Page 37 of Players Love Hard
He tries to hide his disappointment and fails. “Do you mind if I hop in the shower real quick? I won’t take long.”
“Go ahead.” I move over, giving him enough room to get out of the bed. “I can wait here.”
He slides off the bed, and when I look up at him, I can’t stop staring at his muscular body. My man might be a nerd, but he has the body of an athlete. I lick my lips, practically drooling over him.
He notices and acknowledges my dirty thoughts with a wink. “I’ll be right back.” His eyes roam over my naked body, and I open my legs to give him a better look. “Don’t move. I want you just like that.”
I smile. “You got it.”
He gives me a delightful view of his ass as he lifts a towel from the hook on his door and wraps it around his waist. I sigh at the little show he puts on for me, and then he disappears into the hallway, closing the door behind him.
Five minutes pass and still no Jamie. He’s taking much longer than I expected. Most of the time, he’s in and out of the shower. Bored, I climb out of bed and walk over to his desk. I glance at the oversized pushpin board on the wall, wondering if he has any more leads on The Queen. The last time I looked through his things, I found his searches for her IP address. As far as I know, he still hasn’t found her. The last time we spoke of her, he was having trouble narrowing her location.
I open drawer at the center of his desk, not sure what I’m looking for. My trust in him is dwindling. I want to give it back, but there’s a small part of me that’s unable to. Inside his drawer I find handwritten notes. None of them are of any value. Until I find something that matters… to Jamie.
He lied about the girl he kissed. Cecelia Carmichael is more important than Jamie had let on. The pictures and letters in his drawer serve as proof. He’s cupping the side of her face in this picture, staring at her with a loving expression in his eyes.
She’s not just his childhood friend.
No, she’s his girlfriend.
And what does that make me?
The other woman.
Chapter Fifteen
Jamie
I open the bathroom door, and Shannon is running down the stairs. From the sounds of it, she’s crying. What the fuck just happened? We made up, had amazing sex, and now she’s back to hating me again?
Wrapping the towel around my waist, I follow behind her downstairs, calling out her name. A few of my teammates are in the living room. They cock their heads in my direction, eyebrows raised when they see me in a towel running behind Shannon.
She doesn’t turn around when she flings open the front door.
“What did I do now?” I say, walking onto the front porch behind her.
“You lied, Jamie. You’re such a fucking liar,” she yells as she stumbles down the stairs, wiping tears from her eyes. “She’s not your friend.”
I grip her shoulder to spin her around, holding my towel in place with my other hand. “Okay, fine. Cece was my friend when we were kids, but we dated throughout high school and until my first year of college.”
“I knew it,” she snorts. “I thought maybe I was overreacting until I saw the shrine you have for her.”
Confused, I narrow my eyes at her. “What shrine?”
“The pictures and notes you have saved in your desk drawer.”
“You went through my stuff?” I shake my head, now even more irritated. “You had no right to do that. I would’ve told you the truth about Cece… eventually.”
“Eventually.” She sniffs back the tears she dabs at with her fingers. “I thought you were different, Jamie.” Her voice lowers, filled with grief. “I thought I could trust you. Turns out you’re no different from the rest of the rich assholes on this campus.”
“C’mon, Shan,” I plead. “This looks bad, but it’s not what you think. I’m done with Cece. It’s over for good. I want to be with you.”
“No, you don’t,” she snaps. “You want her. I deserve more than a lie. I saw the way you looked at her in the pictures. And you kissed her while you were with me.” She spins around out of my grasp. “Don’t call me. Don’t follow me.” Shannon stomps down the pathway. “Just leave me alone.”
“Fuck,” I growl, balling my hands into fists at my sides.
“You gonna stand out here all night in a towel?” Preston booms from behind me. “You’re giving the girls in the lacrosse house a show.”
