Page 31 of Game Plan

At some point, I thought about going to the communal bathroom to shower. Maybe the hot water would wash my thoughts away, but it would mean having to leave the pillowy and warm cocoon of my bed, which I wasn’t willing to do.

Before I could think it through, I lowered my hand under the elastic waistband of my pajama pants to reach between my thighs. I let out a loud breath as I rubbed my aching center with a finger. A million sensations surged through me, both addictive and toe-curling, which I wished would lure sleep more easily.

I pictured Jayden in my head. It was a safe choice. We had broken up, but it didn’t mean I didn’t find him handsome, because I still did. Every time he stared at me with his dark irises, I melted a little more inside. He possessed an aura of mystery and danger that appealed to me. I pushed two digits inside me, seeking a quick release. Anything to cloud my mind and soothe my body so sleep could claim me. The more I rubbed myself, the more I felt like a live wire about to spark.

Jayden’s face faded away, and Mason’s replaced it. “Please, stay away,” I begged, between clenched teeth, barely able to form full sentences, as pleasure built deep inside me. “Please, Mase, not now.” Our earlier encounter had left me coiled tight. I hated fighting with him, and yet, it always made me feel alive. It ignited a passion from deep inside me that nothing else seemed to trigger. I was desperate for a release, panting, no longer registering my movements. My fingers worked faster, eliciting soft moans from me.

Images of Mason’s face, his mischievous smile, the way he looked at me the night he had touched me just like that in my bedroom a long time ago, became clearer behind my closed eyelids. I remembered the explosion that had followed and how it had felt to touch him too. The softness of his hard flesh. The way he’d trembled inside my fist, and how I felt knowing I was the one about to make him lose his mind until he stopped me.

Since when was he allowed to invade my fantasies?

“Mase, leave. Now.” My words were weak pleas. My body pulsated with an ache I hadn’t felt in so long.

I tried to bring back Jayden. His dark eyes and permanent frown.

Blue eyes chased the images of him away.

“Mase, why are you doing this to me? I don’t want you to… I need you to…” I bit my lower lip to avoid screaming as I jerked my head back against the pillows when a wave of pleasure filled me and brought me a much-needed sense of calm.

I shut my eyes. “I hate you. Not really. I should, though. You can’t do this to me. But thank you, I-I craved this.” I had no memory of anything bringing me over the edge with so much intensity, and the realization messed up my feelings toward him even more than before. Still, a soft smile stretched my lips, and this time, I didn’t have to pretend. It was stuck there.

I opened my eyes and exhaled, as my body went limp.

Nobody had to know the images my mind had conjured while I played my body.

My limbs weighed tons.

My mouth still sported that stupid, lazy smile.

I deserved that release, no matter what—or who—had brought me there. I was way past caring, relaxing even more against my pillows.

Soon, my mind settled down, and sleep stole me, and I relinquished all the remaining control I possessed to my dreams.

10

Please don’t lie to me. Not this time

“You’re early,” Donovan said when he met me halfway toward our first morning class.

“I barely slept all night. I was ready to get up before my alarm even went off.”

“Oh, that explains the curled hair, then.”

“Yes. I had a lot of time to kill. I almost forgot. The weirdest thing happened this morning.”

“What?”

“The landline in our dorm room rang like four times from an unknown number, and each time, I could hear someone breathing on the other end, but no voices. At first, I thought it was a wrong number, but…I don’t know… It felt off. This is the second time it’s happened in just a couple of weeks.”

“Maybe their phone was broken somehow, or the line had static, and you couldn’t hear them.”

“Maybe… Nobody ever calls us there except Cassie’s and my family. I’ll check with my parents tonight.” I flicked my wrist. “It’s stupid. I don’t know why I’m still thinking about it. Never mind.”

We walked in silence for a minute while I chased away the uneasiness I’d experienced earlier once and for all.

Donovan fished a container out of his messenger bag and handed it to me. “Scone? My mom sent a batch yesterday. They’re delish. I’m sure you could use some pick-me-up food.”

“Blueberries?”