Page 36 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Chapter Twenty - Nine

Shiloh

I wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before turning over to my side.

My gaze falls on the kept and empty bed sitting on the opposite end of the room.

Sometimes I picture that she’s just not home, that she’s just in class or somewhere else.

Yet the smell of her no longer lingers within these walls, my body still buzzes with a wide range of emotions.

Guilt, shame, desire, and joy blend into one torturous feeling… One I wish I could put behind me. My phone pings, but I ignore the sound, sulking in the warm sun as it peeks through the curtains. I got home late, and I still don’t know what to think of all of this.

Nico and I.

What I do know is that whatever my father is doing, it ends.

He can no longer hurt him, that much I’ll make sure of.

That much I know I can do. Fix. I lie back on the pillow, Sundays no longer feel the same, and I hate it.

No more burnt chocolate pancakes that we will eat without a care as we watch our romance anime before I head to my Sunday duties at the sorority house.

I close my eyes, sorting through the many memories June and I shared.

“Are you in love with Nico?” I ask as I bite into the piece of burnt pancake, June stops mid chew. Her eyes shift to the window. She’s contemplating? Is she not in love with him? So many questions run through my mind as I wait for her reply.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if things are just different for us. ”

She looks sad or maybe guilty. Pushing her hair behind her shoulder, I notice the bruise. Hickey? On her neck, that ugly feeling wraps its tentacles around me, squeezing my heart with a mean vice. I stab the fork into the piece of pancake, my eyes staring into the purple mark.

The sound of a loud knock pulls me from the memory.. I groan softly, wondering who is banging at my door other than Tatiana right now. It takes a sheer amount of willpower to get out of bed, my feet dragging as I open the door. “Who is it?”

Nothing.

“Who is it?” I ask, already annoyed. I unlock the door and swing it open, only to find my favorite snacks at the door.

Strawberry Pocky sticks and shrimp ramen, my heart throbs a dull ache as I bend down and grab the contents.

The sound of whistling catches my attention, and there’s Brad hanging out with some of the new players.

One of them stares at me like a dog wanting a bone.

“Don’t mind us, princess. Just admiring the view.

” Wesley taunts, inhaling a vape before putting it back into his pocket.

I roll my eyes, making sure to grab everything before heading back inside, noticing that maintenance has already covered up the red graffiti tag.

I’m smiling when I hear something that makes the hair on my body rise from the feeling of the words.

“Nice ass, baby doll.” The nickname rings bells in my head—the way he says it. I turn around, looking for the source. The memory slams into me, causing my heart to sputter.

“Stop calling me that.” I hear June hiss into her phone as she steps into the bathroom. Shoulders tense, as she tucks brown strands of her hair behind her ear. “Baby doll. Stop it.”

I look up just as she slams the door, and the sound of flowing water fills the space. Standing from the couch, I walk toward the bathroom door, “June, are you okay? Did that asshole do something to you?”

“No,” she sniffles. “It’s not Nico.”

Then who?

I want to ask, but I don't. I hear her crying in the shower, wondering what the fuck is happening to my friend.

Shaking off the memory, I turn my head. “Who said that?”

“Who said what, princess?” Brad coos, licking his lips.

“Baby doll.”

They all shrug, a smile appearing on Wesley’s face.

From the corner of my eye, I spot Michaela, carrying a box of things, looking at us as if she’s trying to piece together something.

It’s too early for all this. I step back into the comfort of my home and lock myself inside.

I immediately notice the small piece of paper attached to the large bag of the Pocky sticks and recognize the handwriting immediately.

Nico.

I smile, holding the piece of notebook paper with shaky hands. I walk over to my phone and quickly realize I don’t have his number, but I know someone who does.

Hi :)

The bubbles appear immediately.

Thiago

It’s Sunday morning, what can you possibly need?

I smile as my fingers type.

Nico’s number.

The reply is immediate.

Thiago

No.

No.

Jealous?

Bubbles appear and then disappear.

Thiago

Never, I look better.

Before I can reply the shared contact card appears on the message thread.

Thank you :)

Thiag o

Sure.

Nico

My phone vibrates beside me, and I place an arm behind my head. I smile seeing the number on my screen. Not a saved contact but the selfie eating a strawberry biscuit tells me everything I need to know.

“Nicolas Reyes!” Tatiana shouts as she bangs on my door. Thiago steps out of the bathroom, toothbrush still in his mouth, giving me a questioning look. I begrudgingly stand to go deal with another entitled rich girl. “I know you’re both inside this dorm, open up.”

“I’m coming, stop banging on the fucking door.” I snap, not giving a fuck that she’s June's friend or Shiloh’s. As I unlock the door, she doesn’t wait before pushing it open, stomping inside like she owns the place.

“Stay the fuck away from Shiloh.” She snaps.

Not this shit again. I roll my eyes, anger quickly rising to the surface.

I’m really getting tired of people telling me what I can or cannot do.

Treating me like I’m a fucking puppet, not a person.

Thiago steps in, but I put my hand up, telling him I got this.

With a worried look on his face, he goes back into the bathroom.

Tatiana stands, pouting in front of me, looking at me as if I’m guilty of the bullshit she’s conjured up in her brain.

“How much money?”

“What?” I arch a brow, not sure if she’s insinuating what I think she is, but fuck she’s about to get read into filth if this continues. “Tatiana, go. If Shiloh wants nothing to do with me, then have her tell me.”

“You’re fucking your dead girlfriend’s best friend.” I step forward, looking down at her, leaning closer, I whisper. “Don’t act all high and mighty when you have skeletons in your fucking closet.”

She gulps loudly. Good.

“Leave Shiloh alone,” she mutters softly. I shrug before dragging a hand down my face. “I can’t, I'm in love with her.”

Tatiana scoffs loudly. “Love, Nico, you were just with June.”

“Oh yeah? And so were you.” I snap, catching the reaction of her body.

Already regretting the words that spill from my lips like vomit.

The truth spilling between my fingers. “I know you were meeting with June, so please, if anyone needs to stay the fuck away from Shiloh, it’s you.

” I advance on her, my body towering over her as she steps back, cowering.

Her brown eyes are big and wide. She’s scared. But why?

“That’s a lie.”

I raise a brow. “Is it?”

“Just stay the fuck away from Shiloh.”

“Or what?”

Tatiana doesn’t speak, but she shoots daggers at me with her fucking glare. Thiago steps back out, already trying to diffuse the situation. “Tati, go home, beautiful. Or should I tell Ezra about you hooking up with Wyatt? ”

A slow grin spread across my lips. “Why would he care?” Her voice shakes a little, but I don’t bother to respond. I personally don’t even know why the fuck Ezra would care if he’s too busy shacking up with the campus nurse.

This is clearly something above my pay grade.

“Just go home, and I won’t tell the man you’re promised to that you’re shacking up with one of the guys on the team.

It’s off limits.” Thiago clarifies, so that’s why Ezra was hiding around and intercepted that day on the field.

He’s bound to freckles here. She huffs out air, looking between us, trying to determine who’s the bigger monster, but I can guarantee she’s worse.

She leaves without another word, slamming the door, causing our team photo to fall to the ground, shattering the glass.

“What the fuck is her problem?”

Thiago exhales, “How did you know that she texted June that night?”

The question catches me off guard, so much so that I struggle to find a response. “Are you hiding something, Nico?”

“Who’s asking? My friend or my handler?” The question causes him to step back as if it were my fist that connected with him instead of my words.

His jaw is clenched tight, and his wet brown hair clings to his forehead.

“I’m just trying to help you, man, there’s so much going on.

Now you and Shiloh. This isn’t going to end well. ”

“It’s already bad, Thiago, wake the fuck up.” I snap, walking past him, my shoulder bumping into him as I storm into the bathroom. Internally, I’m screaming, but physically, I just stare at the mirror.

Thiago knocks on the door softly, “Ted found out the IP belongs to someone in school,” he says through the door. “I figured you should know. Stay alert.”

His words feel like a warning…. Something ominous is threatening to pull the rug out from beneath me.