Page 23 of Dangerous Play

“Potato, potahto.” He shrugged with a grin.

“Before you guys dive any deeper into that fascinating subject,” Maddox cut me off before I even opened my mouth, “we need an explanation.”

Max nodded, now looking like he was carrying the weight of the world as he squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. “We are dating. Fake dating. It’s official now. You both thought it was a stellar idea hours ago… so… here we fucking go.”

He didn’t come across as cheerful as I imagined him based on the excuse he gave me that he had his reasons. But he probably didn’t expect this little problem to come up with my humiliation being plastered all over the internet.

Derek rolled his eyes. “Don’t take us for a fool… but what’s going on with…” He pointed at me.

“What do you mean?” I narrowed my eyes.

Guess, he wasn’t going to pretend I was far from that girl he met on the run. I was far from that charming, smiling thing thatbatted her eyelashes on Max wanting him to agree. I had a drive back then.

But a few hours in Ander’s presence dragged me down into the dangerous slopes of my black hole. A hole where he intended to keep me and never let me go. I could feel his claws digging into me deeper and keeping me where he wanted me to be.

I swallowed hard. “Ander is a dick,” I replied.

Derek snickered. “Tell us something we don’t know.”

It was supposed to be a joke, a rhetorical request. But my chest tightened.

Max shook his head and his thumb resumed drawing circles on my heated flesh. “One step at a time. I’m assuming we need to make this official.”

“Damage control is your first step,” Maddox agreed. “Maybe post a photo of the two of you.”

“Okay, we can take one.”

“In different clothes though,” Derek cut in. “Maybe change into something you worse first day at school.”

“I don’t remember what I wore.” Max snorted, glancing at me. “Do you?”

“I might like video games, but I’m a girl. I do remember the red top and straight jeans.”

“Great, we can go grab your stuff later and take some pictures. But first… food?”

“We just ordered,” Dex offered, “burgers and fries.”

I must have made a face as Max groaned. “Are you vegan?”

“I sense judgement in your tone.” I chuckled before shaking my head. “I don’t eat red meat. But chicken and turkey, yes…”

“I can add chicken nuggets or wings to the order.” Derek pulled his phone out. “Which one?”

“Nuggets.”

“By the way, nothing wrong with vegans but makes going out to dinner a pain,” Max chimed in.

“Like most dietary requirements.” I shrugged.

“True… but with chicken, we can work it out,” he said with a wink, and my stomach did a surprised backflip from his wink. “Now… let me introduce you to the rest of the team. If you are ready.”

My racing heart and galloping thoughts had settled in the last couple of minutes, allowing me to take in the foyer of the Titan’s house, looking around at the marble staircase and the minimalistic decorated jacket rack and dump table. It wasn’t messy, but it wasn’t organized either. Rather it was lived in, homey.

I should have been trembling. I was walking into our enemy’s house, full of players who watched me cheer for an opposite team.

Yet there was not one ounce of fear in my body. Anticipation and strange excitement buzzed through my body, and I found myself looking forward to meeting the team. The team I only heard negative things about, yet I knew, deep down in my heart, that not everything that Ander told me was true.

Max was the living example of that.

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