Faking the Play (Hot Mess Harems #2)

22. Amelia

Chapter twenty-two

Amelia

I put my hair in a French braid and reapplied my makeup before Logan and I left the locker room, but a part of me worried that everyone would know what we’d been doing. That part of me, however, was much smaller than the part of me still buzzing with a lot of excitement and a bit of pride at my daring. I’d instigated things with Ryan, but we’d been on a date. With Logan, I’d been the one to initiate everything. I’d come to the locker room uninvited with the intention to have some sort of physical encounter.

I still couldn’t believe I’d done it.

“I like your hair like that,” Logan said, nudging my shoulder as we walked up to the house. “Not that I don’t like it down too, but the braid’s nice.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at him before a gust of wind made me shiver.

“Here.” Ryan spoke up from my other side. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it across my shoulders.

“And that’s why I didn’t leave it down when it was wet,” I said, pulling the jacket tight around me. “Thank you, Ryan.”

His smile warmed me in a whole different way and I was struck with the desire to take his hand too. I wanted to walk into that party holding hands with both Logan and Ryan, but not to show off or anything like that. I just wanted to hold their hands because I liked them.

Maybe even more than liked, which made everything even more confusing.

“There he is!” a large Black man roared from the porch. “Logan! Man, I thought you decided to ghost us! Where’ve you been?”

“Hey, Porter.” Logan laughed, reaching up to slap Porter’s hand before leading me up the porch steps, our fingers still tangled together.

The big man’s grin widened when he saw us holding hands. “I get it now.” He came over to me and opened his arms wide like he was going to give me a big hug, maybe even pick me up. Before he could, Ryan put himself between me and Porter.

“Sorry, man.” Ryan held up his hands. “You gotta know her better before you get to hug her.”

“No problem.” Porter leaned around Ryan. “Hey, I’m Porter. I live here. Well, I’m one of the guys who lives here. You want a tour? Drink?”

“Porter.” Ethan’s voice held a warning.

“Right, sorry. I might’ve had a little too much to drink already. I should go get something to eat.” He waved at me. “See ya later!”

As we headed inside, the guys didn’t go far. I didn’t know if they had talked about it, or if knowing that I’d had sex with all three of them had changed something between us—but whatever the reason, it felt more like the four of us were there together rather than Logan and me at the party together along with our two friends. With Ryan’s coat around me, Logan holding my hand, and Ethan going to get us all something to drink, I was more comfortable than I’d ever been at something like this.

“Here.” Ethan handed me a cup. “There’s water and soda too, but I thought you might want to start with a beer.”

“Thanks.” A little jolt of electricity went through me when his fingers grazed mine. Judging by the way his eyes darkened, I’d be willing to bet he felt it too.

With my drink in one hand and Logan still holding the other, I followed him around the room as he talked to everyone who seemed like they wanted a word. No one who wanted a bit of his attention was left wanting. I could’ve felt left out, wanting all of his focus to be on me, but it wasn’t like that. Even though he didn’t bring me into the conversations, I knew it was because he knew I didn’t like making small talk with strangers rather than because he didn’t care. Some people might not have liked being with someone who knew them so well, but I did.

And I had three of them, if I was brave enough to admit what I wanted.

I lost track of how much time we spent at the party, thanks to the guys hanging around making sure I didn’t need anything, but at some point, we’d been there long enough that I needed to take a quick trip by myself. After letting Ryan know where I was going—always a smart thing for a woman to do if she’s going somewhere on her own—I headed for where I thought someone had said the bathroom was.

Once I disengaged from Logan, I became practically invisible, but I didn’t mind. As grateful as I was that the guys weren’t leaving me alone, being with them did mean having eyes on me pretty much nonstop, which was exhausting for an introvert like me. Still, I wouldn’t have traded my time with them for time alone. I hadn’t truly realized how much I missed them until I was with them again.

“Did she seriously come in with all three of them?” A woman’s voice came from around the corner.

“I’d totally hit that if she offered.” The man sounded drunk, not bothering to keep his voice down.

“From what I hear, she offers to a lot of guys. There’s probably a waiting list.”

Steeling myself, I came around the corner and ignored the red-faced brunette and her inebriated companion. I told myself that I didn’t know for sure they were talking about me, but my gut said they were. The gossip Jason had started had died down a bit as time passed, but it sounded like no one had forgotten anything.

I took my time in the bathroom, letting myself take a couple minutes to just rest in the quiet. Right as I was getting ready to leave, it was just my luck that a group of girls decided to stop right outside the door where I could hear every word they said.

“…kissed Ethan.”

“Yeah, but that was during a game. I heard she came in tonight holding Logan’s hand.”

“And she went on at least one date with Ryan.”

“I don’t get it.” It sounded like the first woman again. “What do they see in her?”

“Who’re we talkin’ ’bout?”

I sighed. I was fairly certain that voice belonged to that asshole player, Otto, who the guys had kicked out of the party at their place. We weren’t in their apartment now, unfortunately, which meant he was present. I really didn’t want to deal with him, so I stayed where I was for a few more minutes, listening to the four or five people in the hall discuss what I may or may not have been doing with my three friends. When they were finally gone, I quickly left, breathing a sigh of relief when I found myself relatively alone in the hall.

That relief didn’t last. I’d barely gone a few feet before someone came out of another room and stepped directly into my path.

“What do you want, Jason?” I asked. “We’ve already done this little dance. I’d rather just get back to—”

“Your date?” he cut in. “Or should I say ‘dates’? Because we both know you’re fucking all three of them.”

“Like I said, we already had this conversation.”

“Oh, but I was guessing before,” he said. “Now I’m sure. And you’re not even trying to hide it, are you?”

“I don’t have to listen to this.” I moved to go around him and he grabbed my arm.

“I think you should listen a little longer,” he said, his voice low and angry. “How else will you know what I want?”

I yanked my arm away. “Why should I give a damn what you want?”

“Because if you don’t give me what I want, I’ll make sure everyone knows you’re a fucking gold digger, going after three top NFL prospects, probably planning on trapping at least one of them into something.”

I gritted my teeth. “That’s a lie.”

He shrugged. “People believed other lies about you. I’m sure these ones will stick. At least enough to ruin you and your asshole boyfriends.”

“Why won’t you just leave me alone?” I asked, anger giving way to the sort of hurt I hadn’t thought he could inflict on me anymore.

“I’m gonna text you in a few days and let you know what I want,” he said. “There’ll be some money. Some work I’ll want you to do for me.” His eyes ran over me. “Maybe some other things. But whatever it is, you’re gonna give it to me, or your life will be done. No career. No prospects. No friends.”

And then he walked away like I was nothing.

My heart constricted painfully. I needed to go home. Now.