The Secrets of Boys Read Online Free

together enough to graduate
    … after seven years.”
    Cassidy’s head already felt a little lighter and she was loosening up. Not as much as Scotto, but enough that she wasn’t nearly as worried about having to talk to people she didn’t know.
    Joe and Cassidy walked out to the backyard, where there was a DJ booth and a fire ring that had been cleared and edged with stones. Cassidy breathed deeply, letting the cool, damp summer air invade her lungs, glad to be free of the suffocating beery smokiness inside the frat house.
    “Do they really burn all the furniture that nobody wants?” she asked.
    “The Sig Eps have a very unique philosophy,” Joe replied. “If you don’t like a particular piece, even if it’s not yours, you can burn it. And if you do like one that’s somebody else’s, you can steal it from them. Of course, they can steal it back from you as well, but that’s part of the fun. So around this time of year, there’s a lot of bartering and steal-ing going on, and you have to be pretty vigilant to keep something you really like from going up in flames.”
    Cassidy couldn’t help laughing. “That’s ridiculous.”
    “There was one guy who strapped his favorite chair to his back and walked around like that for weeks before the end-of-year party. At night, he’d padlock it to the post of his bed.”
    “Did it work?” Cassidy giggled.
    “No,” Joe admitted. “They dismantled his bed while he was sleeping and hid the piece with his chair attached in another frat house. He was inconsolable. In fact, that’s him over there.” He pointed to a stocky guy in a green knit cap sitting by himself in the corner, drinking a beer and staring up at the stars with a “Why me?”
    expression on his face.
    “Poor man,” Cassidy said. “Should we go cheer him up?”
    Joe shook his head. “I’ve tried,” he said. “We all have.
    They even gave him back his chair when they realized the deeper psychological impact. But I don’t think that was it. I think it was just having his plan thwarted. It insulted his intelligence.”
    “The complexity of the male psyche,” Cassidy agreed. “Who knows its bounds? It’s like boys have all these weird secrets I’ll never understand.”
    “Boys?” Joe asked. “What about the girls? They’re the ones with the weird secrets. At least, they always manage to confuse me .”
    “I guess you’re right,” Cassidy said. “I mean, I am a girl, and half the time I can’t even understand what’s going on in my own head.”
    “Hey, isn’t that your boyfriend?”
    Cassidy’s eyes followed his. Sure enough, Eric was coming through the crowd of dancers, a beer balanced in each hand. His eyes lit up when he saw her but clouded slightly when he noticed Joe.
    “Hey, sweetie,” he said, leaning down for a kiss.
    Cassidy noticed Joe’s grin falter out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Where’ve you been?”
    “Oh, Joe was just showing me around,” she said.
    “You guys know each other, right?”
    “Yeah, sure,” Eric said.
    “How’s it going?” Joe asked, reaching out to shake Eric’s hand. But Eric was too busy wrapping his arm around Cassidy’s shoulders to notice.
    “So I brought you a drink,” he said, squeezing her tight. “But it looks like you already have one.”
    “That’s okay; I can finish it quick,” Cassidy said. She tipped her head back and let the rest of the beer slide down her throat. Her cup had been about halfway full, and a tiny trickle spilled down her chin when she reached the bottom. She righted her head, wiped her chin, and hiccupped.
    “Now I can have this one,” she said, reaching for the cup in Eric’s hand.
    “Maybe you should take a little break first,” Joe warned. “I could get you a glass of water or something.”
    “She’ll be fine,” Eric assured him coolly, then turned to Cassidy. “They’re about to start the bonfire. Let’s go find a good spot.”
    “Where’s