Page 119 of Their Cruel Play
“Yeah, well, I need to head home.” Nico grabs his book and stuffs it in his backpack. “We doing anything tonight?”
“No.” I watch him closely, waiting for him to give me more information. There’s anger, frustration, and maybe even a little hurt in his expression. “Family dinners all around I’m afraid. We’ll sort out the week tonight on webcam.”
Nico nods and his gaze softens when it lands on the door. I don’t know what the fuck that was, but he cares about her. He runs his hand through his hair, and his dark eyes meet mine. “Tell her?—”
“Tell her what?” Harper comes out of the bathroom, put together with her hair in a messy bun. “Tell her that you’re an ass who wouldn’t know how to be in a relationship even if you’re the only one of us who’s actually been in one?”
None of us speak. This istheirissue. It affects us all though because we need to be a cohesive unit. Not crumbling at the seams.
He shakes his head. “I didn’t know you’d be a little lap dog for the other guys. But for me, the guy who actually gives a shit about you, I’m the one you just can’t seem to care about.”
“Grow the fuck up, Nico. We’re not kids anymore.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
His eyes narrow before he grabs his bag and storms out of the room. No one moves for a moment as she glares at his retreating back. The door slams as he leaves the house.
Not sure what that was all about, but I’ll get to the bottom of it.
“Gatorade, sweetheart?” Jack holds one out to her.
Her hard eyes turn to him before they soften, and she kind of crumples back into Harper. “Thanks, Jack.”
She takes it and returns to her normal seat with her things. We get back to studying and the tension eases out of the room. Pages turning and pens scratching are the only sounds as we focus on our work.
After twenty minutes, Jack and Caden kiss her on the temple and take their leave. Luke looks pensive still, but that could be because he has dinner with his dad. When he goes over to kiss her goodbye, she takes his hand and holds it for a moment while she tips her chin up to him, offering him her lips.
He cups her face and kisses her softly before he glances at me with a nod.
“You’ll get her home.” Luke’s voice sounds a little gruff, and he clears his throat. It’s not a question.
“Of course.”
He nods and walks out.
I work on cleaning up my homework. “Do you have more to do? Or do you want me to take you home?”
Sighing, she puts her hands over her eyes. “This is fucked, isn’t it?”
I walk around the table and lower into the seat next to her. I don’t usually ask her shit, but this needs to be discussed. “What’s fucked?”
“This.” She gestures to me and herself and the empty room. “We don’t make sense. I don’t know that I can forgive Nico.”
Not saying a word, I wait. She doesn’t need me to give her a solution. At least, not yet.
“I tried. I told him we just needed to start over and?—”
“Ouch.” I wince.
Her eyes narrow. “What?”
“That’s pretty harsh for a guy you’ve already fucked. He thought he was winning you, and you pulled the rug out from under him.” I sit back and put my hands on my stomach. “I’m not saying I agree, but that’s probably what he thought. What did he do?”
“Demanded I get undressed.”
Fucking Nico. Yeah, that’s not going to win her over. It’s curious because we’ve all done the same things to her, but somehow Nico doesn’t get to just fuck her to get past this. There’s something more to what’s happening between them. A history at play that maybe none of us are privy to.
“Want to tell me what he whispered that made that happen?” I point to the chair she rode Nico on.
Her lips press together like she’s getting ready to fight. “No.”
