Page 68 of The Playboy's Playbook

Matthew continues to throw punches at Jason and when the two are finally separated, Matthew’s shirt is torn and his hair is a mess of grass and dirt.

Jason looks worse for wear. He has a dazed look on his face, blood pouring from his nose and lip. He looks like he was attacked by an animal instead of a human.

“Matty, calm the fuck down!” Isaac yells at Matthew, pushing him away from a confused Jason. While others tend to Jason, Matthew continues to resist Isaac and a few other classmates tugging him back.

“Fuck you, Webb!” Matthew begins pushing harder against Isaac, making more of our classmates hold him back. Once they get him pushed against one of the pavilion’s posts, he cuts his eyes to me and his rough features soften.

I cast my eyes down to his bloody knuckles and he follows my gaze. He wipes his hands on his jeans and moves to go around the guys holding him back, but I remove myself from Erica’s grip and sprint toward the parking lot.

“Laila! Wait!” Matthew shouts, the sound of his heavy footsteps on the ground behind me. I swerve through the cars parked haphazardly in the makeshift parking lot and finally spot my black car under the shade tree. I increase my speed, but I’m no match for Matthew’s long legs because he catches up to me in no time.

He wraps his hand around my elbow, but I yank myself free. “Do not touch me when you quite literally have another man’s blood on your hands!”

“I’m sorry, I just…I saw him with you and I lost it,” Matthew stumbles over his words as he continues to wipe his hands on his jeans.

“So it’s a problem when another man approaches me?” I grit, disgust in my voice.

“That is not why I did that!” Matthew shouts at me, causing me to flinch at his tone. He notices my reaction and he closes his eyes before speaking much calmer. “I didn’t do that because it’s a problem for you to talk to another guy.”

I can’t help the dry laugh that comes from my lips. “Then what was the reason, Matthew? You probably just gave him a concussion on top of a busted lip and broken nose?”

“Because he hurt you.” His voice is so low, I don’t hear him.

“What?” I ask, needing him to speak up.

“Because he hurt you! Last year at the bar when he put his hands on you and spoke to you like you were just another girl that he was going to fuck and forget!” Matthew says louder this time, frustration ringing in his tone.

“I don’t care about that anymore. You shouldn’t either. He could call the fucking police on you and have you arrested for assault!Again! That’s what you should care about!”

“If it means me going back to jail, so fucking be it. I’d do it again and again for you,” Matthew says walking toward me.

I let him get close to me, but he doesn’t reach out to touch me. I don’t know why, but I bring my hands to his hair and pluck some grass out of his blond locks.

“You’re absolutely insane if you think I would let you go back to jail for getting into a fight over an incident that happened a year ago.”

Matthew closes his eyes and leans closer to me, our lips ghosting each other. “I’m only insane for you, baby.”

I tense up and his eyes shoot open, realizing what he said. I don’t correct him or push him away. I do the one thing I probably shouldn’t do.

I kiss Matthew Foster like my life depends on it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

MATT

Who knew all it took for me to have Laila’s soft lips against mine would be to get into a fight in her honor? If I had known that, I would’ve tried harder to punch the shit out of Jason last year after the whole incident at Brody’s.

Even without my hands running up and down her body, I’m hard as a brick as she runs her hands through my hair as our lips mold together perfectly.

It’s like we didn’t miss a beat.

I fucking love Laila’s kisses. She’s soft and sweet, but when she tugs at my bottom lip, it drives me fucking crazy. She drives me fucking crazy. I love it.

I love her.

We’re still making out against her car when a throat clears behind us. We pull apart and turn and see Isaac and Erica standing a few steps away. Erica has a scowl on her face as she glares at me, but Isaac looks indifferent.

Erica marches over and hands Laila her purse she left behind in her mad dash away from the pavilion.

---