Page 21 of The Games We Play
I’d pulled her away from her night, from the fun she was having, and I was probably the last person she wanted to be stuck in a room with.
“If you’d just listen to me—” I started, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Mac, there’s nothing to hear,” she shot back, voice sharp and unwavering. “You lied to me. You kept a big fucking secret.”
“I didn’t lie!” The words came out too loud, my voice cracking with desperation.
I forced my eyes shut, dragging in a breath to steady myself. I knew she had every right to be furious. I should’ve told her sooner. I should’ve come clean. But I never once lied.
“Come on, Trouble,” I sighed.
She popped her hip and angled her head, her expression calling me out on my bullshit.
“Don’t you dare call me that. You lost the right.”
“There was nothing to lie about,” I muttered.
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “I can’t do this right now.” Penny made a move to push past me, but I caught her arm.
“When, then?” I demanded, my grip gentle but firm. “You name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”
She sighed, rolling her eyes, but there was something else lurking beneath the surface—something that made my stomach drop. Sadness? Regret?
“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice quieter now.
I softened instantly, my frustration crumbling under the weight of what I felt for her. “I’m begging you, Penny. Please…” My voice was rough with emotion. Under the dim stockroom light, she tucked her hair behind both ears—a nervous tell I’d come to memorize.
“I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” she finally said. Then she turned, disappearing out the stockroom door before I could stop her.
I groaned, raking my hands through my hair.
That was the first time I’d been alone with her in over a month. I wasn’t letting it end this way. I wasn’t going to let her slip through my fingers that easily.
I needed to know what she wanted from me, what sheneededme to do.
The moon? I’d rope it.
On my knees? I’d beg.
A confession of every feeling I’d ever had for her? I would, without batting an eye.
I wasn’t going to stop until she heard me out because those months together in secret were the best damn months of my life.
The flicker in her gaze, the softness that took over her voice just a moment ago, let me know she still felt something, too.
6
PENNY
DECEMBER. FIVE MONTHS AGO.
Penny: Answer my FaceTime!!
Mac: I’m about to get in the shower…
Penny: And?
Mac: As much as I love the thought of you and my shower. You’ll have to take me to dinner first, Trouble (; I can’t keep giving myself away so easily
