Once she collects some square cards from Heather, Candace gives me one and distributes the rest to the participating nine Zeta sisters.
“The rules are pretty simple,” she explains. “In a few moments, the lights will be dimmed. The participating Gamma brothers will enter the room. The men are wearing identical outfits and are masked. They’re going to line up and each girl will have to kiss the guy she’s standing in front of for an entire minute. Then the guys will change back into their own clothes and return to the party to mingle. Your task is to guess who you kissed and put a check mark near his name on the card you’ve been given.”
I lower my eyes to the card, and I see a list of ten names.
“We encourage you to strike a conversation with each guy on that list, and be on the lookout for hints. Of course, the guys have been instructed not to give you any hints. The guy you’re about to kiss and yours truly are the only people who know the identity behind the number pinned on the guys’ chests. Obviously, the names on the list aren’t numbered and in no particular order.”
The other girls who received a card are all buzzing with excitement. I’m not so sure this game is fair.
“The others know the guys,” I whisper in Luke’s ear. “I’m at a disadvantage. These are names and nothing else to me.”
My brother wraps his arm around my shoulder, hugging me briefly into his side. “Most of the girls who are playing are pledges, so they’re almost all freshmen. They’ve barely met the guys on that list.”
“But I?—”
Luke lowers his voice, a mischievous smile on his face. “Besides, remember what we talked about yesterday? You’re officially rebounding and looking for Mr. Right. This is a perfect opportunity to get to know some awesome guys. Who knows? Maybe the guy you kiss tonight has all the minimum sixes we’re looking for in your next boyfriend.”
Butterflies make their presence known in the pit of my stomach. I’ve only ever kissed two guys in my life. One was Matthew, the guy I dated in high school for almost two years. The other was Kurt, two nights ago.
I used to love kissing Matthew. As far as Kurt is concerned, all I want is to forget that horrible night; and maybe this is just what I need.
My eyes drop down to the card in my hands and I skim the names on the list.
Most of these names are familiar in a way. While I haven’t met Luke’s brothers and teammates in person, I did pay attention to the hockey news when we weren’t speaking. I couldn’t follow his team like I would have wanted to because our online activity was closely monitored in the house; especially after we received those new phones a couple of years ago.
However, I still kept tabs the best I could whenever Bridgeport would play the Star Cove Knights. In that case, Dad would allow us to follow the game online since Kurt and a couple more of his clients are hockey players.
I recognize Tucker Prescott as the team’s goalie. Corey Collins, who plays center for the Star Cove Knights. There are three familiar names that cause those butterflies to flutter their wings so frantically that I feel a little dizzy.
Jamie Hart, Connor Demchuk, and Keene McKendrick.
I take a deep breath, willing the dread mixed with excitement to subside. There is one thing I shouldn’t forget whenever I think about how hot Luke’s roommates are.
Jamie and Connor might have been friendly on the night we met, but they didn’t want me to stay in their dorm. Even if that meant I had nowhere to go. Keene has been nothing but rude to me, but I guess at least he has been true to himself.
Luke explained why his roommates voted no to his request to let me stay in his room. I guess I can’t completely blame them for not wanting to potentially get in trouble for a total stranger. But I can’t help the hurt feelings that surface every time I think about them.
“Oh, and another thing,” Candace announces, pulling me out of my revery. “Just to make things a little harder, the guys have agreed to all use the same cologne tonight and to shave their faces. So there’s going to be nothing to help you identify who you kiss using outside factors.”
Holy shit. These sorority girls take their party games very seriously.
“One final thing as we dim the lights. The winner is the girl who guesses correctly in the shortest amount of time. The game cards are to be given to me once you think you know who you kissed, so I’ll record the time on your card. The winner will enjoy a romantic dinner at Star Cove’s Country Club with the lucky guy she kissed tonight. I’ll announce the winner at the Zeta Theta Beta President Gala night in four weeks. Now dim the lights, please. And may our dashing Gamma Delta Tau enter the room.”
The room plunges in near darkness. It’s possible to move without walking into furniture or someone else, but it’s hard to see much more than shapes around the room.
I’m instructed to stand in a lineup with nine other Zeta sisters. That’s when the men begin filing into the living room.
This is going to be even harder than I thought, I realize when I notice that every guy is wearing a Gamma Delta Tau dark gray hoodie and sweatpants with the hood pulled up to cover their heads. That eliminates every chance to tell the men apart by haircuts or hair colors.
Their faces are covered by hockey masks that have been cut to remove the bottom half to expose the guys’ mouths.
This isn’t going to be easy. All the guys are pretty tall, which makes sense since most of the Gammas play hockey or football.
“Girls,” Candace orders. “Shift two spots to your right, just to mix things up a little more. Now take a few steps forward toward your man. You’re allowed to kiss and touch your man’s chest or shoulders. Removing the hood or the mask will obviously result in your elimination. Now that you’re in position, wait for your man to initiate the kiss in three, two, one… you may begin kissing.”
My heart is beating savagely against my ribcage. So fast and loud that I almost don’t realize it when the man in front of me pulls me to him with a confident grip on my waist and lowers his head to kiss me.
Kissing a total stranger is a confusing experience.
