Fake Game - Sneak Peak
SNEAK PEAK
There’s a man in a black hoodie and black facemask parked on one of the couches by the community pool table. Most people wouldn’t give him a second glance, but I do. Because I recognize him just by his eyes.
My chunky platform heels click softly on the tiles as I make my way over. It’s only when I stop right in front of him that he looks up from the mobile game on his phone. My skin heats from the intensity of his gaze, swirling pools of bottomless black framed by thick lashes.
That was the thing about Jackson Lau, he said so much without uttering a word.
“Why are you here?”
“You headed out?” he counters.
I blink down at him, “um, yeah. I’m going over to Lee’s.”
“’Kay, let’s go.” He stands up, his chest coming to rest mere inches from my nose.
I take a startled step back as he steps around me to head out of the complex. My brain glitches for a second as I stare at his retreating from.
“Uh…what?” I call out, jogging after him. The fresh outside air fills my lungs as I pass through the revolving door and into the late afternoon sun.
“I’ll drive you.”
“You came all the way here just to drive me to Crime Night?” I quirk a brow.
Jackson hands a ticket to the valet outside my apartment before turning back to give me a bored look.
“I was in the area and Lee asked.” After a beat he adds, “for safety.”
“Right.”
Safety.
I chew on my bottom lip, trying to decide whether he is telling the truth. It annoys me that he can read me like a book while I struggle to even read his blurb.
An army green Jeep comes to a stop before us, and Jackson opens the passenger door, “get in.”
I let out a huff and ignore him, hauling my ass into the passenger seat. “I could have driven myself,” I mutter as he gets into the driver’s side.
Jackson says nothing, he just removes his facemask and hood before putting the car in drive. I pull my phone out of my handbag to fiddle with it, but really, I’m just using it as an excuse while I stare at him out the corner of my eye.
It was frustrating how attractive he was.
His long black hair wasn’t tied in a bun for once, and the ends grazed the top of his shoulders. My fingers twitched to rake my nails through it. This wasn’t the first time I’d had the urge, and if the last year had taught me anything, it was that this urge wasn’t going anywhere soon.
My eyes trail down his arms to the strong hands gripping the steering wheel.
He was the kind of guy who could toss you over his shoulder without a second thought.
And I had thought about it.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that there was a time when I harbored a tiny little crush on him. But super tiny. And the more I got to know him, the more convinced I became that he didn’t really have that much interest in me unless other people were involved. We only played video games together when Lee or the guys were with us, and we never hung out alone—minus this car ride, which was at the expense of Lee anyway.
No. Jackson Lau, I was sure, saw me as a by-product of his other friendships. An acquaintance at best. He was the type of person you would refer to as your friend, only to have him scowl in response.
Whatever, I wasn’t salty about it or anything.
“What?”
“Huh?” I startle out of my thoughts to notice Jackson looking at me.
“You’re staring.” There’s a glint in his eye as he drawls the words.
“So?”
“Just making an observance,” he muses, turning his attention back to the road. “You seemed preoccupied.”
“I was just thinking about how they say men with big hands tends to have big penises.”
The car jerks as Jackson’s head whips to me, his eyes wide. I feel a slither of satisfaction as his mouth opens and closes.
“Although, I’m not really sure there is any scientific evidence backing that statement. Not that I’ve Googled it or anything, but it’s food for thought,” I continue to babble.
Jackson clenches his jaw. “You’re spending too much time around Stevie.”
“I’m always like this.” I shrug, pretending to clean under my nails.
Jackson doesn’t say anything else for the rest of the ride, and I can’t tell whether or not he is just a tad miffed with me. Whatever. It’s not like I made him drive me here.
The car rolls to a stop outside Lee’s opulent apartment complex and I waste no time unbuckling my seatbelt and popping open the door.
“Well, thanks for the ride. I’ll be sure to give you a four-star rating.”
“What time will you be done?”
I halt, one foot on the asphalt, and turn back to him. “What do you mean?”
“Your little Crime Night, when does it finish?”
I frown, “I don’t know. Depends on how much we drink. Why?”
Typically, if we had a particularly tipsy Crime Night, I ended up just crashing at Lee’s instead of waiting to sober up and drive back. Occasionally, Syd would drop me home, but then I had to deal with getting my car the next day and that always ended up being a pain. If it was a pretty sober night, I would drive myself home, but there was never any telling how a Crime Night would go. That was the beauty of them.
“So I can drive you home.”
“Why? One of the girls can.”
His eyes give me a quick once over before turns away from me, “fine.”
“Okay, bye.”
I shut the door half expecting him to take off and leave me in a cloud of dust, but instead he just waits. When another second passes and he just stares at me through the window, I give up and turn around to walk into the building.
I really did not understand that man.