Page 7 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Chapter Five

Shiloh

J unior

Age Twenty

I look at the window, my hand resting over Asher's, trying not to think about everything that happened back in Italy. Summer break is over, and hopefully so is my little test that determines my loyalty to him. As if I haven’t proven myself enough for the couple of years.

“Hey, you okay?” He asks, gently squeezing my thigh.

“Yeah, just jet lagged,” I reply with a small smile to sell the dream.

Staring at the vacant green eyes that stare back.

I feel nothing… Maybe slight disgust. All there is between us is obligation.

A contract of a future I want no part of.

There was a time I would have given anything to marry him. Thinking of him as my savior.

But that was a lie.

Who would have known all it would take was for me to remove the rose colored glasses and see the true him for what he is.

For all my feelings to just go away. To truly see and accept the shallowness and depravity.

To accept that I mean nothing. I’m just a pawn— a way to merge both of our parents' wealth and produce his heirs.

I watch as he runs his hand through his long waves, “Italy was fun, don't you think?”

Fun .

That word .

Grabbing his wandering hand, I interlock our fingers, not wanting him to trail any further.

My body is sore, and I don’t think I can handle more touching than what I already had this summer.

Especially after I was used as cum-rag for him and his friends, leaving scars no one can see.

But I can— I keep fucking score of each of them.

Thankfully, Asher and I go to separate universities, which means I’m free until he needs to use my body.

Or the school year is over. Hopefully the latter.

Deep down, I pray I can convince Daddy to just set me free from my arrangement with Asher— if he only knew the things he forces me to do when no one is looking. Excitement bubbles beneath my skin as the campus comes into view.

Freedom at last…

He will spend his time in Costa Mar University, playing for the soccer team and continuing his studies in finance.

While I continue with my ‘useless’ studies, as he likes to call them.

Nothing like majoring in Psychology with a minor in Art, and being made to feel like it’s still not good enough.

“Hey, so I was thinking maybe we should see other people?”

“Yeah?”

He nods. “You know I don’t like distance. Plus, we are gonna be married soon. As a young, successful man, I think it’s important that I explore.”

The words don’t surprise… nor shock me.

This is Asher Santorelli in all his fucking glory. To say I’m emotionally gone is the understatement of the year. He goes back to being the hotshot, Playboy Titan’s captain. And well, I'm back to my role as the Ice Queen.

I hate that name.

It implies I'm cold-hearted. Yet I'm not.

I just don’t find it in me to be considerate of those born into power. Those who look past my intelligence only to sexualize me and perceive me as nothing more than a hole to fill. Sort of like the asshole who’s driving me to my dorm.

“Is June already there?”

“Yes,” I chirp, excited to see my best friend before classes resume. At least with her, I don’t have to pretend — I can finally breathe again.

“It’s a bummer Tati didn’t make it back to school before the semester started,” I say as I step out of the closet big enough to store our coats and shoes.

“Yeah, Tati. What a shame.” June replies as she looks impulsively at her phone. It used to be us three, always June, Tati, and me. Then slowly it became just me. Tati is busy traveling and doing humanitarian work back in her parents' country after a major hurricane flooded some parts of the island.

She should be back soon– I hope.

Then June randomly hooked up with one of the Sirens players, and well, she’s been obsessed since. The problem is that I hate him.

Nicolas Reyes.

Not because I’m jealous— I’m not. My issue is that he doesn’t deserve her. Almost a year later, and I’m still shocked remembering a very tipsy June asking Nico out in front of basically the entire campus.

She looked so happy and in love, while he looked mortified— he eventually said yes, but when he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes.

From that moment on, I knew he was nothing but deceptive.

I just wish June could see it. To me, Nicolas is a liar, so full of shit, and maybe that’s why he can’t stand to look me in the eyes.

He always avoids me, and when we do speak, it’s flat— cordial for June’s sake but all above the surface.

June twirls a piece of her chestnut hair, sucking her lower lip into her mouth as her fingers dance across the screen.

She deserves so much better than whatever Nico can offer her, I’m sure of that.

Letting out a long sigh, I let my body fall into the cloud-like couch in our living room.

It’s fall again, and classes start in a couple of days.

Vacationing with Asher has my body tight with tension, but it’s expected of me.

The hard life of being the daughter of one of the crowned ones.

My arms stretch out on each side of the couch, my body sinking further into the plush material, closing my eyes.

As I drift off to sleep, I’m struck by a flashback of that moment.

It’s enough to send me jolting upwards, startling June. “Hey, you okay?”

I nod, trying to shake the tremor in my voice. “Yeah, dozed off for a sec.”

“I’m yours for the next four days, Nico has practice.” I try not to roll my eyes at her words, but the annoyance wins. “So four days is all your best friend gets after spending the summer apart?”

June frowns, scrunching her button nose, her brown eyes warm and full of amusement. “And whose fault is that?”

Pointing a finger at my chest, “Not mine. ”

Her body relaxes and she smiles, before her gaze drifts to the window.

She seems so quiet now, so distant, always spacing out during moments.

I know there’s something going on with her; she just won’t tell me what.

I don’t want to push it, but it’s consuming her.

Slowly, I’ve watched her light fade away, and I’m sure it’s Nico.

Snapping my fingers, I try to refocus her. “Earth to June.”

June places her phone on the small table beside the chair. “So four days, what do you want to do?”

“We can go shopping, watch some anime, and eat pizza.”

She laughs. “You want to just relax?”

I roll the tension from my neck, my body screaming with each movement. My muscles are stiff and bruised underneath the clothes I wear. Relaxing is the only thing that sounds remotely pleasing. “Yeah, I do. Just us.”

I lean forward, extending my manicured hand towards her, hoping she doesn’t question the long sleeves in the warm fall weather. Thankfully, the weather has been so inconsistent that it could be overlooked, but not from the person who knows me better than I know myself.

She shrugs and quickly stands. “Well, if that's the case, let’s get back into our routine. Let's get in our PJs and order takeout. There's a new romance I want to show you.”

Romance .

The word causes me to cringe internally, the last thing I want to watch, but whatever makes this easier and makes her happy. I watch as the screen lights up on the table, and curiosity has me creeping and looking at the message that pops up on the screen.

Shockingly, it’s not who I expected… Nico .

Who’s D?

Nothing more, just D and a very private message. No message preview. Which she’s never had before. My brows knit together as I look down the hall. What are you hiding from me?

Five days blew by like leaves falling off a tree…

Today is the first day of school, another day closer to freedom or something similar to freedom; the crowned ones don’t get that.

Being part of Delta Kappa Theta means that my life is pretty figured out for me; my husband has already decided how many kids, well, as many as my body and husband allow me.

But for one long month after graduation, while I wait for the negotiations of my future marriage, I’ll be free.

Until then, I will continue passing the torch just as my mother passed it on to me.

By the end of day four, June left to spend the night at Nico and Thiago's dorm, and I woke up in some random player's bed with a massive hangover and a cloud of regret hovering over my head. Of course, I left before he could realize I was gone. But I broke one of my rules. Which is to never sleep with any of the Siren’s team players, unless it’s Thiago, but even that stopped abruptly.

I don’t know what happened; he just stopped letting me in, and I stopped looking for a way in and getting under Nico’s skin.

Letting out a sigh, I slip on my boots and take one final look.

Nothing out of place, my uniform is perfectly ironed and creased.

Not a speck of lint on my black blazer, my white collared shirt is pristine and tailored to perfection.

My long blonde hair is curled at the bottom, the waves resting below my breast. My skirt stops right before my knees, short enough to show a little skin but long enough not to break the rules.

I'm an example of what Villalargos can breed.

And as such, there are expectations of me that I must meet with compliance and no questions. Always.

It’s mandatory for Villalargos students to live on campus.

We have anything our hearts desire within these walls—we want for nothing —and what we can't find on campus is a delivery away.

Walking towards the art studio, I look at my Apple Watch expecting to see my yearly, “break a leg, Shi,” text message, but there's nothing.

So unlike her.