You know the answer. If they had to do it, so do you. No exceptions.
Friend or not, Todd would uphold the rules of the brotherhood.
Double fuck.
How the hell had he gotten himself into this situation?
Katt dropped the sports bag at the end of the bed and sat down. He looked around the dorm room, his eyes settling on the empty bed across from him. He didn’t know who his roommate was. Katt hoped the guy wasn’t annoyingly “social” and talked all the time. An introvert would be a great option; each of them minding their own business without trying to be instant “best friends.”
The door opened moments later, dashing his hopes as a jock-type walked in, tossed his bag on the other bed, and zeroed in on Katt. He thrust out his hand, a jovial grin on his face. “I’m Franco.”
The man had a slight Italian accent, and something about it matched him—the dark, almost-black hair, the deep brown eyes. Katt shook his hand. Something shifted in his gut. “Katt,” he said.
“Cat? Like the animal?” Franco’s grin widened as he gripped Katt’s hand for a beat before releasing him.
“K-A-T-T.”
“Oh. Cool. Is that a nickname?”
“Yeah. My real name is Kato.”
“Cool.” He gestured at Katt. “I like your threads. Do you ride a motorcycle?”
Katt frowned. “Yeah. How’d you know?”
Franco shrugged. “A lot of motorcycle dudes wear leather jackets. I did, back in my teens.”
“You rode motorcycles?” Katt asked doubtfully; Franco didn’t look the type.
“Yeah, it was a blast.” He sat on his bed and leaned forward. “You look like a fun guy. You should join the brotherhood.”
“The what?”
Franco chuckled. “The fraternity. I’m actually one of the brothers, but the frat house is undergoing some minor renovations, so some of us are stuck in the dorms until it's finished.”
A frat guy. The high school equivalent of a jock—i.e. a dick, probably. Katt had yet to meet a jock who wasn’t a dick.
“We have the best parties.” Franco leaned over and smacked Katt’s knee, winking. “The hottest chicks. We have our own rooms in the frat house. Our house rules the campus.”
Katt looked at him with skepticism. “And you think I would be a good candidate for this… brotherhood?”
“Yeah, sure.” Franco leaned back, grinning. “Why not? I can already tell you’re cool.”
Katt shook his head. “Thanks, but it’s not really my thing.”
“How do you know? There are a lot of perks to being a brother, and you’ll have a ton of fun.” When Katt was about to turn him down again, Franco said, “At least, let me introduce you to our president.”
“Uh…” Katt shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Franco stood, breathed deeply, then let it out slowly. “Look, I wasn’t supposed to tell you this…” He stepped over and sat beside Katt. “Our president asked me to invite you, specifically. He wants you in the brotherhood.” He flashed a sheepish grin. “He pulled some strings to make sure I’d be your roommate.”
Rising from the bed, Katt walked to the window and looked out on the campus grounds, then turned and faced Franco. “Why would a frat president want me to join? How does he even know who I am?”
“I don’t know, he didn’t say.”
“What’s his name?”
“Todd Jacoby.”