Page 85 of Play For Me

“You totally said obsessed. I’m pretty sure I heard the word yearning in there, too.”

I lightly pinch her side. “You’re crazy. I barely noticed you at all.”

She pouts. “Really?”

“No, not really,” I reply immediately, because apparently, I have zero shame where this woman is concerned. All she has to do is frown at me and I’ll say anything just to make her smile, even if it embarrasses the shit out of me.

“The first time I saw you was at a party your freshman year. You were with your cousins and you said something that made them all laugh. Then some guy walked by—I don’t know what he said but it was probably rude because you stood up and started laying into him.” I smile at the memory. “I could hear you across the room. The dude’s face went white and he practically ran away.”

I close my eyes, remembering the way she’d swung her hair over her shoulder and sat back down, seeming to jump right back into the conversation without missing a beat. “You were wearing a black tank top and jeans and your hair was down. I remember wanting to touch it.” I run my fingers through her hair now, marveling at the fact that I’m able to do that.

She’s quiet for a long time and I suddenly wonder if I said too much. “Shit,” I mutter, opening my eyes to see her staring at me. “That was a lot, wasn’t it? I probably sound like a total creep?—”

She puts a hand over my mouth. “You don’t. But I wish you would have talked to me, back then.”

I shrug, brushing her hand away. There’s no point in telling her why I didn’t. No point in telling her that I didn’t talk to her because I knew, sooner than later, she’d figure out what a freak I am and start avoiding me. That I would rather have the chance to watch her pretty smiles from afar than talk to her and risk losing her.

There’s no point in telling her that I’m still pretty sure that’s how this ends between us.

Instead, I force a smile. “When did you decide you liked me?”

For a moment, she looks like she wants to press me on her question, but she must decide, like I did, that it’s better to keep things light. “Hmm,” she says, tapping her chin. “I think it was when you took your shirt off at the Sigma party.”

I growl and pounce on her, my fingers finding her sides and tickling her until she shrieks with laughter. “Fine, fine! It wasn’t then! I mean, you did look really good with your shirt off.”

I sigh and lean back into my pillows. “Must you always objectify me, Ransome?”

She laughs, stacking her hands on my chest and placing her chin on top so she can look up at my face. “I was definitely attracted to you before, but I think I started to really like you when you beat me at poker.”

I snort out a laugh. “Seriously? I would have thought that was a major point against me.”

She shrugs a little. “You didn’t let me win. Ihatewhen someone lets me win, and guys always do it.” She flashes me a grin. “Boys are usually afraid of me. But you weren’t. And I liked that. A lot.”

I decide that’s enough talking. I’m pretty sure if I don’t occupy my mouth in another way, I’m going to blurt out that I’m already half in love with her. Probably more than half. Instead, I pull her up until her face is even with mine and I kiss her.

And I don’t stop for a long, long time.

TWENTY-TWO

CECELIA

“Do you plan to get your face out of your phone anytime soon?”

“One sec,” I mutter, barely registering what Vega just said as I type out a response.

“No, no, it’s cool,” she says. “I’ll just sit here all by myself with no one to talk to. You keep making moony eyes at your boyfriend’s texts.”

I finally blink up at her. “Sorry, did you say something?”

She tosses a napkin at me and I laugh. “I was listening to you. Sol and the boys are headed to the food court so he wanted to know if I needed anything.” I grin to myself. I asked him for a Dr. Pepper just because I knew it would cause him to go into trainer mode and remind me about my meal plan and how too much sugar makes me sluggish for afternoon practice.

He’s totally going to bring me one anyway.

Violet appears at our table in the commons and plops down next to Vega. “Thank God that’s over,” she says, reaching for Vega’s fries. “I’m pretty sure I almost died.”

“Uh, huh,” Vega says drily. “Vi, we all know you aced your Chem test.”

“It was really hard, though!” Violet complains, propping her feet up in the chair across from her.