Chapter 17 #2
“Can’t get one past you.”
“You’re going to hand a glass bottle to probably the only person in here that might jump when someone says hello?”
“Think I’d rather step on glass in the morning than piss you off again,” he mutters.
I press my lips together to keep from smiling.
“And please, Isla, no one here is that important.” He pops the cap off and hands me the open one. Then does the same with his. “Except Hunter. And probably Grey.”
I nod and look around. “Which one is Hunter?” I ask, already knowing what he looks like since several pictures on the athletics page feature the two of them.
He snaps his fingers and looks around. “Shoot. Should’ve warned your friend not to get within five feet of the guy. Oh there he is.” He tilts his head sideways. “Playing wingman.”
I look over, finding Hunter talking to two girls, one of which keeps turning this way. “I don’t get it. Aren’t wingmen usually flirting with the girls’ friend?”
“A wingman has one job. Keep your buddy talking to the pretty girl. In this case, you.” He points to me like I’m Exhibit A. “Even if it means talking to her annoying cousin or…” he glances over. “Girls he knows won’t hesitate to…cut in line.”
My eyes widen. “Am I…should you be…? Do you want to—”
“Jesus, Isla. No. If I did, I wouldn’t have invited you tonight.”
“Then why did you? And if you say something like ‘hold up your end of the deal’, let me make it clear, we have no deal.”
His brows jump with interest. “Oh no? Then what was tonight?”
All talk, according to Tisch.
“It’s called pity.”
“Ouch.” He jerks like he wasn’t expecting that from me. He pulls his phone out of his pocket. I don’t need to look down to know he’s opening the app.
Clearing his throat, he reads. “C’mon Cap, shake it off.
We’re cringing over here.” He glances at me.
“Still wearin’ your jersey tomorrow, heart, heart.
” He furrows his brow and scrolls down. “There’s still third period...
Blink twice if this game’s rigged.” He pins me with his eyes and waves his phone.
“Pity.” Then scrolls down another few seconds and turns the screen to show me my message.
“This is not pity.”
I glance away with a smirk I can’t help. “Then what is it?”
He leans down. “It’s a power play.”
I frown up at him. “Power play?”
“You have power over me.” He takes a swig. “And you played it.”
I nearly choke. “That’s not what it means.”
He grins. “Close enough.”
There’s more commotion in the kitchen, and he leads me into the living room, weaving past the crowd before ducking behind the staircase. It’s quieter here. And there’s a heck of a lot less people. So I’ll take it.
“I’ve won six games because of you, Isla. Six. And I don’t think it’s fair because I know why you sent those messages. It was safe.”
I swallow.
“It still is,” he assures quickly, his eyes dropping to my throat. “I’ll never make you do anything you don’t want to do.” He waits for me to confirm.
“I don’t…want to,” I lie, my voice wavering.
He watches me for a beat, his eyes dropping to my mouth again. “But if you did, I can help with that.”
I frown.
He draws closer, arms moving to either side of me, bracing himself against the wall behind me. “Isla, I’m attracted to you.” This time, he swallows. “And I sure as hell know you’re attracted to me. Unless I fucked that up somehow in the last forty-eight hours.”
I shake my head, unable to speak.
“Good. Because I can do all the things, Isla. Not just tonight’s request.”
My chest heaves, and it draws his attention for a brief moment before he meets my eyes again.
“I’ve saved every one of Shadow’s messages, Isla. I heard her. I know what she needs. And I want to be the one to do them all.”
“Half of them didn’t even make sense,” I breathe, confused at what is happening right now.
“They make perfect sense to me.”
“What are you saying?” I whisper.
His blue eyes level mine as he lifts my chin. “Let me teach you.”
I’m not even sure what he’s offering but it’s tempting as hell.
“This some sort of favor for a favor?”
His face sobers, his gaze dropping for a heartbeat. “Not some sort of, Isla. It is.” He licks his lips. “Every player’s got a superstition. A pre-game ritual. You’re mine. But I want it to be ours.”
I frown. “What?”
“A pre-game ritual.” He reaches behind me, dips his fingers into my jeans pocket, and pulls out my phone. “You tell me what you want.” He slips it back into place and I clench from the contact. “And we make it happen that night.”
I’m suddenly out of breath. “I’m, uh…not interested.”
He watches me for a moment. And I can’t tell if he’s disappointed or doesn’t believe me. He steps back, giving me space. “Okay. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
I peel myself off the wall, taking a slow breath. “Kane, you don’t need me to win.”
He runs a hand down his face and I know he doesn’t agree. “Let’s say for argument’s sake, that you’re right. I’m perfectly capable of winning without a lucky charm.” He perks a brow. “But…now that she’s here…and it’s obvious I could do something for her…”
I choke out a laugh. “Obvious to who? You?”
He frowns, like the question confuses him.
“There you are,” Tisch says breathlessly, finding me with Kane.
I straighten, ready to make it look like there’s nothing to see here, but Kane doesn’t move. “I am so sorry, I have to go. Someone apparently tipped Jake off that I’m here and now he’s outside.” She winces. “But I can have him give you a ride back to campus.”
I blink. “Um, yeah okay.”
“Um no, not okay,” Kane objects. “There’s a Titan here?”
Tisch holds up a hand. “He’s not here as a Titan, he’s here as my brother and he’s three houses down in his car. And since we came in your car, he’s going to drive us back to campus to pick up mine.”
“Fine, but Isla’s not going. I don’t need a Titan tainting her with his…aura. It’s bad enough one wearing their jersey had their hand wrapped around her at our last game.”
I flick my eyes up to his. “You saw that?”
I thought I was imagining it, but he was in fact looking right at me that night.
He sweeps his gaze over me but doesn’t linger. “Not like it was hard. You’re impossible to miss.”
A rush of heat moves through me.