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I opened another beer and sank back into the cushions. This game had certainly been more innocent when we’d played it in ninth grade. Now, the couples were really getting caught up in it, several forgetting altogether that they’d been playing and just making out. I turned away, feeling like a voyeur by watching.
Before I knew it, Lily elbowed my side. “You’re up,” she whispered.
I hadn’t been paying attention, and it was an unpleasant shock to see the spinner pointing directly toward me. I could feel Beckett’s eyes on me, reminding me of his command.
I stood and glanced around. Marcus held out the helmet to me. “Pick a name, Evie.” He tied the blindfold around my head.
I pushed my hand into the helmet, searching for the crumpled edge of Beckett’s slip of paper.
After a long, agonizing moment, I thought I’d found it. I pulled it out and gave it to Marcus. Silence fell. I could just imagine what was happening.
Cold air brushed my face as I waited. Where the hell was Beckett?
Whispers broke out, spreading in a flurry around the table. Then tittering, and a snigger.
Suddenly, the blindfold was coming off. I turned to Marcus, who gave me a rueful grin. “Seems like you’re off the hook, Martino.”
“Really? Who did I pick?” I wondered. Had I picked the wrong one?
I searched for Beckett in his dark corner. My eyes collided with his. He was drinking a beer, appearing completely unconcerned.
I sat next to Lily. She was shooting Beckett an annoyed glare. “What happened?”
I felt like everyone around the table was gawping at me, whispering about me. My cheeks flamed.
“Nothing, just Beckett being a dick. What else is new? Don’t worry about it,” Lily said dismissively.
Cayden weighed in. “He’s in a mood, Eve. Seriously, don’t let it bother you.”
I nudged Isabelle. “Okay, someone has to tell me what happened.”
She bit her lip, seeming torn. “Nothing, really. He just refused to get up when his name was pulled.”
“Refused?”
“Yeah, he passed…and ignored Marcus and the rules.”
Great. So Beckett had rejected me in front of everyone. Actually, he hadn’t even rejected me coming on to him, but he’d rejected kissing me, even for a game. That was a great look. I could feel eyes on me, measuring me up, wondering what it was that the popular Hellions’ defenseman found so lacking that he wouldn’t even give me a quick peck on the lips for the sake of the game.
My cheeks got hotter. All my most self-critical thoughts ran around my head, echoing the words that had always followed me.Not good enough, not like us, there’s something lacking there.
Isabelle gripped my hand. “Forget him. Looks like Tyler would love to pick you,” she said and gave me a reassuring smile.
Right, Tyler. He was a sweet guy, and yeah, I was pretty sure he’d kiss me if he had the chance in the game, and yet, even that thought couldn’t comfort me. Beckett the asshole had taken over my brain, and I couldn’t get him out.
Beckett
Before Eve broughtmy life as I’d known it down around my ears, the best thing after a tough game was smoking pot and zoning out, my body spent and my mind finally quiet. Nowadays, since other pleasures were off the table, the best thing was a beer and the hot tub.
Well, that’s what I’d thought anyway, until tonight. Now, I knew the best thing, better than all others, was taking petty revenge against the girl you hated. Seeing her squirm and blush as people whispered about her and sniggered really was cathartic.
Negging Eve was easy, but then, she was an easy target. The only touch she’d ever had on her body was mine. A fact that had kept me hard and awake far too many nights over the summer. She was easy because she also cared too damn much about what people said about her. She worried if she was wearing the right things, saying the right things, always trying to fit in.Belong. She had no clue yet that most people weren’t worth trying to fit in with. Most people should be beneath her notice. Still, the way she cared so damn much about everything meant she was an easy mark.
She fumed, angry and embarrassed, for the rest of the game. My name was already pulled out, so I didn’t have to pay attention to the bullshit. Eve’s wasn’t, however, so I listened with one ear, until that fucker Tyler had his shot. He pulled some random girl, and I relaxed. Eve was mine to fuck with. No one had better get in the way.
Today was the first day in months where I’d felt a smile on my face. I’d laughed, here and there, played hockey with a clear head and focus, and felt something other than apathetic disgust for my life. Something bubbled in my veins and buoyed my steps.
Deciding to ignore Eve and pretend she didn’t exist had been a mistake. It had been passive and way too forgiving. I was finally giving Eve the punishment she had deserved all summer, and it felt good. It felt better than good. I felt excited to tangle with her, to humble her. I wouldn’t stop until she begged me for forgiveness, on her knees, with a tearstained face. Then, and only then, would the raging anger in my chest finally die.Maybe. I hoped so, anyway. It was my only hope.
