Page 87 of Play With Me

"Tell me you’re joking, Has.”

"I’m not," he said. "And I wasn’t trying to confuse anyone, but I’m not in love with Lou and never have been,” he said. Fucking gutted.

“You goddamned cocksucker!” I yelled.

"Accurate," Jaimie muttered.

“Christ, Has! I told you I don’t give a fuck who you fuck—I came to you man to man about my duck. Why would you lie? I thought we were friends!”

“Will, I swear to God, I only put it all together on New Year’s. I was trying to warn you because guys tend to fall into her clutches and⁠—‘’

“I don’t give a shit about other guys. She could have been clutching my dick this whole time! God fucking damnit, Has!”

I slammed the door behind me and took off for the stairs.

39

A Locked Door

Boston, MA

Will

I’d driven everywhere I could think of and come up empty. By the time I gave up and posted myself at her door, it was fully dark, rain soaking through my jacket, the hood pulled tight around my face. Christmas lights blinked in slow, rotating colors across the sidewalk, and I stood there watching them, thinking about everything I’d gotten wrong. The things I needed to say. The things she deserved to hear.

A sharp sniffle cut through the rain.

I looked up just in time to see her shape emerge from the dark, dragging Scooter McGavin behind her like she’d refused to abandon him on principle. I straightened instinctively. Christ—she must be frozen, soaked through.

She wiped her nose with her sleeve and lifted her head.

And then she stepped into the spill of light, and it was like watching her come into focus all at once.

“Isa,” I choked. “Where have you been?”

The lights shifted colors on her face.

“I was at your house.”

She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

Her hair was mussed and slightly damp. Her lips were swollen, dark. Cheeks flushed. Eyes bright. No makeup. She looked like she’d just rolled out of my bed instead of five miles in the freezing cold—on a fucking scooter. Girl Magic.

“Why?” I looked at the glitter all over her clothes, and a slow smile spread across my face. I took a step toward her, holding my hand out tentatively. My dragon spooks easily.

“Your mom invited me, actually,” she said primly. Her nostrils flared.

Foreplay.

I licked my lips to hide my smile. “I see you got my note.” I could feel the glint in my eyes.

She bit the inside of her cheek, looking away, and I stepped in close.

“Were you disappointed it didn’t say anything?”

She shook her head once, and I cupped her cold cheeks with my hands. She blinked up at me, lashes dusted with glitter.

“It said everything.”