Page 35 of Play With Me

Here I was fretting about poor, lonely Will, but he wasn’t lonely at all. Get your head out of your ass. Wouldn’t you do the same thing?

I wasn’t the type of woman he needed, but it was so effortless for Nathalie—the pain in my chest was almost unbearable.

“Louisa?” Will said, concerned. “Are you drunk?”

I huffed. “I wish,” it tried to be a joke but came out like a squeak. “I’m home. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t alone since the guys are in the city this weekend. They’ll be back tomorrow.” He didn’t say anything for a second. I heard a sliding door open and close on his end.

“Uh, yeah. Ortiz keeps me updated on his location,” he mumbled around a cigarette, and I listened to the tell-tale click click as he lit up. We took a deep breath together.

“Are you with Nathalie?” I asked before I could stop myself.

He paused. “Literally or figuratively?”

“Both… Either.”

“Well, I’m literally on her balcony, but we’re not figuratively ‘together,’” he said, voice low.

“Cool,” was all I could muster. Cool?? Louisa May, who are you right now?

“Lou…” Will whispered.

Just then, the door to my apartment flew open, and the whole crew tumbled in. Ortiz nodded to me politely as he rushed Marisol to the bathroom.

“LouLouuOooOooo!” Has yelled, beating his chest like Mowgli. They were a hell of a lot more drunk than when I left them. “Who’s on the phone?”

Jackson grabbed it out of my hand to look at the contact name. “Who is ‘Best Bear’?”

Kill me now.

Hasan’s eyes twinkled from booze and bad behavior when he looked down at me. “You got another Bear besides me, Louisa?”

“It’s an inside joke with Will,” I said to the room, but mostly to the phone, playing it cooler than I felt. My cheeks were on fire, and I knew Has caught it. He would be insufferable tomorrow, and I’d be stuck driving with him for hours.

He leaned against my shoulder, elbowing me knowingly, “What happened to ‘Bread’?”

I elbowed him back, hissing, “Eat a bag of dicks, Hasan!”

Jackson hit the button to put Will on speaker.

“Hawwwkinnnsss, iloveyouman,” he slurred at the same time Brooks threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

“What the hell? He gets ‘Hawk’ by default and also ‘Bear’? What’s my spirit name?”

“Babbling Brooks, you fuckin’ dork,” Miller said, clearly the most sober of the four. He was rifling around in my kitchen cabinets. Found my decoy Trefoil box and checked inside. These guys are like heat-seeking missiles, Jesus.

“He Who Fucks with Ducks,” Will piped in, chuckling.

“Dude, whoa whoa whoa. Those motherfuckers came after me!” Brooks cried, looking around the room for support.

“Hey Ford, you coming to the bla…ball with us on Sunday?”

“I’d love to, but none of you shitheads invited me.” I laughed, waving a hand at Marisol when they came back from the bathroom. Christian was probably waiting outside the door for her like a puppy.

“I keep forgetting Has isn’t a degenerate like the rest of us,” Miller said. “We can find a wook to take him. Will, why don’t you bring Lou since Nat can’t go?”

I know the record scratch was only in my head, but it felt comically loud. I looked wide-eyed at Hasan and then Ortiz. I had no idea Nathalie was off the table; if I had, I would’ve kept my mouth shut. Help him get out of this, you dicks!

Will was quiet on the phone, no doubt considering every excuse he could think of. I needed to take one for the team. His hesitation was excruciating. Please God, if you’re real, take this cup from him.