Smolder (Georgia Smoke #6)

• Five •

“I mean, you said it all. I heard it. Life moved on.”

Royal

So far, I’d been lucky. Not one sighting of Merce while I’d been upstairs, showing face at the Alpha Epsilon Tau party.

Milo had rescued me from a nosy Omega Theta—I believed her name was Becky, but I wasn’t sure. She’d been panting after Merce for over a year, and the word that he had broken up with me seemed to make her giddy.

I sighed in relief as we reached the basement to the frat house. The noise from upstairs had faded, and the only thing other than the damp smell of the room was the round poker table and bar set up beside it, stocked with expensive bourbon, gin, and cognac.

Cody, Witt, and Julian were already down here with their drinks sitting at the table. Cody had his signature cigar in his mouth, but he’d yet to light it. He always waited until the first hand was played. Some superstition of his. I didn’t always win these games. If I did, then they’d figure out the hustle. The nights I let them win, Milo covered the loss for me by giving me the money to play.

Tonight was not one of those nights.

I was here to take them all to the cleaners.

“Might as well start out the new school year with a bang,” Milo had told me.

Witt raised his eyebrows when he saw me. “Royal, didn’t expect to see you here tonight. Seeing as how things went down with you and Merce,” he said.

Cody shoved him. “Fuck, man,” he scowled. “That’s harsh.”

Witt shrugged. “What? We were all thinking it.”

“I wasn’t,” Julian said, then winked at me. “I was hoping our little card shark would still come around. Makes game night a hell of a lot more fun.”

Cody snorted. “You say that now, but when she’s walking out with your five grand, you’re gonna be cursing her and every relative she’s ever had.”

Julian glared at him. “Shut up and light the damn cigar. You look like a moron with it hanging out of your mouth like that.”

This was typical. All of it.

“I missed y’all too,” I chirped with a bright grin.

Two hands landed on my shoulders and squeezed. “You came. That’s my girl,”

I recognized the voice. It was Landon McGill. His father was a big-time CEO of a large appliance company.

“Heard you were free of Merce,” he said, entirely too close to my ear. “I’m claiming my turn now. Before you take my money.”

Milo grabbed my arm. “All right, Landon, take your overused, diseased penis over there. She’s not here to mess around with another one of you fuckers. She’s here to play.”

I moved closer to Milo as Landon walked down the last stair and gave me a smirk. Landon was beautiful in a pirate sort of way. There was a Jack Sparrow look about him. But Milo was right; Landon was also popular with the ladies and had been known to sleep with several a night—often at the same time. When you played cards with the guys, you learned all about their sex lives.

“She’s out of your league, Baset,” Landon told Milo as he walked toward the bar.

“She’s out of all your leagues.” Merce’s voice caused me to tense.

Taking a quick glance at the stairs, I found Merce standing there, his eyes locked on me. There was a pleading in them that seemed ridiculous, considering the situation. It wasn’t as if I’d broken up with him. He was the one who had ended things. I gave him a tight smile, then turned my attention back to the table of very nosy males.

“Who else are we waiting on?” I asked.

Witt’s eyes shifted from Merce to me. “Just Topher. The others have pussy lined up.”

“I brought that bubbly lemonade you like,” Milo told me. “Want a bottle?”

I nodded. I’d never had carbonated lemonade until I started coming here to parties. The first time I tried it, I fell in love. The girls used it for a mixer, apparently, for their vodka. It’d become my go-to drink on game nights since I wasn’t drinking alcohol. My dad had made the idea of drinking unpleasant for me. I rarely touched it, and I’d never been tipsy.

“Thanks,” I told him when he handed me the cold bottle from the mini fridge at the bar.

“Royal.”

Merce’s voice made me tense again.

Why was he down here? He sucked at cards.

If I ignored him, it would seem as if I cared. That he’d hurt me. I didn’t want him or any of the others thinking that was the case. Turning, I looked at him, but said nothing. If he wanted to clear the air or whatever, fine. Get it over with.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

His green eyes that I’d once been affected by no longer held any power over me.

“Not really any time for that, Merce,” I replied.

His eyes cut to the table, then back to me. “I just want to talk,” he said. “It won’t take long.”

Why? We had talked. It was done. Nothing more to say.

“Eh, I can’t think of anything we need to say. I mean, you said it all. I heard it. Life moved on.” I glanced over at the others, who were watching us like a live-action movie. “Don’t y’all agree?”

Landon was grinning with an amused twinkle in his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. He held up his glass of bourbon. “Cheers to that, mate,” he said.

“Gotta say, I agree with her, man,” Julian added with a knowing look in my direction.

Cody held up his hands. “Not touching this one. His bedroom is across from mine. I have to see him more than the rest of you fuckers.”

“What did I miss?” Topher asked, and all eyes swung to him as he descended the stairs into the basement.

His dark red hair and Scottish accent made him popular around campus. He just needed a kilt.

“Just agreeing that it’s time to play,” I told him, walking past Merce to go take a seat at the table.

“Like hell you were,” he replied. “I missed the drama, didn’t I? Dammit.”

“No drama,” Milo told him.

“Royal, please,” Merce said behind me as if we were the only ones in the room.

“See!” Topher exclaimed. “I knew it! I missed it!”

“Shut up,” Cody drawled.

I turned back around to see Merce still standing where I’d left him, his eyes on me. If I had loved him, this would be hard. I’d feel something. But there wasn’t anything stirring in my chest.

“Like I said, it’s all been said,” I told him, then gave a nod to Milo to let him know I was ready to get this thing started.