Play With Me

the devil was cool.
    His gaze
flickered my way then stayed as he sipped his beer, watching as I drew closer.
    It would have
been plain impolite not to say hello to the host, so I stopped before him and
lifted my hand in greeting. The music wasn’t as loud back here, and I actually
caught his hi .
    “You have a nice
place. So full of…people,” I said, feeling awkward and a little stupid for not
knowing how to start a cool conversation.
    “Yeah, thanks.”
He moved away from the wall and leaned closer to me so I could hear him. “It
was about time Mitchell brought you here. He kept you away from this place long
enough.”
    Huh? I frowned. Tony was the reason why I hadn’t been invited to any of Ryan’s parties yet? That bloody
wretch. But then he probably figured I wouldn’t feel comfortable among this
drinking lot and with all the noise. I, idiot, proved his point the second we
came here by clinging to his arm like a frightened cat.
    “Do you know
where he is?” I said into Ryan’s ear, thankful that I didn’t need to shout and damage
my vocal cords even more.
    “Nope.” He took
another draught from his beer.
    Sighing, I
sipped mine too, not liking it much any longer. I grimaced. Ryan suddenly took
me by the wrist and pulled me into the kitchen. He placed his beer down on a
counter, popped a can of soda, then lifted the bottle out of my palm and replaced
it with the Sprite, closing my fingers around it.
    “You shouldn’t
drink beer,” he said in a stern tone. “Especially not in this place.”
    Yeah, I didn’t
want to end up someone’s groping puppet, like most of the other drunken girls. Thankful
for the Sprite, I washed away the bitter aftertaste of the Corona in my mouth.
    “You did really
well today.” A smile slipped to his lips.
    “I was lousy.
And you know it. I still don’t get why you chose me to play in your team.”
    Shrugging, he
drank from my discarded bottle. “I don’t know. Maybe I just want you there.”
    Jeez, the
teasing in his voice made the hair on my arms stand on end.
    “Do a little
endurance training every day, and you’ll be a capable player.”
    I screwed up at
athletics. I even tried jogging a few mornings at the beginning of this summer
to get in a better shape, but it didn’t work for me. Half a mile was the most I
could manage before trudging back home, panting and frustrated. “I guess I’m
lacking motivation to do that. I’m like a lame duck at running.”
    “What you need
is a personal trainer.”
    That made me
laugh. “You want the job?”
    Ryan pursed his
lips and studied me for a moment as though I had just offered him good money
for stinking work. He shrugged. “Sure, why not? If you promise to show some
enthusiasm, I promise to be there.”
    That sounded
like an interesting offer. After all, I had to work on my endurance if I wanted
to last during an entire soccer game. I certainly didn’t want to give Blondie
any more ammunition to use against me, especially if I broke down after the
first half. Her satisfaction would ruin me. And Tony needed to see I was fit
for more than just watching Spielberg with him.
    Yeah.
Training, it is.
    Strangely
enough, the thought of having Hunter coaching me sent a shiver of anticipation
through me. He was the captain of the soccer team. It felt like an honor to
personally train with him, and it sure would lift my status at school from
average to super cool.
    “Okay, deal.”
    He gave a slow
nod. “We’ll start Monday morning.”
    Great. That
meant suicide was delayed one more day. His gaze locking with mine promised I
wouldn’t entirely regret my decision.
    Someone shouted
his name behind me. “We’re starting a game of pool. Are you in?”
    Ryan pushed away
from the counter. “There in a sec.” Then he ran the cool mouth of his bottle
along my cheek. “Enjoy the night. And whatever you do, stay away from the
strawberries.”
    Dumbstruck, I
stood rooted to the spot as he brushed past me and walked away, chuckling.
    I swallowed a
huge draught of Sprite to cool down. Susan Miller came in at that moment. Her
face lit up when her gaze fell on me. She rushed over. “Hey, what do you say?
Now we’re both on the team. And honestly—” She paused, and her eyes darted left
then right to make sure we were alone in the room. Her voice dropped a notch, too.
“I’ve never seen a prettier house than this. I wanted to come to Hunter’s
parties for ages, but he never noticed me in school. I think he didn’t