Page 103 of Play Me
Me: The sex could’ve been an email. I’m struggling with that one, G.
Gianna: I mean, he was a great emailer. His delivery was smooth, his points intriguing yet satisfying. I craved more. But sex with this buster? It would’ve been better if he had typed it out and hit Send.
Audrey: Sorry. Are you home yet, Astrid?
I whoosh a breath as my stomach turns to knots.
Obviously, I’ll tell my friends about tonight in vivid detail. It’s sort of fun to be the one with a story to tell for a change. But I haven’t had time to process the events of the evening, and I really don’t know how to explain it to Gianna and Audrey with Gray peering over my shoulder.
He offers me another bite. “You gonna answer them, or what?”
“Yeah. Just trying to figure out how.” I bite off the edge of the bar, then chew slowly. “They’ll take this the wrong way.”
“What way would that be?”
I glance over my shoulder at him.
Gray studies my reaction to his question, watching my every blink and sigh. He’s freshly washed from our shower a little while ago. His torso is bare, showcasing his ridiculously crafted muscles and tanned skin, and a pair of blue running shorts sits low on his hips. If I didn’t already know what he was packing beneath them, I’d be dying to find out.
“My friends are both dramatic, but in opposite ways,” I say.
Gianna: Shall I get my hopes up?
Audrey: Take a breath.
Gianna: Out of the three of us, one of us should be having great sex. It isn’t you. It’s not me. But it could be Astrid.
Gianna: Thick thighs and rugby guys. I’m here for it.
“Me, too,” Gray says, chuckling. “Let’s send them a selfie.”
“What?”
He shrugs, running a hand along my inner thigh. My legs open for him … just in case.
“You want to send them a selfie?” I ask, my jaw slack. “Are you serious? You don’t care that we’re half naked in bed?”
“I’m the lucky fuck in bed with you,” he says, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. “Why do I care who knows it?”
Oh. I feather my fingers through his hair. My head leans against his as he presses kisses against my throat. The gesture is tender and sweet, rich yet subtle, and flames the slow burn simmering in my chest.
I forget about my friends and ignore their incoming text messages. Instead, I close my eyes and just live in this moment with Gray. A blanket of peace settles over the two of us.Does he feel it, too?Does he notice the sprinkle of magic in the room—the shift in temperature that feels like possibility is blooming?
I might be crazy. The facts lean that way. It’s not like me to go out of town with a guy, let alone stay all night with him at his brother’s house after getting fucked in a field out in the middle of nowhere.
Who am I right now?I grin.I don’t know, but I think I like her.
“Look up,” I say, positioning my phone over our heads.
Just before I press the button to take a picture, he sucks on the spot where my shoulder meets my neck. I squeal, pulling away as my finger triggers the red circle. The light flashes, capturing the two of us in a playful moment that I have a hard time believing includes me.
But itisme. It’s my face pulled together in a carefree laugh. It’s Gray’s arm extended across my chest, keeping me close to him. It’s our heads sharing a pillow with a rugby team logo stamped on it, and it’s his dimple sunk in his cheek as he laughs at my reaction.
Before I can think about it and talk myself out of sending the image, I fire it off to the group chat.
Their responses come immediately.
Gianna: OMG YOU ARE MY HERO.
