Page 41 of The Players

He snorted. “You think it’s that easy? I’ve tried. I called her dad and told him the school isn’t good for her. I tried buying her tickets to Fiji. Nothing worked.”

“We can think of something together.”

His eyes flashed up to me, hard as two pebbles. “We aren’t together.” He enunciated every syllable. “Let’s get one thing straight. We aren’t friends, orphan. And I’m not one of your boy toys like those pussy whipped assholes Lowell and Hector. Though not Mills anymore, huh? He switched sides now, didn’t he?”

“I don’t want to talk about Mills right now,” I said, feeling that familiar sting of rejection. “I want to talk about Savannah.”

He threw his head back as if he was exhausted by the sound of her name. “Well, I don’t want to talk about that bitch, understand? She’s ruining everything.”

“Then help me get rid of her.”

His blue eyes slid over to me as they narrowed. “What would you do to get rid of her? Hmm?”

I paused, not sure I liked the tone of his voice or where this was going.

He rubbed his hands together as if concocting something. “No, really. I want an answer. How far would you be willing to go to get rid of her?”

I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant. I want to know—”

He held up a hand to silence me. “You say you want my help, yes?”

I bit my cheek and nodded once.

“Right,” he said, the mischievousness coming back into his voice. “So if you want my help, you need to do something for me. You know how this works.”

“Getting rid of Savannahisdoing something for you. Besides, you owe me, remember?”

He smiled. “I don’t remember agreeing to any of that. And Savannah? I can put up with that bitch. She’s leaving at semester time anyway.”

This was news. But the new semester was in January. I needed Savannah gone now.

“I’m not going to fuck you if that’s what you’re getting at.”

He laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I know how selective you are with who you sleep with.”

Ouch. He was slut shaming me through sarcasm, but I held my ground.

“What do you want?” I repeated. My cool demeanor was slipping away. If I didn’t finish this conversation soon, Easton might realize the effect he had on me and use it as leverage for something truly awful.

“We trade,” he replied. “I tell you one secret for every base you let me score. Seems only fair I get a little action out of this if I’m giving out all my family secrets. Plus, I’m the only one who hasn’t scored, right, Viv?” He leaned back in his hair and his gym shorts grew tight around his package. He was excited and it showed, but I refused to look at it. If I did, I knew I might like what I saw too much. I might make bad choices.

“I’m not doing that. That’s disgusting,” I said, my thighs beginning to quiver. My body was saying something else entirely, and Easton seemed to know it.

He kept pushing. Standing up, he walked toward me. His figure was imposing as it cut the space between us. When he knelt before me and put his hands on my thighs, I had two reactions. The first one was to smack him. The second was to spread my knees apart for him.

I didn’t do either. I held perfectly still.

He sensed his advantage and leaned forward, slowly pushing my knees apart as he spoke. “First base, I give you a weakness Savannah has. It’s a good one. You’ll like it. You can use it to your advantage.” His left hand inched up my thigh slowly sending tingles up my legs and to my core.

“Second base, I give you something that you can blackmail her about. It’s juicy and if used properly, it could have her heading for the hills.” His right hand inched up too, fingers skimming so carefully they sent shivers from where they touched me all down my body.

My breathing hitched in my throat as he leaned in closer, his lips inches from mine. “And third base, Vivian?” His hands gripped my inner thighs, his fingers perilously close to one of the bases he had yet to mention.

“You want to hear about third base, Vivian?” He waited for me to nod for him to continue. I felt my head bobbing all on its own. He smiled. “Well, third base,” he leaned closer until his breath pulsed against my neck, making me tremble all over. “Third base you’ll just have to see for yourself. It’ll be spectacular.”

Inside, I was vibrating like a leaf in a hurricane, but I was trying so hard not to show it. That sadistic part of me—the one I thought I’d tamed by giving her what she wanted in Hector, Mills, and Lowell—she was awake again, and she wanted Easton.

She wanted himbad.

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