Page 50 of Players Love Hard
“Hey, all of you need to shut the fuck up,” I growl, throwing my hands in the air. “Look, I’m sorry she told the entire school about you and Bex…” I say to Preston, “… and about you showing your dick to every girl on campus,” I say to Drake. Then I turn to Trent and Tucker. “And most of all, you two. I mean, what she said about you guys could have gotten Tuck kicked out of school. She exposed Jemma’s pregnancy and a bunch of other shit. I don’t even know what to say other than sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Tucker says, his tone sincere. “You didn’t make her do shitty things to us.”
Scratching the corner of my jaw, I sigh. “It’s my fault, though. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for me.”
“She left you,” Preston says. “She’s the one who walked away.”
“Yeah, but I…” I shift my weight to my other foot, avoiding their gazes.
“But what?” Preston asks.
“I did something I shouldn’t have done. I brought this on all of us.”
“Jamie,” Preston warns.
“What did you do?” Drake finishes.
“Last summer, I hacked through the firewall at her father’s company.”
Preston blows out a puff of air, his nostrils flared. “Why would you do that?”
“Because she stole a game I was working on for my dad and tried to pass it off as her own.”
“I don’t get it.” Drake leans on the arm of the couch, confusion scrolling across his face.
“What are you talking about?” Preston asks. “Cece broke up with you years ago. How could she have known anything about what you were working on to steal it?”
“I fucked up.” I join Preston and Drake on the couch, running a hand through my hair, tugging at the ends. “I did something stupid. I saw her in a forum and wanted to get her attention.”
“What’s it with you and that girl?” Trent says. “You need to let her go. Yeah, she’s hot, but she’s not worth all the bullshit.”
“Don’t go back to her,” Preston pleads. “Go beg Shannon to take your sorry ass back instead. You don’t need Cece. She will only leave after she gets what she wants from you.”
“She said she wants me.”
“That’s what she says every time,” Preston points out. “And you fall for her shit every… damn… time. Don’t do it, J. You deserve better than her.”
“You should talk to her,” Drake says. “Because I want my revenge.”
Tucker smirks. “Me, too.”
Trent agrees.
“Let me handle her,” I say. “I know how to teach Cece a lesson.”
And by handle, I mean avoid. Cece is a narcissist. The only way to get your revenge on a narcissist is to starve them of attention. And I plan to do just that.
Without another word, I exit the living room. It’s time to grovel and beg. Because I have to go after the one person who deserves the biggest apology of all—Shannon.
Chapter Twenty-One
Shannon
I hear feet slamming on the pavement behind me, followed by a man yelling my name. And I know the voice without turning around. It’s Jamie. He jogs up to my right side, not even the slightest bit out of breath.
I continue walking without slowing my pace.
“Can we talk?” he asks, now walking in line with me.
