The Tuition Fee

Chapter 4: September, Year 1

Nathaniel 

When they tell you college will be the best time of your life, they really fucking mean it. I was loving college. 

On pure compulsion, I decided to join a fraternity after talking to one of the guys one my club soccer team that I also impulsively joined. I needed something to keep me entertained when I wasn't in class, so why not sports and brotherhood? Reese had dragged me along to a couple of his baseball team bonding events and while I appreciated the effort, I wasn't a baseball player. I was a soccer player. 

Another reason I'd joined those clubs was that I wasn't about to just sit at home with Alina. After our interview, we'd both gone home and decided from here on out we were just going to be roommates and nothing more. We didn't get along about anything, and she was already leaving me passive aggressive sticky notes about washing my dishes. A friendship with her would never work. And besides, she'd told me she got a job at a bookshop and wouldn't be home much either so I really wasn't about to sit at home alone. 

Friday nights with the frat were "townie nights." We'd join some of the older brothers and go to a new bar every week. The pledges were there to drive the drunk assholes home, but that didn't mean they weren't going to sneak us a shot or two themselves. 

In the middle of September, it was still as humid as a sauna, even at night. I was being dragged ten blocks through downtown to get to a bar, Crew's Keep, that I could hear and feel three blocks away. The bass was pounding so hard I could feel it in my chest as our ragtag group of guys got closer to the bouncer, entry fee in hand. 

"Nate, is this a good idea?" Reese shouted in my ear as we approached the thrown open double doors. Lights flashed inside the bar and I could already smell the tequila and vodka. 

I threw my arm around his shoulders and gave him a small shake. Two sorority girls passed us in mini skirts and tube tops and gave us a wink as they slipped inside. "Yes! Yes, this is a good idea Ree! Come on, let loose a little. All you do is study and work out." 

Reese glared at me as I handed the bouncer our money and he drew large X's on the back of our hands with a Sharpie. "Because that's what I'm here for, ass-hat. I can't get kicked off the team, my mom would kill me." 

"One night in a bar is not going to kill you. You don't even need to drink, just dance and flirt with some pretty girls." We made our way into the back corner of the bar where Will, the sophomore I was supposed to be driving home later, was already waiting with three beers. He was also the one I played soccer with, the guy who convinced me to rush. He grinned and handed one to me along with an alcohol wipe for my hand. 

"Glad you could make it!" He slapped me on the back and pushed the cold bottle into my hand and turned to Reese, handing him the third. "And you, baseball boy. Gotta let loose a little." 

Reese took the beer and looked at me. "It's Reese. But thanks for the beer." He gave a pinched smile and held up the beer, clinking it to mine and Will's. Five more guys came up and joined us, all with drinks in their hands. The music blasting over the speakers and the alcohol now running through my system was making my head feel light, my confidence tripled. I glanced down at my hand, the X now gone, and shouted to Will that I was going to get a drink from the bar. 

"Go to the blonde! She's the hottest!" He shouted, pointing to the far side of the room. I looked at the three bartenders, the blonde one bouncing around in the middle. I tilted my head to the side but the room was a little too hazy and dark for me to make out what she looked like. 

"I'll come with you," Reese said, standing to join me. 

We elbowed our way across the dance floor and up to the bar. When we reached the sticky, wooden wax counter, I looked down at the back of the blonde stocking the shelves behind her. She was in a white tank top that showed off her shoulder blades and the few freckles dotting her tan skin. Her pony tail swished as she moved, fifty shades of blonde in one long clump. She stood and my eyes traveled down to her ass in short jean shorts and long legs and I felt a grin pulling on my lips.