Page 77 of Playing Flirty

William rolled his eyes.

I wanted to hold him, tell him I would fix whatever was wrong, and if I couldn’t fix it, I’d find someone who could.

His eyes met mine, and he gave me a half smile. “You’re going to win this. It’s my job to know when a game is good, and this game is perfect.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said.

A warm and delicious blush crept into his cheeks, but his frown was still deep. His shoulders still tense.

Neema yawned. “I’m going home tonight, love. I have a meeting in the morning.” She kissed Shaun goodnight and turned to me. “You coming?”

I nodded before looking at William. I tried my best to comfort him with my eyes, to kiss him with a stare. His gaze kissed me back, and some part of me relaxed.

“So, to confirm, you’ll be my plus-one?” I asked him. “It’s tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Wanna know why?”

“Why?” I asked, already knowing how he’d reply.

“Because I’m Batman.”

I would never tire of this man.

While I was sitting at my desk that evening, Neema knocked on my bedroom door with two mugs in her hands.

“Some hocho?”

She knew I would never say no to hot chocolate and handed me the mug before I could answer. “So…” she started.

I took a sip, burned my tongue, and instantly regretted not having enough patience to wait a single minute longer.

“So?” I turned in my chair as she settled on the edge of my bed.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Fine…” Her warm brown eyes pinned me over the rim of her mug. “I’ve lined up a few dates for you.”

“I’m really not interested in dating right now. I have so much on my plate.” I took another sip of the scalding hot chocolate, hoping I appeared nonchalant.

“Is there something I should know?”

The urge to tell her swelled in my throat, but we were so close to the wedding and my nerves were growing with each stolen kiss. I shook my head. “Nope. Nothing.”

“We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“I know… but I don’t know what to tell you…” I took a deep breath, thinking through what I could tell her. William and I were… we were…

Not dating. Nor had we ever been on a date.

We weren’t even having casual sex.

We were…

William and I were playing a game. And that wasn’t something Neema would understand. No one in the world understood games the way William and I did.

“There’s a lot going on. Give me a chance to figure it out?” There was an ache in my soul as I said it. A pressure growing in my chest.

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