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  Better Off red

  Vampire Sorority Sisters Book 1

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  Better Off red

  Vampire Sorority Sisters

  Book 1

  by

  Rebekah Weatherspoon

  2011

  better of red: vampire sorority sisters

  book 1

  © 2011 By ReBekah WeatheRspoon. all Rights ReseRved.

  isBn 13: 978-1-60282-610-6

  This ElEcTronic Book is PuBlishEd By

  Bold sTrokEs Books, inc.

  P.o. Box 249

  VallEy Falls, ny 12185

  FirsT EdiTion: noVEmBEr 2011

  This is a Work oF FicTion. namEs, characTErs, PlacEs, and

  incidEnTs arE ThE ProducT oF ThE auThor’s imaGinaTion or

  arE usEd FicTiTiously. any rEsEmBlancE To acTual PErsons,

  liVinG or dEad, BusinEss EsTaBlishmEnTs, EVEnTs, or localEs

  is EnTirEly coincidEnTal.

  This Book, or ParTs ThErEoF, may noT BE rEProducEd in any

  Form WiThouT PErmission.

  CRedits

  EdiTor: cindy crEsaP

  ProducTion dEsiGn: susan ramundo

  coVEr dEsiGn By shEri ([email protected])

  Acknowledgments

  I must thank the following people:

  My parents and my brothers and sister for letting me be myself.

  The boys of Cilley Hall and the girls of Amen, Dunbar, and

  Bancroft; the other Five Heartbeats and the ladies of the Upsilon

  Xi Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., for helping me lay the

  foundation.

  Ellee, Jenny, and Ariana for sharing their experiences with me,

  and Jordan for showing me around the house.

  Ari, Kim, and Carole for the dance parties and the makeup

  lessons, even though they didn’t stick.

  Erica and Rosana for finding me and encouraging me to keep

  going, and the readers who embraced my online stories. Your

  support has been phenomenal.

  Summer and Tecora for holding my hand through every chapter

  of this book and beyond. To Aiden and Zac for existing, Steph for

  the chubbles, I.T. for introducing me to so many things, and Weebs

  for keeping me awake. Vanessa for being you.

  The entire Bold Strokes family for their warm welcome , Cindy

  Cresap for her amazing eye, and Sheri for the fantastic cover art.

  And lastly, many, many thanks to Radclyffe for giving this

  story a chance.

  Dedication

  To my mother, Jackie, who taught me how to swim

  and my father, Russell, who never let me drown.

  And to T. I love you, baby. Wanna go have lunch?

  Better Off red

  Chapter One

  I have an idea.” Amy threw her bag on the floor and perched

  on the edge of her mattress. I put down my pen and turned

  around.

  “What?”

  “Let’s rush.”

  “Where?”

  “No, no. Rush, stupid. Like join a sorority.”

  “Hell no.” I had just gotten used to sharing a broom closet

  worth of space with another human being. Our entire hall had a

  single shower. I was even getting over the fact I had to plan my

  masturbation me time around my roommate’s class schedule, but

  this was asking too much.

  “Ginge, come on.”

  “Amy, my darling, you are more than welcome to auction off

  your brain in exchange for endless amounts of upbeat to the highest

  bidder. I won’t stop you,” I said. “But there is no way in hell, no

  way, I am joining a sorority. I already have a ton of studying to do.”

  “You’re majoring in gym,” she said with a condescending

  glare. “Just hear me out.”

  “Ugh, fine. And I’m not majoring in gym.”

  “Right. Anyway. Here’s what I’m thinking. We’re too young

  to get into any of the good bars downtown, and all the eighteen and

  up places will just be packed with people from our gen ed classes.

  There are parties on the Row all the time. Parties I want to go to.”

  • 9 •

  reBekah WeatherspOOn

  “The Row? You’re already into this. You’re in deep, using the

  lingo and everything.”

  “Just let me finish. My sister said the parties on the Row are the

  best and they’re ‘invite only.’ If we rush, we get to meet all of the

  people who throw these parties. So even if we don’t actually pledge,

  we’ll meet tons of guys. Guys who will invite us back when it’s all

  over.”I chewed the inside of my lip, thinking over the nonsense

  she was talking. I didn’t give a crap about meeting guys. There

  were thousands of them on campus. I even sat next to a few in my

  classes. I had worked hard to get into Maryland University. Their

  exercise science program was one of the best in the country, and

  my workload this semester was more than enough to keep me busy.

  Getting involved in Greek life was not another slice of pie I wanted

  to add to my plate.

  Even if I had all the free time in the world, there was still

  no draw. I didn’t have anything against sorority girls, but I never

  considered myself to be that kind of a joiner. If Amy asked me to go

  out for the Frisbee golf team, then sure, that was the sort of group

  activity I could handle. The thought of slapping on a smile for the

  next however many days, pretending to be perfect just so some girls

  I didn’t know and had no real interest in getting to know, could tell

  me I was cool enough to walk around with them wearing matching

  shirts, well, it made me want to roll my eyes at Amy and dive right

  back into my chem notes. From the eager look on her face, I knew

  that type of blow off was not gonna fly.

  “Please. There’s this mega cute guy from Chi Nu in my econ

  class. I would love to see him in his natural habitat.”

  I had only known Amy for a few weeks. She was cute. A perky

  blonde. Perky in every way. We got along great, except for moments

  like this. It was obvious she wasn’t used to taking no for an answer.

  I, however, had no problem saying it. I just wasn’t sure if telling

  Amy to shove it was a good way to keep the air peaceful between us.

  I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. Maybe it was

  the right moment to tell Amy I was seventy-seven percent sure I

  was a lesbian, but that might create a whole other problem. The last

  • 10 •

  Better Off red

  thing I wanted was a roommate who was scared I was going to feel

  her up in her sleep or check her out while she was getting dressed

  in the morning.

  When I opened my eyes, Amy started clapping. I watched the

  dopey grin on her face stretch to full capacity and then stared at her

  as this weird squeal came through her clenched teeth. Apparently

  taking a moment to get my head together wa
s the same thing as

  saying yes in her book.

  “Fine.”

  “Fine?” Her voice pitched higher than I’d ever heard it before.

  “Yes. I will go through rush with you, but that’s it. I’m not

  pledging.”

  “Stop sulking,” Amy said. “I’ll do everything. You just come

  with me and pretend you’re having a good time.”

  “I said fine.” I snatched my pen off my notebook and turned my

  back on her. She finally dug out her books and settled down to study.

  “It’ll be great,” she squealed again.

  “Yeah. I bet.”

  ❖

  Amy managed to let me get my chem notes done without

  mentioning rush again. The next morning was a different story.

  While we got dressed, she told me about each sorority’s dedication

  to particular charities and causes. Apparently there was more to

  the ladies’ side of the Greek system than bake sales and bikini car

  washes.

  I listened as patiently as possible. I wanted to change the

  subject, but I figured I’d just let her get it all out, then move on

  to music or current events once she’d tuckered herself out. By the

  time we made it over to the cafeteria for breakfast, she was already

  talking my ear off about rush week etiquette.

  “Why do I have to wear white?” I asked.

  “Either white or black. Every sorority has colors,” Amy told

  me, the poor clueless fool that I was.

  “I know that.”

  • 11 •

  reBekah WeatherspOOn

  “Well, if you show up parading around in teal and yellow or

  purple and pink, you’re sending a message.”

  “What, that I like to mix my pastels?”

  “No. That you have Xi O or Mu Phi on the top of your list.”

  “Okay, what else?” I asked. This was all so stupid.

  “They’ll each have tables set up on the quad today, so we can

  cruise by and meet a few of the girls from each house.”

  I took a bite of my eggs and spit them right back out into my

  napkin. “Ick. Those are off.” Amy reached across the table and took

  a forkful.

  “They taste fine to me. Here.” She handed me her untouched

  bagel and snatched my plate of eggs and fruit.

  “You have any faves yet?” I asked.

  “Xi O actually.” She didn’t seem bothered by the eggs. “My

  mom’s a Xi O.”

  “Oh. Isn’t being a legacy an automatic in?”

  “Yeah, I guess, but I don’t know. I kinda want to do my own

  thing.”

  “Nothing spells independence like joining a sorority.” I ducked

  just in time to dodge a grape.

  “I just want to see what else is out there. We have to check out

  the Tri Pis and ABO.”

  “Why ABO?” I knew that Pi Pi Pi was one of those old school

  sororities everyone had heard about, but I knew nothing about Alpha

  Beta Omega.

  “I heard their house is gorgeous and huge. The guys in their

  brother fraternity are smoking hot and they have a reputation for

  only picking pretty girls. I know it sounds shallow.” She tried to

  save herself before I called her out.

  “Um, yeah.”

  “I don’t know. It would be cool if they asked me to join.

  Knowing they think I’m foxy.” The tip of her tongue stuck out as

  she wiggled her head a bit. I had to laugh. Admitting girls to your

  sorority based solely on their looks was the definition of shallow,

  but I figured that’s how sororities worked. They were sanctioned

  cliques set up on prime real estate, hiding behind the guise of good

  • 12 •

  Better Off red

  deeds and sisterhood. It would only make sense to have the hottest

  girls on campus at your side when you walk into the local soup

  kitchen. Accepting my fate, I bit into my newly acquired bagel. This

  week was going to suck.

  ❖

  I met up with Amy again before lunch, and just like she said,

  every fraternity and sorority on campus had tables and booths set

  up around the huge lawn between the library and the Liberal Arts

  building. I followed Amy from table to table, feigning interest in

  what each of the recruitment chairs had to say, growing more and

  more annoyed that terms like “recruitment chair” were becoming a

  part of my vocabulary. I was a little disappointed to have most of my

  assumptions confirmed.

  Every sorority had its type. Three blue-eyed, platinum blondes

  bubbled around the Theta booth. Four African-American girls with

  identical deep toffee skin tones chatted up prospective members at

  the Sigma table. Every nationality, hair color, and body type was

  represented from group to group, never mixing together. It was

  boring and predictable, and Amy was loving every single minute

  of it.Each girl we met was perfectly nice, but there was something

  fake and overzealous about all of them. Except for the girls of Alpha

  Beta Omega.

  By the time we reached their table, I was dying for a sandwich

  and a power nap. I also hadn’t masturbated in three days and had

  every intention of doing just that while Amy was in her two o’clock

  class.“This is the last one. I swear.” She held out a stack of pamphlets

  for me to hold while she opened her backpack. I shoved the bundle

  of papers inside then followed Amy toward the final table.

  The sisters of Alpha Beta Omega had their booth set up at the

  far end of the quad. Their brother fraternity, Omega Beta Alpha, was

  set up across the grass, in clear view. I glanced over as we walked

  closer to a group of four girls dressed in white, black, and red. Their

  • 13 •

  reBekah WeatherspOOn

  frat brothers were pretty cute. The girls behind the table, though,

  were much cuter.

  Right away, it was obvious that this group of girls was

  different from the other sisters we’d spent our lunch break talking

  to. A gorgeous brunette stood, her arm linked with her curvaceous,

  golden haired soror (another word I learned that day). An African-

  American girl with a beautiful, full afro laughed along with

  whatever conversation they were having. A bright red ribbon added

  the perfect blast of color to her ebony curls. A fourth girl, a petite

  Asian beauty with boobs a little too big for her frame, refilled a bowl

  of red candies. All four girls wore small teardrop rubies hanging on

  delicate platinum chains around their necks. It was shocking to see

  such a diverse bunch and a pleasant surprise that, for once, Amy

  hadn’t been wrong. They were all hot.

  The laughter and chatting died away naturally as we walked

  up to the table. The golden haired girl greeted us first. Some would

  have considered her heavy or even fat, but I thought she filled out

  her ABO T-shirt perfectly.

  “Hi,” she said, extending her free hand. “I’m Danni. This is

  Cleo.” The girl with the chocolate brown skin checked us out with

  an upward nod of her head. “And Barb.” The Asian girl replied with

  a bright hello, her warm almond eyes sparkling in our direction.

  “And this is Paige.”

  Th
e girl on Danni’s arm didn’t smile, but gazed over Amy and

  me before offering her own quiet, “Hey.”

  “I’m Amy and this is Ginger.”

  “Ginger?” Cleo asked, taking in my long red hair. “I thought

  my parents were cruel. Tsk, tsk, naming a ginger kid ‘Ginger.’”

  “Yeah, it could be worse,” I said with a shrug. “At least it

  doesn’t rhyme with anything.”

  “True. It could be worse. My last name is Jones.” I couldn’t

  say what sucked more, a name tag mocking your hair and your God-

  given beauty marks or being named after a blaxploitation character.

  Biting back my chuckle, I glanced at Amy who didn’t get either

  joke. Luckily, Barb spoke up before Amy had a chance to ask any

  questions.

  • 14 •

  Better Off red

  “So are you ladies interested in joining Alpha Beta Omega?”

  “She’s not.” Amy thumbed in my direction. I was instantly

  annoyed. Yeah, cheery meet-and-greets weren’t my scene, but this

  was the first group of girls who actually had my attention. I wasn’t

  about to tell them I thought their sorority was a complete joke. I

  should have explained that to Amy. “I had to beg her to come out

  with me…”

  While Amy continued to assassinate my amazing character,

  a small movement off to the left snatched my attention. I fought

  to keep my mouth from popping open as Paige casually brushed

  her finger over Danni’s nipple. Again, I quickly glanced in Amy’s

  direction. She’d completely missed it, but Danni had caught my

  gawk and scramble. She cocked an eyebrow at me before grazing

  her teeth over her full bottom lip. I could feel the heat blush my face

  red as I looked back toward Amy. She hadn’t noticed a thing.

  “You too cool for all this Greek mess?” Cleo poked at me

  playfully.

  “What? No. I, uh, I just didn’t think about going through rush

  until she brought it up,” I replied lamely.

  “We’ll be having our first open house tonight. How about you

  leave us your info and we’ll give you all the details.” Danni tapped

  a sign-up sheet sitting on the table.

  “Okay,” Amy said instantly. I shrugged and took the pen Cleo

  handed to me.

  All the slots of the first page were filled so I flipped to the

  next, looking for a blank line. And then the third and fourth. On the

  twelfth page, there was one open slot. Something felt off about their