Spencer laughed charmingly. "Sir, this will be the first 'brewsky' I've ever had in a country club, and it is my privilege to have it with you!"

The McKays laughed, glad that their daughter's date had a sense of humor. Cassie finally started to relax a bit, but...

...just when she thought nothing could ruin this wonderful day, Graham walked up.

"Hi Cassie. Mr. and Mrs. McKay." Graham said in a southern drawl. "Dad told me ya'll were over here. I hope i'm not interrupting." Cassie forced a smile. "Hi Graham." She said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Why don't you join us dear?" Mrs. McKay asked. It's been so long since we've seen you."

Cassie glared at her mother. "She knows what happened between us." Cassie thought. "She just can't let it go."

Her mother was always bringing up Graham. "Why don't you tell him you're sorry," she would say, "i'm sure he would take you back. You know he's crazy about you." or "Cassie sweetie, please think about your future. I'm sorry he hurt you, but he apologized for it. Besides he's just a man, and sometimes men need a change of scenery. It's what they do."

Graham glanced down at his watch. "Thank you for the invitation Mrs. McKay," Graham said, "I...

....would love to but I have a meeting I need to goto. Maybe some other time."

"Oh that's a shame, I'm sure we'll get together soon. Take care Graham, tell your parents we said hello." Mrs McKay said.

Graham said "It was nice seeing you Mr. and Mrs. McKay, especially you Cassie. Have a nice lunch" as he walked away.

Cassie breathed a sigh of relief, and thought thank goodness, that would of been a wierd situation.

The waiter came back and brought them their drinks and asked if they were ready to order.

Cassie said, could you please give us a few more minutes to decide? The waiter said he would be back in a few minutes,

"Spencer have you decided on anything?" Cassie asked

Spencer answer, I think I'm getting Fettucine Alfredo, it's my favorite pasta dish.

Cassie smiled and said that's my favorite too.

They laughed and things seemed to back on track.........

The waiter came and took everyone's order: Cassie and Spencer each ordered the fetticine alfredo, Cassie's mother ordered a chef's salad, and Cassie's father ordered smoked salmon.

As they waited for their food to arrive, Cassie's parents began to ask her how her new member period was going.

"Great!" Cassie exclaimed. "I can't wait for tomorrow night, because...."

...we're making dinner for the people at the Ronald McDonald House! And afterwards, we're going to make cookies with the kids!"

Both Mr. McKay and Spencer simultaneously said, "This kid loves cookies, too!" then laughed. Mrs. McKay said, "I think someone's going to be making a lot of cookies for the men in her life soon. What's your favorite cookie, Spencer?"

Cassie exclaimed, "Mom....." as Spencer said, "Chocolate chip, of course!"

Cassie blushed as she asked Spencer, "Well, would you like to come with to help tomorrow night? We can always use some extra hands!"

Spencer smiled and said, "I'd love to....thanks for inviting me!"

The food arrived, and as they were eating, Mr. McKay asked Spencer, "So, when did you join Sigma Xi, and how do you enjoy the brotherhood?"

"I joined Sigma Xi during Winter Semester of my freshman year, which is also the time that I started school here. I spent my first semester at a community college in my hometown to help my family out with my little sister, who, at the time, was very sick. We spent much time with her up at the hospital. Because we spent so much time up there, we got to know her doctors really really well. One evening, while I was sitting with her, Dr. Allen Fitzpatrick and I were talking about where I intended to transfer. He and I discussed several schools, and he told me about here. He was an undergrad here, and said the pre-med program was wonderful. We also talked about my activities that I was involved in high school---Key Club, SGA, Senior Class president, and graduated with an advanced diploma. He gave me information about this college, put me in touch with admissions, and things went really well! My sister recovered well enough where she didn't need assistance during the day anymore, and I was able to start the paperwork for admissions. I was accepted immediately, and would start in January. Classes started pretty well, and I got to know some of the guys on my floor. After moving into the dorm, I was surprised and pleased to see some of my former classmates from my high school, including a football buddy from two years ago. Matt Campbell and I had hung out in high school a good bit, but lost touch when he graduated. He had heard that I was on campus, and wanted to look me up. We went to grab a bite at the student center, and Matt told me that his fraternity was having a Recruitment BBQ that night, and wanted to invite me to meet some of the brothers.

It turned out that Dr. Fitzpatrick was Matt's uncle...and it also turned out that Dr. Fitzpatrick had been one of the charter members of Sigma Xi here. He got in touch with Matt when I was accepted, and let him know that he thought I would be a good potential member...

That was two and a half years ago. Since I've been involved with Sigma Xi, I've had the privilege of holding two offices. Last year I was New Member Educator, and this past Spring I was elected Chapter President. We had a great Recruitment this past Fall where we picked up 56 new potential brothers. This chapter here on campus is consistently at the top in scholarship and spirit awards. I couldn't be more proud to be a Sigma Xi."

Where were you a Sigma Xi at? "

"North Carolina University. Gamma Zeta chapter." said Mr. McKay.

"Did you hold any offices there?" Spencer asked.

"I was Pledge Captain back in the day," he said smiling, "and I was also Social Chair. Do you boys here in Georgia do 'Flying High with Sigma Xi'?"

"Sure we do, it's the biggest party of the year."

"Well It was always my favorite. In fact it's where I met Cassie's mother." Mr. McKay winked at Mrs. McKay and she blushed. "She was the most beautiful stewardess I had ever seen." Mr. McKay leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek.

Fifteen minutes later Spencer and Brian were standing outside of the club waiting for valet to retrieve their cars. Cassie and her mother had stopped off in the ladies room.

"Thank you for lunch Mr. McKay. It was really wonderful getting to talk with you." Spencer shook Brian's hand.
"Well Spencer, it was wonderful having the chance to meet you too. You seem like a terrific young man. I'm very thankful Cassie has a friend like you."

The girls walked out and said their good byes. Cassie waved as Spencer helped her into the Tahoe.

"Your parents are really great Cassie." Spencer said as he put the SUV in drive. "I had a lot of fun spending time with them," He paused for a second."and you."

Spencer was focused on driving down the lane toward the main road, so he completely missed Cassie's jaw dropping and the blush that spread across her cheeks.

As Spencer turned toward GSTU, Cassie said, "I'm so sorry we didn't get a chance to study more for the test."

"That's okay....I really didn't need to study for the test."

"You didn't? But you said..."

"I was hoping that I could spend some time with you and get to know you better. I've sort of had a crush on you from the first day I saw you on campus. You remember when...."

"...those Sigma Xi pledges went over to the ADPi house and invited you to our crush party at the beginning of the semester? Well I had asked them to do that as a favor to me, because I was too nervous to ask you myself." Spencer said.

"That was you? I figured they were inviting me for David Williams. He was flirting with me hardcore at ya'lls bid day." Cassie tried not to look shocked but she couldn't believe he was intimidated by her.

"Well I don't blame him for flirting with you Cass. You're not exactly lacking in the looks department you know." Spencer glanced over at Cassie who was starting to blush.

Spencer pulled up in front of the ADPi house and turned off the engine.

"So Cassie, would it be alright if I called you sometime?"

"Sure Spencer, ..."

"...but I think I'd rather you call me Cassie." She smiled, gathered her books together, and said, "Should I write my number on your hand or on your heart?"

Spencer laughed and said, "Times I wish I had a little black book! Here, use my notebook." Cassie wrote her number on the cover of his notebook, along with "Call me!" As she did this, Spencer jumped out of the Jeep, and ran around to open the door for her. He helped Cassie out, then quickly kissed her on the top of blonde curls. "Talk to you soon!" Within seconds, he was back in the Jeep, and headed down the street.

Cassie stood in front of the ADPi house, thinking...

"...Was he joking about that "little black book" comment?"

As she started to head toward the front door, Melanie caught up with her. "So, how did lunch go with the parents and this Spencer???"

"Oh, you know how it is when parents think it's so cute to embarrass you in front of your friends," Cassie laughed it off. "It was a nice lunch, but unfortunately Graham was there as well."

Melanie groaned. "That creep? I hope you stepped on his foot....discretely, of course."

Cassie grinned. "Mel, only you would remind me to always be an ADPi lady! C'mon, let's go get started on those posters for philanthropy day!"

Arm in arm, the two sisters walked through the front door and were greeted by.....

Hailey, the Philanthropy Chair.

"Hey, how are you girls doing this afternoon?" Haily gave them a hug, and said "Cassie, was that Spencer I saw drop you off?"

"Yes, it was. He ended up having lunch with me and my parents this afternoon."

"He is so sweet! I knew him from our high school back home..what a great guy! Smart, athletic, and very caring about family and children. So..did he ask you out?"

"Not officially...he's going to give me a call soon."

"Really, wow. I knew he wanted you to come to the Sigma Xi Crush party. You know...their Rose Ball is coming up before Winter Holidays..." Hailey said with a grin.

"What's Rose Ball?" Cassie questioned.

"Only the most romantic fraternity formal at GSTU!" Hailey exclaimed. "From the first year that they've held Rose Ball, one of the brothers has wound up proposing to their girlfriend at the event. After the proposal occurs, the brothers wind up serenading the new fiancee. My diamond sister went with one of her best guy friends last year, so she told me all about it."

Cassie started musing....she thought to herself, "Would Spencer ask me out for the first time to go to his fraternity formal??? Maybe Hailey's just being overly optimistic."

"C'mon, gals, let's get these posters done!" Cassie suggested.

The three women had a great time designing the posters for the rest of the afternoon. Once they completed their task, they went upstairs to change for dinner. As Cassie was pulling on her skirt, the phone began to ring.....

Cassie let it ring for another ring, then picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Could I speak to Cassie, please?"

"This is Cassie."

"Hi Cassie, it's Spencer."

"Hey! How are you? I had a great time at lunch today."

"Yeah, me too. It was so cool that your dad was a Sigma Xi also. I wanted to ask you something earlier, but I didn't have my calendar in front of me. Listen, I wanted to ask you something. Our fraternity is having an event coming up soon."

Cassie almost stopped breathing.

"Every year right before the holidays, our fraternity throws a Christmas party for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. This year, the brothers wanted to find some ladies on campus to help out as "Santa's helpers" as we serve up the goodies and hand out presents. We usually do this the first weekend of December. Do you think you would want to help?"

A moment of silence took over the conversation and Cassie struggle to keep herself from falling on the floor. Would she come? Who was he kidding? How could she not come?

With the greatest of composure, she replied, "I'll have to check my planner, but I don't forsee a problem. I'll let you know by the end of the week.

Was there anything else??" she pleaded.

"Oh, I guess I should tell you that I have ulterior motives," Spencer added, "I think you'd make an adorable elf."

ELF?!?!?! Cassie thought. "Well, Spencer, maybe I should start making a costume," she said, trying to keep the acid out of her voice.

"No, no! Each of the brothers is giving his favorite 'elf' her own t-shirt for the event!" Spencer paused, "I'd tell you that it came with mistletoe, but maybe we can talk about that Saturday night?"

"Saturday night?" Cassie echoed.

"Yeah, our house is hosting a small party, and I was wondering if you would like to come?" Spencer asked, sounding a little nervous.

"That sounds like fun. What should I be expecting of this "small party"?"

"Ummm...it's going to be a dressy casual event. We wanted to have the opportunity to get to know some of the ladies on campus in a more formal setting. The crush parties are a lot of fun, but they don't really give us a chance to get to know the women. Too much noise, not enough quality conversation. Would you like to come? Ahhh..." Spencer coughed lightly. " I would really really like for you to be there. Please consider it."

"Spencer, I would love to be there. Thank you so much for inviting me. What time should I arrive at the house?"

"The event will start at 7:00 p.m. I'll come by to pick you up at the house at 6:30."

As Cassie hung up, Hailey asked her "Well, what's the news?"

"Spencer invited me to a dinner/party that the Sigma Xis are having on Saturday night. He also asked me if I wanted to help out with one of their philanthropy events as well."

"Wow..looks like things are getting interesting. Are you excited?" smiled Hailey.

"Yes, but nervous also. It's kind of a dressy casual event, so I need to figure out what to wear. Any advice?"

"Hmm...let me think. Hey, wait a sec. You mean this event is Saturday night? Cassie, THAT'S TOMORROW NIGHT!!!" realized Hailey as she looked quickly at the lion calendar hanging on the wall.

"Oh my gosh. I'll have to get a manicure and a pedicure, and figure out what to wear. Dressy casual...hmmm, I could wear my pantsuit with the cream and beige trim."

"No, I think this needs to be something else. " Hailey stepped out into the hall and called " Susan, Carly, can you guys come up here?" Susan was Cassie's Diamond sister and Carly was the sister who had represented Alpha Delta Pi on the Homecoming Court.

"What's up?" asked the girls as they walked into the room.

"Spencer invited her over to the Sigma Xi house for a dinner and party tomorrow night. "

"Cassie, that is so great!" exclaimed Susan. "What are you going to wear?"

"Well, I was thinking of my cream and beige suit.."

"Um..no, for a party/dinner, I think you need to wear a dress. " Susan yanked open the closet door, and surveyed the clothes. "Hmm..nice two piece suit, but too formal. Strapless black sundress..no, too casual. Carly, what do you think?"

"Well, I think I need to do her nails while we try to figure out what to wear. I'll be right back." Carly ran down to her room and grabbed her manicure and pedicure kits. "Hmm..you know what would look nice on her?"

"What?"

"How about that dress she wore to Pref?"

"Ooohhh...yes, why didn't I think of that? That would be perfect" exclaimed Hailey. She slid hangers around and pulled out a black dress with a subtle white floral print. "Cassie, this is what you need to wear. It's perfect!"

"And wear some black shoes with it."
"Hey Cassie, I've got some black pearl earrings and a black pearl necklace that would look great with it" chimed in Carly.

The ladies stayed up until midnight experimenting with Cassie's hair and perfecting her nails. Cassie could hardly sleep she was so excited.

The hours seemed to drag, yet fly all day Saturday. Cassie worked on more posters with her sisters to help her forget her slight bit of nervousness, then went upstairs to her room to get ready at 4:30. After taking a nice long bath scented with roses to relax her, she fixed her makeup and hair. She twisted her long hair into a chignon, giving it a simple but elegant look. As she was putting her dress on, Carly stepped into the room. " Here, let me zip that. You look great!" She handed Cassie the promised jewelry, then zipped up the back of her dress. Cassie glanced at the clock which read 6:20. "Uh-oh, ten minutes. Can you help me find my purse?" She called out, " Susan, have you seen my Coach bag?"

"She's not here. She said that she had a date tonight with a Lambda Chi Alpha brother. "

"Oh, okay." Cassie was so disappointed that her big wasn't there. She looked up in the closet, saw a monogrammed black bag, and decided to use that. Just as she moved her makeup bag and other essentials into her bag, the doorbell rung downstairs. She quickly spritzed on some perfume. "Where are you going? You look nice too, " as Carly headed out the door.

"I've got a date with Brian. I'll catch up with you tonight when you get back. Have a great time, and don't forget to be yourself!" Carly headed out the door smiling back at the pretty young woman.

"Cassie", called "Mama Ellie", the house mother. "You have a young gentleman here to pick you up."

"Thank you, Mama Ellie, I'll be right down." Cassie nervously glanced in the mirror, doublechecking everything. As she headed down the stairs, she saw Spencer waiting at the bottom. He looked drop dead gorgeous in his navy blazer and khaki pants. Underneath his jacket was a crisp white shirt, navy tie, and a tie bar that Cassie recognized as one similar to her dad's...the Sigma Xi crest. "Good evening, Spencer, " she smiled as she stepped off the last step.

" Good evening...wow..you look even prettier than you did yesterday!"

"Thank you" she said quietly, but secretly delighted that he had noticed. He took her arm, opened the door, and started to escort her out. "Oh..forgot something. Mama Ellie, these are for you." He handed the house mother a small bunch of white roses. " We thought you would like to have some of these."

"Why, thank you young man. " said a tickled Mama Ellie. "I'll go put them in the vase right now. " You young folks have a nice time tonight."

"Yes, ma'am" they both chorused as the walked down the door. Spencer helped her into the car, and as they rode over they talked of different things. Cassie asked Spencer about his times on campus, and he questioned her about her activities in high school and her involvement with ADPi so far. As they approached the Sigma Xi house, Cassie grew slightly more nervous. She took a calming breath, then relaxed, preparing to have a good time. Spencer helped her step out of the car, then led her to the house. Instead of taking her to the front door, he led her around the back.

"We're having the dinner and party out in the back where our patio is in the courtyard is located" murmured Spencer as he lightly held Cassie's elbow as he escorted her down the sidewalk. Cassie could smell some wonderful scents coming from the side of the house as she strolled with Spencer. She noticed some beautiful rose bushes climbing along the wall, realizing that these were the same type that Spencer had given to Mama Ellie.
As they entered the courtyard, Cassie looked and saw several of the Sigma Xi brothers dressed as nicely as Spencer. They were mingling with other young ladies who looked beautiful in their dresses. Without warning, the ladies stepped back, and the newest brothers of Sigma Xi formed a half circle in the courtyard.
Cassie looked around, confused, then heard the brothers start a song.

"We honor the beauty in this world
that comes from within,
like the glow of a pearl.
She's kind and sweet,
has grace and charm,
always a lady and ne'er would harm.
She's like our flower,
the best in our world.
This lovely White Rose,
Our Sigma Xi girl."

Cassie realized, all of a sudden, that the men were singing to her! There was Mark, who was in her College Algebra class. And over there were James and Tom, who had invited her to the crush party earlier that semester. On the end of the circle was Alex, who had graduated high school with her! As she glanced out across the yard, she saw the brothers smiling at her, and beyond them, the girls in their dresses smiling as well.

Spencer stepped up to her and Mark joined him. "Cassie, on behalf of the New Member Class of 2004-2005, we ask you to be our White Rose, an honor given to one lady on campus every fall, " said Mark. Spencer looked down at her, and asked the following question.

" We, as brothers of Sigma Xi, offer you this privilege as our way of recognizing the qualities we believe to be highest in womanhood, and have selected you to join the other White Roses. Do you accept this honor of joining the White Roses?"

Cassie, stunned, couldn't breathe. As she looked around, suddenly she saw Carly and Susan and Hailey standing behind the men. She looked quickly and noticed some other girls that she knew from classes and remembered from some of the other houses. Susan smiled at her, and nodded her head. Cassie realized, all of a sudden, that all of the ladie present were wearing a necklace with a white rose pendant.

"Dearest brothers of Sigma Xi, I feel privileged to be chosen for such an honor. Thank you very much for choosing me" said Cassie, her face glowing with pride.

Spencer kissed her on the cheeck and said, "No, thank you."

As Cassie flashed him a smile, Susan, Carly, and Hailey walked up.

"I'll let you girls talk a second; Cassie wold you like something to drink?" "Yes, please." And Spencer left the girls alone while he went to get the drinks.

"Oh, my God, why didn't ya'll tell me ya'll were going to be here too. So ya'll knew all long what was going on?" Cassie whispered.
"Cass, would you have really wanted us to ruin this for you. Come on wasn't it a great surprise. Besides we weren't sure what the agenda was for tonight. We had our suspisions, but we weren't positive." Susan explained.

"Here you go, Cassie" Spencer handed her a glass of sparkling grape juice as Susan, Hailey, and Carly's dates handed them a glass of champagne. "Sorry Cass, but you get the fake stuff; you know the rules." Yea, no big deal."

"To the four most beautiful roses, and the best women on this campus!!" Spencer and his brothers toasted the girls.

Just then a photograher walked up, "Smile!" he said.

After their picture was taken, Spencer led Cassie away from the group for a moment and asked, "Cassie, are you okay with all of this? I promise you, it wasn't all MY doing....my brothers actually were the ones to nominate you, and then we came to a consensus on selecting you to be this year's White Rose. Naturally, you will also be the guest-of-honor at the Rose Ball next month. I was kind of hoping you'd agree to go with me as your escort for the evening?"

Cassie smiled softly. "Spencer, it's an honor for me to be Sigma Xi's White Rose for this year, and I would be pleased to be escorted by you at the Rose Ball."

Spencer gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then led her back to the main group. Cassie was constantly greeted with personal well-wishes from the brothers of Sigma Xi for the rest of the evening, leaving very little time for her to talk with Spencer or with her sisters.

As he was driving her back to the house, Spencer's hand reached across the console and grasped Cassie's, holding it in a light clasp. Cassie looked over at Spencer, and Spencer looked back at her with a smile on his face.

Once he pulled up to the curb in front of the house, Spencer rounded the car to open Cassie's door, then walked her up to the front door. Before she could find her key to the house, Spencer stopped her by gently lifting her face up, then brushing his lips lightly across hers....

..., he kissed her. Cassie melted. It was like no other kiss she had ever had before.

As Spencer pulled her closer to him, the front door opened suddenly. Mama Ellie stood there staring at the two of them with a startled look on her face, which faded into a grin.

"Mam..Mama Ellie," Cassie stammered, "Spencer was just dropping me off...I was looking for my keys...the door was locked." Cassie's face started getting warm. She knew it must've been bright red.

"Bye Spencer." Cassie quickly said as she slid past the house mother and up the stairs. She didn't stop until she was in her room.

As she sat down on her bed, she could hear her cell phone playing Ashlee Simpson's 'Autobiography' from inside her purse. She dug it out, looked at the caller ID and saw it was Melanie.

"Mel?" she said. "Aren't you supposed to be on a date?"
"Yeah, but he ended up being really lame. He thought it would be funny to see how many beers he could chug before our food arrived. Needless to say I ended the night early."
"Wow Melanie, you always manage to find the most interesting guys at school to go out with."
"What can I say Cass, I guess it's just a hidden talent."
Both girls started laughing.

After telling Melanie all about the nights events, Cassie put on her PJ's and grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food from the mini fridge in her and Melanie's room. All she wanted to do was lie in bed, eat ice cream and watch 'Love Actually'.

The last thing that Cassie expected was to hear her cell phone ring again! She quickly swallowed the Phish Food and answered.

"Cassie, I hope it's not too late to be calling," asked Spencer.

"Of course not! I'm having this wonderful dream that I was named White Rose for Sigma Xi, and was escorted by one of the last true gentlemen!"

Spencer chuckled. "Well, it's true, at least the White Rose part." He paused. "If you have any doubts, why don't you look out your window?"

Cassie ran to the window, and on the lawn outside her window was a bouquet of white roses, tied in the Sigma Xi colors. "I can't believe you!" Cassie exclaimed, "Are you sure that you're for real?"

"Well, the next time you see me, you can always pinch me to find out!" Spencer teased.

Cassie laughed, and said, "I think I'm going to go head off to bed."

"I hope you have pleasant dreams," Spencer said.

"I'm sure I will....since they'll likely be of you," Cassie admitted. "Good night, Spencer."

"Good night, Cassie."

After hanging up the phone, Cassie put in 'Love Actually', then hugged her pillow to her chest as she watched the beginning scenes play out on her TV.....

...her eyes puddled up, as usual. Can love really be like that? Cassie wondered - then sat up quickly. THE ROSES!!

She threw on her robe, and tiptoed down the back stairs. Noticing that the alarm hadn't been set yet, Cassie propped open the back door, bolted outside to retrieve the flowers, and noticed that there was an envelope - a heavy envelope! - with them! She ran back inside and up the stairs, forgetting for the moment that she'd need a vase for the roses. Cradling the flowers as she inhaled the heady scent, she carefully tore open the envelope...

Inside was a stack of letters....each one written by a Sigma Xi! Cassie sat down on her bed, forgetting the movie was even playing, while she read through the stack. The last one she got to was from Spencer. It read.....

Cassie squealed with delight, tossing the letters in the air and jumping up & down on her bed!

Mid-jump, the door swung open and Melanie walked in.

"Cassie, what are you doing?" Melanie exclaimed.

Cassie laughed. "Mel, it's been one of the greatest days of my life! Did you see what the Sigma Xi gentlemen left outside for me?"

After showing Melanie all the letters, leaving Spencer's for last, Melanie said, "Cass, I'm so excited for you! Being named Sigma Xi's White Rose seems to have been a tradition with ADPi for the past four years. Are you going to ask Spencer to Black Diamond Ball?"

Cassie stopped. "You know, I hadn't thought about that...."

Black Diamond, and their formal are a week apart. Oh, what should I do? He said in his letter that he wants to take me out, on a real date. Should I wait and see if he asks me?

"Cass, calm down....he said in the letter he'd call you tomorrow. I'm positive he'll ask you out. He really seems interested in dating you," Melanie assured her. "C'mon, let's go to sleep. You can watch 'Love Actually' tomorrow."

Cassie turned off the movie, then climbed into bed. She drifted off to sleep, and began to dream of Spencer. In the dream, he......

was dancing with her in the rain right outside the sorority house. While there were other people trying to run from the sudden down-pour, it was like no one else existed... they just danced and laughed.

Cassie was was enjoying her dream when suddenly, she heard a loud noise that woke her up.

It turned out to be -

...why are you here Lance? I've moved on...

"Cassie, I am here to tell you that even though it didn't work out with you and Colin Farrel, or me and Sheryl, doesn't mean we still don't have a shot at re-kindeling the love we once had."

Cassie, becoming annoyed with Lance's sudden interest in her, turned to talk to Spencer. He however was paying no attention to what was happening between the two. He was too busy with the 12 or so Victoria Secret models who were clawing at his shirt. Suddenly one of the models turned towards Cassie and told her to wake up. Then the other 11 did the same.




"Cassie wake up!" Melanie was shaking Cassie trying to pry her from her dream. "Your alarm went off a half hour ago. We're gonna be late for chapter church with Pi Theta Gamma!

Cassie sat up in bed trying to focus on her alarm clock. It was already 9:00a, and they were supposed to be at the Pi Theta house at 9:45!

"Melanie, why didn't you wake me up when my alarm went off?" Cassie said grabbing her shower caddy and ADPi towel wrap.
"I tried Cass but you just smiled and mumbled something about Lance Armstrong."

45 minutes later, the girls walked out the door of the sorority house with honey wheat bagels in hand. Two doors down they met up with the rest of their sisters who were mingling with the brothers of Pi Theta Gamma.

"So, has it sunk in yet, Cass?" Susan asked her as Cassie and Melanie joined the group.

"Has what sunk in?" Cassie repeated.

"That you're this year's White Rose," Susan said, surprised that it wasn't obvious to Cassie what she was talking about.

"Oh, that....not really. I mean, it helped a little getting that packet of letters from all the brothers and the bouquet of roses on the lawn in front of my window, but I just can't believe how quickly this seemed to come about. Think about it, I really only started talking to Spencer on Friday, and I was invited to their crush party earlier this year, but other than that, I feel like I barely know the guys! However, I'm still REALLY pleased that they asked me."

Just then, Rick, one of the new Pi Theta Gamma brothers, came over to Susan, Melanie and Cassie and said.....

***Just to get this going again, since it's become SO ADDICTING....;) :D ***

...."How are you beautiful ladies doing this fine Sunday morning?"

"Fine, Rick, and yourself?" Melanie questioned.

"Pretty good. I think we're going to start walking over for the church service. Melanie, would you like to walk over with me?"

"Sure, Rick." With a quick wave, Melanie and Rick were gone.

Susan said to Cassie, "Cassie, I'm so glad that I can share the experience of being a Sigma Xi White Rose with you. I can still remember the night that Mike asked me to come over to the house....."

...he asked me to meet him there because he was running late for our date.

When I arrived at the house there was a note on the front door that read "Susan, come on in I'll be down in a minute. -Mike" When I opened the door Mike was standing there in a suit with a single white rose in his hand.

He stepped to the side and behind him were the rest of the brothers also holding white roses. He took my hand and led me into the foyer, that's when they all began to sing the sweetheart song. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life... I know you'll love being a sweetheart as much as I did Cassie."

Susan smiled and gave Cassie a hug. Then both girls walked over to the pavilion where the church service was being held.

45 minutes later everyone walked back over to the Pi Theta Gamma house for lunch.

The backyard was filled with tables and chairs, and a long buffet table with different kinds of sandwiches, vegetables, fruits and desserts.

At the end of the meal all the sisters thanked the gentlemen of Pi Theta for providing lunch, and walked back to the ADPi house.

As Cassie walked up the stairs to her room, she could her her cell phone going off. She raced upstairs and ran to her room, wondering if it was Spencer calling her.

"Hello?" she answered, out of breath.

"Hey, beautiful," Spencer greeted.

"Hey, Spencer. How's your Sunday going?"

"Pretty good....what have you been up to?"

"Well, we had chapter church with the Pi Theta gentlemen, and I just got back a few minutes ago."

"Sounds nice. Would you like to go grab some lunch over at the student union?"

"Actually, we ate lunch with the Pi Thetas, but if you're needing to eat lunch, I can tag along and grab some ice cream or something."

"Great...do you think you'd be ready in 10 minutes?"

"Spencer, I can be ready in 5 minutes....do I need to worry about staying dressed up in my church clothes, or are we going with the casual look for today?"

Spencer laughed. "Definitely casual. I'll see you in ten minutes, then. Bye, Cass."

Cassie quickly pulled out a pair of jeans and her favorite top, then pulled on her sneakers before heading down to the foyer to wait for Spencer to arrive.

Brenda was also waiting in the foyer. "Congratulations, Miss White Rose!" she said, hugging her. Brenda pulled away, holding Cassie by the shoulders and said, "I mean it. I hope you have at least half the fun I had when I was named the Sweetheart of Sigma Chi!"

"You, Brenda?!" Cassie exclaimed.

"Yes, last year. It was glorious - and I really want the same for you. From the moment we bid you, I've been hoping...."

"..that you would catch the eyes of the gentlemen on this campus. Sigma Xi was not the only group that was considering you as a sweetheart!!! Sigma Chi had you down as a potential, and so did Lambda Chi Alpha. Cassie, you are such a great young lady on this campus. Your friends from high school talk about how hard you worked in high school, and we've seen your commitment to grades and our chapter since you began your New Member period."

"Wow.." said Cassie. "That's a lot to take in...why?"

"We see how wonderfully you represent our chapter, as well as ADPi as a whole. How could everyone else not see that as well?"

"Thanks Brenda. That means so much to hear you say that." Cassie said.

As Brenda walked up the stairs of the house, Cassie thought to herself, "I wonder why they picked me? Maybe I'll never know, but it feels really good anyway!!"
Just then, Spencer arrived. Cassie skipped down the stairs to meet him with a big smile on her face.