Frat House Confessions: Ridge Read online

  Frat House Confessions: Ridge

  Frat House Confessions, Book 1

  Bethany Lopez

  Frat House Confessions: Ridge

  Copyright 2019 Bethany Lopez

  Published June 2019

  ISBN - 9781072926436

  Cover Design by Makeready Designs

  Editing by Red Road Editing / Kristina Circelli

  Formatting by Bethany Lopez

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please don’t participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Created with Vellum

  To anyone who yearns to be accepted and love for who they are… you deserve it. Don’t settle for anything less.

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Karrie

  2. Karrie

  3. Ridge

  4. Karrie

  5. Ridge

  6. Karrie

  7. Ridge

  8. Karrie

  9. Ridge

  10. Karrie

  11. Ridge

  12. Karrie

  13. Ridge

  14. Karrie

  15. Ridge

  16. Karrie

  17. Ridge

  18. Karrie

  19. Ridge

  20. Karrie

  21. Ridge

  22. Karrie

  23. Ridge

  24. Karrie

  25. Ridge

  26. Karrie

  27. Ridge

  28. Karrie

  29. Ridge

  30. Karrie

  31. Ridge

  32. Karrie

  33. Ridge

  34. Karrie

  35. Ridge

  36. Karrie

  37. Ridge

  38. Karrie

  39. Ridge

  40. Karrie

  Epilogue

  Ridge’s Playlist

  Frat House Confessions: Wes

  About the Author

  Also by Bethany Lopez

  Prologue

  “Forgive me, Papi, for I have sinned,” I said dryly, sneering at the bottle in my hand, whose contents were dwindling.

  “Tell me,” Papi asked.

  Papi was our treasurer. He’d originally planned on becoming a priest, and now was our go-to guy for advice, complaints, and absolution for our sins. We all knew that he’d given up the priesthood, but we still used his room as the frat house confessional.

  “I’ve been having those urges again,” I muttered.

  “About your father?” he pressed, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees.

  He was currently dressed in a toga.

  Not to be a total fucking cliché, but it was rush week and as the hottest frat on campus it was our duty to host the first toga party of the season.

  “Yeah,” I replied, taking a chug of rum before adding, “The one where I beat him bloody.”

  “Has something happened to bring these thoughts back? You were doing good over the summer, and hadn’t thought about him or the way he’d treated you as a child for a while. I thought our talks were helping.”

  “They are, it’s just … Brody called to give me and Wes a head’s up … My mom’s filing for divorce. Guess the bastard’s been cheating on her again. And, that’s not all, Brody heard them fighting and found out the asshole was married before.”

  “No shit?” Papi asked, his face showing his surprise.

  I couldn’t blame him. I thought I knew every skeleton in my father’s closet.

  “Yeah, turns out we have three older sisters.”

  Brody and Wes were my younger brothers. Wes was here at college with me, while Brody was living out the last year of his sentence in that mausoleum our parents called a home.

  “Fuck, that’s crazy,” Papi said, taking a pull of his beer.

  I ran my hand over my face, my vision blurring as I recalled my conversation with Brody.

  “Now, my mom’s feeling all clingy and emotional and said Wes and I have to come home for Thanksgiving. She’s talking about inviting her best friend and her daughter, who she’s been trying to hook me up with for years. She’s always had this grand plan of marrying me off and partnering up with another rich family who have good social connections. I don’t know how I’m going to get out of it.”

  Papi leaned back and teepee’d his hands, bringing them to his lips as he looked at me thoughtfully.

  I took another drink as I waited, sure that Papi would bring the magic like he always did.

  A few seconds later, he snapped his fingers and stood up excitedly.

  “I’ve got it.”

  “Tell me,” I encouraged, getting to my feet as well, albeit somewhat unsteadily.

  “Two birds … one stone.”

  I waited, the sounds of the music from below pulsing beneath my feet.

  “This year, Crush is planning on making the pledges participate in a new test. Each pledge is going to have to find a girl who needs help. You know, somewhat dumpy, shy, or in that awkward, I just moved away from home and don’t know who I am phase. Once they get their pick approved, it will be their job to make her over and turn her into the kind of chick we’d want hanging around the house, rather than the type to hang with the losers in Denny’s all night.”

  “What, like a dogfight? That’s fucked up,” I said with a scowl.

  Crush was a fucking asshole, but everyone knew that.

  “Kind of, but not quite that shitty. We aren’t giving out prizes for finding the ugliest chick and making her think she’s hot, we’re rewarding pledges who find a girl with potential and help her realize that potential.”

  “How do I play into it?”

  “Well, as the brother every pledge wants to emulate, and our Sergeant at Arms, you could sort of lead the cause. Get Crush off your ass by playing along with his stupid game. Find a girl to makeover, let Crush have his jollies, and take the girl to Thanksgiving. Tell your mom you guys are in love and she doesn’t need to fix you up.”

  I looked at him like he was crazy, cause he fucking is, then shook my head.

  When the room started spinning, I stopped.

  “I can’t take some frumpy girl home for Thanksgiving. My mom will never fall for that shit. She is the Susan Temple after all, and anything other than a Stepford chick will not be welcome.”

  “Ridge, dude, you’re not listening,” Papi said, then looked at me closely and added, “Or, maybe you’re just drunk … You will make this girl into whoever you want her to be. Make her over into the young woman of Susan Temple’s wet dreams.”

  “That’s fucking gross,” I said with a scowl.

  “Just think about it,” Papi said. “That’s your penance, if you choose to accept it. Find a college beauty who’s hiding her light under a bushel and give her a makeover that’ll have every guy in this house jizzing over her.”

  He walked over to the door and opened it, turning back to me.

  “Now, we have a kickass party going on downstairs, and I just know there are some fine ladies down there wondering where their Papi went, so I’m going down. You coming?�
��

  “Nah,” I said as I followed him into the hall. “I’m not really feelin’ it. I think I’m gonna go listen to some music and sort my shit out. If anyone asks where I am, just say I’m balls deep in a blonde.”

  “You got it, brother,” Papi said, bounding down the stairs toward the chaos.

  I turned left down the hall toward my room, swaying slightly as I lifted the bottle once more to my lips, and wondered if I was willing to lie to some unsuspecting chick in order to get my mom off my back.

  Probably.

  One

  Karrie

  “What are we doing in here?”

  “I have a surprise for you…”

  I watched everything playing out on the tiny screen of my phone, like a car accident that I knew was coming, but couldn’t tear my eyes away.

  The girl with her eyes dancing, all dressed up in her LBD and heels, excited about what she had in store for her boyfriend, was me … silly, naïve, Karrie, who was about to have her heart shattered.

  The handsome boy, who we all now knew was a total asshole, was my then boyfriend, Drake. He was about to pull my heart from my chest and hand it back to me.

  It had been four months, and I’d had the entire summer to get over it, but for some reason, whenever I got low, I pulled up the video and reminded myself why men could not be trusted.

  I blinked back tears and focused on the oblivious girl.

  I cringed as I caught my wink toward where I’d set my phone up to record, eager to get Drake’s reaction when I gave him his present.

  “Karrie, since we’re alone, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Drake began, and I held my breath as I waited for him to drop the bomb on my unsuspecting self.

  “What’s that?” I asked innocently.

  I’d literally had no idea that there was anything wrong in our relationship. We’d dated exclusively all of sophomore year after he’d swept me off my feet at the field party after the last softball game of the season.

  “I think we should see other people,” Drake said, and a tear slipped down my cheek as I watched myself blink at him, not sure I’d heard him correctly.

  “What? Why would we do that?” my former self asked.

  “Because we’ve only got two years left of school, and it’s crazy for us to be tied down, don’t you think? I mean, don’t you want to see what else is out there?”

  “No, of course not … and neither do you … Drake, we love each other. Please, don’t do this,” I pleaded and I wanted to reach in the phone and clap my hand over my mouth. Urge myself to shut up and not sound so desperate.

  “I’m sorry, Karrie, but I can’t do this anymore,” Drake had said, then he walked past me and out the door without looking back.

  Unfortunately, I’d forgotten all about the video I’d been recording, so there was ten more minutes of footage where I cried my eyes out. I mean, full-on snot bubbles and all.

  I never watched that part. I didn’t need to. I knew it was there, and that was humiliating enough.

  “Please tell me you’re not watching that video again.”

  I looked up to see my roommate, Ermina, glaring at me from the kitchen.

  I quickly exited out of my videos and dropped the phone on the couch.

  “Karrie, why do you do that to yourself? Drake is a total douche, don’t let his actions keep controlling your emotions.”

  Ermina was studying psychology and I was her favorite test subject.

  “I’m not. I just needed a reminder of why men are pigs,” I replied.

  Ermina sighed.

  “All men are not like Drake and you need to stop lumping them all together. You’re going to find someone to treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”

  “Right now, I’d just settle for making Drake see what a mistake he made, then shove his face in it.”

  “You’re better than that,” Ermina chastised.

  “You know, I don’t think I am,” I countered, but she just laughed.

  I noticed she was dressed up to go out and asked, “Where are you off to?”

  “Well, as you know, it’s rush week, so I planned on heading out to a party so I could study the animals in their natural habitat … maybe find a topic for my research paper. Wanna join me?”

  She asked it reluctantly, and I knew it was because I’d said no every time she’d asked me to do anything over the last four months.

  It’s time for that to change, I decided and stood up.

  “You know what, I will go with you,” I replied, and her jaw dropped.

  “Really?” Ermina asked, her voice conveying her excitement.

  “Yeah, let me throw on some shorts and I’ll be ready.”

  She looked down at my favorite T-shirt and ratty sweat pants, then up at my hair, which was pulled up in a bun, and said, “I can wait while you put some clothes on, maybe do your hair and makeup.”

  “Nah, I’m good,” I replied, pushing my glasses up my nose, not caring what I looked like.

  I just needed to get out of this apartment … maybe have a drink, or ten.

  I hadn’t gone to a party as a single woman since Drake and I’d broken up and hadn’t been to a party without him in over a year.

  “Okay, as long as you get out of the house, I’ll take you however I can get you,” Ermina said, and I blew her a kiss.

  “I’ll be ready in five.”

  Three minutes later we were out the door and headed to Greek Row, ready to mingle with the elitists and the poor underclassmen who desperately wanted to join them. I didn’t care about fraternities or sororities, how they acted or what went on behind closed doors, all I cared about was free booze and wiping Drake from my memory.

  Two

  Karrie

  “Thank you,” I said to the pledge who handed me a beer, then turned around, scanned the room, and exclaimed, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  “What?” Ermina asked, turning to follow my gaze.

  “Fucking Drake,” I whispered, closing my eyes to try and shut out the sight of the well-chiseled jaw and curly brown hair of my ex.

  “Shit, seriously?” Ermina asked. “I thought he never came to frat parties.”

  “He never used to stand in the middle of the room with his tongue down some half-dressed, big-titted chick either, but he’s doing that right now.”

  “Shit,” Ermina said, a little louder this time, and began ushering me into a different room.

  Once we were in the crowded dining room, where a rousing game of beer pong was happening, Ermina looked at me and said, “Let me go get a closer look, you stay in here. Don’t move.”

  I leaned against the wall, then thought better of it and stood straight. Who knows what these Delta guys do on the walls.

  After a few seconds, I could no longer resist the urge and peered around the corner back into the other room, to see what Ermina and Drake were doing. He was no longer lip-locked, but instead was scowling at my roommate, who was standing before him with her hands on her hips. She appeared to be reading him the riot act.

  I love Ermina.

  I grinned and started to slide back into my spot, only to find it was currently occupied.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said when I stepped on someone’s foot.

  I looked first at the foot, which was large and encased in basketball shoes, then my gaze traveled up the thick jean-clad thighs, over a form-fitting T-shirt, which did nothing to hide the well-formed chest underneath, before landing on a very handsome face.

  “No problem,” the sexy stranger said with a lopsided grin, which only made him more handsome. “Did I take your spot?”

  I shrugged and took a sip of my beer as I looked around the room. “There’s plenty of wall space.”

  “Hmmm, but, why are you hanging out by the wall?” he asked, his voice deep and kinda gravely.

  “Where should I be hanging out?” I asked, wondering what was taking Ermina so long.

  “I’m sure any guy here would
be pleased as fuck if you spent some time with them,” the sexy stranger said, and I knew immediately he was full of shit.

  I rolled my eyes and said, “Give me a break.”

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  I waved a hand over myself and shot him a glare.

  I knew I didn’t look my best. Hell, I didn’t look Ermina’s worst.

  “What’s your game?” I asked him.

  “What makes you think I’m playin’?”

  I took in his short dark hair, bright-blue eyes, almost too-perfect face, and rolled my eyes again.

  Unable to stand it any longer, I ignored him and peeked into the other room again.

  “Who are we looking at?”

  I glanced over to see ole blue eyes peering over my shoulder.

  “That asshole?” he scoffed. “From the baseball team? You can do better than him.”

  I looked up at the side of his face. “You know Drake?”

  “Yeah, he comes around here a lot. Thinks he’s big man on campus and that by hanging with us, he’s one of us … but it doesn’t work that way. He’s a total knob.”

  “He comes here a lot?” I repeated, looking back at Drake and wondering if I ever really knew him. “You mean, this year?”

  “This year. Last year. Ever since he started school here. He’s always here hanging on some different girl. Like I said, you could do better.”