Page 24 of Wicked Games We Play

I was naïve as fuck.

He knocked her up, unintentionally, of course, but that still didn’t stop him from proposing to her.

And that didn’t stop her from saying yes.

Thus began my spiral into a sea of darkness.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Swallowing my pride, I hit the send button and held my breath, hoping that his response wouldn’t take too long. After being blown off by Oliver, I spent the entire duration of my solo meal wondering what the hell I was doing. Why was I putting myself through small talk with strangers, only to be ignored, when I had a man who was begging for me to be his? A sexy, strong, undeniably perfect man. A man who essentially had been waiting for me for years.

Because you’re not ready for a commitment.

Part of me wished I could be the woman he wanted me to be, but the other part realized that it was because of those thoughts that I was so resistant. I’d always been so resistant to him. A huge piece of me felt like a selfish woman who led him on, but the truth was I wanted him as badly as he wanted me. I always have. I’ve just always had to keep pushing what I wanted aside in order to fulfill other journeys that life threw at me.

My phone pinged, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

Noah: What time do you want to meet?

Butterflies fluttered while I read his words, a smile forming. He hadn’t denied me. I had briefly wondered if he would flip the tables and deny me for once, especially since my request was one that was outside of our realm of normal, but he hadn’t.

Tonight was my last night before I got my little prince back from his dad’s house and although Alana had begged me to go out with her, I wasn’t feeling like putting the effort into getting ready for a night out with her. I had something else in mind. Something that required a lot less primping on my part.

Racing to my bedroom closet, I searched until I found the perfect outfit to wear for my night with Noah, and I couldn’t wait for his reaction.

* * *

The crashof pins falling and mechanics from the pinsetter flowed into the parking lot while Noah held the door to Lucky Strike’s and waited for me to step inside. My cheeks hurt from smiling so big, and I beamed up at him with excitement as I stepped through the door. Immediately my senses were on overdrive; black lights created a neon glow everywhere I looked, the smell of cheap bowling alley food filtered through the air, and loud early 2000s pop music blasted through the speakers.

Squealing, I grabbed Noah’s hand and pulled him through the door, leading him to the counter where a young woman stood, spraying bowling shoes with off brand disinfectant spray. Setting the can down on the counter, she greeted us and listened intently while Noah got our games set up. I was fairly certain I saw her wipe some drool when she turned to grab our shoes, but honestly, who could blame her? I almost had to do the same when I saw Noah climb out of his truck.

Noah had worn a fitted olive green tee with dark wash jeans, his beard freshly trimmed and his hair styled to perfection. When he approached and pressed a kiss to my temple, undertones of tobacco, sandalwood, and vanilla enamored me, and I had to force the butterflies to stop stirring inside my belly, yet I couldn’t stop my panties from dampening.

God, he made it so absolutely hard to keep him at arm’s length when just being near him was so enticing.

When we made it to our lane, I sat my purse down on a chair and bounced over to the automatic scorers to input our names. “Anything in particular you’d like to be called?” I asked Noah, who had made himself comfortable on the chair next to my purse. He was leaning back with his legs set wide, watching my movements.

“How about ‘the love of Lily’s life’?”

“Har, har,” I said sarcastically, turning back to input the name I thought fit him just splendidly. A blush heated my cheeks, knowing that his eyes were on me as I typed on the touch screen, so I subtly shifted my weight more onto one right leg, creating a pop of my hip so that my butt stuck out slightly. “There, it’s perfect.”

Stepping back to admire my handiwork on the TV screen above me, I gasped when I felt Noah’s body press flushed against my back. He leaned into me, his mouth hovering next to my ear.

“Mr. Persistent, huh? You’ve got that right.” He gripped my hip roughly, moving my body sideways so that he could input my name on the screen next. I bit my lip, watching the screen above us while waiting for my bowling name to pop up.

My eyes narrowed when they appeared. “Really? ‘Property of Noah’? Hilarious.”

While the fact that he just referred to me as his property should have really annoyed me, I could feel my body reacting completely opposite. The entire room suddenly felt hot as hell, and desire pooled low in my belly. I didn’t want to be anyone’s property, but the thought of being Noah’s did things to my body. The urge to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him was overwhelming. Instead of acting on that urge, I forced myself to think in the completely opposite direction.

“Before we start, can we order some food? I’m starving,” I asked, while walking over to the small table in our lane. Picking up the menu, I quickly scanned through it, hardly processing a word I was reading. My eyes trailed up and down the menu while I struggled to get my emotions in check. I hadn’t heard Noah approach and startled when I felt his hand graze my hip.

“Need me to order for you, Flower? You look a little flustered.” He smirked, pulling the menu from my hands and setting it back down on the table. Leaning closer, he whispered. “Did you put an extra pair in your purse, my love? The redness creeping up your neck tells me you might need them.”

Spinning in place, I shoved my finger into his chest. “Can we keep it PG, Noah? Let’s just have some fun and bowl.”

“I thought you wanted to order food first?”

“I did. I do. Let’s get food.”

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