Page 10 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Chapter Seven

Shiloh

H ave you ever had a sinking feeling that something is off, but you can’t put your finger on it? A shiver slithers up my spine, causing every hair on my body to stand. I focus on the empty bed for a moment, then look at the phone in my hand. It’s been too quiet…

No sign of June, which is unlike her.

Especially on the first day of class, and the day of Delta Kappa Theta’s annual welcome masquerade. Like everything else in Villalargos this is more than just a party. It’s tradition. A rite. A performance.

On the surface, it’s for show—welcoming the new petals and letting the crowned ones handpick their preferred athlete for the season.

But everyone knows the truth.

Behind the masks and champagne, it’s about selection.

Affairs are arranged. Deals are sealed. Lines are crossed.

For girls like us, it’s the only sanctioned chance to taste danger before we’re leashed.

Our lives are already mapped out. There’s no harm in a little fun; it’s more like training. As a crowned one, it’s my duty to train the new petals—teach them how to bloom into something desirable . Obedient. Beautiful. Silent.

No one likes a woman who talks too much.

Not in our world .

The feeling of dread curls around my spine, sinking into my stomach. I suck my bottom lip into my mouth and type another message to June.

Hey, call me.

I stare at the message, hoping to see the read sign.

Anything. But, like the other five, it just says delivered.

I take a deep breath and rise from the bed.

I smooth my black pencil skirt and pull down the silvery corset.

My hair is slicked back into a side bun, dusted with silver stars.

No accessories tonight—just a thin sterling-laced mask.

My heels click on the wooden floor as I walk to the closet.

Swinging the door open, I stare at it as if June will pop out from inside.

But there’s nothing. Only boxes and our jackets that we barely managed to put away.

My phone pings, and I almost trip over a random box trying to get to it.

The contents from inside the small brown box spill onto the floor, but my attention is on the message.

Disappointment floods me when I read his message.

Devil

Library at midnight.

I toss my phone onto the bed, not bothering to reply. It’s not like I can say no. I can't. My eyes scan over the small space before landing on the box and scattered papers. Walking over, I crouch and pick up a piece.

From the look of it, it’s a newspaper clipping, careful not to tear it. I open it.

“What in the—?” I mutter, reaching for another small piece of paper.

This one is a crumpled-up piece of white notebook paper with the name Nico Reyes scribbled in the middle and a random address.

Quickly, I scramble back to my feet and grab my phone– opening up the maps app and typing the address on the sheet.

How strange?

A marina?

What is this about?

Not knowing what to do with this information, I gather the rest of the pieces of paper and place them back in the box.

What is June up to? Placing the box back in the closet, I reach for my all-black fur jacket and slip it on before closing the door.

That sinking feeling appears in my stomach again — making me nauseous.

And I can’t help but wonder again, what is June hiding?

She’s not a crowned one, despite her father being part of Velarium and her mother being crowned.

June decided to break away from all of it– not without a serious push and a major family fall out.

However, she accomplished her goal– no Delta Kappa Theta. Unfortunately, her freedom is an illusion; she might pretend, but we all know who holds the leash. At the end of the day, June Morelli is a Villalargo elite, and like all of us— she will also bleed.

Some more than others, but in the end, we all bleed the same.

I arrive at the party a little after nine, too early for my taste.

However, as a crowned it’s my duty to make sure the party is perfect.

I hire staff for all our events, but I still need to make sure that the decor is what I asked for.

Tonight, we will be hosting the annual party in the university's main hall, nothing but a large white stone pillar.

Massive black-and-metallic balloon arches decorate the doorway.

This year's theme is a silver and black masquerade; everyone must come dressed to impress and wear a mask.

No exception.

You also have to be invited.

This isn’t just some random sorority party; this is where the top of the food chain in Villalargos comes to claim what’s theirs and for the crowned ones to pluck their petals.

Music blares from the speaker, smooth and classical.

Selected servers move around the crowd, holding trays of champagne and seafood appetizers.

Nothing screams money like a small mother of pearl dish filled with Beluga caviar and a single grissini.

Thankfully, the rest of the girls are mingling with donors, while I drown myself in the bubbles of the rose-colored champagne.

Drunk is the only way to go.

The music is becoming too much.

The light is too bright.

My dress is too tight.

And my will to place the mask and play my role is non-existent.

Still, I persevere.

Daddy would expect me to, I couldn’t disappoint my family.

I’m an only child. Fuck, I ate my twin in the womb—the true Johnson heir.

The boy my father always wanted but never got.

Unlike the rest of the elite, my father is new money.

He was long established before I came along, but my mother’s side is the real royalty.

Dad lucked out while playing soccer in this very school and met my mother.

Somehow, he also managed to convince Gustavo Belazar to allow him to marry his precious daughter. Dad calls it fate.

I call it charm.

Looking over at the large ivory clock sitting on the wall between the grandmaster stairs, I focus on the little hand as it slowly moves; no amount of champagne can drown the small voice in the back of my head that’s worried for June. It’s so unlike her.

“Shiloh.” A familiar feminine voice rings from my left, my hand cups the long glass base of the flute, and with a smile, I turn. “Katie, nice to see you.”

The redhead dressed in a black tight dress hugs me, “I missed you so much. How was Rome?”

I smile, trying to will away the memories that resurface. “Oh, you know how it is. Nothing but sightseeing and shopping.”

She pulls away, finally, scanning me with her brown eyes. “Sounds like a delightful time, it’s amazing what you did tonight.” Katie motions towards the room. “This is incredible, every year is better than the last.”

“I can’t take all the credit. After all, I only paid for it.” Katie chuckles, taking a sip of bubbly. “The petals seem promising this year. They will be excited to create the match-up.”

My stomach knots. It’s always uncomfortable to talk about women as if they are cattle. Even in our situation. It just feels so wrong.

So twisted.

“Yes, they will.”

She hums in agreement- her gaze drifting where the petals stand.

All the freshman girls line up in uniform, something straight out of The Handmaidens .

Allison stands at the end of it— as their handler.

Hands clasp before them, dressed in white for purity, as the donors drink and smoke cigars around them.

Scrutinizing their cattle before their purchase.

Our matchups are about power moves. Which pairing will lock in the most power or the most strategic move?

The elites are always playing checkers while the rest remain oblivious.

Thankfully, the amount of alcohol I’ve been consuming since arriving is beginning to take hold, and finally, I can run away. “Do we know when the pairings will take place?” Katie shakes her head — a firm no .

“What we do know is that Mr. Johnson has been over at the Santorellis' house talking about your engagement with Asher.”

“It’s going,” I reply with a small curl of my lips.

Dad, right now is trying to execute a power move by marrying us off, hoping to end a feud between the two top universities that has been going on for years.

Maybe I can ask him to negotiate a term where Asher isn’t fucking everything that looks his way.

“That’s wonderful. I saw him with Xavier and thought it was strange. Didn’t think that they knew each other.”

Just hearing his name causes my blood to run cold, my arms instinctively wrap around me as if I could shield myself from the terror his name wreaks through my body.

People say that the body learns to keep a score of your trauma.

At this point, consider me his fiddle. “Hey, you okay?” Katie’s voice lulls me from the edge of disappearing, bringing me out of the depths of hell to only smack me into another.

“Yeah, I’m okay, just wondering where June is. That’s all.” I reply by rubbing my wrist.

“Ah, Morelli?” The gleam in her eyes shows me— she knows exactly who I’m referencing.

However, it’s the same reason why I want to scream.

Before she can continue to ruin the small buzz I have going, I dismiss myself with a smile and disappear into the crowd.

Contrary to what people think, I am very much antisocial— I hate big lavish parties.

Being around too many people drains me. I prefer being comfortable, eating some take out or hiding in the art studio, getting down and dirty with some clay as music softly plays in the background.

I only have two friends, one I've known since childhood, June, and a friend we made along the way, Tatiana. June is the friend I can be comfortable at home with, and Tatiana fuels my fire— we are all so different, but we work.

Tension coils up my neck as I notice the time.

I can’t be late again …