Playing By The Rules (The Players)

I GLANCE over my shoulder yet again, checking on that couple who are literally all over each other. As in, she’s currently dry humping his leg and his hands are on her hips, guiding her, their mouths still locked.

Shit.

“Hey,” I call to them, but they completely ignore me. They start moving even faster, and she’s panting into his mouth. Jesus. “Hey!”

They break away from each other’s lips, both of them glaring at me.

“You two need to take this somewhere else. Get a room,” I advise them, and after a few seconds of heavy breathing and straightening their clothes, they scramble off the couch, linking their hands and shooting dirty looks in our direction as they leave the room.

The moment they’re gone, Blair laughs, and it’s the sweetest sound.

“Glad they’re gone.” She shakes her head. “They were making me uncomfortable.”

Same. Watching them trying to get it on only made me think of getting it on with Blair, and while I would love to do that, I’m definitely not going to make a public spectacle of myself with her.

That I’m even contemplating getting with her is…huge. At least for me, it is.

“Come sit by me.” I pat the empty spot to my left on the couch.

Blair frowns. “Are you sure?”

Damn, I hate that she doubts me, but I deserve it. Fucking Derek, opening his big mouth like he did and telling her I’m a total horn dog. What a dick.

But Derek didn’t lie. The back seat of the Challenger has definitely seen a lot of action—not last week though. Not for a while. That’s where he’s mistaken.

“Positive.” I pat the empty spot again. “Come here.”

She rises from the loveseat and doesn’t hesitate, settling in right next to my side. We’re so close, you couldn’t fit a piece of paper in between us. Her scent swarms me, reminding me that I now own it and can spray it in my room whenever I want. And that realization is making me feel pretty fucking weird, so I focus on the questions she just asked me.

“All right, you want to talk? Let’s talk.” I settle in deeper into the couch, surprised by how comfortable it is. My weight makes the cushions dip, Blair falling into me a little, and I stretch my arm across the back of the couch, dangling my fingers perilously close to her bare shoulder.

I will be touching that shoulder here in a few. Mark my words.

“Do you remember my questions?” she asks hopefully, peering up at me from beneath her thick lashes.

“I’m going to try.” I lean my head back, staring up at the ceiling. There’s an old water stain above me, and a thick spider web in the corner. This place has definitely seen better days. “Um, my favorite season is summer. I have more of a salty tooth I guess, but I do like cheesecake. I wore braces. I had terrible teeth. So crooked.”

She laughs softly, and I don’t need to look at her pretty face to know she’s smiling. “Me too.”

I glance down at her, drowning in her green eyes for a moment. “My favorite color is green. My favorite food is…pizza. I’m scared of failure. Football makes me happy. My first kiss was with Lara Young. We were six.”

“Aw.”

“My first heartbreak? Hasn’t happened yet. My first job was at McDonald’s.”

Blair giggles. “McDonald’s? Really?”

“Don’t knock it.” I tap her shoulder with my index finger, leaving my fingers there, savoring her smooth skin. “I worked there the summer before my junior year in high school. I made decent money, but the hours were shit. And I knew I wanted to be a football player when my parents put me in pee-wee football. I was six and wanted to conquer the world.”

“You did a lot when you were six,” she notes, amusement lacing her voice.

“I’ve been focused since birth.”

“I believe it.” She’s quiet for a moment. “You skipped a few questions.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.” She glances over at me the same time I look down at her. “If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?”

I get a little lost in her eyes for a second, that look on her face. She’s waiting for my answer, expectant, and I realize I have to be one hundred percent real with her right now.

“You really want to know?”

“I’m dying to know,” she admits.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now, because I’m perfectly happy right here with you,” I answer her, staring into her eyes.

They widen slightly, my answer shocking her, and I know why.

This is not normal for me. I’m the guy who pushes her away. Who tells her it can’t happen.

Tonight…fuck it. She wants to have a real conversation with me, so I’m going to be real with her.

“Oh,” she finally says, dropping her gaze so she’s staring at her lap, where her hands currently rest. “Wow.”

I lean into her, inhaling the scent of her hair as discreetly as possible. “I mean it. I like spending time with you, B.”

“I like it when you call me B.” I see just the corner of her mouth turn up and I know she’s smiling. I give her shoulders a squeeze, savoring the feel of her silky-smooth skin beneath my palm.

“Your turn.” When she finally meets my gaze, I explain, “I have a few questions for you.”

She sits up straighter, but I don’t let my arm fall from her shoulders. “Shoot.”

“Favorite color?”

“Pink.”

“Favorite number?”

“Four.”

“Bullshit,” I drawl, shaking my head. That’s my fucking number. The only one I’ve ever worn on my jersey. Even when I was six, they gave me the first available jersey for a quarterback and it was the number four.

Been my lucky number ever since.

“It’s true! It really is my favorite number. Every address I’ve ever had, there’s a four in it. My apartment I live in now is 248. And everywhere I go, I see forty-four. Like, it’s everywhere. That’s my number. Four,” she says firmly.

“That’s my number,” I tell her, and she grins, briefly leaning into me.

“I know.”

“You see forty-four everywhere you go?”

She nods, seemingly pleased with herself. “It’s like…a sign.”

“You know what day my birthday is, right?”

Blair frowns. “Um…”

I’m not offended she doesn’t know. Why should she? I don’t know hers either.

“It’s April.” I pause for full effect. “Fourth.”

Her eyes grow so big, I worry they’ll fall out of her head. “No way.”

“Way.” I nod.

“That…that is…wow.” I’m pretty sure I stunned her silent, which isn’t an easy thing.

We can’t linger on that tasty little fact. If I don’t watch it, the next thing coming out of my mouth will be that we’re meant to be or some other sappy shit I don’t mean.

“Favorite food.” We need to get back on track.

“Sushi,” she answers.

“Yuck.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“Well…no.”

“Then you don’t know if it’s yuck or not.”

So logical, this girl.

“First job,” I ask her.

“At the hair salon where my mom goes. I worked there every summer and on the weekends during high school until I graduated. I’d answer the phones, greet customers and sweep up hair.” She smiles. “It was fun.”

I like the fact that she comes from money yet worked a job. That’s one thing I can say about the Maguire siblings. They aren’t spoiled or pretentious. They all work hard, and they’re smart and friendly.

Blair? Sometimes she’s a little too friendly.

Ha. What am I saying? I love her kind of friendly.

“Who was your first kiss?” My mind immediately goes to her admitting earlier that she’s been with four guys. As in, she’s had sex with four partners.

I hate that. First, because it’s her so-called lucky number so that’s some shit. If we were to…do anything, would that mean I’d be her number five? God, I hate the number five. Like, I seriously hate it. And second, I absolutely cannot stand the thought of her being with anyone else. Just trying to imagine some other guy touching her is like…

Fuck that. I can’t stand it.

“Benjamin Lathrop,” she admits, and I chuckle. “Why are you laughing?”

“He sounds like a loser.”

She lightly slaps at my chest, and I sort of want to ask her to do it again, just to feel her hands on me. “Stop. You’re mean. Benji was sweet.”

“Benji? Sounds like a dog’s name.”

“That’s what we called him. We were seven! Or was it eight? We were playing spin the bottle because his big sister was playing it with her friends. They were in middle school and having a party, and we were spying on them. So, the younger group of us decided to do it too. I spun the bottle and it landed on Benji, and oh God, I wanted to die. I had to get up and kiss him in front of everyone. And Ruby.”

“Your sister?”

She nods, lost in thought. “I was so embarrassed, but then I told myself a game is a game and so I went for it. I leaned in and kissed poor Benji right on the lips. I believe he turned twenty-five shades of red and then ran up to his bedroom.”

“Sounds like you rocked his world.” I smile.

“More like I embarrassed the crap out of him. Oh well.” A sigh leaves her.

I stare at her bent head, the various shades of blonde and gold woven into her hair. There are even thin streaks of light brown. She’s got some of the prettiest hair I’ve ever seen, and I wish I could run my fingers through it. Grip the ends in my hand and tug on it. Right before I…how did she describe it? Smack her ass?

“Was he your first heartbreak too?”

“Who, Benji?” She lifts her head, her green gaze meeting mine, and she slowly shakes her head. “No. That would be you.”

My heart sinks into my gut, making me feel like a shit. “Come on, Blair.”

I’m tempted to leave. I even position myself like I’m going to leap from the couch.

“Don’t you dare try to leave or make excuses.” She settles her hand on my thigh, like that’s going to keep me in place. I don’t move, letting her think it’s working. “You’re my greatest heartbreak, only because I wish you could see how easy this would be.”

“How easy what would be?”

“Us. You and me.” She gives my thigh a squeeze and my dick stirs to life. “But you’re stubborn and ridiculous, so I’m going to have to be patient.”

I hear the disappointment in her voice, mixed with resolve, and I wonder if I’m just a project for her to work on. “I don’t know if you should.”

“Too late. It’s already happening. You don’t even realize it, yet here you sit with me, your arm around my shoulders and my hand on your leg.” She smiles, like all of this was part of her secret master plan. “Face it, Cam. I’m going to make you fall for me.”

I’m about to disagree, but I clamp my lips shut, not wanting to admit the truth.

I’ve already fallen for her. I’m pretty much gone over her. I just—I don’t want to misstep. I definitely don’t want to fuck this up.

And I don’t want to hurt her.

“So, I’m guessing you have a type then,” I say, slightly changing the subject.

“I do,” she says tentatively. “I mean, don’t we all?”

“Yeah. So, what’s your type?” I’m hoping she’ll give me more insight into the four guys she’s fucked in the past, though that’s also a bit of information I don’t want to know about.

Fucking torture, is what this all is.

“My type?” She lifts her brows.

“Yeah. Come on, don’t be shy. Tell me.”

She raises her left hand and forms her fingers into a gun position, aiming it right at my face like she might shoot me. “You,” she murmurs.

“You’re just saying that because I’m sitting right in front of you.”

“I’m saying it because it’s true,” she counters.

I grab her wrist yet again, keeping her hand where it is—directly in front of my face. Leaning in, I bite the edge of her fingers, keeping it light. Flirty. Fun.

Blair sucks in a breath, her gaze zeroed in on the spot where my teeth just sank into her skin, and she lifts her gaze to mine, that startled expression on her face making me go completely still. “You bit me.”

“You didn’t like it?”

“I just…I don’t get you.” She slides her hand up my thigh, drawing closer to my junk. And my dick is pretty damn eager to meet her hand. “You send mixed signals.”

I rub at my chest. “It’s been a problem my entire life.”

“Really?”

“Sort of.” I glance around, noting that I don’t see a familiar face anywhere. “We should get out of here.”

“Should we?”

“Well, yeah. Fuck this party. It’s kind of boring.”

“We could be like the couple you just kicked out. I could dry hump your thigh,” she suggests, her eyes full of mischief.

I groan. “Don’t give me any ideas, woman.”

“You know what makes me crazy?”

“What?”

She stares at my lips for a moment before lifting her gaze to mine. “How we keep going around and around the subject, yet you never do the one thing I want the most.”

“And what’s that?”

“I want you to…kiss me.”