The Love Game (The Game #1)(26)
Author: Emma Hart

I lean around Ryan and punch him in the arm. “Fuck off, Aston! Don’t be a prick.”

“I was just sayin’, man.”

“Well, don’t,” Ryan interrupts. “I’m already in a relationship, and it’s perfectly normal to have your girl stay over, without sex, Aston. It’s hard for your playboy mind to comprehend, but it can be done. If that’s how Braden wants to play it, then that’s how he’s gonna play it.”

“He’s getting so caught up in being the perfect boyfriend he’s forgetting about the sex.”

I snort. “You’ve seen her, right? If you think I forget about sex around Maddie, then you’re more stupid than you look.”

“Oh, so you’re not falling then?” He smirks, amused.

“Not a f**king chance, man.” I smirk back. “The only thing on my mind around her is when I’m gonna do her, where I’m gonna do her, and how many times I’m gonna do her.”

I hope.

Chapter Twenty-Three – Maddie

“Forget your pajamas.”

“Why would I forget my pajamas?”

“Because then you either have to sleep in your underwear, nude, or in one of his shirts,” Megan explains.

“And there’s nothing sexier than a girl in a guy’s shirt,” Lila adds. “I wear Ryan’s all the time. It’s guaranteed sex.”

“I’m not at the sex stage yet, Lila.”

“So? It’s almost week three, right?” She looks up at the poster on the wall, tracing her finger along the steps. “So that means sexual seduction can commence.”

I dump my bag on my bed and sit down on Kay’s opposite it. “You pack my bag then.”

“Yes!” Megan scrambles up from my pillow and attacks my dresser, pulling drawers open. “Oooh! This!” She turns, holding up a black silky underwear set I bought months ago, yet never wore. She tugs off the labels and Lila empties my bag. The underwear go in, along with my make-up, hairbrush, and clothes for tomorrow.

Lila zips it up. “Done.”

“Really? Underwear, clothes, and minimum toiletries? That’s it?!” I shriek.

“Yes!” Megan turns to me with her hands on her hips. “Seduction not comfort, Maddie! You need to tease him, so that when it comes to you giving your hot ass up to him he’s not gonna resist.”

“He wouldn’t resist anyway,” I say dryly, the memory of us in his room flashing behind my eyes. Nope, he wouldn’t resist.

“Yes, but like you said, he’s not in love. Yet.” Megan smiles slyly.

“Whatever,” I huff and grab the bag. “Can we go now?”

“Yep!” Lila grabs her purse, and the three of us file out of my room. “Hey, is Kay going tonight?”

“She is…” I trail off. “Wait, I don’t even know where she is.”

“If we don’t know, it probably means we don’t want to,” Megan summarizes.

“And that’s the truest thing I’ve heard all day.” Lila snickers. “Do you think she’s with Darla?”

I shake my head. “Since when did Kay go back for seconds?”

Lila shrugs, and we leave the main campus, crossing the road to the frat house. A few people are milling around outside, and Lila pushes straight through the girls huddled on the porch to inside. Megan grabs my hand and pulls me through. I ignore the dirty looks several of them give me.

I’m not surprised that most of the people downstairs are girls. I’m also not surprised that one is trying her best to rub up against Braden. I am surprised at how he’s pushing her away.

Woah.

He glances up and catches my eye. I lean against the banister of the staircase and raise an eyebrow. His face breaks into a grin, and he pushes around the girl throwing herself at him, much to her disappointment, and stalks towards me. He’s eating the room up as he moves, and I find myself swallowing at the look in his eye.

He stops in front of me, sliding his hand around my neck and into my hair. His lips meet mine, slowly, softly, and I’m momentarily taken aback by the tenderness there. I put a hand on his waist and move closer to him, rubbing his back slightly with my fingers.

“Hey, Angel,” he whispers against my mouth.

“Hey, Braden,” I whisper back. “Miss me that much, huh?”

His blue eyes twinkle down at me. “Maybe I did.”

I smile at him.

“Hey, Braden, are you down here tonight?” A low voice purrs behind us. Seriously? Still?

“Nope.” He turns, still holding me tightly. “I’m spending the night with my girl.”

“Maybe some other time, then?”

“Or not.” I smile sweetly at the dark-haired girl and curl into Braden’s side. He chuckles quietly.

“Come on, tiger, let’s get you upstairs,” he says into my ear.

“Is that an invitation?” I flirt.

He smiles against me. “Maybe later.”

I laugh quietly, and he leads me up the stairs. His room is still as clean as ever, and I’m actually surprised. I thought all guys had messy rooms.

I put my bag on the floor at the end of his bed and lie down on it, rolling to my side. “What?”

“Make yourself comfy.” He smirks.

“Oh, I am.” I grin at him sassily.

He shakes his head and comes over to me, bending over me. “Those jeans don’t look too comfy. Maybe you should remove those. For maximum comfort, of course.”

“And how long have you been waiting to use that line?” I ask playfully.

“Actually, I just thought it up then.”

“Oh, he’s handsome and quick-witted. What a catch.”

“Handsome, huh?” He quirks his eyebrow and leans down closer to me. “Tell me more.”

“Is your ego hungry from the female conveyor belt no longer running through the bedroom?”

“No. Far from it.” He touches the tip of his nose to mine. “My ego is delighted that you’re still hanging around, actually.”

I close my eyes and smile, ignoring the spark of pleasure that shoots down my spine at his words. I tilt my head and brush my lips across his softly, and he strokes my cheek with his thumb.

It’s hard to believe that Mr. Hump ‘Em and Dump ‘Em can be so tender.

“I’m gonna put the movie on,” he says. “Or it’ll never get watched.”

“Fine,” I pout, remembering the game. I feel like I have multiple personalities. A double life – the Brooklyn Maddie and the California Maddie. Yet, the California Maddie has two, maybe three different Maddie’s rolled into it. The friend Maddie, the game Maddie and then… Maybe a Braden Maddie.

I wish I knew what Maddie I really was.