Page 4 of Let the Game Begin (Kiss Me Like You Love Me #1)
All at once, he threw open the door of a room at the end of the long, bright hallway and put my suitcase down on the floor. There were at least twenty bedrooms in the house and who knew how many bathrooms. I was sure it could have housed several families.
“Not really. I’m here as a favor for my mother because she made such a big deal about trying to get me and Matt to reconcile, though I think that’s unlikely to happen,” I said and took a look at what would be my new room.
I approved of the bright colors and the restrained furnishings—luxurious but not ostentatious.
In the center of the room there stood a four-poster bed with a tufted headboard, embellished with a cascade of pillows in all shapes and sizes.
A mirror with gold-leaf accents adorned a vanity covered with perfumes, makeup products, and creams of all varieties.
One entire wall was dedicated to bookshelves, each shelf strung with bright, decorative lights that gave it a particularly chic vibe.
“Just give it some time, Selene. Everything will fall into place,” Logan said and I turned to look at him. In his eyes, I saw a clear understanding, even though we didn’t really know each other at all.
“You’ve got one of the best rooms,” he declared before clearing his throat and glancing away. “For two reasons,” he added, giving me a sly look.
“Which are?” I noticed the desk, then the white velvet seat where I would probably put my clothes or my bags. The room was truly every girl’s dream.
“Reason one,” he raised an index finger as he moved toward the French doors that opened onto a huge balcony.
“You have a view of the pool.” He opened the doors, and I approached him slowly, taking in the incredible exterior panorama.
The rectangular swimming pool was located to the left of the house, near a Mediterranean garden with an ample variety of colorful plants, each one unique.
“And the second reason?” I cocked an eyebrow while I tried to hide a shy smile.
“Your room is right across from mine.” He gave me a mischievous wink and grinned.
Though I did not feel threatened by him for whatever reason, I still wanted to set him straight. “Don’t get any funny ideas. I’m not that kind of girl,” I answered tersely, even as I put on a cheerful expression to make myself appear less harsh.
“Mmh…then this room could be a problem for you.” He smiled sarcastically with a strange gleam in his eyes.
“Why?” I asked curiously.
“Because the room next door is Neil’s,” he answered, amused, but I still didn’t get his meaning.
“Who’s Neil?”
“My older brother,” he said immediately, and it was only then that I remembered Matt telling me about three children.
“And why should that worry me?” I continued questioning him, undaunted, while he shook his head, mocking me.
“Get some earplugs,” Logan answered cryptically. Then, he simply winked and walked away.
***
I tried to make myself feel comfortable for a change by giving myself time to take a hot shower and put on clean clothes. Though, inside, I could feel the usual annoying sensation of rising anguish that I knew wasn’t leaving me anytime soon.
About an hour later, I joined Matt and Mia promptly for lunch. Everyone had already taken their seats, and I quickly sat down next to Chloe, who just continued to text without paying anyone else the slightest bit of attention.
“So, Selene, I know you’re starting at Pace tomorrow. You’ve already completed your freshman year, right?” Mia immediately tried to make conversation but to no avail, naturally, as I wasn’t in the mood to chitchat with my father’s girlfriend.
“Yeah,” I answered indifferently, immediately cutting off the exchange. Logan was sitting in front of me, constantly looking at me with a smile I couldn’t decipher. Maybe he liked my excessive candor?
“Where’s Neil?” my father asked, pulling our gazes to him.
“He’s probably out with his friends,” Logan muttered with a shrug.
Anna, the housekeeper—whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I got lost in the immensity of these new spaces while trying to make it to the living room—was roaming around the table making sure that everything was just as the master of the house had requested.
“Or screwing somebody,” Chloe added with a cheeky smile on her face.
“Chloe!” her mother scolded while my father shook his head uncomfortably.
I turned my attention from Anna back to Matt and sank into the whirl of my thoughts, reflecting on the absurdity of the situation.
Him sitting at the head of the table with his family and me, a total stranger, showing up just to please her mother and trying to salvage a relationship that she already knew was unsalvageable.
Nevertheless, lunch continued with Mia repeatedly trying to make small talk with me while Matt seemed particularly tense.
“I’m going to hang out with Carter,” Chloe said suddenly, leaping to her feet.
“You haven’t finished your lunch yet.” Matt’s authoritative voice surprised me; he had never taken that tone with me.
“I know, Matt, but he’s already there. We’re going to the mall and then the movies. I promised him.” Chloe argued her point sweetly, as though he really was her father, and she owed him that kind of respect.
Air.
All at once, I needed air because that anguished feeling was turning into an invisible rope, tight around my neck.
“That asshole again?!” Logan grumbled. Clearly this Carter wasn’t the kind of guy he wanted his sister seeing.
“Logan, mind your own business,” Chloe shot back, not at all intimidated by her brother’s butting in.
“Kids!” Mia scolded them.
“Okay, but when he dumps you like all the other ones, don’t come crying to me!” Logan insisted, pounding his fist on the table.
“Kids!” Mia admonished them again, but no one seemed to hear her.
“He’s not going to dump me… Carter cares about me!”
“Do what you want.” Logan gave up, though irritation was still evident on his face. His sister was a teenager, and holding back a girl at that age wasn’t easy at all. They were governed exclusively by hormones and social instincts.
Chloe hurried off, leaving the rest of us to lapse into an awkward silence. Lunch continued, albeit with discomfort that was hard to ignore.
“Is there a good bookstore nearby?” My voice cut through the tense atmosphere, drawing the eye of everyone else to me.
I’d only been there for a few hours, and I already felt like I needed to be alone.
I felt inappropriate; the ink splotch on a white sheet of paper, the scribble on a spotless wall, and I needed to do something comforting.
“Well, there’s one downtown, or you could go into the city. The Strand is great but…why?” Matt answered before looking at me like I’d just sprouted a horn out of the middle of my forehead.
“I can take you if you want,” Logan added, smiling, probably taking it for granted that I would accept his invitation.
It was nice of him to offer, but I needed to perform my familiar ritual alone: on every trip I took, I had to buy one new book that would accompany me throughout my journey.
It was a little secret of my own, a kind of good-luck charm.
“No, I can take the train, and I have Maps on my phone. I’m good.
” I got up from the table and took my phone out of my pocket to illustrate my point.
They looked at each other strangely, but I didn’t care.
I said goodbye to them and headed for the door, planning to walk to the train station a couple of miles away.
I didn’t have a great sense of direction; I tended to get lost easily, even in places I knew very well. New York was large and fast paced, so it would be a struggle not to get lost, but I wasn’t afraid. After all, there were people I could ask for directions and a map on my phone.
In short, I had everything under control.
The train ride took less than an hour and spit me out in real NYC, where I gawked like a tourist on vacation.
I felt instant euphoria over the idea that I was going to attend college so close to the city.
I walked around in raptures for about half an hour.
From time to time, I stopped to examine the store windows, the imposing skyscrapers, and some buskers.
When hunger started knocking on my stomach, I bought a hot dog at a cart.
I felt light, buoyed, and intrigued by this new reality.
The weather was crisp, and strolling the streets of Manhattan turned out to be much more pleasant than I’d thought it would be.
I lost track of time and only stopped when I spotted a store window with a display of books of all varieties.
I drew closer to it with a dreamy look on my face and had pressed both hands to the glass before I realized that this was the exact bookstore that Matt had mentioned.
I immediately went in through the automatic doors and found myself in a magical environment.
There were three floors exclusively full of books, a true reader’s paradise.
The scent I was breathing in—of wood, of dreams, of imagined lives—transported me into another world.
I could have spent the whole day there, forgetting everything else.
I set off, trying to keep my out-of-control enthusiasm in check and asked a sales assistant where I would find classic fiction and literature.
The modern classics were my favorites, and I felt the need to start this new life with one of them.
The girl directed me to the third floor, and I admired the immense size of the place as I climbed the stairs.