The Games We Play Vol. 2 (Riley Grayson) (3 page)

But now what happened? Was she expected to spend the night? Would he ask her to leave? Ali had no idea what the acceptable protocol was for post one-night-stand sex. She and Pat always cuddled and spent the night together, laughing and telling jokes. But this wasn’t Pat.

Thankfully, Riley didn’t make any effort to move. That was fine with her. She was content to just lie there with him for the time being, because honestly, she wasn’t ready for this to end just yet. She knew what she’d signed up for, but now that it was over, she didn’t like the idea of having this be it. Hell, if she could work it out, she’d go another round or two with him before going back to her apartment.
That would cure my breakup pains
. She laughed to herself and closed her eyes.

Riley stood by the living room window and watched as Ali’s cab pulled away from his house. An odd pang in his gut had him holding his stomach. He had no idea what that was all about. Maybe he was just hungry. It had been well over twelve hours since he’d last eaten anything. And sex like what he had always made him extra hungry. He blew out a breath and shook his head.

The sex.

With the blonde—what was her name?—it was the same old same old. Big tits. Round ass. Easy vagina. Over exaggerated screams. He’d gotten her off enough to satisfy her and make her pass out. That was good. He wondered why he even brought her into the equation. Maybe it was his way of telling Ali that he wasn’t a man who would be tied down to just one woman. Or because of the new things she made him feel, and that scared him. It was rude and presumptuous sure, but what did it really matter? It was
his
party, not theirs.

But with Ali . . . Whoa. He’d met his match with her. She was so damn sexy she didn’t even know it. And her pussy? Fuck was she tight. The tightest he’d ever had, and he’d been with a couple of virgins before.

But more than how incredible she’d felt, she made him feel things he didn’t want to acknowledge. It was unexplainable. Things he didn’t think were possible. Like, right before he’d left her to go get what’s-her-name, she’d made him laugh. During sex. No woman had ever done that before. They were all too consumed by a desire to do whatever they thought Riley would want, and none of it involved letting loose and cracking a few jokes. Then she’d done it again, too, when the blonde chick was lying next to them snoring. She was a free-spirit with a sense of humor.

Another sharp stab of pain punched his gut. This time hard enough to make him double over. What the hell was wrong with him?

It was guilt. For the first time ever, he felt guilty about what he’d done last night. He knew Ali wasn’t expecting him to ditch her and then show up with another woman. It was a dick thing to do. But in his defense, Ali had gone along with the whole thing.

Still didn’t make it right.

Standing here now, watching Ali leave, he couldn’t remember why he’d thought it was a good idea to invite someone else into the bedroom with them. Oh that’s right. Ali had scared the living shit out of him. She was so different from all the other girls he’d dated and fucked. He couldn’t think clearly around her. He’d needed a buffer, a distraction, someone to put a little distance between them. And it had worked perfectly, too. Until blondie fell asleep, leaving him essentially alone with Ali once again.

Riley sighed and moved away from the window. He headed into the kitchen to find something to eat, but his mind was too preoccupied with Ali, with how she’d felt beneath him, with how her lips tasted, how glorious it had felt to come inside of her. And their goodbye, right before she got inside the cab, oh man. At least he’d had the wherewithal to exchange cell phone numbers with her.

“Knock it off,” he scolded himself out loud. If he decided to call her it would be for another fuck. Nothing else. He snorted.
Yeah, right
.

“I need to get out of here.” Letting the refrigerator door close, he turned on his heel and headed to the shower. Getting out of the house, getting some fresh air and painting would calm him, clear his mind. He’d like to go to the office and finish the mural in the conference room, but with it being New Year’s Day, they were probably closed and locked. He could try to call Veronica, but knowing he’d blown her off last night to leave with Ali she probably wouldn’t give him any special treatment right now.

He’d just go to his private studio then, which wasn’t really a studio per se. It was a single room above a coffee house in town. But it served its purpose. It was private and no one knew about it. He’d never brought anyone to it. Even though he was tempted to if for no other reason than to have sex on the leather couch he’d put in there. Ali would be a good choice for that. He bet anything she’d be game to do it. Maybe.

He frowned. Maybe. Ali didn’t just play hard to get, she
was
hard to get. She was sincere about it, too. It wasn’t an act to get a guy’s attention. He knew those types of girls. And he was bored with them. But Ali . . . she played a game all of her own. She managed to pique his interest. Something no other girl had done in years. For the first time in a long time, Riley had watched a girl leave knowing damn well he wanted to see her again. He only hoped she felt the same.

***

Ali’s hand shook as she unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. “Hil?” she shouted, dropping her keys into the bowl on the entryway table. “Hilary! You home?”

“God. Do you have to yell so loud?” Hilary came stumbling out of her bedroom, hair thrown into a messy bun, yawning.

Ali glanced at the clock. It was still pretty early considering they’d both been out so late last night. Oh well. There had been plenty of times Hilary had woken Ali to share good news or gossip about a date. Now it was Ali’s turn.

“You sit. I’ll make coffee,” Ali said, pointing at the sofa. “I have so much to tell you.” She smiled. Hilary used to listen to Ali go on and on about Pat, but this time it was different. Ali had done something she never thought she’d do, and damn it, Hilary was going to listen. After all, it had been her crazy idea that Ali
actually
went through with.

Hilary yawned again and stretched out on the couch. “All right. Spill it. How was the rebound sex?”

Ali laughed. “Oh my God! It. Was. Amazing!” Ali filled the coffee pot with fresh water, put in a new liner, and put an extra scoop of coffee in. Both she and Hilary liked it strong, especially after a night of heavy drinking.

“Good. I told you it would be worth it.”

“Oh, it totally was.” Ali went into the living room and sat on the end of the couch, right on top of Hilary’s feet. Hilary groaned and pulled her feet back, then extended them again, resting them on Ali’s lap.

“And now you can completely rid your brain of all those awful years you spent with that lame ass dude, what was his name?” Hilary teased.

Ali smiled. “So, okay, we get back to his place, and things are getting all hot and heavy. I mean, he’s got me pinned against the wall, legs around his waist—” Ali paused, her body heating at the memory. She licked her lips. “But then he just stops. Cold. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “Then he walks out. Leaving me alone in his room.”

“Shut up.” Hilary laughed.

“I swear it.” Ali launched into a full blown explanation of the night’s events including the booze, pot and the other girl. Occasionally, Hilary would offer a lame “uh-huh” or an unenthusiastic “wow.” She was giving Ali a look of disbelief, like this didn’t sound like her friend she knew at all. Ali clenched her teeth. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, of course I am. You had sex with Riley on the bed while the other girl snored.” She leaned in and grabbed her friend’s shoulders. “Ali? Ali? Is that you?”

Ali narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You know, considering this was your idea to begin with, you’d think you’d be a bit happier for me. Or at least pretend that you cared.” She shoved Hilary’s feet to the floor and stood.

“Sorry. I just can’t believe
you
did that! A threesome? Holy fucking shit girl! That’s like so many peoples’ dreams.”

“Well it’s never been one of my weird fantasies.”

“I’ll admit, I’m kinda jealous. Sorry if I can’t get excited about a threesome you had. Now, if I was involved . . .” She laughed.

“Eww.” Ali scrunched up her nose. “Sorry, Hil. You know I love you, but that will never happen between us.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Hilary stood and stretched. “I’m going to go shower.”

Ali watched her friend disappear into the bathroom and she blew out a breath. Honestly, what was Hilary’s problem this morning? Why wasn’t she excited? It was like she was listening because she felt like she had to, not because she wanted to. Well, whatever Hilary’s issue was, Ali wasn’t going to let it get her down. She was still too hyped up on the excitement of her night. Man, she was so glad she and Hilary had gotten an apartment off campus, away from their parents. It made getting away with this type of behavior so much easier. She felt so good for being so bad.

Ali couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of what her parents would do or say if they knew how she’d behaved last night. A fake ID, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, running home to a stranger’s bed, and a threesome! Ha! It was all so unlike her, in fact she thought she might as well enjoy it all because she knew it would never, ever happen again. No way. She was a one man type of girl. Her mother was always telling her to “make good choices.” Ali was certain last night was not a good choice. At least, not as far as her mother was concerned.

She retrieved her cell phone from her purse and scrolled through the contacts, stopping and hovering over Riley’s. It had been a pleasant surprise when he’d asked to exchange numbers. Knowing last night was only supposed to be a single night of rebound sex, she probably shouldn’t have agreed, but she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to see Riley again. Hell, if she had her way, she’d see him today.

“What are you doing?” Hilary asked as she walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her dripping wet body, another on her head.

“Nothing.”

“Do not tell me you got his number.” Hilary marched through the living room and stopped at the island in the kitchen. “Oh my god, you did!”

Ali shrugged. “So what? He asked this morning and I said yes. It’s no big deal.”

“Oh, it most certainly is a big deal! You were going to call him, weren’t you?”

Ali shrugged again, then looked away. She turned toward the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. She sipped it, flinching at how strong it was. One scoop too many, she thought, adding a couple of teaspoons of sugar to it.

“Allison Rebecca Ford!” Hilary stomped her foot. “You promise me right now that you will not call him.”

“Why would I do that?” She turned to face her friend. “We had a good time last night. Not like you were listening to my story earlier anyways. Why not do it again? Not the threesome part, but hang out with him. As you said, I need to get Pat off my mind. Well, Riley does that.”
He did that last night.

“That’s probably true, but if you go calling a guy like Riley—” Hilary was cut off by Ali.

“And what kind of guy exactly is he?”

Hilary didn’t have to answer her question. They both knew that Riley was a womanizer who got what he wanted, when he wanted it. She continued, “As I was saying, if you go calling Riley hours after you left his house, he’s going to think you’re crazy. You’ll appear desperate. You’re not desperate, are you?

Ali shook her head.

“Right.” Hilary’s eyes popped out of her head when she said it to emphasize her point. “Of course not. You cannot call him for at least three days. I’d say wait five just to be sure. Tease him. Pretend like you don’t care at all. That was our plan to begin with, remember? One night. That was all.”

Ali nearly choked on her mouthful of coffee. “Wait a week? Are you nuts?”

“No. I’m serious. You’re not desperate.” Her eyes bugged out of her head again. “You have to play this cool or I promise you’ll never see that guy again.” Hilary crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ali.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m going to mess this up.”

“Because you are.” Hilary laughed. “Sorry, sweetie, but you tend to get very attached to something or someone and you drive them away. What do they call that?” Hilary looked off into the distance as if she were contemplating a major life decision. “An addictive personality.”

Ali rolled her eyes. “You’re a psychology major. You’re in no position to psycho-analyze me.”

“Whatever. It’s not your fault. You just don’t have the experience. Dating that loser of a boyfriend for so long got you all rusty. It’s a whole new game now. Just don’t call him.” Hilary adjusted her towel, turned on her heel, and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door a little harder than necessary.

Ali sighed. Was Hilary right? Should Ali wait a week to call Riley? Deep in her heart she knew it was the truth. Riley was a ladies’ man. A player. He didn’t need her to chase him. He had plenty of other women to do that, she was sure. No. Her best option was to remain aloof, distant. Act like she couldn’t care less if he called or wanted to see her again. Besides, it was only a week. She could keep herself busy for a week.