Page 72 of Let the Game Begin

Suddenly, Neil took Alexia by the hips and positioned her in front of him on all fours. He kneaded her ass and slapped one butt cheek, making her jolt forward. As he did so, Jennifer grinned and rubbed him, whispering something into his ear.

Neil lowered the condom to the tip of his erection and unrolled it over his entire majestic length. With his muscles tense, his pectorals tight, and his abdomen rigid, he leaned into Alexia, rubbing himself between her ass cheeks. This produced a moan from her that even I could hear.

Jennifer smiled impishly and stared at the point of contact between Neil and Alexia, and I understood immediately which hole he was about to violate.

I may have been inexperienced, but I wasn’t completely ignorant.

That was enough for me.

I wasn’t going to stand there and watch them any longer, I had finally reached my limit.

I backed away quickly from that scandalous performance and went back to the kitchen, colliding suddenly with Miss Anna, who grabbed me by the arms before I could fall down.

“Miss Selene.” She gave me a look as though she knew exactly what I’d just witnessed. I was in shock and trembling even though I was trying to control myself.

“I’m s… sorry, I don’t…” I could hardly get the words out. I felt fuzzy and dazed, like I’d been hit in the head. Maybe this was all just a nasty nightmare?

Anna touched my face tenderly, and I thought about my mother. I thought about going back to Detroit. I thought about begging Jared to forgive me. I thought about dropping everything and running to pack a bag as soon as possible. I thought… I thought…

“Please try to understand,” she whispered, sounding mortified. I didn’t need to say anything; she already knew.

“What?” I asked her, distressed.

“Don’t judge him; understand him.” Her shoulders slumped, and she shot a concerned look out the glass door.

“No one can understand him.” I couldn’t tell her about what had gone on between me and Neil. I couldn’t explain to her how let down I felt, I couldn’t express my thoughts or tell her why I felt so betrayed. In the end, Neil and I didn’t have a relationship. He did not belong to me, and I did not belong to him. And still, seeing him with other people was like a stab to the gut.

“Oh, he can be understood. Just don’t fall in love with him; don’t make the same mistake as—”

“Scarlett?” I murmured instinctively.

Anna flinched like I’d brought up Satan himself. She stepped back, shaking her head. I could tell from her sudden silence that she was afraid of giving away too much.

“What happened with that girl?” I pressed, taking a step toward her, but Anna lowered her eyes, bringing her hands to her face.

“It’s not my place to tell you that kind of thing, young lady.” She clasped her hands in front of her and hustled away, not giving me the chance to ask any more questions.

I felt lost, surrounded by clues that needed to be deciphered and questions that had no answers. Neil’s odd behavior, that locked room, the girl called Scarlett who was, apparently, part of his past…all of it was a mystery to me.

Nobody was willing to give me any straight answers and that only made my suspicions grow.

***

After classes the next day, I found myself in the usual campus-adjacent restaurant with Logan and the others. But my mind was elsewhere. I spunmy straw in my milkshake, searching for an answer to the questions that plagued my mind. I had a terrible headache, and it was hard for me to keep up with what they were talking about.

I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep the previous night, not with images of Neil, Alexia, and Jennifer haunting me for hours on end. All at once, I looked up and stared at the table where the Krew had been sitting days before, when Xavier was harassing Cindy, the waitress. We now knew her well since we were regular customers.

“Here’s your coffees, folks,” said the girl in question, slipping the last of our orders under Cory’s and Jake’s noses.

“Thanks, doll.” Cory winked, and the girl rolled her eyes, though she gave him a pleased smile.

“Don’t be an asshole,” Adam scolded him, but Cindy didn’t seem to mind. She had probably realized that Cory flirted like that with everyone.

“He’s perpetually horny,” Jake added, and Cindy blushed, giving him a winsome look. It wasn’t the first time something like that had happened, and I suspected she was nurturing a little crush on Jake.

“Selene, you haven’t said a word today.” Logan gave me a concerned look. It was true, I hadn’t been very chatty, and I hadn’t been participating in their conversations because my spirits were so low.

“I just have a lot on my mind…” I needed to talk to someone, but Logan was possibly the last person to whom I could confess everything. I was ashamed of what I’d done with his brother. Though, if I could turn back time, I probably would have made the same mistakes all over again.