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rushing or anything?”
    “I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind.” His voice was hard, and as much as I didn’t like to hear him that way, it meant he’d gotten my point.
    “Well, good luck with it.”
    “That’s it? You’re really going to pretend nothing changed last night?”
    “We got drunk and had sex.”
    “Don’t pretend you do that a lot…”
    “So? That doesn’t mean anything.”
    “Yes it does.” He let out a deep breath. “It means last night meant something.”
    “I have to go, Colt.”
    “All right. Have a good night, pumpkin. Good to hear your voice.”
    If he was calling me pumpkin, things might actually get back to normal again eventually. “Good night.”
    I hung up and got ready for bed. The quiet wasn’t quite as good as I thought, and I lay awake for hours. My head swirled with thoughts of Colton, Gasden, and more than a little guilt and regret. How was I supposed to know he’d want more? Maybe this was still just his chivalrous side. I was positive he’d forget all about what happened when he got to USC.
    I watched the clock until it finally hit 5:30. I couldn’t wait any longer. I changed into my gym clothes and went for a run. I wasn’t going to let a sleepless night hold me back.

Chapter Five
    “All right, girls, are you ready for this?” Danielle, our rush chair, stood next to the front door. Dressed in dark jeans and a bright pink shirt with white lettering that said Keep Calm and Pledge Delta Mu, she was wearing exactly the same thing as the other forty-five girls in the room. As much as I’m against conformity, I kind of liked the whole ‘dress alike for rush’ thing. It’s just part of the bonding experience.
    “Go Delta Mu!” Clare started cheering and the rest of us joined in.
    “All right. Let’s do this!” With the same pomp and circumstance a mayor of a small town would use when cutting the ribbon for a new building (trust me, I’ve been there for that too), Danielle threw open the door. In one long line, we all streamed out onto the porch and started in on our first rush song, complete with synchronized clapping and some pretty giant smiles.
    Right on cue, the freshman walked up the porch steps. A bunch of us took the arms of the girls and led them into the house. This was all perfectly planned, but of course we tried to make it seem spur of the moment. After several days of practice, it was finally time for rush to begin.
    “Hi, Jamie,” I introduced myself to my first rushee. Her white name tag was prominently displayed on her chest. “I’m Mallory.”
    “Hi!” She popped up on her toes. “It’s so great to be here.”
    “I know this is your first house, but how’s rush going for you so far?”
    “Oh, it’s been awesome. I love the group I’m with.”
    “Fantastic. What dorm are you in?” I went through the list of ice breaker questions I was supposed to ask.
    “Maude.”
    “Oh. Cool. If you talk to Juliet and Cara, they were in that dorm last year. I was in Dells.”
    “Do you love being a Delta Mu?” She took charge of the conversation. I had to give her props for that. That was hard to do at the end of the day, let alone as soon as she walked into the first house.
    “Absolutely. My best friends are all in the house.”
    “Cool!”
    “Where are you from?”
    “I’m from North Carolina.”
    “Oh, great. Let me introduce you to Natalie. She’s from North Carolina too.” I handed off Jamie to Natalie and got a new girl of my own.
    I glanced at her name tag. “Hi, Jade.” She was one of the girls I was supposed to talk to because she was from a town near mine.
    “Hi.” She didn’t meet my eyes when she spoke. Some might have interpreted that as a lack of interest, but I recognized it for what it was—nervousness.
    “Where are you from?” I couldn’t let on that I’d studied her card and knew every little detail she’d provided on her rush application.
    “Melborne. It’s a small town outside—”
    “I’m