Page 10 of Playmaker

Cam.

She hasn’t called me that in years.

A simple nickname puts my heart into overdrive.

“Do what?”

“Start speaking to me again as if we’re suddenly close. I don’tdeservethe whiplash you give me. I don’t deserve for you to cut me out of your life and then hop back in years later like nothing happened.”

She’s right, as always, but now isn’t the time to have this conversation. Not when she’s plastered and vulnerable.

“You have nothing to say?” she asks.

“I think we should discuss this when you’re sober.”

She scoffs. “Whatever. Just go enjoy the party elsewhere. In case you hadn’t noticed, I was in the middle of something.”

I cock my head to the side. “In the middle ofwhatexactly?”

“I’m trying tofuck, Cameron, and if you hadn’t interrupted, I would already be upstairs.”

Christ. That word on her tongue . . .

This isn’t Maddie. We haven’t known each other in years, but I know her well enough to call her bluff. She would never fuck someone.Fuckisn’t in her vocabulary. Maddie needs an emotional connection, not a one-night stand.

“And you want to fuck Mark?”

She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, and dammit, I’m not strong enough to look away. Her tits are on full display, and I take my fill knowing she can tell I’m checking her out. The tiny inhale of breath she gives in response travels straight to my cock.

“Have any other suggestions?” she asks breathlessly.

Fuck me.

I refuse to be the bastard who takes advantage of her when she’s drunk. I’d never stoop that low with a girl, especially not with her. But damn if I don’t drink in the expression she’s giving me and save it to memory. It intoxicates me more than whiskey ever could.

Lust, want, and desire all wrapped into one. Her sky-blue eyes have gone as deep as the ocean, and it takes everything I have to take a step away from her.

I may not want to, but I have to.

This isMaddie Davis. Ethan’s little sister and someone I used to consider one of my best friends. Nothing will ever happen between us. Isn’t that why I pushed her away in the first place? After that night in Myrtle Beach, before my mom’s passing, I had been about to make a move and holy fuck did that scare me.

Even if Ihadmade a move that night, it wouldn’t have gone anywhere. Maddie has always been off limits, and I’ve had to fight this attraction toward her tooth and nail ever since that night on the beach.

I try to tell myself I can fight it for another night, no matter how difficult it might be, but my cock isn’t listening to my brain. It’s painfully hard against my jeans, and the liquor is coursing through me.

When Mark reappears at her side, there’s a devil sitting on my shoulder persuading me to tell him to get lost, and as much as I want to act on those urges, Maddie is right. I did this to myself. Despite how wrong it feels for her to be flirting with someone aside from me, I don’t have the right to stop her. It’s not fair to her when I ruined everything, so I turn on my heel and leave them alone, ignoring the ton of bricks landing on my chest and carrying an overwhelming amount of regret.

I have a beautiful girl waiting for me upstairs, and although Sadie isn’ther, she’s going to have to do. With my use of alcohol and weed limited, I’ll resort to sex like I always do. Even if it’s only an hour, it’ll numb my pain, and right now, I need a hell of a lot of numbness.

Irefuseto be stuck in this never-ending torment of wanting someone I can’t have.

Six

Maddie

As soon as Mark returns Cameron walks away, leaving me in a daze.

What the hell is he playing at? I swear he knows the effect he has on me. Despite how much he tries to deny it, he wasjealous. Why else would he have come over here without an explanation?

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