Page 106 of Make the Play

“You wiiish,” I sing-song breezily.

He chuckles, and it rolls straight through me, easy and rich and effortless. Because dammit, Iamadmiring him. He looks so relaxed and happy now that we’re through the carnage that was the scavenger hunt. I want to bottle this version of him and drink it through a straw.

We’re standing near the bar, watching a drunk fairy pirate propose to someone dressed as a traffic cone, when two guys approach.

They’ve got the jawlines of frat boys but the confidence of men who do yoga at sunrise and own leather-bound journals. Artfully messy hair, vintage band tees, and boots that cost more than my rent. One of them has a nose ring and a tattoo crawling up hisneck. Another is wearing a bomber jacket that looks like it’s seen war.

Hipster heartbreakers. My personal Roman Empire.

One of them, Nose Ring, steps forward with a big smile.

“Well, hello, gorgeous,” he says, zeroing in on me.

I blink at him, pleasantly tipsy and fully entertained. “Well, hi.”

“I was just telling my buddy,” he says, “that your eyes are fucking sick.”

I let out a little laugh. “That’s a first.”

Behind me, Chase goes still. Not casual still. Full-body, not-breathing, primal-man-rage still.

“Oh, come on,” Nose Ring adds, riding the high of his own charm. “No way people don’t tell you that all the time.”

I tilt my head, letting my smile turn coy. “Maybe you’re just the first one to really notice.”

He chuckles. “You here alone?”

And because I have zero survival instincts, I let my lips curve into a slow, lazy smile.

“Alone?” I echo, letting my fingertips trail lightly over my cup. “Mmm. Notreally.”

The guy leans in a fraction, clearly interested, and Chase moves too, just enough that I feel him at my back. Warm and tall and solid.

I know I should shut this down, be a responsible adult, and reestablish boundaries. Pull back before it turns into something I can’t laugh off.

But I don’t, because Chase is jealous. I can see the heat in his stare, the tension in his body, the way his presence wraps around me like a claim. And God help me, Ilovethat. Not because it proves anything, not even because it’s hot. But because it meanshe feels it.

So instead of pulling away from it, I answer it. I trail my fingers lightly up over his arm, over the blue neon paint, determined to still pass this off as casual.

Nose Ring’s gaze drops, clocking the movement. His brows lift. “Boyfriend?”

Chase exhales through his nose, and then his hand lands on my hip, steady and warm, possessive enough to make my heart jump, to remind me exactly where I belong.

I laugh softly and lean back into Chase’s chest as I look up at Nose Ring with a sugary smile.

“Something like that.”

Nose Ring raises a brow. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Chase says, hand tightening on my hip.

My smile curls, and I turn toward him slowly, letting my fingers trail up his chest.

“Jealous, babe?”

His jaw flexes, grip tightening. “You tell me.”

But I’m already too far gone, already fully committed to the bit, and if Chase is going to act like a possessive boyfriend, I’m going to make him suffer.

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