Page 21 of Playing Flirty

With shaking hands, I lifted the controller, but my mind raced and my heart hadn’t slowed.

What just happened?

Did I imagine that?

My body buzzed. What was this feeling? Why was electricity flowing through my veins and pumping my heart at an alarming rate?

No—I begged my mind to slow down. I had a boyfriend. And I was going to marry that boyfriend. William was simply a handsome distraction using his evil powers of seduction on me.

Before I could spiral, the door opened, and Neema and Shaun walked inside. I looked up and caught the surprise on their faces as they watched us playing in silence.

“Finally, Mom and Dad are home, and I don’t need to babysit any longer.” William turned off his game and grabbed his Nintendo Switch on his way to the balcony.

“Did his date get canceled?” Shaun asked me as he sat down. “He looks cranky.”

“He didn’t mention a date,” I said.

Now William’s clothing made sense.

“What happened to you?” Shaun pointed at my wrapped ankle.

“Tripped on the way up here.” I clutched the controller even though the screen was black.

Neema sat next to me, in the same position William had been minutes before. She wrapped an arm around me. “What happened?”

“It didn’t work,” I croaked out. “He sent me away, knowing I was basically naked and there to throw myself at him. Well, at least now I know to never try to seduce a man. I’m obviously a hideous little hobbit.”

Neema pulled me into a tight embrace. “Rosie, I think it’s time you and Patrick have the talk. You deserve better.”

“Better than Patrick?” I snuggled into Neema’s tight grip. “Have you seen him? He’s handsome, educated, and driven, and nice—well, mostly nice—and we’ve been together forever. I think he wants to marry me, which is kind of on schedule with my Life Goals, and I think this is a rough patch.” I wiped my tears before taking a deep, shaky breath. “Plus, look—he sent me this apology text!”

“Fine. Let’s go home. I’m driving.” Neema squinted her eyes at me and sighed. “But if he ever, ever makes you cry again, I will claw out those pretty little green eyes of his.”

She pulled me up from the couch, and I put all my pressure on my left foot, nearly tumbling.

Shaun hurried into William’s room and returned with a crutch. “Use this.” He held it toward me. “Luckily for you, William’s had a broken ankle.”

William.

“Uh—give me a second. I want to say bye to William.”

Neema quirked a brow. “Okay, well… I’ll pull the car around so it’s closer.”

Using the crutch, I wobbled onto their balcony and found William lying on a deck chair, his long legs dangling off the end. His gaze fixed on his console; Pokémon flashed on the screen.

“I wanted to say thank you for earlier, for everything,” I managed, fighting back the urge to say something sarcastic and the opposing urge to let my mind wander back to that moment on the couch.

“Sure, no problem.” He didn’t look up.

“It was nice having a safe space to lick my wounds in this awful outfit.” I was hoping to lighten the mood, but against my will, my voice cracked.

“With anawfuloutfit like that, there should have been licking involved.” He looked up, and his eyes flashed in a way I now recognized. He returned his focus to the game as if he’d said nothing outrageous. “Good night, Rose.”

With a mouth as dry as the desert, I managed a weak, “Good night, William.”

I walked back into the living room, where Shaun helped me out of his apartment and downstairs. But I couldn’t think of anything except the way William had looked at me. It wasn’t his usual disdain, not even his occasional playfulness.

Desire.There was no other word for it.

---