Page 30 of Game Changer
“Have at it.”
I’m the perfect model for her. I sit still and don’t move a muscle until her task is complete. When she’s finished, she takes a step back with her arms crossed over her chest and studies her work.
Then, she tugs on her lip to in an attempt to stop laughing, but it’s no use. She erupts into a fit of giggles, and shakes her head in disbelief. “I didn’t think you’d actually let me do it.”
I can’t help but laugh with her. “Was it worth it, at least? How do I look?”
She grabs her phone from the band of her leggings. “You look so pretty, Ethan.”
“Oh god. That bad, huh?”
“I mean, I guess the only thing left to do is take a picture of my work.”
Before she has the chance, I grab her and flip her onto the mattress, laughing hysterically as she clutches the phone in her hand with a death grip. I try to pry it away from her, but whatever yoga exercises she’s doing are paying off. She flips me onto my back instead, and it isn’t until she snaps the picture that I realize she’s straddling me.
She looks perfect like this.
And it’s not even her body (which also looks extraordinarily perfect), but it’s the way she’s staring at me. Her pupils dilate and her chest heaves, and for a second, we’re transported back to that hot tub, with locked gazes that reveal more to each other than our mouths ever could.
“I’m—” She inhales sharply at my hardness between her thighs. I’m a man who respects boundaries, but Iama man, and this position isn’t exactly innocent. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Ethan.” I’m a bundle of mixed emotions as she scrambles off my lap and passes me a wipe to take the makeup off. Upset because I want her back on me, but relieved because if she had stayed on me another second longer, I would have done something reckless. “Thank you,” she adds in a rushed voice. “For letting me practice on you.”
And because I’d do it all over again despite the agonizing throb this encounter brought to my chest, I reply, “You don’t have to apologize. I’ll be your test subject anytime.”
Fifteen
Maya
MaddieSo . . . do you have something to tell me?
MayaAbout what?
MaddieA little birdie told me you and my brother almost had a make-out sesh
MayaIs that little birdie your horny boyfriend who thinks every interaction with a woman should result in a “make-out sesh”? I hate that term, by the way
MaddieDeflecting with anger. Yep. Something definitely happened
MayaIf there was something for you to know, you’d know. Trust me. And tell your little birdie to stay in his nest from now on!
MayaAlso, I miss you. Sorry for being a bitch. It’s my time of the month
MaddieI miss you more. On the plus side, at least it’ll be over before your birthday next week. Who wants to party with a tampon?
~
Friday nights at Happy Endings are always busy.
It’s a college town, so it’s unsurprising that it’s packed in here. Music blares all around me, and I have to lean into every booth to hear their drink orders. It’s rare people order food here, because it’s only frozen garbage, but at the last call around midnight, lots of orders pile in from drunk people who aren’t thinking clearly.
Stray pieces of hair are stuck to my forehead from sweat. Putting my hair up in a ponytail did nothing to erase the humidity flooding in from the outdoors. It’s still eighty degrees out tonight, and since it’s practically a mosh pit in here, it’s useless to try and stay cool. I gave up on looking cute an hour after my shift started.
I’m approaching the bartender to slide him another order when I spot Tabi beside me, dressed in uniform. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
She heaves a sigh. “I had to pick up Friday nights. It’s complicated. My baby daddy is an actual piece of shit. Claims to want to see his daughter but is ready to give her back after the first night. I had to leave early from work again because of him, so now I’m working the night shift to improve my attendance. This is the third time it’s happened in the past month.”
“Damn. That sucks, Tabi. I’m sorry.”
The bartender delivers her drinks and she shrugs. “It is what it is. I can’t change it, you know? When you have a kid, you don’t have time to dwell on how shitty it is. You just find a way to make it better and do it.”
