Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher [74]
At the door, Sage stopped and adjusted my collar. She smiled at me, and I got a whiff of her perfume. As we left the building, I promised myself I wouldn’t let her out of my sight the whole evening. You know, for her own safety.
chapter twenty-six
SPRING WAS HERE. It was nearly seven at night, and the lights along Rollins Street were just coming on. I stared at my feet as we trudged toward Greek Town. In front of me, Laura and Sage laughed like a couple of sisters.
I viewed this evening with the mixed feelings Sage was so expert in bringing out. On the one hand, for the first time in my life, I could totally cut loose. No mom waiting up for me, no cops showing up to run us off, nowhere I was supposed to be in the morning. It would be good practice for next year. Could university girls be interested in a guy from a town that only ever made the news during tornado season?
On the other hand, Sage was here. And after what we’d almost done the other night, it would be kind of cruel to hit on other girls right in front of her. I’d be trying to get strange women to give me what Sage would happily give. And with Sage’s forced dating ban, maybe we should just stick together. Not like a date. But we’d come here together, so it would be rude of me to wander off.
I walked a little faster and caught up with the girls. Sage looked at me warmly and slowed down. Laura was busy talking and didn’t notice.
“Are you okay?” Sage asked.
“Yeah. You?”
Sage smoothed her sweater. “Nervous. Is it dumb for me to do this?”
She deserved an honest answer. “You look great. I’ll be there with you if you need anything.”
Sage bit her lip. “Logan, I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you so much for everything.”
We gripped hands for a moment, trying to dispel the fear in each other’s faces. Laura, who realized we’d fallen behind, turned just in time to see me holding Sage’s hand and gazing up into her eyes. We quickly separated.
Approaching Greek Town was like riding up to an encampment of angry Indians. I could hear their war cries long before I saw them. Solitary screams, laughter, and music broke through the still evening. As we passed by the Commons, I began to see the frat boys. They all wore expensive clothes and baseball caps with Greek letters stitched onto them. Several of them stared at Laura and Sage as we passed.
Fraternity houses lined the streets, bigger than anything in Boyer except maybe the electronics factory. The houses were beautiful: white columns, brick fronts, trimmed hedges.
We turned a corner, and Laura led us to a smaller, more compact frat house. Inside, we could hear the voices and music of the party.
Laura danced up the steps. Sage and I paused on the sidewalk for a moment. Impulsively, I wrapped my hand around her upper arm and squeezed. Not a possessive gesture, and certainly not a romantic one. I just wanted her to know I was there with her, ready to help if she got scared. Sage returned my smile and we entered the building.
I had expected a fraternity house to be somewhat scuzzy, but the Kappa house was at least as nice as a midgrade motel. Thirty or so students milled around in the cigarette haze, drinking out of plastic cups. Everyone was completely at ease.
“Laura!”
The guy looked like something out of an ascent of man exhibit. He was short and swarthy and had one eyebrow that covered most of his jutting forehead. He didn’t slouch, but it seemed like he’d be more natural dragging his enormous knuckles over the stained carpet. He looked at Laura, exposing his crooked teeth in a hungry smile.
“Hey, Laura!”
“Hi, Mike!”
And then they were kissing. I think Laura only meant to give him a hello kiss, but Mike smashed his face into hers, making growling noises and grabbing her butt. I wasn’t aware I was lunging at him until Sage grabbed my arm.
Laura pulled away with a laugh. “Mike, this is Sage, and my brother, Logan.”
Mike’s smile froze, then shattered. He stared