Play With Me

One—or four—glasses…I
think.”
    “Soda?”
    “Berry soda.”
    “Shit.” He
laughed again. It sounded nervous. “Your mom’s going to strangle me if I take
you home drunk like this.”
    “I’m not drunk,”
I protested. “You know I don’t drink alco- whole .”
    When a certain
bimbo bounced into the kitchen like a doe in a marigold meadow, I thought I was
going to puke. She totally ignored me and flashed Tony with a flirtatious smile
that set my stomach on nausea. “Anthony, you promised to dance with me.”
    “Anthony, you
promised to dance with me,” I iterated like a three
year old.
    That drew her
attention to me. “What’s wrong with her?”
    “She just had a
little too much of the wine cooler. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
    He was going to
dance with Cloey? No! I wanted to tell him he couldn’t, but a sudden lethargy
settled over me and made me dip my head to his shoulder. “I’m so tired. Can we
go home?”
    “Aw, come on,
Anthony. You’re not going to leave already. It’s only eleven.”
    Jeez, how I
hated Barbie’s voice.
    “Take her
upstairs to one of Hunter’s guest rooms. She can sleep there.”
    “And not bother
you any longer?” I managed to moan, tilting my head in her direction, but
unable to open my eyes. Her annoyed snort didn’t bother me.
    “You don’t want
to do that.” Another person seemed to have joined our conversation. Hunter. But
what was he talking about?
    “In her state,
she’s not safe in any of the guest rooms. You know how the parties go on the
later it gets. Take her to my room.”
    “What?” Tony and
I shouted simultaneously. I was sitting straight with my eyes wide open. The thought
of sleeping in Ryan Hunter’s room shocked me something awful. But why Tony was
agitated I didn’t figure out.
    Ryan rolled his
eyes. Mmm, sexy. He could do that quite well.
    “Don’t be
ridiculous, guys. She’ll be awake and gone before I even get upstairs.”
    There was a
tense pause.
    “Hell, do it
already, Anthony, and come back fast.” Barbie .
    Tony pressed his
lips together.
    What was he
supposed to do again? The thought escaped me.
    “Come on, Liz.”
He pulled me off the counter and walked me to the door. But a sudden lack of
control over my feet made me stumble sideways, knocking into something cold and
shiny.
    “Pardon me,” I
said to the fridge.
    Ryan caught me
before I knocked into more kitchen furniture. “Didn’t I tell you to stay away
from the strawberries?” he growled into my ear.
    “Strawberries?
There was one in my last soda.” I grinned. “It was yummy.”
    “Yummy, all
right.” He chuckled as he swept me up in his arms. “I’ll carry her to my room,
Mitchell. You can grab her when you go. Or come back for her in the morning.”
    “You sure?”
There it was again, Tony’s worried voice.
    “Yes. Go dance
with Cloey or she’ll pester me next.”
    The music grew
fainter as Ryan climbed the stairs with me. I flung my arms around his neck and
leaned my head on his shoulder. “You don’t like dancing with Cloey?” I murmured.
    He chuckled.
“Would you?”
    “I don’t like
her, period.”
    “And I know
exactly why that is.”
    “Really?” I
breathed deep, inhaling his aftershave mingling with the scent of his heated
skin. “You smell good.”
    For some reason,
that made him laugh. “Time to go to bed, Matthews.”
    He shoved open
the door and carried me backwards over the threshold. Next I was placed on a
soft mattress. The pillow bore the same musky scent that clung to Ryan. I drew
in a long breath.
    He slipped off
my shoes and pulled a blanket over my bare legs. “You comfortable?”
    “I’m not sure. But
can you check if my head sprouted rotor blades?”
    With my eyes
closed, I felt his hand raking through my hair. “That will go away when you
sleep. If you need anything, the light switch is right in front of your nose and
the bathroom is next door on the left.” He paused. “Did you hear me?”
    “Light, nose.
Toilet, left. Gotcha.” I gave him a thumbs-up, feeling sleep tugging at me.
“Hunter?”
    “Hm?”
    “Sorry about the
pool game.”
    He chuckled.
“Sleep tight, princess.”
    Something
brushed over my cheek. Very gently. Fingers? I couldn’t tell as I drifted off
to careening dreams.
     
    *
     
    A door banged
shut. Jolting upright, I found myself in the center of a bed in a moonlit room
I didn’t recognize. The figure standing in front of me seemed slightly