Page 45 of Play Dirty
“June and I weren’t intimate. She probably got tired of me being broken. And she left.” Ripping the bandage off, I let her witness the damage. Shiloh doesn’t speak; a single tear runs down her beautiful face. “Was she acting differently?”
“June?”
She nods with a soft sniffle, using her forearm, she wipes away a tear. Dirtying her face in the process. I focus on that small smudge of clay along her cheek. “I guess she was quieter, but I figured it was because of our own issues. I shut down.”
“Sometimes I think that if I had pressed her about what was going on, maybe this could have been prevented. Do you feel that way?”
I shake my head. “No, my only regret was pursuing a relationship when I have so much baggage to carry. I put my weight on her, and it crushed her.”
Shiloh's head hangs low, hiding away from me as if I could ever judge her for grieving the girl she loved like a sister. I crouch before her, doing the only thing that feels right. Her blonde hair falls over her face, and my fingers cautiously push the strands behind her ear.
Who could think something so innocent could have my body humming with anticipation? Need hangs over my head like a guillotine, and then I look into those eyes.
And I drown.
Over and over.
Time stops. Her breathing becomes ragged, and the warmth of it ghosts mine.Can I trust you, Shiloh Johnson?
Chapter Eighteen
Nico
The smell of cologne and grass fills the hot locker room as I walk in. Thiago looks down at his phone, no one says a word as I head down to my locker.
“Man lucky son of bitch, first virgin June and then the best friend. Might as well fuck the holy trinity?” Brad says as he leans into Wes or Weasly how I like to call him. I flare my nose clutching my bag as I stalk towards him.
Ezra's hands move to stop me, “did you not see the Pulse?”
The Pulse?
Remembering I placed my phone on DND after the night at the studio, I pulled it out of my gym bag and my stomach sank so far up my ass. I might actually shit myself.
The Pulse Blog
Brad lets out a long whistle, shaking his head as if I’m the coolest man on this earth, fucking pig. I smack Ezra’s hand away and head to my locker, slamming it open and throwing my bag inside.The image of us so close, inches away from crossing that imaginary line I placed after that night, circulating around campus. Fuck.
Everyone else pretends like they aren’t looking at me. Judging me. Believing that I’m actually fucking Shiloh. What’s next? Accusing us of killing June so we can finally be together? Sitting on the cold bench, I step out of my sneakers and put on cleats.
Thiago, who is doing the same two benches away from me, asks. “You good?”
“No,” I mutter, finishing up my laces before yanking off my band shirt. “Not even remotely.”
Zayden walks past him and plops beside me, offering me a bottle of water. “Coach isn’t too happy. The Pulse news got to him, too.”
“Of course it did,” I mutter. “Just in time for game week.”
The boys hum in agreement.
And all I can think about is how something so private, raw, and beautiful is once again ruined by the rot of this place. “Getting any closer to figuring out who the fuck is behind The Pulse?”
Thiago frowns. “No, but my tech guy thinks it’s someone close enough to know everything that happens.”
“That makes sense, but who?”
Zayden yawns into his hand. “What if it’s this asshole and he’s just playing you?”
Not this shit again. I’m not in the mood to watch them sword fight to see who has the bigger cock. They just need to admit they want each other. It’s 2025, it’s fucking okay to be gay. And fuck whoever disagrees. I finish getting ready as they continue to argue amongst themselves. My attention goes back to last night, to Shiloh.
