Philip sat on the edge of the plush velvet sofa in the Theta common room, his knees pressed tight together in a posture that felt entirely unnatural for a guy who usually manspreaded across any available surface. But Vanessa’s body seemed to demand it, her thighs brushing against one another with a softness that sent distracting jolts of awareness up his spine.

Beside him, Jack, currently inhabiting the tall, athletic frame of Katy, was slouching with a careless disregard for sorority etiquette, legs stretched out, ankles crossed, looking bored out of his mind.

“This is torture,” Jack whispered, his voice a low, feminine rasp that sounded bizarrely like Katy but carried all of Jack’s impatience. “We could be upstairs right now, exploring the finer points of female anatomy, and instead we’re sitting here waiting for a PTA meeting to start.”

“Shut up,” Philip hissed, keeping his head down. He smoothed the hem of Vanessa’s denim skirt, his palms sweating. “We almost got caught. If we get kicked out now, we fail the pledge. We have to blend in.”

Blending in, however, was proving to be a nightmare. The common room was filled with other pledges. Girls who knew Vanessa and Katy. Girls who expected Vanessa to be bubbly, loud, and the center of attention, and Katy to be studious and sharp.

Instead, Philip was currently doing a convincing impression of a mute wallflower, terrified that if he opened his mouth, his lack of knowledge about The Bachelor, or whatever else these girls talked about, would out him immediately. He felt like an impostor in a skin suit, every movement clumsy and overthought.

“Hey, Ness!” a girl with blonde curls chirped, dropping onto the arm of the sofa next to him.

“You’re being super quiet today. Usually, you’re bouncing off the walls before a mixer. You okay?”

Philip froze. The scent of the girl’s perfume was overwhelming, and he felt Vanessa’s heart give a traitorous little skip in his chest. It was the body reacting, not him. He forced a smile that felt tight on Vanessa’s glossy lips.

“Just a bit nervous,” Philip managed, pitching his voice to match the higher register he’d been practicing. “Big night. Want to be ready.”

The girl laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “You’re hilarious. It’s just the Delta boys. But I know you’ve been …