Page 180 of Plaything

He shook his head. “I couldn’t decide what to make. Although, Reesia is dying to see you. I think they’re all curious to see if you’re still alive after the club. You practically left in a body bag,” he laughed.

Placing my hands on my cheeks, feeling them heat up. “They watched the whole thing?” I blushed.

“You put on quite the show, Babydoll,” Aiden chimed in, giving my ass a slight tap as he entered.

I winced, flinching away from him. “That’s still bruised,” I scolded.

He simply hummed in satisfaction, pleased with their work. He wrapped his arm around my waist, kissing my neck. “You okay?” He questioned.

There was no way he could tell what was on my mind. I looked up at him, eyes wide as I replayed my earlier phone conversation. “Yeah,” I smiled. “Just tired. We got like three hours of sleep,” I thought of an excuse.

“You still take too long to answer when you lie,” he tsk’d, softly shaking his head at me. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Doll?” He pulled me over to the counter stools and sat next to me.

He looked calm, ready to solve any issue I could’ve expressed. He seemed so happy as he ran his hand up my skirt-covered thigh.

My lips pressed together. I should tell him. This was my opportunity. They had all been so happy lately. I wanted to hold onto that happiness for a few more days before I destroyed everything. I sighed. “Graduation is just coming up a lot faster than I anticipated,” I admitted.

Tilting his head to the side, he nodded once. “You’re worried about Charles?”

I wish I had the fucking spine to tell them. Charles was right about me but utterly wrong about them. I was spineless. “More than you know.”

“Don’t be. He’ll make lots of friends in hell—”

“Aiden,” Niko snapped. “Dial up the sensitivity a smidgen, huh?” He threw his hands up.

Aiden rolled his eyes; his distaste for my father made me giggle. I knew he was a disgusting, horrible, evil man more than anyone. I didn’t want to feel sad about his euthanasia, but he was still my only family... it was confusing. Borderline Stockholm.

“Whatever happens, we’ll be here for you,” he promised.

My chest tightened. I wanted to keep them. I knew it was selfish of me, but everything I was made of craved them. The reality was, in 12 days, I would be entirely alone. Legally, I would be forbidden to see any of my professors. Charles would be dead. I’d be graduated, interviewing for engineering jobs I’d been applying to. The proposals wouldn’t stop. My closest friend was Reesia, and after what I was bound to do to her friends, she’d understandably want nothing to do with me. My next best companion was Anna, who was hardly a friend outside of volleyball.

I would be very alone.

Aiden’s promise should have brought comfort, but it only made me feel guilty. I hated lying to them because I was also lying to myself. I knew how this relationship would end, yet I didn’t have the courage to admit it. I was going to hang on to them, our bubble, and their safety for as long as possible.

Smiling the best I could, I nodded at Aiden. “Thank you.”

He narrowed his eyes for a moment but didn’t comment.

“Where’s Wyatt and Dominic?” I asked, straightening in the stool. I didn’t see them when I came in.

Niko opened his mouth to respond, but Wyatt’s voice outside the kitchen interrupted him. “In the living room!”

“Dominic fell asleep after he got home after work,” Aiden jokingly widened his eyes in astonishment.

The thought of the sleepless man actually getting rest for once made me smile. “Really?” I matched his enthusiasm. “I guess there’s a first time for everything,” I joked.

Feeling peckish, I grabbed the bowl of pretzels Niko had out and began making my way to Wyatt for an interrogation.

He was sitting on one of the sofas, looking extra comfortable in gray sweats and a t-shirt, glasses on. God, I loved when he wore his glasses. When I caught his eye, he was scrolling on his phone, and he smiled. “Hi, Baby,” he grinned. He saw my smirk and cocked a playful eyebrow at me. “What?”

“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Professor Wright,” I kept my tone playful as I straddled his lap, plopping a pretzel into my mouth.

Caught off guard, he placed his hands on the small of my back and widened his eyes. “Oh? And what might that be about?” He questioned, genuinely curious.

“Is there somewhere you need to be this Saturday?” I hinted.

Confusion flashed for a moment before realization dawned, and he looked caught. “Aiden!” He scolded.

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