Page 50 of Play Maker

Blue’s eyes flicked to me for a split second, then she slid into the booth, scooting all the way to the half wall. Something twisted in my chest at her clear distress. I wanted to rush over and toss Tassels out of the way to make Blue more comfortable.

Not my job. She wanted to handle this herself, so I needed to keep my distance. A reasonable distance. I couldn’t see her face from my current position, and suddenly, my spot was unacceptable.

I made my way closer, using the increasing crowd as cover, until I could practically reach her from the other side of the booth wall. If there was even a slim chance of her leaving with him, I was going to make an ass of myself by dragging her home. Fifty-fifty chance I’d tie her to my bed after for good measure.

Somehow, I made it through almost an hour of Tassels talking about himself while I fended off passes from random women on their way to the dance floor. Even if I hadn’t been here for Blue, the promise of an emotionless hookup did nothing for me. Instead, I amused myself by counting the number of times Tassels mentioned his financial portfolio. How did this guy ever pick up girls beyond the first ten minutes?

From the corner of my eye, I watched him stretch his arm across the back of the booth to play with her hair. She liked it when I curled the colors around my fingers, and my jaw clenched at the sight of someone else trying it. For a second, I considered ripping his hand away. Before I could commit, Blue readjusted to face him, subtly pulling the strands out of his reach, and I let out a not so quiet snort.

Then I made the mistake of looking directly at them. Tassels met my eyes at the same time Blue flagged down the server for a third drink. I gave Blue a slow once over and sent him a sharp smile. He could make what he wanted from it, but judging by the lines bracketing his mouth, he’d picked up on my silent message.

I drained the last dregs of my warm beer and started coming up with exit strategies that didn’t involve me throwing Blue over my shoulder or kissing her in front of the entire bar. As if she knew my dwindling patience was making both those options look good, she asked him to move so she could go to the bathroom.

He let her out and watched her ass as she walked away. Not so decent after all. I saw my moment. The second she was hidden by the crowd, I slid into the booth opposite him.

In a move I should have expected, Tassels spoke before I could say anything. “I saw her first.”

“You don’t even see her now. Time to move along.”

Annoyance lit his eyes, followed quickly by calculation. “And if I choose not to?”

I raised a brow and stood, drawing myself to my full height and crossing my arms over my chest. No lie, I may have thrown in a flex too. She wasn’t leaving the bar with anyone but me.

Tassels held up his hands. “Fine. You win.”

I shrugged at him. “Better luck next time.”

He muttered something offensive under his breath, but his opinion meant nothing to me. I turned my back on him to search the room. No sign of Blue near the restrooms, but I spotted her at the end of the bar, half hidden behind the sign for the End of Summer Cosplay Karaoke party.

Instantly, I relaxed. Tassels couldn’t see her from there. She’d already ditched the guy on her own.

Excitement and dread filled me in equal measure as I made my way over to her. Blue was probably looking for her next practice dummy, but two was my limit for the night. I was determined she’d practice on me or no one. With that in mind, I stopped holding myself back.

I braced my hands on either side of her, leaning down close enough to whisper in her ear. “Running away already.”

Instantly, she rested her weight against me, tilting her head to speak over her shoulder. “If I am, I’m not very good at it since I only made it as far as the bar.”

“I don’t blame you for needing a stronger drink. That guy was only slightly better than the first one.”

She sighed, and I felt it in my chest. “He was nice at first.”

“We should have called it off as soon as you sat down.”

“That wouldn’t have given us much data to analyze for improvement,” she muttered.

“It was clear from the beginning he wasn’t right for you, which is all the data we need.” Curiosity got the better of me, and I asked the question plaguing me for the last hour. “Why did you take the inner seat in the booth?”

Blue turned to face me, putting us inches apart. With me leaning on the bar, all she’d have to do was raise up a little to make contact. Would she taste as good as last time?

“You were watching.”

I blinked and pulled my mind away from her lips. “What?”

“I sat on the inside because you were watching. If I’d wanted out, and he’d tried to stop me, you’d have made him move.”

“Damn straight I’d have made him move. But for future reference—and my continued sanity—all dates from now on end as soon as you’re uncomfortable.”

“That’s going to make it hard to date at all.” Her mouth curled up into a tiny self-deprecating grin, and the last remaining bit of my willpower disappeared. “How were my flirting skills?”

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