Page 103 of False Play
“I knew you had fun last time, and I thought it’d be cool to do it outside at night. The rink won’t be as nice, since it’s exposed to the elements and everything, but?—”
I interrupted him with a slight squeeze on his forearm. “If I fall on my ass, no one will witness it except for you. This is perfect.”
“I won’t let you fall. Promise.” His eyes sparkled with earnestness. His tone was sincere, like the words carried a double meaning. I wasn’t sure where it had come from, but they settled deep in my chest and found their way through the cracks of my heart.
I droppedonto the couch with a tired sigh. Captain Sushi demanded his daily treat, which Henry so gracefully complied with and even gave him an extra, then he promptly retreated to his favorite cat tower, which was located in my room.
Skating in the middle of the night, while it snowed, was the most unique and fun date I’d ever had. I even managed to let go of the boards at some point without falling onto my ass.
Henry sat next to me, and I rested my head on his shoulder. “Tonight was really fun.”
He wrapped an arm around me, and the side hug alone made my heart thump painfully. “Yeah, it was.”
The air was thick with a suffocating tension I couldn’t explain. Trepidation clawed at my throat like ivy wrapping around stone, slow and tight to the point of hurting. I learned how to be comfortable around Henry and even looked forward to spending time with him. But uncertainty hit me all at once.
Did having sex ruin that for us?
Was it a mistake to break the rules?
A part of me believed it wasn’t. We wanted each other, and we acted in pure need. It was as simple as that.
But maybe…maybe we needed to go back to the rules. They were a hefty reminder of what was at stake. This was the real world, and if there was one thing that always messed things up, it was mixing business with pleasure.
My chest tightened at the thought. I didn’t want to do it, but what other choice did we have? Whatever tension lingered in the air, I didn’t want it to be there any longer. Or worse, I didn’t want to lose the weird friendship we had—if you could even call it that.
“Henry,” I whispered as I placed my legs beneath me and faced him. “We need to talk about the rules.”
He stared at the TV that was playing a random sitcom, refusing to meet my gaze. “What about them?”
“I want to preface, I don’t regret what happened.”It’s the only thing I’ve managed to think about, was what I almost said. But that was beside the point. “I believe we can be adults and admit we had a need we wanted to scratch, so we acted on it.”
His laugh was short and held no humor. “Is that what we’re calling it? Ascratch?”
“What else would you call it?” I snapped, then I shut myeyes with a sigh. This was already not going well. “We had a nice time tonight on our fake date, so why don’t we try to move?—”
“You and that goddamn word,” he growled, his frustration evident.
“What?” I frowned.
Three beats passed, the only sounds filling the silence were the fake laughter from the sitcom and Henry’s heaving chest.
His eyes met mine. They were stormy. Wanting.Needing.
My core tightened, and the beat of my heart drummed in my throat. Wild and painful.
His hands found the back of my neck, and he collided our lips in a rough kiss. I moaned at the possessive hold he had on me and the way his tongue grazed my bottom lip,demandingan entrance I so easily gave him. He tasted malty and smoky, with a hint of the sour orange that was so indistinctivelyhis.
I threaded my fingers through his perfectly styled hair and brought him closer to me, desperately trying to tether myself to the moment. My lungs burned from the lack of oxygen, and my lips were numb from how aggressive we were being, like the kiss was meant to be punishing, and weneededit to hurt.
Dilated pupils met mine when he stopped the kiss abruptly. “Does this fucking feelfaketo you, Kennedy?” His breath was ragged, making his chest rise and fall in quick succession. His hand traveled from my neck to the curve of my breast, all the way down to my hip, where he gripped. “Because I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of pretending.”
My breath hitched. “Henry?—”
“No,” he said, roughly. “Let me finish.”
I nodded, giving him a silent go-ahead.
“We tried to play by your rules, but the truth is, everything changed since that night. And I tried to pretend I was fine to go back to how things were, but I can’t. Okay? Not anymore.”
