Palm South University Season 1 Omnibus (10 page)

I sigh, but just like with Mom, I don’t have the energy to argue. “Whatever.” Releasing his shirt, I limp back to my room and jump in the shower, letting the hot water and steam melt away some of the tension from today. Then, against my better judgement, I join the party.

And I make it my mission to get hammered.

Before midnight even hits, I’m pinballing down the hallway with Lacy’s mouth on mine. Lacy is a Zeta. She’s small, almost doll-size, and her caramel skin against the bright white dress she’s wearing are too much for me to handle. You would think with her wearing white to a frat party that she was trying to be innocent tonight. But with one hand under my basketball shorts, I know that’s far from the truth.

“Fuck,” she curses as I slam her back against my bedroom door. “Easy, Bear.”

I suck and bite down her neck and toss her onto my bed with ease, pulling my shirt up and over my head at the same time. “I’m not doing easy tonight, babe. You either get me hard and rough or you don’t get me at all. Your choice.”

She swallows, but her lips part slightly and I can feel the want radiating off of her. When she doesn’t answer, I fall down on top of her and slam my mouth on hers, hiking her leg up in the process. I know she’s only a temporary numbing, just like the gym was earlier, but she’s what I need. Sweat, alcohol, and sex. That’s the distraction I’m looking for, and Palm South is the perfect place to find it.

I don’t even bother taking off her dress or even the lacy thong I feel underneath it. I just quickly maneuver it to the side, roll on the condom I pulled from my top drawer, and thrust inside her in one fluid motion. She moans loud in my ear and it sends chills down my back. Thank God Josh likes the music loud.

“Oh God,” Lacy screams, gripping my headboard as I slam into her over and over again. Her breasts are nearly tumbling out of her dress and her head hits against the board a little each time I thrust in.

“Nope, just me, babe.”

I make sure she gets her release and as soon as she finishes, I lift both of her ankles up onto my shoulders and push deeper inside her pussy. She screams even louder and it doesn’t take long for me to find my release, too. It completely numbs me and awakens every nerve at the same time. Finally, even if just for that moment, I don’t think about anything else but the way it feels to come inside her.

When we finish, I make my way to the bathroom to flush the condom and then I fall back into bed, turning on my fan on my way over. I pull a pillow over my head to drown out the music and let my temporary euphoria drag me toward sleep. I don’t know if Lacy stays and I honestly don’t care. She can stay and sleep or she can leave. Right now, I’m not talking. Or cuddling. Or doing anything other than reveling in the fact that coming feels fucking amazing.

Before my thoughts have the time to sneak their way back in, I pass out.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO SEND that much home to us, Skyler,” my mom says softly and I can hear her tearing up a little.

“Mom. I want to. Please, just take it. It’s not even that much.”

“A thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

“Well, it’s not as much as I wish I could send.”

Mom’s silent, probably crying, so Dad takes his cue. They always talk to me on speaker phone. “We are so, so proud of you, honey.”

I shrug. “It was just a little tournament, nothing to get too proud over.”

“It is to us,” he says. “And it may just be a small tournament now, but I know without a doubt that one day, you’ll win tournaments so big you can’t even imagine them right now.”

“Whatever you say, Dad. Any word on that promotion?”

He pauses. “Not yet. I’m still holding out though.”

I nod, but my gut tells me I should be worried. Mom and Dad both work in retail. Dad has been up for promotion to manager at least four times that I can remember, but his boss always screws him over. They do what they have to to make ends meet, but since neither of them finished high school, they don’t have much to work with. But they work hard.
Damn
hard. And I’m determined to help them and maybe, one day, make it where they don’t have to worry about working, at all.

“You’ll get it, Dad. I know you will.” I smile just as I key in the door code to the sorority house. “I just got home, I’m going to turn in. Love you guys.”

“We love you too, sweetie,” Mom replies through what are now clear sobs. I chuckle a little and end the call, stepping into the foyer. When I do, I nearly crash into Ashlei.

“Whoa!”

“Oh my God,” she whisper-yells, clutching her chest. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“What are you doing? It’s after three in the morning, Lei.” I note her eccentric makeup and eye her curiously. She’s dressed in what looks like pajamas, but clearly she wasn’t sleeping. She, Jess, and Erin helped me get ready for the tournament earlier, much to my surprise, before Jess and Erin headed off to the social. But Ashlei said she couldn’t go, so why was she covered in neon makeup?

Ashlei shifts under my gaze, adjusting the gym bag on her shoulder. “Um, I went out. To a club downtown.”

I cock a brow. “Really? With who? I thought you couldn’t go out tonight.”

She bites her lip, curses, and pulls me to the couch. “Listen, please don’t say anything to Jess or Erin, okay? I had other plans tonight. That’s why I couldn’t go to the social.”

“What other plans?” My brows rise higher.

“I can’t tell you…”

“And why is that?”

She sighs. “Just, please, Skyler. Don’t tell them and don’t make a big deal about it. I was out with a few friends. That’s all.”

I study her for a moment more, but nod. “Okay, Lei. I won’t say anything.” She lets out a breath of relief. “Should I be worried, though?”

“No. I’m fine. Trust me.”

“Okay.” I nod again. “Well, I won the tournament tonight but I am exhausted. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Yeah,” she says, smiling. “And congrats, Skyler. I may not understand the whole poker thing, but I know it’s important to you. And I know what it’s like to be worried about what others might think of the things that make you happy. So just know I’m proud of you.”

I smile, but can’t help but wonder how she knows what I feel like. Ashlei fits this sorority and all our friends like a glove. I’m not sure what she knows about worrying what others think of her. “Thanks, Lei. Love you.”

She blows me a kiss and I scamper up the stairs to mine and Jess’ room, quietly letting myself in and stripping down to my underwear before crawling into bed. Before I plug in my phone, I type out a quick text to Clinton. When no answer comes in after five minutes, I sigh and roll over toward the wall, pulling the covers up to my shoulders.

Something weird is going on with Clinton, and now Ashlei is acting strange, too. I know Jess is hiding something from all of us – something boy-related, if I had to guess. And Erin has barely spent more than ten minutes with me since classes started. I hate not knowing what’s going on with my friends, and it hits me that maybe I need to stop focusing on distracting myself and start paying attention to the people around me, instead.

There are way too many secrets floating around PSU right now, and I’m determined to start uncovering them. It’s time to hone in on my friends and reveal their truths.

Starting with Clinton.

PULLING MY TIGHT spandex shorts out of my ass, I wipe down the pole and pat my hands together around a pinch of chalk. I don’t usually chalk my hands before I work out – especially after seeing so many of my teammates start to rely on that method – but today, I need it. My palms are sweaty as hell.

There’s a nervous pit in my stomach and I’m not sure if it’s because the competition is less than a week away or if it’s because I know what Hayden is doing behind the studio right now. Regardless, even with the chalk, I’m straining more than usual when I grip the pole and climb my way up, warming up with basic climbs and spins to keep my mind off everything else.

Skyler caught me sneaking in the house the other night and I know she’s getting more and more curious about my whereabouts, which means I have to be extra careful. Pole dancing fitness isn’t something you can easily explain to just anyone. Hell, I was a judgmental bitch when I first started learning about it. But then I met Hayden. Once he and Leslie started training me, I felt myself become addicted. Over the summer, I trained hard and used everything I learned from dancing my entire life to transfer into the moves on the pole. My flexibility made some of the moves almost natural for me, but building the body strength took time and patience. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished, but there’s no way I can ever tell the girls about my hobby.

I’m pretty sure Erin would faint.

Jess would be pissed and say it’s slutty.

Skyler would probably laugh and broadcast it across campus.

And my parents? Jesus… I can’t even imagine.

No, I can’t tell anyone. Sometimes, it’s just better to keep certain parts of your life separate from others.

“Damn girl,” Hayden smacks my ass playfully just as I transition into my Russian splits.

I giggle and drop back down to my feet. “Way to break my focus.”

Hayden pulls me into him for a long, sensual kiss that I feel all the way down between my thighs. “All part of the training, I swear.” As much as I love the way his hands feel on me, I can tell he’s high, and it turns me off as much as his tongue turns me on.

“Mm hmm. I’m sure.” I push him away and climb back up. Leslie and Kya enter through the door he came through just moments ago and Leslie immediately starts warming up while Kya changes her shirt. Both of them are gorgeous, but Leslie is just downright hot. When I first met her, I was more attracted to her than I knew how to handle. I’ve always known I have a bisexual mindset, but I’d never really considered trying to openly hit on a girl until Leslie. That was, until Hayden stole my attention.

“Just us today?” I ask just before performing a simple drop.

“Only the ones who want to win, it looks like,” Leslie answers. Her long, jet-black hair spins around her tight body as she warms up and I can’t help but be temporarily mesmerized. The chick is still insanely hot, whether I’m with Hayden or not.