Page 131 of Playing the Game
“Sorry, Dori.”
“What should I do? Aiden’s going to call me, and I need to be prepared.”
“Are you ready to talk to him about your relationship with Jami?”
I lose my appetite and push my food away. “Yes and no. Aiden’s not going to be happy. He can be mean to me when he’s upset.”
“He likes to be in control, and dating Jami is going to trigger the hell out of him.” Melanie shoots me a sympathetic glance.
I switch the focus off me to give myself some time to think. “How do you know my brother likes to be in control?”
“You told me you didn’t want me to talk about my date with him.” She goes back to eating.
“I don’t want the specifics, but I’m curious how you got that about him from having one date.”
She shifts around and puts her food down. “Let’s just say I saw it play out. And I’m warning you, if you ask for more details, you’ll be getting into the specifics.”
“Oh my god. That means you had sex with him, and now I know what he’s like in the bedroom.” I stick my finger in my mouth and pretend to be gagging myself. “I have completely lost my appetite.”
Melanie laughs. “You brought it up, so don’t blame me.”
I bury my face in my hands and groan. “I wish I didn’t know that about him.”
“Then let’s change the subject.”
“Please, let’s do that.” I lift my head. “I don’t know what to say to him. He’s going to know how I feel about Jami the second he asks me about him.”
Just as I finish my sentence, my phone rings.
I press my lips together and peek at the screen. “Shit, it’s him. What should I do?”
“You’re going to have to face him sooner or later, so I say answer it.”
My trembling body makes me aware of how frightened I am to face this. I take a moment to steady my breathing. My phone stops ringing.
The muscles in my neck start to relax, but then my cell goes off, alerting me of a text message. I glance at the screen where Aiden’s message stares up at me.
I already know it’s going to be bad. My stomach rolls and twists as I open the message.
Aiden: Don’t disrespect me any more than you already have. Answer your fucking phone when I call. Jami can’t save you, so don’t avoid this. We will have this conversation.
“Shit, Mel. Aiden’s livid.” My vision blurs.
Mel takes my phone and reads the message. “Yeah, I’d say he knows. Yikes. I don’t envy you right now.”
She hands me my phone. The second it slides into my palm, it rings again.
“Jami told me not to answer, but I think it will make Aiden more pissed if I ignore him.” I can’t take the chance of making the situation worse, so I slide the answer button over. “Hi, Aiden.”
His voice screams through the line. “Don’t you fucking dare act like you haven’t ruined everything.”
“How have I ruined everything? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grimace at Melanie.
She purposely shudders right as Aiden cuts in.
“Don’t lie to me, Dori. I know about you and Jami. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Wrong with me? Why does the way I feel about him make me wrong?”
