Page 98 of Let the Game Begin

I didn’t inquire into his method of revenge; Jennifer didn’t matter right now, just Jared. I should have been able to break the news to him at the right time without anyone else interfering in that decision.

“Why did she go off like that?” he asked me then, as if I also bore some fault for this. I jerked my face away from his hand and sat up straight. I had to remember that Neil wasn’t my hero or my savior. I was just one more trophy in his collection, and I had to keep sight of that.

“Because she said you were hers and I responded in kind,” I explained angrily. “Do you think verbal provocation justifies her violence or gives her the right to hit me?” I stood up from the bed and immediately experienceda slight dizziness that made me stagger. Neil grabbed my arm, afraid that I might fall, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked around for my shoes, because I was barefoot. Moments later, I spotted my sneakers next to a chair.

“I’m not accusing you of anything, Selene. I’m just trying to figure out how—”

“How it happened? Jennifer is a crazy bitch who is obsessively jealous over you, that’s how.” I cut him off, reaching for my shoes. I slipped them on and then held onto the back of the chair as another wave of dizziness washed over me.

“You should try telling her that ‘you like her and your cock likes her but it’s just sex.’ Maybe then she’ll get that she’s not your girlfriend.” I rarely expressed myself so crudely, but I repeated his own words to him angrily and then grabbed my coat and bag. I had no idea who had brought my stuff there, and I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out.

“Don’t be a child. All I did was tell you the truth.” Neil came over to me and put a hand on the door to prevent me from leaving, but there was no way I was going to stand there and listen to him. Not anymore.

“There are a lot of ways to tell the truth, Neil. And as if I didn’t have enough going on, I’m now the new target of your deranged friends. Did you talk about me behind my back or what?” I gave him a false smile. “Did you maybe brag to Jennifer about your amazing performance? Or maybe you just told her I’m a way to let off steam, a little girl, a pity lay? Did you laugh at me? A naive little virgin who came all the way from Detroit just to get used by you like all the rest?” I seemed to be getting some of my strength back, though I was still dizzy. I was slowly starting to process everything that had happened and really react to it.

“I didn’t do any of that. I gave you my word that I wouldn’t talk about us to anyone, and I kept it. I’m not a teenager; I don’t feel the need to brag about how, when, or who I fuck,” he clarified, his voice getting steadily louder.

“And yet they know about it,” I pointed out.

“She guessed it on her own, but I never told her anything,” he said again, and from the look on his face, I could tell he was being sincere. I sighed then and rubbed my temple. All I wanted to do was go home and forget this disaster of a day.

“I would like to go home,” I admitted in a soft voice. Neil slipped his hand over the doorknob and turned it.

“Then let’s go home, Tinkerbell,” he said decisively, smiling just a little bit when he used my nickname. I looked up at him with every intention of refusing his escort, but I immediately gave in. How could I stay away from the person who shook my heart and ignited my body?

So, instead, I followed him to his car and watched him admiringly as he drove.

Neil even held a steering wheel with his own kind of charm: using one hand while, with the other, he ruffled his thick hair. He also gnawed on his lower lip and stared out the windshield, lost in thought.

As I stared at him, I realized how important his presence had become to me. Just having him next to me was enough to make me forget about everything I’d had to deal with in the last few hours.

“Wanna stop somewhere before we head back?” he suggested, startling me. I composed myself quickly, hoping he didn’t catch me looking at him and spacing out.

“Where?” I asked.

“What, don’t you trust me?” he asked, with the kind of sneaky smile that gave me goosebumps and a blush.

“No.” There was no point trying to lie to him. Even though I had given him parts of myself that I had never given to anyone else, I didn’t trust him outside of bed.

“Good. That’s the correct response,” he answered cheerfully, taking a street I didn’t know. I didn’t say anything else. Despite what I had just told him, I had placed myself completely in the hands of the walking disaster next to me. From time to time, I caught him sneaking sidelong glances at me, similar to my own.

“Quit looking at me,” I teased him.

“You’ve done nothing but look at me since you got into this car,” he shot back, never taking his eyes off the road. Then he turned up the volume on a song by The Neighborhood, and we didn’t speak again for a while.

I was still feeling unsettled, though. I was still shaken by what had happened with Jennifer, even if I did know that I was safe with him.

“So, where are we going?” I asked after a while and he snorted at me.

“You’re too impatient,” he chided me in that grave tone of his that always got under my skin.

“And you’re too domineering.” I pouted. At the same time, I felt grateful for the painkillers still circulating in my system. I wasn’t feeling any pain, but I didn’t know how long the effect would last. I preferred not to think about what I’d do then.

“Only in bed,” he answered, giving me a meaningful look, and I shook my head at him.

“Disagree. It’s not just in bed.”

Neil was always domineering, overbearing, arrogant, and overly serious. Apparently he wasn’t aware of that—or he pretended he wasn’t.