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beer. They ' d been up for almost a full minute. The best score had been
recorded at a minute and ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight, the seconds were
counted down. Then Jarred dropped to his feet and Alyssa beat him by one
second.
    Alyssa strolled over to where Tristan and I stood and burped.
    "Wow, Amazon, I ' m impressed. Guess you really have
learned something at college. Your parents would be proud." Tristan
playfully hit Alyssa in the shoulder causing another burp to escape her
beer-filled stomach. I only drank water, but anyone in the near vicinity of
that burp acquired an instant buzz.
    "Yeah, I figured if Mom and Dad are hell bent on me
learning, then what better way than study the art of a kick ass keg stand?"
She burped again.
    Someone yakked and we turned our attention to the line of
guys vs. girls keg stand. A freshman from the Pi Phi house lost more than her
money just then. " Damn freshman, she just made us lose, " Alyssa
said.
    "Give her a break," I said, turning away from the
chunks of beer and food all over the wall.
    "Oh shit! Look who the freshman heaved all over." I
followed Alyssa ' s gaze. My mouth fell open watching the crowd rush away from
a fuming Ginger. Bret walked over, laughing hysterically, and handed her a
towel. Ginger snatched the towel from him then stormed off.
    "I think I like that freshman after all." Alyssa
finished with a laugh and a hiccup.
    Soon, the crowd in the kitchen dissolved and the music from
earlier cranked back up. Tristan joined a group of people playing quarters. He
played pretty well. His muscles tightened when he forced the quarter to ding
with a hard bounce against the table. He smiled and pointed to a frat guy,
forcing him to take a shot. He was good at everything he did and made it look
effortless. A few girls surrounded Tristan like bees, ready for an opening. I
did my best to keep my expression even.
    Hours later, Alyssa decided she ' d had her fill,
and I searched the dwindling crowd for Tristan. I found him talking to Jarred,
discussing football. I hadn ' t seen him so passionate about the game in a while.
    "Hey, Elle. You realize how good your guy is in
football? He and his team kicked our ass my senior year, but I got in a few
good pass touchdowns while the scout was there."
    I laughed but realized Tristan ' s face wasn ' t as exuberant
anymore. I wondered if he ' d thought back to his offer to play here. He never went into
detail why he turned down his football scholarship. He only said he needed to
get away. I didn ' t push the subject.
    "I think Alyssa ' s ready to go, and I ' m beat, too."
Tristan and Jarred shoved at each other. A stupid show of male masculinity, and
then we headed home. We didn ' t live far from Greek row and when we pulled up, we went
straight inside.
    Alyssa threw her keys on the kitchen counter, then headed
away. "I ' ll see you two tomorrow. Night, Shrimp." Alyssa ' s loud voice
trailed down the hall, indifferent to Ginger sleeping. I turned to Tristan.
    "She hasn ' t changed much, has she?" Tristan yawned.
    "I guess not. Are you sure you ' re okay with the
couch? There ' s a loose spring in the middle, and it can be a pain when you
wake up."
    "I ' m good. " He hesitated, his facial expression now serious. His
mouth opened in the form of an o, but at the last minute his lips closed
instead. I padded down the hall to change. When I finished, I carried out an
extra pillow and blanket. Tristan thanked me and I crept back down the hallway,
ready for sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
    "Hey, Spud?" I heard Tristan ' s whisper, and
made my way back to the couch.
    "Yeah?" In the dark, I could see Tristan ' s outline. He
had his head propped up by his hand. He patted the empty space next to him with
his free hand. When I climbed in, he wrapped us in a cocoon with my blanket. I
held my breath, waiting, hoping. The feel of his strong arms around my waist
sent a blaze through my body.
    "I missed you." Glad my back was against his chest,
I slowly