The Game That Breaks Us (23 page)

She looks like she’s about to faint. “Yeah, but … but …”

“Hey, I have to be comfortable when I sleep, so boxers it is.”

“Maybe you should go back to your dorm and sleep there,” she pleads. 

“Too late.” I chuckle. “You already said I could sleep here.”

She whimpers and looks at her computer and then back at me like she can’t decide which she wants to look at. Her gaze steadies on me and she squares her shoulder. She lifts a finger and points it at me like a mother about to scold her child. “No cuddling.”

I grin. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Princess.”

She breathes out a sigh and returns to her paper. “That better be the best cupcake I’ve ever had.”

I step out of my jeans and dive under her covers. “Fuck these are the softest sheets I’ve ever felt,” I comment, wiggling my toes around.

“Bennett,” she hisses. “I’m working.” She points at her computer screen. 

“Oh, right.” I mime zipping my lips.

It doesn’t take her long to finish, and when she does she flips the lid closed on her computer and lets out a groan. “That paper was total bullshit, but let’s hope the teacher buys it.” She stands and stretches her arms above her head and rummages through her drawers. She holds a few items of clothing to her chest and says, “I’m going down the hall to change. Think you can manage to behave yourself for that long?”

I prop myself up on her pillows. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman. I promise not to search through your drawers and smell your panties.”

Her face twists into a scowl. “Okay, that’s gross.”

She quickly ducks out of the room and I make myself comfortable in her bed. It’s the same kind of lumpy mattress that I have but her nicer sheets and blankets make up for it. Although, she has enough pillows on here that I could make a fort and live comfortably in it. I toss some of those suckers on the floor. With two of us on the small bed we need all the room we can get. Grace said no cuddling but it’s kinda hard when there’s no room.

She comes back a few minutes later and I groan. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“What?” she asks innocently.

“You’re wearing
that
to bed?” I indicate her super short shorts and tight long sleeve top. Oh, fuck me, I can see her nipples puckering beneath the gray fabric. “You’re trying to kill me. You really are.”

She laughs and grabs the cupcake box and slides into bed beside me. “Scoot over,” she demands.

“Where?” I counter. “Into the wall?”

“Well, if you hadn’t dumped all my pillows on the floor you wouldn’t have to sleep against the wall.” She sticks her tongue out and then giggles.

Grace’s laugh has quickly become one of my favorite sounds in the world. It’s soft and feminine just like her.

“Hold this.” She hands me the cupcake box and then leans over to grab her iPad off the table. “Wanna watch something on Netflix?” she asks, putting in her passcode. 

“Is that your subtle way of asking me if I want to Netflix and chill?”

Her dark brows furrow together, and I know she’s pondering over what I said. When she figures out the meaning, she gasps and smacks my bare chest. “Ew, you pig!”

I laugh. “I was kidding, but it was totally worth saying to get that reaction.”

She wiggles her cute little butt around trying to get comfortable. “I can’t believe I said you could stay the night here. Aliens must have taken over my brain. Yeah, that’s it. Definitely aliens.” I shake my head and open the cupcake box, grabbing mine. “What do you want to watch?” she asks.

“You pick,” I tell her.

She laughs. “You really shouldn’t have said that.” She clicks on some show called
New Girl
.

“I’m sorry, I take it back. Let me pick.” I try to take the iPad from her but she snatches it away. I somehow end up dropping my cupcake right on my chest, smearing icing all over myself.

Grace stares at the mess and then breaks out in hysterics. “I’m glad you find this amusing, Princess. Now I’m going to have to eat your cupcake.”

She gasps. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I really want a cupcake,” I tell her, pretending to grab hers from the box.

Her hand shoots out and wraps around my wrist, keeping from going any further. I could break her hold easily, but I don’t want to.

“You wouldn’t have even gotten cupcakes if I hadn’t asked for them,” she says, her eyes flicking from me to the cupcake.

“Hey, I’ll eat this one—” I point to the fresh one “—and you can lick this one off of me.”

“Not happening, dude. Keep dreaming.”

I snort. “When did I become
dude?
”

“When you threatened to eat my cupcake.”

“Come on, just give me one little lick,” I plead, but suddenly feel like I’m not talking about the cupcake anymore. 

Her lips purse and she shakes her head. “No.”

“Please?” I jut out my bottom lip and lean closer to her. She smells like heaven and hell all wrapped into one cute package. 

She shakes her head almost imperceptibly and inches just slightly closer to me. 

I swallow thickly, staring at her lips. “I want to kiss you again,” I confess. “Really kiss you.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “Haven’t we already
really
kissed?”

I shake my head. “No.”

She lets go of my hand and says, “Then kiss me.”

I expected her to kick me out again, or to flat out say no, but I definitely didn’t think she’d actually say yes. I don’t hesitate for a second—I don’t want to give her a chance to change her mind.

I cup her cheek in my hand, rubbing my thumb over her smooth skin and then I lean in, pillowing my lips over hers. The light contact isn’t enough, though, and I press more firmly as her fingers grasp at my hair and her leg hooks around my waist. My tongue swipes into her mouth and she lets out the softest sound I’ve ever heard. It’s a cross between a moan and purr and I’m eager to make her do it again. My hands move to her waist and my fingers dig into the indent above her ass. She tastes minty from her toothpaste but sweet too, like she’s just sucked on a piece of candy. She rolls her hips against mine and I stifle a groan. This girl is going to kill me, but I’m pretty sure I’d willingly welcome death at her hands.

Her hands move from my hair to wrap around my neck and she rocks her hips more. If this was any other girl I’d have her naked in no time but this is Grace and I can’t do that to her. I can’t add her to the list with a bunch of other faceless girls. She doesn’t belong there. Grace is special. She’s the kind of girl that when you have her, you find a way to keep her. She’s the kind of girl you marry. But me? I’m not the kind of guy that gets the girl. I always fuck it up.
Always
.

I kiss my way down her neck, over her collarbone, and then rest my head against her chest.

I breathe heavily and her fingers brush through my hair.

“Bennett?” she says softly after a minute.

“What?”

“We forgot about the cupcake.”

“Huh?” I sit up and she presses more firmly against my growing erection. 

She stifles a giggle and points at my chest. “The cupcake.”

“Ah, fuck.” I look down at the chocolate cupcake smeared all over my chest and her shirt now. Little pieces of chocolate cake cover her bed too. “Sorry.”

She kisses my cheek in the sweetest fucking gesture I’ve ever had thrown my way. “It’s okay. I can change the sheets and I have plenty of tops. I’d tell you to go down the hall to wash up, but you might scare the girls. I’ll go grab you a wet cloth.”

I chuckle and run my fingers through my hair. “Thanks, Princess.”

She grabs another shirt before she scurries out of the room, and I deflate at the fact that I’m not going to get to see her change. I’m pretty sure if there’s a God, he’s laughing at me right now.

I stand up and will my dick to go down—like literally say a little prayer and I’m pretty sure that must be sacrilegious or something, but fuck it—and remove the sheets from Grace’s bed, piling them in her laundry basket.

She returns with a wet cloth and in a clean shirt. This one is looser but somehow sexier. I’m pretty sure I asked to sleep here just to torture myself, because
come on
.

“Here you go.” Grace hands me the cloth and then grabs a second set of sheets from the bottom dresser drawer.

She fits the clean sheets on while I scrub the cake and icing from my chest. When I’m clean, I add the washcloth to her laundry basket. 

She sighs and wrinkles her nose at the basket. “Looks like I’ll have to do laundry tomorrow.”

“I can come entertain you while you do it.” I waggle my brows.

She laughs and puts the comforter back on the bed. “Or you could do it for me?” she suggests with a pleading smile.

I mock-wince. “Sorry, no can do, Princess. Laundry is not my thing.”

“Please don’t tell me you pay someone to do your laundry.”

I shake my head. “Nah, I do it. I just don’t like it.”

She flattens her hands over the bedding. “Get in.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I dive onto her bed and it bounces under my weight. I lift up the covers and pat the space beside me. “Come on, Princess.”

She gets in beside me and grabs her iPad once more, finally starting the show. 

I hand her the cupcake box and she takes it eagerly, her eyes lighting up. “I’d be nice and share this with you, but I really want the cupcake.” She lets out a little giggle and takes a bite. I can’t even be mad when she’s so damn cute.

She starts the show, and before I know it we’ve breezed through half the season. “Those two are going to end up together,” I declare. I hate to admit it, but I’m hooked.

She nods and puts her iPad on the end table. “Oh, definitely.” She agrees, wiggling around. We turned the light off a while ago, so both of our eyes have adjusted to the darkness. A little bit of light seeps in through the blinds.

Grace snuggles down under the covers and rolls to her side. “Goodnight, Bennett.” She wiggles and her ass brushes my thigh. I let out a sound like I’m in pain. “Are you okay?” I can’t mistake the real note of worry in her tone.

“Fine,” I hiss out. “Pretty sure my dick hates me, though.”

She snorts. “Tough cookies.”

“Did you just say
tough cookies
when my dick is about ten seconds away from exploding?”

“Can you not use the word dick and exploding in the same sentence?” She rolls to her other side to face me and her breasts brush my arm. This is worse than her ass. “And yes, I said
tough cookies
. It’s an expression.”

“I know it’s an expression and I hate it. Especially right now.” 

She shakes her head, and I see a flash of her white teeth as she smiles in the darkness.

“Go to sleep, Bennett,” she says softly.

“You’re cold, woman,” I joke. “Stone-cold.”

“Not my fault your dick has no self-control.”

“Aw, look at you. You said dick without flinching. I’m proud of you, Princess.”

“Dick is easy,” she says, cupping her hands under her head. “It’s the other word that trips me up.”

I suppress a grin. “And by other word you mean
cock
?”

Even in the darkened room I know her lips are pressed into a thin line and her eyes are narrowed. “Yes.”

“And here I thought I got you over that fear in the diner.” I reach out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. “I guess we’ll have to start all over.”

“No.” She puts her hand over my mouth.

I grin beneath her fingers and mumble, “Cock.”

She shakes her head and fights a smile. She’s so beautiful like this, barely illuminated in the darkness, her face free of makeup, and her hair wild. She’s always beautiful, but I love getting to see her like this with her guard down. 

Her hand falls away and I clear my throat. “Thanks for letting me stay the night with you.”

“
Why
did you want to stay here?”

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I guess I didn’t want to be alone.”

She nods. “I’m surprised you didn’t go find someone else.”

“Someone else?” I ask, confused.

Even in the dark I know she’s blushing. “Yeah, another girl. I mean, I know enough about your reputation to know that you get around. It’s not a secret.”

I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I find myself telling her the truth instead. “I haven’t slept with anyone since before my injury,” I admit. “My sole focus became getting better.”

“But you are better now.”

I chuckle and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, skimming my knuckles over her cheek as I do it. “I know that, but I have a girlfriend now.”

“
Fake
girlfriend,” she reminds me. “It’s not like you’d be cheating.”

“Yeah, but if the media caught wind that I was cheating …” I fall upon my media excuse easily. The truth is I want Grace—no one else. The thought of fucking another girl makes me sick and it’s stupid since Grace will never be mine. I’m not good enough for her. 

“Oh, I see.” She looks saddened by that for some reason. She stifles a yawn.

“Go to sleep,” I tell her. “You’re tired.”

“I am,” she agrees. “School is kicking my ass.”

She rolls over away from me, and even though there’s only inches between us it feels like an ocean. 

Within minutes the sound of her breathing changes and I know she’s asleep.

I wish I could say the same for myself.