Page 16 of Fake Game

“You’re staring.” There’s a glint in Jackson’s eyes as he drawls out the words.

“So?” I can feel a flush creeping up my cheeks, but the amount of blush on my face hides any hint of it.

“Just making an observation,” he muses, turning his attention back to the road. “You seemed preoccupied.”

“I was just thinking about how they say men with big hands tend to have big penises.”

The car jerks as Jackson’s head whips to me, his eyes wide. I feel a sliver of satisfaction as his mouth opens and closes—even though I’m mentally kicking myself for saying that. I don’t know why I say the randomest things when I’m around him…and now I’m thinking about his cock when I seriously don’t need to be.

“Although, I’m not really sure there is any scientific evidence backing that statement. Not that I’ve Googled it or anything, but it’s food for thought,” I continue to babble, even though I wish I would just shut-up.

Jackson clenches his jaw. “You’re spending too much time around Stephanie.”

“I’m always like this.” I shrug, pretending to clean under my nails.

Jackson doesn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride, and I can’t tell whether he is miffed with me or just embarrassed by my comment.

The car rolls to a stop outside Lee’s opulent apartment complex, and I waste no time unbuckling my seat belt and popping open the door.

“Well, thanks for the ride. I’ll be sure to give you a four-star rating.”

“What time will you be done?”

I halt, one foot on the asphalt, and turn back to him. “What do you mean?”

“Your little Crime Night, when does it finish?”

I frown. “I don’t know. Depends on how much we drink. Why?”

Typically, if we have a particularly tipsy Crime Night, I end up just crashing at Lee’s instead of waiting to sober up and drive back. Occasionally, Syd will drop me off at home, but then I have to deal with getting my car the next day, and that always ends up being a pain. If it is a pretty sober night, I drive myself home, but there is never any telling how a Crime Night will turn out. That is the beauty of them.

“So I can drive you home.”

“Why? I’ll just have Stevie or Syd take me.”

His eyes give me a quick once over before he turns away from me. “Fine.”

“Okay, bye.”

I shut the door, half expecting him to take off and leave me in a cloud of dust, but instead he just waits. When another second passes and he just stares at me through the window, I give up and turn around to walk into the building.

I really do not understand that man.

“Evening, Miss Deer,” the doorman greets me when I walk inside.

“Evening, Bill,” I smile back before making my way to the elevators. I come here often enough that I am practically an honorary resident. It is a stunning apartment complex, almost as nice as the one The System lives in.

I eventually reach Lee’s floor and stand outside her door, taking a deep breath and centering myself before punching in the code and walking inside.

“Your favorite human has arrived,” I chime in with a smile.

“Hi,” Stevie’s voice trills back.

Lee’s head pops around the corner from her kitchen, and she gives me a massive grin before bounding over and crushing me in a hug.

“I missed your face.”

“I missed yours, too,” I say, squeezing her back.

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