Good Game (The System, #1) (10)
“I heard Chase cheated on you again.”
“I heard you’ve been ignoring him.”
“What would he say if he saw you here tonight like this?”
Goosebumps break out over my arms as I remember his warm, vodka-soaked breath in my ear. Gross.
“Why don’t we chat in here?”
My lip curls as he proceeds to open one of the storage closets. I recognize it as the one I’d grabbed extra cocktail napkins from earlier. It’s small; you wouldn’t be able to fit more than three, maybe four, people in here at a time, and even that would be snug. The two yellow lights on the ceiling render the room in a somber tone. The walls are lined with wooden shelves that house various event items like tealights, straws, tablecloths, and, of course, cocktail napkins. The guy drags me fully inside before kicking the door shut.
“Look,” I pause, realizing I never caught his name.
“Daniel.”
“Right.” I roll my wrist in his grip. “Look, Daniel. You’re attractive and all, but as you pointed out, I just broke up with Chase, and I’m not really looking to get into bed with anyone else right now. So, whatever you think you’re getting out of this, you’re not.”
It’s a lie. I really want to get laid. I could use a good dicking down after all these years. Daniel’s definitely attractive, but not my type at all. I would much rather go for a round with the hot masked guy instead.
“Trust me. I’m not looking for secondhand goods, Stephanie.” I feel my right eyebrow twitch up at the insult. “Although, even when Chase was screwing a different girl every weekend, he constantly said you were his favorite. That he could always count on you to bend over for him.”
Well, if I wasn’t already planning on never getting back together with Chase, this just sealed the deal. It’s one thing to talk about your sex life with your close friends, but I’ve never even heard of Daniel a day in my life. Which means Chase has been slutting me out to anyone who will listen. Probably acting like his penis is some magical nine-inch wand. Just wonderful.
“Well, unfortunately for Chase, I will no longer be bending over for him.” I narrow my eyes at him, trying to give him my best bitch stare. “I don’t know what you want, Daniel, other than to stand here and insult me about my ex, so let go of my damn wrist.”
His eyes flicker to the door before he tightens his grip, the pressure painful now. Panic lances through my body. Oh, hell no. I’m not dealing with this shit. I don’t think he is going to try anything shady, but I’ve heard one too many horror stories to risk it. I shove my free hand into his chest before bringing my shin up to collide with his balls. I hear the breath woosh out of his chest as he curls forward, and I spin my wrist out of his grasp. Free, I turn to grab the doorknob. My hand slips, fingertips brushing over it, as I feel Daniel grab my dress and pull. He mutters something, but I miss it as a shocked yelp escapes my throat.
“What the fuck?”
I’m about to have an all-out brawl with this guy in the storage closet.
I’m such a dumbass. Why did I even let him drag me this far?
Fucking Chase.
“Well, this isn’t the bathroom.”
Daniel and I both go still at the new voice, his hand turning slack. I turn around and come face-to-face with a bright red light. Relief floods my body, and I lurch forward to grab Blade’s arm. He quickly maneuvers me behind him, and I keep clutching his bicep. His very toned, muscular bicep, from what I can feel.
“Huh, considering this isn’t the bathroom, it smells like a load of bullshit in here.” Blade muses. Daniel’s jaw hardens as his focus switches over to Blade. “You should go back to your stream bunnies, Decker. Get them to lick your wounds.”
“Why don’t you take off that mask and say it to my face.”
“I wouldn’t want to make you feel worse about yourself when you see how handsome I am.”
“I know you’re ugly as shit under there.”
“At least I know people follow me because I’m actually a good gamer, unlike someone who sits around shirtless eighty percent of the time.”
“Fuck you, Blade.” Daniel snarls before pushing past us and slamming the closet door behind him. I let go of Blade and allow myself to fall back against the door, slowly sinking to the ground, ass resting against my heels.
Blade crouches before me, silver chain swinging across his neck. My eyes trace the veins there before they get lost under his shirt. My heart is beating faster in Blade’s mere presence than it was when Daniel was hounding me.
“I’m going to ask you this again, and I want the truth. Are you alright?”
His voice isn’t deep, but it has this guttural tone to it. Something that draws you in, like a siren song. No wonder people don’t care about seeing his face, his voice is all you need. You just want to hear more, even if it’s only for a second.
“Like I said, I’m fine. Some jackass’s shitty comments aren’t enough to tear down my walls.”
It’s the truth. Daniel never really freaked me out. He was just being rude as fuck. In fact, he only made me angry. Secondhand goods? As if. Chase was the one sticking his hot dog in various buns. I can’t believe Daniel had the gall to act like my vagina wasn’t good enough for him. I bet he has a pencil dick.
“Yeah, I can see that. You’ve got a little fire in you.”