right now--out
there somewhere hating me. The very thought sent a sliver of glass through my heart. How was I even supposed to look at another
guy? "Reed, come on, this is exactly the distraction you need," Sabine said earnestly, placing her glass down and scooting forward on
the love seat. She grabbed my hands and champagne sloshed over the side of my flute. 'You're going to save Billings for us. Let us do
this for you."
I looked into her big green eyes and realized that she sincerely thought this would work. In fact, everyone there was eyeing me with
hope. Aside from Missy, of course, who was inspecting her fingernails. All they wanted to do was cheer me up. What harm could
there be in humoring them? So I would let them rank these guys according to desirability. It wasn't as if I had to put said list to use.
"Okay, fine," I said finally. "Yay!" Constance cheered, as a few people clapped in glee. "Portia? Would you like to present your pick
first? " Vienna asked, stepping aside. Portia rose and walked over to the board, stopping in front of a ph
oto of a smiling guy with long
black hair and a big, Cheshire cat grin. Dominic Infante. He had lived next door to Thomas and Josh last year. I had the distinct recol-
lection of seeing him in boxers one night when I walked by his room. Not a half-bad body.
"We all know who Dominic Infante is," Portia began, clasping her hands one atop the other, as if she were a professor presenting a
lecture. "But few know, because of his innate modesty, that he is a direct descendant of the princes of Italy...." "Ohhh," my friends in-
toned as they sipped their champagne and nibbled on their strawberries. As she continued her speech, my eyes roamed the board, curi-
ous who my other dorm mates had chosen. I spotted Hunter Braden smirking out at me. And Trey Prescott. (Josh's roommate? Seri-
ously?) And Jason Darlington, a cute guy who was in most of my classes. Most of the elite guys of Easton were represented, and I
couldn't help but feel flattered that my housemates thought me worthy of the creme de la creme. Things certainly had changed since
my Glass-Licker days.
Then my eyes fell on another familiar face at the far end of the board. Marcellus "Marc-For-Short" Alberro. I blinked, surprised.