Page 41 of The Shake Off

“What?”

“Stop acting like you’re God’s gift. You’re not. You think being better at sex will help your game? Consider that your first lesson.”

He held his palms up. “Alright, I get it. Believe me.”

“Good. What time do you finish playing tonight?”

He shrugged. “Should be done by ten.”

“Be at my place by eleven.”

“What? Tonight?”

I nodded. “You want to start playing again, don’t you?”

“Fuck, yes.”

“Then be at my place later, and don’t forget to bring me that stuff.” I held out my palm to him, just like Nathalie had done to me. “We have a deal?”

“Deal.” He gave my hand one hard pump that nearly pulled my arm from the socket. “See you later.”

I tried not to look at his butt as he jogged back to the entrance doors, before he disappeared out of sight without a second glance.

I stood there for a minute contemplating what I just done, and whether it was down the end of the more stupid stunts I’d pulled.

Unfortunately, the jury would be out onthatverdict for a while.

EIGHT

ACE

This has to be the weirdest booty call ever.

If you could even call it that.

I’d never had clammy hands and a gut swirling with anxiety; I was usually too focused on the semi in my pants.

I didnothave a semi this evening.

I wiped my hands down my shirt, then stuffed them into my pockets. Nope. That wouldn’t work. I puffed out a deep breath; my tongue was still burning slightly from the toothpaste I’d sucked down on my way here in an attempt to disguise the acidic taste from all the nerves.

I’d also showered after the game, because it was the polite thing to do before you had sex with someone, not that I’d exerted myselfat alltonight,but showering had killed time.

I raised my fist to the door, and knocked hard.

I was about to knock again when I heard light footsteps on the other side, and then the door swung open. The simple ‘hey’ I’d been about to give her immediately fell out of my brain as I stood there staring at Payton, wondering if maybe I hadn’t looked at her properly before. Or at all.

She was wearing a pair of navy sleep shorts which curved around the tops of her thighs and made her legs look ten feet long. The matching top was falling off her shoulder, just shy of revealing a very pert, round tit, and a stretch of skin so soft-looking I clenched my fists before I stroked my finger along it.

“Hey,” she breathed out, her voice catching like she just woken up.

Something, I think, was confirmed when she rubbed her eyes and tugged up her top, only for it to fall back into its previous position.

I didn’t need to touch it to tell it wasn’t made of the silk or satin or whatever girls normally wore when they opened the door to me.

It was that soft cotton, like the lumberjack shirts Lux had in every color.

I’m sure we were supposed to have sex. I’d been absolutely positive that’s what we agreed earlier, yet she hadn’t made the slightest bit of effort, and… I peered closer… she wasn’t even wearing make-up.

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