Page 34 of Let the Game Begin

“I’m out of here. I don’t waste my time with assholes,” she spat out irritably. She climbed out of the car furiously and gave the door an aggressive slam for good measure.

“Have a great day, Tinkerbell,” I said, waving at her from the half-open window. She didn’t respond, except to lift her middle finger at me. I watched her firm, beautiful ass walk away and found myself thinking that she really was a fairy creature.

Just adorable.

But Babygirl had already lost me too much time.

I ran a hand through my hair as I walked across campus toward the art building, trying not to notice the furtive glances some of the other students gave me. Some of them were attracted to me; others were afraid of me and just wanted to stay out of my way. All of them knew my reputation.

“Look who finally showed up.” Jennifer appeared alongside me with a frosty look and an irritated tone.

“Hey, Blondie.” I stopped to loom over her, touching her cheek and giving her one of my winning smiles. Though I felt no regret about how I’d treated her in my room and would never apologize to her, I still needed to at least pretend to be sorry, if only to maintain the harmony of our friend group. I hated fighting with Jennifer or Alexia in particular because, like all women, they tended to hold grudges and dragged out disagreements forever.

“Oh, now you wanna acknowledge me,” she answered stiffly. I wasn’t sure if she was actually still angry, but what I did know was that Jenniferloved to be on the receiving end of my attention. They were suffocating—her jealousy and her habitual pushiness. She wanted to know who I was seeing, who I was talking to, who I was going out with. This behavior of hers often reminded me of Scarlett, and I wondered if I was the common denominator, driving women to new levels of crazy.

Scarlett…

Every time I thought about her, anguish bled into me like a poison.

“Are you bringing your stepsister to school now, too? How cute.” Jennifer’s mocking voice shook me from my reverie. My first class started in less than ten minutes.

“Get off my back,” I snapped, annoyed. “I do what I want with whoever I want.”

I walked away from her, feeling in my pockets for my package of Winstons. I could never tell Jennifer about what happened with Selene, otherwise Babygirl would become a target like every other person I slept with. I’d already said too much when I told her Selene was Matt’s daughter.

“You never turn me down,” Jennifer said as she followed along behind me, intending to continue the argument. She was right. I never turned her down, and I certainly never turned down her top-notch oral skills. Blondie really knew how to work her tongue.

“There’s a first time for everything.” I lit up a cigarette and continued walking briskly, listening to her hastening footfalls behind me. I smiled in satisfaction at the thought of her having to chase me. It always pleased me to know that I was pushing her buttons.

“Bullshit, you—”

I didn’t let her get any further. I turned abruptly and grabbed her by one of the French braids along the side of her head. Then I used it to tug her face up until it was barely an inch from mine, staring into her eyes. Jennifer held her breath and swallowed hard, alarmed by my vehemence.

“Don’t make me angry, Jen,” I hissed furiously.

I could feel the stares of the students all around us but no one seemed surprised by the pathetic scene, nor did anyone attempt to intervene.

Jennifer grimaced in pain but said nothing, aware that she was on thin ice.

“Just shut the fuck up, and quit busting my balls.” I released her, letting her stagger back and then walked away.

There were limits with me that couldn’t be pushed. It was dangerous, because beyond those limits lay the territory of the beast.

9

Selene

Neil was completely insane.

Did he seriously think that making the same mistake all over again was the answer? No way.

And yet, there was a part of me that wanted to take him up on it, and I felt tortured by my need to do right by Jared. I rolled over in bed and shut the book I was reading. I tried every way I could think of to distract myself, but nothing could get it out of my head: the wicked temptation to give in to him again.

When it came to Neil, it seemed that my rational mind always lost out to my need to know more about him, to understand his troubled soul. I could tell that his careless front was just one of the many masks he wore, and I couldn’t say why, but I wanted to peel away each one and learn all the facets of him.

I picked up my phone and tried texting Jared again. I’d asked him to come visit me in New York so we could talk, but his commitments prevented him from traveling.

“Dammit!” I said aloud when he answered with yet another message saying that he couldn’t come to New York that weekend either.