Page 12 of Game Changer
I deserve that. I’ll admit it.
I had no business stopping her.
With her hips swaying, she disappears into the kitchen, leaving me utterly dumbfounded. Her teasing and sexual innuendos have always been part of our banter and humor, but that was before we had sex. Now her flirtatious remarks only bring a twinge of longing.
Is she flirting with me as a friend or as something more? Or is it payback for the way I behaved? She certainly wasn’t opposed to leaving her dress off, but that doesn’t mean she wants me. Does it?
Fuck. My head is already throbbing.
I won’t be able to survive mixed signals from her. Not when I’ve been certain that she was the only girl for me since the second I lost my virginity to her. It sealed the deal in my eyes, but then she ghosted me. Now I feel like an idiot for mentally signing a dotted line on us while her signature remained vacant.
I shift uncomfortably in the booth as I try to adjust the semi in my jeans, and Mark says, “Well,nowI know why you wanted to drink on a Monday afternoon. Should I get another round for you?”
“Please,” I grumble. “And while you’re at it? Make it a double.”
Six
Maya
Five months earlier
“Is there a reason you’re acting like an inmate who just escaped prison? Christ, Ethan, slow down! What the hell is wrong with you?” His gentle grip on my wrist guides us through the tables in the fanciest restaurant I’ve ever been to, the red exit sign coming into view seconds later. Ethan suggested this dinner in the first place, which is why I’m only more confused when he tugs me outside and continues striding toward the car, leaving Maddie and Cameron behind. “Ethan!” I whisper-shout. “What is going on?”
He whirls to face me, his eyes dipping to the low-cut neckline of my dress before he heaves a sigh of frustration. “Get in the car. We need to talk.”
Ethan Davis, who normally has a better handle on his emotions than anyone, looks like he’s about to lose his shit, and to be honest? It’s kind of hot. He’s raking a hand through his shaggy blond hair, his jaw is clenched, and his blue eyes are running wild.
Out of the two of us, I’ve always been the one to act irrationally. Prime example: suggesting a game of chicken in the pool yesterday and telling him I planned on getting wet regardless of if we won or lost. I say and do things without thinking whereas Ethan meticulously plans everything he’s going to say before the words leave his mouth.
He opens the door for me, placing his hand on my exposed lower back to help me inside. My skin ignites in flames at the bold contact because even though I flirt with him nonstop, he’s never reciprocated. I know why: I’m Maddie’s best friend. But Maddie knows I have a crush on her brother and, as of last week, is all for us hooking up. The one roadblock in our way has vanished, but I don’t know if Ethan knows that.
What I do know is I’m loving this version of him. The one who can’t seem to keep his hands off me. Shy, tentative Ethan is coming out of his shell, and I like it.
“What do you want to talk about?” I’m breathless when he shuts the driver’s-side door and starts the engine. His fingertips drum on the steering wheel in time to a rock song playing quietly on the radio.
“Is this one-sided? Is—” He stops himself, his lips forming a thin line. “Are you into me, or am I delusional? Because sometimes . . . sometimes you’ll flirt, and I can’t tell if that’s just your personality or if you’re trying to make a move, and I haven’t wanted to say anything because I didn’t want to make things weird between us, but lately I . . . fuck, I can’t get you out of my head, Maya, and I’m sorry if this is coming out of left field, but—”
“You think I’d hit on you for the hell of it?” I tilt my head to the side, watching his throat work on a swallow.
“Well, I’m me, and you’reyou, so . . .”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’ve seen the losers you’ve brought around for years. They look nothing like me. They’re tall—”
“So are you.”
“Handsome—”
“So are you.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry. Are we actually debating whether Ishould or shouldn’tfind you attractive? We’ve tiptoed around each other for years, Ethan. You can’t sit in this car and seriously tell me you’ve doubted that I’ve been into you this whole time. How could I have made it more obvious?”
He squeezes the steering wheel before dropping his hands. “I’m not trying to debate it with you, I’m just in shock, I guess. I didn’t expect you to say yes.”
“You’ve brought other girls around, too, you know. I see the parade of cheerleaders you and Cameron work your way through every month.”
