Page 35 of Playing Flirty

There was no way I would touch his thigh.

Despite that, he seemed to be enjoying himself. And everyone reassured me afterward that they had as well.

But there was a huge crack in my otherwise joyous moment, splitting me into tiny pieces. At some point in the middle of the game, Patrick had left.

He hadn’t shown any interest in game night in years, so why would this change anything?

But it did. It changed everything.

Round 12

The light pouring in through the window made Patrick’s hair look like spun gold and brightened his green irises.

I looked into those eyes that had become familiar to me.

I couldn’t hurt him. I didn’t want to, and I especially didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to be single, to date, or to learn how to become comfortable with an entirely new person—comfortable enough to share my body with them.

I sat down beside him, wishing there was a rulebook, a spreadsheet, or something to tell me what to do next. It was why I loved board games. They were structured, and there was only an expected number of outcomes.

My mind raced with these thoughts as he pulled me close and slipped a condom out of his pocket. Even though we didn’t need one, he liked having “double protection.”

Patrick pressed his lips against mine, and I panicked.

“Uhm, I’m actually exhausted.” I spoke against his mouth, breaking the kiss as soon as possible.

He huffed out a sigh, twirling the shiny square between his fingers.

“I shouldn’t have agreed to see you today. I have an assignment to finish, and now there’s a deadline for my game too.”The mere mention of it nearly tugged a smile out of me. All I wanted to do was tweak it. It had been a long time since I’d felt so excited about working on something. “I have all these ideas. I was thinking I could—”

Patrick laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s fun, but remember the MBA is more important.”

“I know.” My enthusiasm dipped to the depths of my stomach.

“What about a quickie?” He kissed me again.

My body recoiled against his touch. Everything about it was wrong. Undeniably wrong. The truth sucker-punched me in the gut, leaving me breathless. It had been wrong for a long time.

“We should break up,” I blurted as our lips parted.

“What?” He pulled back, his eyes on fire. “You can’t be serious.”

My words choked me, and I shook my head, trying desperately to cough out what I needed to say.

His lip curled. “I’ve been trying. I’m here every Saturday, and some game nights. I watch you and your friends play those silly games for hours.” Standing, he shoved the condom into his pocket.

“I know.” I fixed my gaze on my hands. “But… I’m not happy.We’renot happy. You don’t like spending time with me or my friends. We don’t go out on dates. We barely talk.” I wiped a stray tear. “And we haven’t slept together in a really long time.”

“It’s not like you even enjoy it, and that’s not my fault.” He inhaled sharply, as if wishing he could suck back the words.

My mouth fell open, but before he could retract it or before he said something that would hurt even more, I rolled the dice and bet on myself. I wanted more than this.

“I’d like you to leave,” I said with no hesitation in my voice, despite my risk-averse brain flagging my words.

“Rose.” He looked at me, but I stayed planted where I was. He walked to the door and waited a few seconds with his back to me. “This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening,” he mumbled.

When I didn’t budge, he let himself out without a backward glance.

Over the next few weeks, I spent all my time on my work and studies, neglecting both my board game and game night.

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