Page 77 of Let the Game Begin
“But look who it is. Sweet little doll.” Xavier whistled, looking toward the entrance and I followed the direction of his gaze.
The “little doll” he was referring to was Selene.
She had just walked in, followed by Logan. She was wearing a white coat and a scarf the same shade of blue as her ocean eyes. Her auburn hair fell softly around her shoulders, framing her high cheekbones and perfect face. The tip of her nose was red from the cold, and her lush mouth was swollen and pink.
“Whoa, nice stepsister,” Luke added with an impish smile. Selene was never vulgar or flashy, but her beauty hardly went unnoticed. She was something rare: fresh and glowing with the kind of angel face that would have attracted anyone’s attention. Especially the fucking scumbags next to me.
“I’d know what to do with that ass.” Xavier watched as Selene took off her coat and sat down across from Logan. It was just them, but the table had more seats, suggesting their friends would be joining them soon.
“She’s nothing special; just a basic ho,” Jennifer cut in, glaring hatefully at Selene. I knew that look well; it was filled with the same resentment and sick envy that often had her beating up any woman who caught my eye, even if only for a night.
Unexpectedly, I found myself annoyed by the way she talked about Selene, because Babygirl was definitely not just one of many. I didn’t say anything, though, because I knew if the Krew thought I had a soft spot for her, it would make her a target. And I didn’t want anything to happen to her. Those assholes shouldn’t even have been thinking about defiling her with their poison. So I stayed calm and kept my face blank. I knew that they were testing me, trying to get a rise out of me. But I was a much bigger son of a bitch than any of them were.
“Would she be up for a three-way, do you think?” Luke suggested, just as the waitress came by with our beers. She hastily deposited them on the table and snuck away, taking advantage of Xavier’s distraction. He was still laser-focused on Selene.
A three-way? Fuck’s sake! These degenerates couldn’t even imagine the kind of girl Selene was. They didn’t know that she’d only just lost her virginity to me or that she’d never seen or touched a naked man before me. They certainly didn’t know how many times I’d fucked her or how intensely attracted I was to her.
Selene was pure in every way. A white rose in a sea of blackened ones, and I was the one who got to defile her. Me and no one else. I needed to be the one—the only one—who devoured her innocence, who sucked her blood, who breathed in her coconut smell and lapped at her delicate curves.
That was an insane line of thought, considering that, just the previous evening, I had made it very clear to her that she meant nothing to me.
And that was true, but I was selfish. A selfish bastard.
I stared at her, watching the way her lips curved into a gentle smile. Her movements were always so elegant. When guys gave her urgent looks, she’d tilt her head down and repeatedly touch her hair in an awkward gesture that poorly disguised her shyness. Even then, I logged her every motion because I didn’t just want to know the basics about her, I wanted to know all the littlethings. Especially those little things that only I had gotten the chance to see, like the tiny mole next to her right areola.
Shortly thereafter, Alyssa, Adam, and the rest of them arrived. Selene greeted everyone politely and moved next to my brother so Julie could sit beside Adam. Then Lucky Kyle or whatever that fucking dude’s name was sat down on her other side. All I knew was that he was Cory’s out-of-town cousin. He was a tall, skinny idiot with the physique and general vibe of a failed musician.
The dude smiled at Selene and looked at her the way everyone looked at her: adoringly.
Of course he did; she was a fairy. Who could ignore that?
Xavier and Luke tracked my gaze and exchanged knowing looks.
“You fuck her yet?” Luke asked, sipping his beer. I looked at him, pasting on my usual mask of indifference. I would never have thrown my Tinkerbell to the wolves by answering that question honestly.
“No, not my type.” I looked at Jennifer. Or rather, I looked quite eloquently at her large breasts, exposed in her low-cut sweater. By that time, I had learned a lot about manipulating people, and the Krew had always been my best practice. Making Jennifer and the rest of them believe that I only wanted her was one way to protect Selene from dangerous repercussions.
“You live together. There’s no way a horny fuck like you ain’t tapping that ass.” Xavier was the smartest of them all but still not smart enough. I smiled at him and took a sip of my beer, looking back at Selene, who was chatting pleasantly with long-haired Kyle.
“You’re full of shit. She’s Matt’s daughter. I don’t need that kind of trouble.” I shrugged and kept drinking, though the beer tasted worse with every mouthful. Selene continued to smile at that guy, and she seemed comfortable with him. Probably because they’d already hung out several times.
It occurred to me that it would be completely natural for her to be interested in someone other than me. I could stop Luke and Xavier from sniffing around her, but I didn’t have the same power over the rest of the student body.
On the other hand, I knew that women tended to fall in love with new guys at about the same rate that I finished cigarettes. She was no differentfrom the rest of them. She was dreaming about fairy tales and looking for Prince Charming. She wanted someone to “make love” to her and whisper sweet nothings while he touched her.
All those things that I would never be able—or willing—to give her.
The room suddenly felt too small and the air too hot. I needed another smoke and to go back home. I got up and made some lame excuse. Xavier shot me a suspicious look, but I didn’t care.
I left the Krew and walked directly to my brother’s table. Selene hadn’t spotted me yet, even though that was the only thing I was waiting for: the moment when her big blue eyes would slam right into me.
“Mmm…great, pineapple juice.” I grabbed Logan’s glass and took a sip. Logan startled before pouting like a little kid when he saw who it was.
“Give that back, dick.” He snatched the drink out of my hands, and his friends all stared wordlessly at me. I wasn’t there to intimidate them, all I was looking for was a pair of crystalline eyes. Ones that I noted with satisfaction were already focused on me. Babygirl had finally stopped talking to that jerk and given me her ocean stare, sparkling from behind her long, black eyelashes. I stared fixedly at her until her cheeks turned a soft pink.
“Hey, Tinkerbell,” I mouthed and Selene gasped, opening her mouth slightly. Fuck, I wanted to kiss that mouth and then bite it and then soothe it. I wanted to feel it wrapped around me, all over my body.
“See you at home.” I clapped Logan on the shoulder and forced my legs to move me promptly away from the table but not before shooting Babygirl one last smile. Good. Now she could continue herfascinatingconversation with me in her head.
