Page 1 of Play With Me
Chapter One
“Why the fuck is he here?” I grunt, looking at the cocky guy making his way through the crowd of people at the frat house. His dark brown hair is loose and wavy, falling over his forehead before he pushes it back carelessly. My eyes swivel down to his outfit. He’s wearing jeans and a half-unbuttoned shirt, showing off his bare, muscular chest and a few tattoos that are etched onto his skin there.
He even dresses like an asshole. Guess he can’t help himself.
Paulie looks to where my attention has landed and then shrugs. “I mean, he lives here. And even if he didn’t, it’s Colton Cavanaugh. He can go wherever he wants. His stepdad is like a donor to the school. They named a whole building after him.”
“Fuck off with that. He’s no better than anyone else. Money or not.”
Paulie turns and peers up at me through his locks of red curls. “I mean, Xochitl didn’t seem to think so. She did leave you for him.”
My eyes narrow as I watch Colton slap hands with a few guys, then grab a beer and sip it. His tan throat bobs, and I imagine wrapping my hands around that lithe column and squeezing.
I could do it, too. I’m stronger than him, bigger. I’m a rugby player, the fly-half. I could bench press the little soccer-playing shit. Not that it stopped Xochitl from dumping me for him, but still.
I could take him any day, and there’s nothing he could do about it.
“For what it’s worth, she’s not with him anymore either, if that makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t,” I say as I sip from my plastic cup of beer. It only makes me angrier. I liked Xochitl. We only dated for a few weeks, but I would have kept it going if she hadn’t left me for him. I don’t really blame her, though. The way he walks and talks, the smarmy grins he gives people, the way he throws his money and popularity around—I know he seduced her with all of it.
She really had no chance of resisting him.
“Come on, let it go,” my friend, Paulie, says. “Just ignore him. Find some other hot chick to get with tonight.”
“Yeah, okay,” I murmur, but my eyes don’t leave Colton. I watch as he laughs and smiles, talking with everyone. They all love him. A girl approaches and clings to his neck, leaning in and kissing him right on the lips. She doesn’t even ask permission, and still, he allows it. He cups her chin with his hand and slides his tongue against hers. The kiss is slow and thrusting until he pulls away with spit-riddled lips.
He winks at her with those dark eyes and thick lashes, making her blush.
Fuck this guy. I mean, really. Fuck him. My focus moves to the girl, who is staring at him, and for a moment, I think I should try to get with her.
But a moment later, he’s already moved on, the girl forgotten.
I just need to figure out who he’s really into and get her to go out with me instead. I’ll wine and dine her, show her how she deserves to be treated, and she’ll forget all about Colton. That’ll give him a taste of his own medicine. Let him feel what it’s like for someone to say no to him, to reject him.
I think he’d be a better human for it.
So, I watch him. Far too much. He even catches me watching him at one point and winks. The fucker.
I’ll show him.
He’ll find someone he wants, and when he does, I’ll swoop in and take them. Show him how it feels.
I might even get lucky and get a real girlfriend out of it. Haven’t really had much luck in that department. I mean, I’m good-looking in my own way. I have more of a boy-next-door look than Colton’s rich, bad-boy aesthetic. He just oozes sex appeal. It’s in the way he dresses, talks, and smiles. I, on the other hand, have a kind smile, curly reddish-blond hair that’s impossible to style, and dark blue eyes. I do have muscles from playing rugby, though. A lot of them, actually, but still. I blend in. There’s just something about Colton that stands out, that draws the eye.
My hand fiddles with the lucky coin in my pocket that my grandma gave to me when I was younger. It’s been with me through it all. Through my dad’s death, through the move to New Falls, and the transition into college.
“Hold onto this, Myles. It will bring you the best of luck.”
My grandmother was right. It worked. Despite some shortfalls and some struggles, I’m a fairly lucky guy.
And if I can manage to hurt Colton like he hurt me, I’ll count that as another win.
I don’t take my eyes off him all evening, watching every interaction he has.
He moves around like a rabbit, hopping from one person to the next. He kisses almost every girl he comes into contact with, but he shows no specific signs of interest in any of them. Each act is quick and sensual, drawing them in before he pulls away and moves on.
Disposable. That’s what they are to him. Just like fucking trash.
