Page 38 of The Wrong Play

He had wanted me.

And I had definitely dropped my panties for him.

I forced a tight smile. “Well, good for him.”

Tasha snorted. “Oh, honey. He’s good for everyone.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

She took a lazy sip of her coffee, her smirk widening. “I mean, he doesn’t really do relationships. Like, ever. The guy has more hookups than I have shoes.”

My stomach dropped.

I don’t know why it made me feel like shit.

I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I wasn’t even looking for a hookup. Last night was a mistake, something I’d never done before, something I wouldn’t do again.

I had no right to feel…disappointed.

But I did.

Because last night, Jace Thatcher hadn’t looked at me like I was just another girl at a bar.

He had looked at me like I was the only thing in the world.

I remembered the way his eyes had locked onto mine, how they had darkened with something intense and undeniable. I remembered the way he had spoken, the way he had moved,the way he had whispered filth into my ear like he couldn’t help himself.

And the way I had felt—not like a nameless, forgettable one-night stand, but like I was his.

That thought alone should’ve terrified me. Should’ve sent me into full-blown panic mode. But instead, something else settled in my chest—something strange, something dangerously close to relief.

Because no matter how complicated this was, no matter how reckless, I had still taken a major step.

Callum was no longer the only man who had touched me.

My fingers tightened around the coffee cup as I inhaled sharply, and I swallowed hard, forcing my thoughts away from that.

Tasha was still talking, still rambling about how many girls he’d been with, how he was the campus legend, how she was so jealous of me.

I nodded along, pretending it didn’t matter. Pretending I wasn’t still tangled in the feeling of him—his hands, his voice, the way he looked at me like he already knew I’d give in.

Like I hadn’t spent the entire night haunted by him, trapped in dreams that felt too real, too consuming.

Like I wasn’t still shaking from the weight of it, from the way my body betrayed me, from the way I wanted something I had no business wanting.

I told myself I was fine. That I was stronger than this. That it was just a moment, a mistake, something I could walk away from.

But deep down, I knew the truth.

If I ever saw him again…and he looked at me like last night had meant nothing?

LikeIwas nothing?

I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.

CHAPTER 6

RILEY

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