Page 9 of Let the Game Begin

Mia and Matt were pleased when they saw us walk in the front door together. My father clapped Neil on the shoulder as if he were some herowho had rescued the princess from her remote tower. I, on the other hand, just tried to avoid Neil’s constant mocking glances at my beloved Tinkerbell sweater.

When Matt asked me if I’d gotten lost, I reassured him that I hadn’t, even though that wasn’t entirely true. I didn’t stay and chat for too long, though, because I really needed to lock myself in my room, take a hot bath, and go to sleep. So, I took my leave quickly, paying no further attention to Neil, who had decided to go back out instead. Probably with those friends of his whose names I had already forgotten.

Hours later, deep in the night, I found myself lying awake in bed, my brain continuing to play back images of everything that had happened in the day. I rolled over on my side and tried again to fall asleep. I tossed and turned endlessly, closed and opened my eyes, sighed, huffed. In short, I did everything except allow myself to fall into a restful sleep.

“Goddammit!” I swore, lifting my torso up off the bed. I peered around anxiously before I hopped out of bed and decided to head down to the kitchen for a drink of water. Maybe the walk would calm me down and allow me to fall into a deep sleep.

I checked my phone and saw that it was already three in the morning. I crept slowly down the stairs, careful not to wake anyone. Silence and darkness reigned in the house, and it was blissfully relaxing.

Having made it to the kitchen—albeit with some wandering—I opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and took a long drink.

“Ah, finally,” I sighed in satisfaction. I felt the cool water run down my dry throat and straight into my hungry stomach, reminding me I hadn’t had any dinner.

Just then, I heard the front door open and some odd sounds echoing around in the sitting room. All my senses went on high alert and my legs began to tremble.

“Shh…try to control yourself, you little slut” came the whisper of Neil’s deep, raspy voice. I could have picked it out from a thousand whispers. Hold on a minute…Whatdid he just say?

“It gets me so hot when you talk to me like that… I want you now,” the girl he had just described in such a vulgar way murmured breathlessly. Iheard the door close with a thud and then the smacking of kisses, passionate and greedy.

My eyes grew wide when I realized what was happening just a few feet away from me. My breathing sped up, and I bit my lip anxiously. I had no idea what to do; I began to panic as I heard stifled gasps and moans from the next room. I remembered what Neil had said—We’ll go to mine tonight.—and everything became much clearer. The girl was Jennifer, the blond from earlier.

“Then I’ll fuck you right here. Right now,” he agreed with conviction, and even though I wasn’t actually looking at them, I felt like I was in the middle of porn shoot.

“Yes…” she breathed while I was busy dying of embarrassment. Immediately, I tried to tiptoe out of the kitchen. The soft moonlight filtering through the numerous windows gave me a faint view of the house; enough to get back to my room. Until I accidentally ran into a chair, and it made a sound loud enough the catch the pair’s attention.

“Oh, boy,” I muttered, fully aware of the mess I had just made. I felt my heart beating so loudly that I was afraid they could hear it, too.

“What was that?” the girl asked, worried.

“What are you talking about?” he answered, too worked up to take notice of anything besides the lust building in his body.

“Someone’s here, Neil,” she whispered, and from the way her voice shook, I presumed that she was worried and frightened, maybe even more than I was.

“Wait…” he answered firmly. A few hurried footsteps followed; he was surely headed for the light switch. I pressed my lips together tightly and mentally counted the seconds that separated me from the moment when I would be caught red-handed, embarrassed, and afraid.

All at once, the light came on and Neil and Jennifer jolted when they noticed my presence.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Neil roared.

2

Selene

I swallowed uncomfortably as Neil continued to stare me down. His eyes skimmed lightly over my features. His lips were reddened, probably from the mauling they’d been subjected to just a few seconds before, and his imposing body loomed over me.

“Well?” he prodded me, and for the first time in my life, I felt incapable of speech or response. So, I stood there silently, looking closely at his pecs under his light turtleneck and thinking about how well defined they were.

“I came down for a drink of water.” It was all I could manage to say. Then I cleared my throat and tried to get some control over myself. I had been in New York for how long? Not even a day? And already I was racking up the faux pas.

Neil, meanwhile, furrowed his brow and scrutinized me from head to toe. I was wearing a basic set of baggy pajamas with tigers on them, not remotely seductive. Jennifer, whose presence I had briefly forgotten, folded her arms over her chest, visibly annoyed that I had interrupted them.

“Could this be the famous Selene? The girl you told me about today?” she asked. I couldn’t fail to notice the derisive way she said it.

“Yeah, that’s her,” Neil confirmed, and I just kept trying not to look at his broad chest because it would have undercut my appearance of indifference.

“What were you doing here in the dark, Selene? Did you perhaps wantto join us?” Neil asked before leering suggestively at my childish pajamas. Jennifer burst out laughing, like she’d just been waiting for a chance to make fun of me. But I wasn’t about to let that slide. I straightened up, fixing her with a sharp glare. She cut off mid-laugh. Then, I turned to Neil.

“Oh, of course.” I grinned smugly, displaying a distinct boldness. “But if your penis is anything like your brain, I think it’d be too small to satisfy two women at the same time,” I replied. Neil raised his eyebrows in surprise at my insult, and I watched his smile fade with satisfaction. Jennifer, meanwhile, didn’t have the guts to utter a single syllable.