Page 4 of Frat Ghost Wingman

“I’ll be counting down the seconds.”

Teo let go of me. “Whoa, bro. You need a shower.” He waved his hand in front of his nose, and I pushed him out the door.

I wanted to finish unpacking and get everything set up. Instead, I finished exploring the room.

Somebody in charge of things was definitely organized. There was a small binder on my bookshelf with all sorts of data – the wifi network and password, how to special order any groceries, the social calendar for the month. That kind of stuff.

The door to our room was on my side. There was a coat rack, a microwave and fridge all by the entryway. The southeast corner of the room was mine, complete with a huge closet, dresser, bed and desk. Teo had the opposite corner, though our beds almost met in the middle of the room. Like they were sixty-nining. He had all the same furniture, though it was a different style from mine – a black industrial look instead of white wood. I assumed it was because he asked for it.

Climbing the spiral staircase, which was between Teo’s desk and our couch, I decided I was definitely going to be using the reading tower – it was completely filled with comfy pillows and cushions. If I had to guess, whoever designed it had known I liked reading. Since no one had asked me, it had to be Teo.

The southwest corner of the room was the living space. Besides the large couch, there was an oval coffee table, a flatscreen hanging on the wall, and a couple of large plants, which I would be taking care of. Teo’s video game systems were in disarray on the floor, but I didn’t want to mess anything up so I left them alone.

It was time to follow Teo’s advice and shower so I stripped, tossed my clothes in my hamper and headed into the bathroom. I grabbed a towel from the already stocked linen closet – where there were two colors of everything, purple for me and red for Teo. He must’ve done that too.

Turning on the water, I had to agree – adding a shower curtain would ruin the vibe. It felt like a locker room which was kind of hot. And while we hadn’t showered together before, Teo didn’t seem to care. I could totally not care too, right?

I was lost in soaping my body up, when I heard, “Fuck, that's a dick! I mean, sorry. Shit!”

I rinsed my face off and opened my eyes to see Malik, holding his hands over his eyes and standing in our bathroom. It seemed closed doors weren’t a deterrent. At least for this first year.

“I was looking for Mateo.”

“He’s with Liam, I think.” I assumed from his earlier interest in Teo and his apparent affinity for my dick that Malik was gay, or at least, bi. It couldn’t hurt to have another friend. Wasn’t it brotherly of me to take a younger guy under my wing? “We can hang out if you want.”

“Really?” Malik dropped a hand to look at me. His eyes diverted downward again, and one hand moved to shield his crotch.

He’s probably throwing a bone.

“Yeah, I mean, not here in the shower. Let me finish up and get dressed.”

“Su-sure thing.”

Malik was cute, and Teo was straight. It was probably time to accept that.

CHAPTER 3

MATEO

The first month at the new house flew by. We accepted twelve new brothers into Kappa Omega Kappa, and it was now official – we were the jock house. It should’ve been obvious from the start since Liam, our president, was the quarterback of the back-to-back champion Rams, and the twins, Aiden and Jayden, the treasurer and secretary, both played rugby for the school. Half of the soccer team were also my brothers, including my team husband, Evan.

The soccer season started off better than my teammates and I could’ve imagined. After two games, we were undefeated, which didn’t sound like much until you considered the first game was against our biggest rival, Elmhurst, and a few hours ago, we beat the champions from last year. I had a goal in each, but I scored the game winner today. Evan, of course, had the assist. It’s like we shared a brain on the field. That’s partially why we joked we were husbands.

And since the football team also won their first game of the season this afternoon, it was time for the house’s first kegger.

Normally, I wouldn’t be an active participant – I preferred to nurse a drink and chat with Zach at most parties – but I was the VP now. It was almost mandatory to double fist the whole night.

It shouldn't have been surprising that I quickly became inebriated. I was never one to accurately judge the state of my mental acuity, my mental focus? Whatever. I got drunk quick.

The thumpa-thumpa of the music was all I could hear as the room swam. I saw guys I recognized, and Jesus Christ, how did Liam get this many people here? Oh yeah, football. Somehow I found an empty spot on the couch. I let my head fall against the back and relaxed for a minute.

“Zach and Malik have been hanging out. That’s not good for you.”

Wh-what?

I opened my eyes, but there wasn’t anyone around. I was about to drift off again, when I heard the voice again.

“Zach’s cute. Go dance with him.”