Chapter Seventeen

The rest of the week went by in agonizing slowness. Every day I had to walk onto campus knowing I was the talk of the town. I suppose I could have been flattered that people were so interested in my life. It would have been great to look at the catastrophic mess in something semi-positive. But the truth was that the rumors, the whispers, the hateful looks, were like a knife to my gut. I had gone from being a happy, popular sorority girl, to public enemy #1. I had known Olivia was well liked but I had a feeling that my descent into villainy had more to do with the public's need for a juicy scandal. The parts had been given out and I was cast as the conniving slut.

I sat in my classes, trying to pay attention to my professors' lectures but I all I could hear were the hushed voices swirling around me. I overheard a couple of girls talking about how I had purposefully gone after Jordan while Olivia was away for the summer. The words “slut” and “disgusting skank” had been thrown in for good measure and I had immediately stopped listening.

Jordan wasn't immune to it either. He had shown up at my apartment for our date looking majorly pissed off. I had asked him what was wrong but he had only shaken his head, saying it didn't matter. After some more prodding, I had gotten out of him that there was a “house meeting” with his roommates. It had gotten ugly. Nasty things were said (though he wouldn't elaborate what they were) and he had left before anything had been resolved.

I felt horrible. I hated that I was the source of such dissension in his life. Jordan wouldn't let me apologize, emphatically telling me I had nothing to be sorry for. But I was sorry. So, horribly, terribly sorry.

How could we have any sort of meaningful relationship when it was founded on so much drama? I had asked if we could rain check on going out to dinner and instead suggested ordering in. Jordan had argued that he wanted to take me out. That we had nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't agree. Now more than ever, I wanted to hide away from it all.

Jordan had eventually caved and we ended up ordering Chinese and watching a movie. I tried to forget about everything outside of he and I and this great thing we had going on. I had also come to find that while we were alone, forgetting was surprisingly easy.

Because we had fun together. More than that...we just sort of fit. And that made me think that it was definitely worth the heartache.

So, while we ate our cheap Chinese food, Jordan had tried to get me to eat some his spicy pork. I refused, resulting in Jordan shoving a piece into my mouth while he pinned me to the couch. Soon a food fight had ensued and by the time we called cease fire, the living room walls were painted with sweet and sour sauce and bits of chicken hung from my hair. Jordan was trying to lick the remnants of our dinner off of my neck when Riley had walked in with Damien.

They took one look at Jordan kneeling over top of me on the couch with his mouth sucking on my chin and had turned around and walked right back out. Jordan and I had started laughing until he pressed his mouth to mine and then there wasn't any more laughing. Or talking. Only kissing. And a lot of touching.

The insatiable physical attraction only grew stronger the more time we spent together. And it was this need to be with him in every way possible that made our situation all the harder to handle. Because I wanted to yell from the rooftops that Jordan Levitt was my boyfriend. I wanted to go out on dates and walk across campus together. I wanted to take him to mixers and announce to the world that he was mine.

But it still felt like we were each other's dirty little secret. Because Jordan didn't offer for me to come hang out at the Pi Sig house. We avoided places where there was a chance of running into Olivia and my Chi Delta sisters (which was pretty much everywhere). Instead, he came to my apartment in the evening. We fooled around and he usually fell asleep wrapped around me. And that was nice. Just not what I had dreamed it would be like.

Because Olivia was still a major problem. She wasn't going away quietly. And hell if she wasn't bent on making my life miserable. She was calling Jordan...constantly. His phone would often beep several times a night. He was always honest in saying that it was her and never made any effort to respond. He usually deleted the texts without reading them. I was dying to see what she had written and I considered snooping. But we were really working on building trust between us, especially given our shaky start. And reading his text messages behind his back wouldn't help with the whole honesty thing.

So, Jordan would eventually turn off his phone, then assure me that it didn't matter. But it did matter. Because I was insanely jealous. And worried. Worried that he'd wake up one morning and say that being with me was a big mistake.

My insecurities were driving me crazy and Olivia did everything she could to dig my doubts in a little deeper. She was sneaky, none of her attacks against me were overt. I had avoided the Chi Delta house for the few days after the chapter meeting. But Gracie had insisted I come and hang out Wednesday after my last class. I had put up a bit of a fight but she reasoned that I was still a sister and had every right to be there.

I finally agreed, not wanting to argue about it anymore. I had gone over to the house and at first it wasn't too bad. A few of the other girls came and hung out with Gracie and I while we watched re-runs of America's Next Top Model in the common room. We had laughed together and made cutting commentary as we watched the show.

Then Olivia had shown up and with one look at the girls, everyone got up and made excuses to leave. I had no power against Olivia's popularity. She controlled the house with an iron fist and I had been firmly allocated outsider status.