Page 20 of Playmaker

Because the thought of your lips on her skin makes me physically ill.

“Ethan asked me to check. He stayed back tonight.”Lies. Well, Ethan did stay back, which is odd considering he never misses a party, but he didn’t ask me to check on his little sister. That concern is all stemming from me.

“Ah, okay. Well, you can tell him not to worry. I’ve got her.”

My jaw ticks at his statement. He’s not her boyfriend. He doesn’townher. She belongs to no one but herself, which is ironic considering I’m here acting like a territorial caveman when I have no right to be.

“Can I ask you something, though?”

I nod even though the only thing I want to do is go home and crawl back into bed. It was a mistake coming here. Ahugemistake.

“I know you’re more experienced than I am, and I just have to ask . . . have you been with a virgin before?”

My blood instantly runs cold. “No,” I reply tightly. “Why?”

Virgins mean attachment. I don’tdoattachment. Every woman I’ve been with has had experience, too, but the only reason Mark would be asking me that is because . . .

“Maddie told me she’s a virgin,” he says, running a hand through his blond hair. “I figured you already knew this considering you’ve known her for so long, and I . . . well, I need advice on how to go about it. I don’t want to fuck this up if I get a shot with her, you know? I want to make it pleasurable for her, too, and—”

Grabbing a shot off the counter beside me, I don’t ask what’s in it as I throw it back, enjoying the burn it brings.

No fucking way.

Maddie is fucking stunning. Of course, it’s her choice when to lose her virginity, but I assumed she already had. I assumed thousands of guys have begged to sleep with her, so why would she hold out? Or more importantly, forwhom?

My heart hammers inside my chest with a mix of anticipation and hope.

This can’t possibly mean what I think it does.

And if my suspicions are correct? I’m utterlyfucked.

“I can’t help you,” I reply. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an early morning with training and everything.”

I have to get out of here. My lungs feel constricted, my vision is hazy from the smoke, and if I see Maddie in this crowd before I find the exit, I’m going to do something really fucking stupid like kiss the hell out of her.

Keeping my head down, I won’t even let myself look at the people surrounding me for fear of seeing her. Instead, I focus on the littered cups on the hardwood floor and the different feet of strangers.

I’m in the home stretch when suddenly, a hand grasps my elbow.

Fuck. If it’s—

Jeremy, another former teammate, slaps me on the back before he pulls me in for a hug. “I didn’t think you’d be coming home this year!” he exclaims. Judging by his red face, I’d say he’s already three sheets to the wind. “Come on, come on. I’m nominating you.”

“Nominating me for—” I inwardly groan, the pieces clicking together. “The blindfolded seven minutes shit? We’re too old for that now. We’re adults.”

He snickers and pushes me toward the coat closet. “Which makes it even better. Now that we’re older, we’re more experienced, and that means what happens in the closet is dirtier than before.”

The blindfolded version of seven minutes of heaven—a childish game where the girls select a female of their choosing and the guys select a male. The two nominees are blindfolded and shoved into a closet without knowing who they’re paired up with. It’s a stupid-ass game I don’t have the time for tonight, but if I don’t agree, I know what the consequence will be, and Ireallycan’t afford to get shit-faced tonight.

My dad will kill me if he finds out.

Rolling my eyes, I wave for him to put the blindfold on. “This is only because there’s no way in hell I’m taking three shots. I won’t be able to drive home.”

“Whatever you say,” he sings. “Your lucky lady is already waiting for you. Good luck.”

When my vision is black, I’m shoved into the tiny coat closet that can hardly fit me comfortably, let alone another person. It’s stiflingly hot, and the silence echoing between me and the girl is awkward to say the least.

I’ve never failed at this game. Getting a girl to kiss me has never been difficult. Whoever the girl is, she’s breathing heavily, like she’s nervous, and I can’t help but wonder if this is her first time getting roped into playing this game.

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