Page 94 of Playmaker

“I can whip your ass in pool. Every time. Right?”

“This isn’t?—”

I kept going, not letting him interrupt. “But beer pong. Faith is a beer pong savant. I’d never play a game with her, thinking I could win. I’d play for fun but I wouldn’t wager on it.”

“So you’re saying love is beer pong.” He was looking at me like I was nuts, but that was it.

“Hunts, what you have with Faith is great. It’s special. It totally works for the two of you. But that’s not how it is for everyone. Your parents, Faith’s parents…there are a lot of fuckups out there. I’m just focusing my energy on the games I can win.”

“Yeah?” His voice was skeptical.

“Yeah.”

“You can talk a good game all you want, but you know what I think?”

I didn’t and I didn’t want to.

“I think you’ve already bet on this, and you’re gonna regret not going for it.”

I shook my head. This was something I might regret getting into, but not getting out of.

Then he smirked. The fucker smirked at me.

“Oh, this is going to be fun to watch.”

* * *

Callie

Darcy wasn’t homewhen I got there, which was a relief. I needed some time before he found out he wouldn’t be seeing his new bestie, the hockey hottie. Or would he? At the driving range, Cooper had wanted to try some little hole-in-the-wall restaurant Darcy knew. Would Cooper still want to do that? If he did, would Darcy think he had to choose between the two of us?

That wasn’t fair. Darcy was a Cooper fan and that was fine. I just didn’t want to hear about him now. Not right away. Not till these feelings were under control. Which shouldn’t take too long. They didn’t take long to start, so logically they would end just as quickly.

But damn, I hadn’t slipped like this in a long, long time. There was an ache in my chest. When I started to write down my plans for the week, keeping busy, I wanted to text Cooper and ask him to forget everything I said on the plane. Check out the messages he’d sent after, and find out what he was thinking.

Yeah, I’d caught feelings. And indulging them would only encourage them. Feed them so they grew. No, the way to get rid of them was to starve them. Beat them down. Refuse to let them see the light of day.

I opened up a CRA ruling, one that would require my whole mind to comprehend. I’d just focus on that till my mind gave up, and I could go to sleep without thinking about anyone.

Darcy texted that he was going out with friends after work. I assured him I was fine.

I did finally go to bed, but my mind insisted on probing at memories of Cooper. It was a relief to finally fall asleep.

* * *

I woke up late,feeling groggy. I’d scheduled the day off work, unsure if there’d be a delay in traveling and not wanting to set up meetings I might have to cancel. I could catch up on emails here at the condo, since I didn’t have a lot else to do. I’d be ready to go once I was in the office tomorrow.

I started the coffee and opened my laptop. Work was good. I did my job, people were happy I did, and they paid me money. Work didn’t make my chest compress, as if breathing was painful. It didn’t keep me up at night and make my eyes itchy.

Damn Cooper.

No, this was on me. I was the one who started feeling things. I didn’t have the experience I needed or the brains to remember that soft touches and tender kisses didn’t mean affection. I wasn’t used to them, and they’d messed me up.Lesson learned.

While I was moping, my laptop open in front of me and not reading a damned word, Darcy stumbled out of his room. He was in boxers and a rumpled tee, hair tilted to the left in a leaning tower kind of way.

He rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing here?” His voice was puzzled.

The question hit me hard. Did Darcy think I was leaving him behind, spending too much time on Cooper? How did I let myself do that? I’d never wanted to be wrapped up in a lover and forget my friend. A friend who’d stuck.

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