Page 168 of Let the Game Begin

“That hoodie you’re wearing is too big, baby doll,” he said as he closed the door behind me. He turned to stare shamelessly at my ass, and I zipped the hoodie up to my throat, completely concealing the tight T-shirt underneath. I moved into the living room, which I had last seen in a state of total destruction, but now it was perfectly tidy.

The pellet fireplace was lit, and the heat emanating from it was so powerful that it warmed me immediately. I saw Luke sitting on the sectional sofa, bent forward with his elbows on his knees. His blue eyes watched me warily, and his brow was furrowed in a pensive expression.

“What’s she doing here?” he asked Xavier, like I wasn’t standing right there.

“How the fuck should I know?” Xavier answered, coming up alongside me. He looked at my chest and then down at my legs, giving me a mocking smile. “Someone should give you lessons in femininity. What are you wearing? I can’t even tell you have tits.” He taunted me before sitting down next to the blond boy, who at least didn’t make any nasty comments.

Then, I noticed a strange smell in the air that I couldn’t quite recognize. It was mingled with the odor of sex, which I learned to distinguish thanks to one particular person’s efforts.

“What’s up, bitch?”

I started when Jennifer appeared behind me, half-naked as usual. She was wearing just a black bra and a pair of barely-there panties that were essentially see-through. She walked past me to Xavier and sat down on his lap, tossing a disgusted look my way.

God, I hated her, and she could see in my eyes just how much.

“Getting angry, princess?” she taunted, wrapping her arm around Xavier’s neck. In response, he kissed her breast, which was packed into the tight, vulgar lingerie.

“Apparently you keep finding new ways to lower yourself, hopping from one man to the next,” I snapped with zero restraint. I couldn’t help it, that fake porcelain doll face of hers triggered a rage that I just couldn’t control.

“The girl’s got balls,” Luke muttered, getting up off the sofa. I shrank back when he approached me, but fortunately, he didn’t bother me and just passed by on his way to the kitchenette. Maybe he was the only sane man among these lunatics, but I couldn’t trust any of them so I stationed myself in a corner of the room where I could keep an eye on all three of them.

“Don’t lecture me. You’re no saint yourself, considering you’re fucking the worst of us.” She winked at me, and I had to squeeze my lips together to force myself not to answer. If I did, there was going to be another fight. This time, though, I would have fought back.

“I’d be curious to see how you are in the sack.” Xavier dropped another kiss on Jennifer’s neck and then looked at me, raising one corner of his mouth in a wicked half-smile.

“She’s shitty. Seems pretty obvious to me.” The blond girl leaned forward and picked a white paper cylinder from the table. It looked noticeably different from a regular cigarette. She brought it to her lips and lit it, inhaling deeply and exhaling a thick cloud of smoke. Only then did I pause to examine the glass surface of the table, which was strewn with bags of snacks, some empty glasses, two open bottles of alcohol, and two clear baggies with some pills inside. Beside them, the ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts and chewing gum.

“Do I need to get more?” Luke asked from behind me. He approached with a can of beer in one hand, watching the bizarre couple on the sofa.

“No, there’s plenty,” Xavier answered, rubbing Jennifer’s thigh while she enjoyed what was, I presumed, a joint. She locked her blue eyes on me as she blew smoke into the air.

“Ever had sex on ecstasy, princess?” Jennifer challenged me again, but I wasn’t going to listen to her. I didn’t have any more time to waste on someone like her.

“Where’s Neil?” I asked resolutely, which earned me a sinister, mocking laugh. I hated her just a little bit more.

“He’s playing hide-and-seek. He’s waiting for you, you know? Go findhim.” She winked contemptuously at me. I gave a furtive glance at the closed bedroom door and my chest tightened in agony.

If Jennifer was out here then who was in there with him?

“I think you should leave.” Luke stepped in front of me, blocking my view of his two friends. I raised my chin to look him in the eye and frowned. Was this a member of the Krew trying to…spare my feelings? Or give me advice?

“These two won’t stop otherwise. But bear in mind that they’re going to be done soon, and the situation can get worse.” This was the first time Luke had spoken to me with anything like kindness. But he was still Krew, so I still didn’t trust him.

Just then, the bedroom door swung open and revealed exactly the person I had been searching for. His gleaming golden eyes landed on me, slowly traversing the outline of my body before returning to dive into my blue gaze.

He gave me an indecipherable look for a long time, blinking repeatedly as if to ensure that I wasn’t a hallucination. Then he heaved an irritated sigh and walked toward me, his muscles contracting and expanding with every step.

Behind him, unicorn-haired Alexia emerged from the room along with another girl. She was blond and petite with a perky body. Both of them wore surprised expressions on faces still flushed from arousal.

Alexia—who was, fortunately, clothed—sat down next to Jennifer with a smug look on her overly made-up face. The other blond was wrapped only in a bedsheet, and she had the unmistakable look of someone who’d just been well fucked. She paused behind Neil, who completely blocked her smaller figure and then craned her neck to one side for a look at me.

Iwas the one in the wrong here, not her.

Iwas the one who was imposing, not her.

Luke cleared his throat while Neil just stared at me, coming to a halt right in front of me.

If he had wanted to ignore me, he would have done so. Instead, he chose for me to see him. He wanted me to smell the shower gel he emitted because he’d just scrubbed away the evidence of sex with those other women, though other evidence was still clearly visible. His lips were swollen, hischeekbones pink, his muscles were still tense, and his arousal showed on his face in a way that felt like a slap.