“No. I mean he had some strange ideas about our rituals and brotherhood rights—”

“Strange ideas?” Samantha has completely untangled herself and almost jumped to the opposite side of the couch. She pulls her leg away, so no parts of their bodies are touching anymore. “He thought you should share me. Like I was your property—Kap-O property. And not just with him but with all the brothers. What kind of sick bullshit is that?”

She’s looking at me now, furious, but also for validation.

“What the hell?” I say, matching her anger and directing it at Cade.

“Right? I mean…” Samantha wraps her arm around her leg, hugging it tightly to her chest. “I don’t get the whole fraternity ‘we share a code and a brain and have lame secret handshakes like six-year-olds with a no-girls-allowed clubhouse,’ but that’s whatever, you know?” She rolls her eyes. “Sharing girlfriends so they can be Eskimo brothers or something, and we have no say in the matter? Fuck that.” She’s on the edge of the couch now, body turned completely away from Cade, and talking directly to us. I think I’m starting to like her after all.

Cade has drawn into himself, eyes on the ground, warding off her words like blows, but not defending himself—or Jay, for that matter—either.

“Is that true?” I ask with a hint of accusation.

“It was mostly”—he squirms, pressing himself into the corner of the couch for support—“just talk, you know? We’re brothers, we should share everything. It would make us closer.”

“Yeah—every-thing.” She spits at him. “Because he thinks girls are objects.”

“Well, he changed his mind anyway.”

I raise my eyebrow. “About sleeping with Samantha?”

She purses her lips, but her eyes are fire. Don’t talk about me like I’m not here, her face reads.

“No—well, kind of.” He pauses. “But he didn’t think it was such a good idea once he had his own girlfriend.”

“Jay had a girlfriend?” Teddy asks. “We heard he was more of a ladies’ man.”

An exaggerated eye roll from Samantha.

“He is—was, I mean—all last year—yeah. That was before I met Sam,” a small glance her way, but she glares resolutely at the opposite wall, “and every other night almost, I had to find somewhere else to sleep. Eventually I just kept my pillow and a blanket in one of the cabinets in the rec room, so I could crash on the sofa, which sucked, because some of the brothers would be up all night watching sports or playing darts,” he pushes up his glasses, “and I had an eight A.M. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.” He shakes his head. “But then he met Katie.”

A flash of something. “Katie Coleman?”

“Yeah,” Cade breathes, not at all surprised, like everyone should know her name.

“The Kap-O dream girl,” I remind Teddy.