Page 55 of Wild Card

“You ready to go?” I asked as his gaze fixated on my house. It bounced between the truck in my driveway and the front door.

“Yeah.” He pushed off the truck and headed toward my door, opening it for me. He even tried to lean over me to buckle me in, but that shit was weird.

“I got it, thanks.” I gave him a tight smile and a warning look to back off. I didn’t know him that well, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be lowering my defenses around him.

I took one last look at the house and the man who was staring at us from the front door before I closed my eyes and faced forward.

Chapter Twenty

Elias Matthews was an idiot,a jock with no substance whatsoever. He was perfectly suited for a jersey chaser or anyone who didn’t mind a little bleeding in the ears, and yet I sat at the bar listening to his stories of how he’d been endorsed early on in college for all of his athletic gear, his cell phones and laptops…basically all his fancy shit. Oh, and apparently, he was already being scouted by two different pro teams. I was fairly certain at some point he used the term ‘best of the best’ in describing himself. His face flushed when he said that, leaning closer to me as he trailed a finger down my arm, but he’d still said the actual words.

“So…what’s the story with you and Decker James?” I asked coyly.

Elias’s light brows dipped, a line formed right between them.

“Duggar?”

I bit my lower lip, leaning forward. “Yeah, something like that. I’ve seen him a few times, hung out…but I’ve heard rumors about you two.”

Please work.I wanted more info on why these two hated one another, and I knew Decker would never give it to me.

Elias took a long swig of his beer, the foam left behind a white mustache along his upper lip. It made me smirk at how ridiculous he looked.

He let out a whoosh of air, which made me tense. “He tried to ruin my career, but I think God must have been looking out for me. I managed to hit the ball in a way that protected me. Another time, he attacked me, tried tripping me…ended up getting that scar on his hand. He’s bad news.”

My stomach hollowed out, tipping with defensiveness.

“So, you know him pretty well then?” I sipped my water. I wasn’t getting wasted with this guy near me. I’d bought a water bottle from the vending area near the ATM machine and had been nursing it while he drank his beer.

“Yeah, guess you could say that. We grew up together actually…you know, it’s a funny story.” He crossed his arms, leaning them on the tall table, his face sliding just inches from mine. “So I’ve actually been into your stepsister for a while…I invited her to the party that night, and now she’s with Decker, I guess.”

I wrinkled my brows in frustration and confusion. Did Taylor have a magical vagina or something? What was I missing?

“What makes you say they’re together?”

His boyish looks only amplified when he smiled and showed his dimples. He pulled his phone away from where it sat in front of him and slid it toward me. There on the screen was Taylor’s Instagram feed, with a picture of her and Decker cuddling on the couch, her face nuzzled into his neck while he smiled at the camera.

My chest seized. It literally felt like someone had just launched a missile at us then asked me to absorb the impact on behalf of civilization.

I grappled with my water bottle lid and begged the tears lining my eyes to stay the fuck inside my tear ducts. I didn’t need to show this prick that I cared that Decker had actually followed through with dating Taylor.

“Wow…didn’t realize they were so close already,” I muttered, tipping my face back to gulp back more water.

Elias watched me carefully then slowly slid his phone back to his side of the table.

“You see, that’s just it. I have known this guy for a really long time. I know what he looks like when he likes a girl. That day in the bakery…he looked at you in that way. He likes you. I wonder if he’s maybe playing a game with Taylor or something.” He shrugged his massive shoulders like it didn’t mean anything.

“Why do you say that?” The prick had me hooked and he knew it.

“He still has it out for me for whatever reason.” A palm the size of a dinner plate came up and over his shoulder, rubbing at his neck.

I was curious now; I wanted more details, even though I knew I shouldn’t. Decker had Taylor…whatever his reasons, he wanted her, and now he had her. I should have left it alone.

“What happened between you guys to make him want to ruin your career and have it out for you?” I resisted the urge to use air quotes because I wasn’t buying this guy’s bullshit.

Elias let out a heavy sigh then dipped his head, letting his hair fall along his forehead.

“Let’s just forget it…want to dance?” He held out his hand, giving me a sheepish smile.

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