Chapter 23
Charlotte
"Oh my God, that was..."
"Crazy and slightly risky, but absolutely incredible," I finish in Logan's place and go back to laughing uncontrollably.
After the little scare with the security guard, I quickly returned to the excited mood over what we did.
Every time I imagined Johnny's reaction to opening a locker and having glitter fall everywhere...
It would be too good! Shame I couldn't install a camera in every spot to film his face.
"It was the best possible revenge, Peach," Ethan agrees, laughing as he flops onto the couch. I follow him, dropping into his lap. Logan sprawls in the armchair across from us.
"Best dare in the history of this game, for sure," the blond remarks, and I catch sight of the bottle still lying on the rug, where we left it earlier.
"True. You guys want to keep going or should we all sleep?" I ask, turning my head to look at Ethan. He shrugs.
"I've still got too much adrenaline to sleep," he confesses, and I nod in agreement. I turn my attention to the other player, who's already sliding his butt down the armchair until he ends up on the floor, in the laziest way possible. I let out a little laugh, unable to help myself.
"Come on, the night's young and we can still get up to more," the player says, the mischievous look in his eyes gaining a renewed shine. I sigh and agree.
"Okay, but I'm going to grab something for us to drink and what's left of the Chinese food," I let them know, and they both agree eagerly.
I grab the little boxes from the fridge, along with the bottle of cheap wine we bought, and go back to the living room, leaving everything on the coffee table.
I don't bother getting glasses, so I drink straight from the neck, then hold the drink out to Ethan.
"Well, since I was the last one, I'll start again," I announce, spinning the little bottle we were using to play. I smile when it stops pointing at Logan, and it's Ethan who's going to question him.
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth," the blond requests, calm. Ethan, in turn, breaks into a shameless little smile.
"Is it true you have a piercing on your dick?" he asks, and I almost spit out the gyoza I'd just bitten into. Logan smiles diabolically. He grabs the wine bottle and drinks slowly before finally answering, looking from me to Ethan.
"It's true," he confesses, and I have to control my jaw so it doesn't hit the floor. He definitely didn't have a piercing down there when he slept with me. "I thought you'd already seen it."
"I don't go around checking out your dick in the locker room," Ethan shoots back, and his friend laughs.
"It wouldn't be that easy to see either. It's a frenum, it sits underneath," Logan explains, and it takes everything in me not to grab my phone and type that into the search bar to know exactly what kind of piercing we're talking about. "How did you find out, anyway?"
"Jane and Lya were whispering about it one day in class," Ethan answers, naming girls I don't know. They must be from the same program as him.
Logan lets out another little laugh.
"Got it," the blond closes the subject, to the sorrow of my curiosity, and grabs one of the boxes of kung pao chicken before spinning the bottle between us himself. It lands from me to Ethan.
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
I have to stop and think for a second about what I want to ask that I still don't know about the player. I take the chance to drink a little more of the wine, and an idea comes to mind.
"Have you ever hooked up with anyone on the football team?"
Ethan lets a little puff of air out through his nose, amused. Logan shifts, staring at his friend in apparent anticipation of the answer.
"Not on ours, no," he answers succinctly, which only makes me more curious.
"On which one, then?" I ask, but he shakes his head no.
"One question at a time, kitten," he decides, and I let out a groan. He spins the bottle and this time it lands from Logan to him. The blond barely blinks before basically repeating my question.
"Which other player did you hook up with?"
"You two are a curious little pair, aren't you?" he complains, but Logan and I shrug almost in sync. "Chad Michaels."
I have no idea who that is, but Logan definitely does, because his eyes go wide.
"From Big Green? You hooked up with my biggest enemy??" he questions, indignation pouring out of his pores. Ethan raises his hands in a sign of peace.
"Don't be dramatic, he never beat you in a game," he retorts, and Logan huffs. Before he can fire back, I decide I need more explanation.
"Who's Chad? And why would he be your enemy?"
"He's the wide receiver on the St. Louis university team.
They're our closest rivals, since the city's only two hours from here.
Logan hates him because on top of playing the same position, their stats are pretty similar, but Logan always ends up a little ahead, so it's just fussing," Ethan explains while his friend narrows his eyes.
"It's not drama, or fussing. The guy's an asshole.
He's the team captain and always sends the goons to mark me really aggressively.
I almost came out all broken from the last game we had!
" he complains, and this time Ethan doesn't even bother to answer, just rolls his eyes. "And he's not even good-looking!"
"Now you're really reaching."
"But it's true."
"I'm going to need photos to assess," I interrupt the little squabble, even though I'm enjoying it.
Ethan takes his phone out of his pocket and spends a few seconds searching before handing me the profile photo of a man with red hair, green eyes, lots of muscles, and a perfect smile.
I let out a whistle automatically before lifting my eyes to Logan.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but this Chad here is really hot," I declare, and Ethan breaks into a winning smile. The man across from him huffs and crosses his arms, muttering curses.
I swallow a laugh and then the game continues. The little glass bottle spins on its axis until it lands from Ethan to me.
"What's it going to be, Peach?" His question comes with a raise of his eyebrows.
"Dare, for a change."
"Hmm, let me see..." he thinks, running a hand over his chin and alternating his gaze between his friend and me. A flash of mischief passes through his eyes when he decides. "I dare you to win an arm-wrestling match against Logan, the same way as the video you sent me the other day."
Son of a gun! Using my addiction to sending random videos against me is a real low blow. And that one in particular is... a little compromising.
In the video, two guys have an arm-wrestling match, but as the contest starts, one of them uses his free hand to pull down the zipper of his jacket and show off the abs underneath.
The opponent gets so distracted that he's defeated instantly.
I sent it to Ethan with the message "Bet I'd beat you like this, all I'd have to do is show my boobs. "
"What video?" Logan asks, but I ignore him.
Ethan looks at me with a sideways smile, watching me debate the matter internally. He's really enjoying this, isn't he?
Then I wouldn't be the one to back down.
I narrow my eyes and lift my chin in his direction.
"Are you sure?"
"I am, it'll be fun."
"Then let's go, player," I decide and slide forward until I'm sitting facing the coffee table. I rest my right arm on the wood and look at Logan. "Come on, Hayes," I demand, and he does come closer, but keeps looking at me in confusion.
"Can someone explain what's going on?" he asks, and I shake my head.
"You'll see, give me your hand." Logan makes a face like he's saying "these people have officially lost it," but obeys and also positions himself with his elbow on the table.
His big, callused hand is a contrast against mine.
I don't even need to be Edward Cullen to know Logan is thinking about how ridiculous this contest of strength is going to be.
"On three, okay?" Ethan warns, and I agree. "One... two..."
Before the dark-haired guy can get to three, though, I use my left hand to unbutton two buttons of the black shirt I'm wearing and expose the pink bra underneath. I squeeze my breasts between my forearms so they pop out even more.
Not that it was necessary. The same instant he catches sight of the exposed skin, Logan loses focus on everything else and I turn his hand until it slams hard against the table.
An excited little squeal escapes me, and only then does the player seem to return to reality.
His eyes rise to my face, then to his defeated arm, and finally reach Ethan.
"You... you..." he stammers, and Ethan cracks up too. I untangle my hand from Logan's and busy myself buttoning my top back up. Logan huffs and shakes his head. "Wow, that was dirty play."
"I know." It's all Ethan says, without stopping laughing. I'm slightly flushed with embarrassment, but I admit I found it fun. It proved how easy men were to manipulate.
We go back to our spots around the bottle. Again it lands from Ethan to Logan.
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth," the blond decides, and it takes only a second before he throws out:
"Do you still feel attracted to Charlie?" It sounds more like a statement than a question, and it makes me swallow hard.
Logan's eyebrows almost reach his hairline again.
"No. I mean, yes. But... this again? I already said there's no one who doesn't feel attracted to her, okay?" Logan stammers, looking from me to Ethan, and something until now unprecedented for me happens: he blushes.
The pink color on his cheeks catches me so off guard that instead of being embarrassed or worried about setting a weird mood in the house, I find myself forced to press my lips together to hold in the laugh.
To distract myself, I focus on Ethan and give his arm a light smack.
"Will you stop torturing him?" I complain, but he shakes his head no.
"It's fun," the dark-haired guy claims, and I hear Logan huff. Ethan grabs my arm and pulls me until I'm sitting between his open legs. I lean back against his chest, relaxing, and his hands squeeze my waist.
"Idiot," Logan fires off from his spot across from us, and I let out a little laugh. I watch him grab the wine bottle and sip the last of the drink in there.
"And what about you, Peach?" the man behind me asks, kissing my neck lightly. I frown in confusion.
"Me what?"
"Do you still feel attracted to Logan?" His question catches me totally off guard and I freeze for a long second.
"N-no, I..."
"There's no problem if you are," he says, and there's calm in his voice, but also something else I can't quite identify. "In fact, I dare you to kiss him," he throws out, like it's no big deal, and I freeze against his body. Logan frowns and blinks repeatedly, looking at us in confusion.
"We're not playing anymore," I answer quietly, and Ethan's hands squeeze harder on my waist.
"Even so, I dare you. I know you've been curious ever since you saw him again," he fires off, and I shake my head no. I move his hands away and get to my feet in a second. Ethan follows me and we stand there staring at each other.
"Have you lost your mind?" I question, crossing my arms under my breasts. He gives me back only a raised eyebrow, like he's saying "Oh, really?"
I huff and move to leave, but Ethan pulls me back. The man spins me, pressing me against his broad chest so that I'm facing forward, where Logan is now standing on his feet too.
"I think I'd better go to my room," the blond says, scratching his nape, visibly uncomfortable. He loved flirting with me, had no shame about it, but it was just a game. I knew he wouldn't try anything with me while I was with Ethan.
I never expected something like this from the man behind me either. Not after that little episode of jealousy in the tutoring room.
But it seems like all my certainties are quickly coming undone.
"Stay, Logan," Ethan demands at once and starts sliding a hand gently down my right arm, instead of holding me, giving me goosebumps. "Truth or dare, Peach?"
Seeing that he's not going to give up, I let out a long sigh and choose what seems less bad than the damn dare.
"Truth."
"Do you catch yourself wondering if his kiss is as good as you remember? Particularly when Logan flirts with you even without realizing it." The way he throws my truths into the air makes me swallow hard and feel a flutter in my stomach.
I close my eyes, wondering if it's worth trying to lie at this point.
"Sometimes," I whisper at last and earn a light kiss on the neck.
"And why don't you do it?" Ethan gives back, and I frown.
"Because I'm hooking up with you."
"We're not exclusive," he reminds me, but I shrug.
"Even so, it would be really messed up, he's your friend.
That's without considering the fact that we all live together," I point out the obvious and finally open my eyes again.
Logan still doesn't move, just staring at me with his jaw clenched and his fists tight, like he's giving it his all to control some impulse.
Ethan distracts me from the analysis by stroking the skin of my waist, just below the hem of the shirt I'm wearing. Incredible how much this man's touch affects me.
"But what if I said it's okay? Would you kiss him? Just to satisfy the curiosity?" he asks, his voice deep and warm right against my ear. Logan takes a step forward and seems to have lost the control he had, because now there's pure lust radiating from his light eyes as he looks at me.
Fuck.
Shit.
Hell.
This doesn't help me try to keep my senses.
"I-I don't know," I murmur, and I barely recognize my own voice.
"The way you're looking at him right now suggests you do know, baby," he gives back and then licks from the base of my neck up to my ear. "Kiss him. And let me watch."
The moment he says that, he bites my earlobe and then releases me, pushing me lightly forward. Straight into Logan's hands.
Oh my God.
My heart loses its rhythm as the blond man comes closer until his breath hits my face. Logan uses one hand to lift my chin and make me look at him.
Damn beautiful man with those light eyes, now with the pupils dilated with desire, the mouth with the upper lip a little fuller, and the trail of stubble marked around his jaw.
"Yes or no, princess?" he asks, his low voice sounding against my mouth.
Should I do this? Definitely not.
Do I have the strength to keep denying that I want to? Also no.
So I do the last thing I have left.
I say yes.