Page 17 of Playing By Their Rules

Bradley laughs again. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.” I draw the word out. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”

He shrugs. “I’m sure, if you don’t mind that it might give me a hard-on again.”

“Ew! Don’t be weird!”

He mocks my tone and says, “I won’t be weird if you don’t make it weird!”

We bust out laughing. The apartment door opens and Mina walks in, carrying with her the scent of roasted garlic and a box from Pepperoni Palace.

“Oh hell yes, feed us, woman,” Bradley moans.

“How was the lunch shift?” I ask.

“Good, good.” She sets the box down on the coffee table and Bradley tears it open like he hasn’t seen food in days, even though I distinctly recall giving him the last of my dumplings only an hour ago.

Mina asks, “So, what’s so funny?”

“Huh?” I ask.

“I heard you from the hall.” She chuckles. “What were you two laughing about?”

I freeze. I still don’t want to tell her about Chance and Ethan.

“Maisie has some hard-ass professors,” Bradley says.

“Well, that’s not all that funny,” Mina says. Her eyebrows, dyed black to match her hair, push together in a frown. “Maisie, you could still come back to Child Development with me, you know.”

“I’ll think about it,” I say, because that’s easier to say than a flat no.

She sighs. “I’d join you in Psych, but the courses are full.”

Bradley catches my gaze past her shoulder. For reals? he mouths. I want to tell him I told you so, because he’s never really believed that Mina copies me so much. Now, here is evidence in real-time. She must have actually asked our advisor about switching her schedule around to match mine. That’s Mina, though. Everything has to be the same.

I realize nobody has spoken since Mina said that, so I rush to say, “Aw, bummer. Maybe next time.”

Inside, I’m doing a jig. Finally, I have a class without her in it. Two of them. And they’re taught by my hot professor crushes. I can eye-fuck them to my heart’s content without worrying that Mina will start crushing on them, too.

Mina flops down on the couch next to Bradley and challenges him to a one-on-one battle in Knights of Incor. They bicker over who gets the better controller before settling into the game.

“Maisie, do you want to play the winner?” Mina asks.

“Nope, I’m good,” I say. “Too tired.”

I pretend to nap on the couch, but I’m wide awake with my eyes closed, constructing fantasies about Chance and Ethan and all the wicked discipline they could give to me.

* * *

Chance

When Maisie arrives in the Ab Psych lecture hall, several pairs of eyes are immediately glued to her. She isn’t wearing the schoolgirl outfit today, but a barely-there flowered sundress. It covers everything but suggests so much more. The guys in class can’t seem to look away from her. I have enough experience and maturity to know better, but I struggle to avoid staring, too.

But when she takes a lollipop from her bag and pops it into her mouth, sucking on it and drawing the attention of everyone around her, I have to put a stop to it.

“Ms. Kanne, is it?” I say, nodding at Maisie.

She nods back. “Yes.”

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