Mercy (Salacious Players Club, #4)(3)

Either he doesn’t know me at all…or I don’t.





Rule #1: Wizards are dickheads.





Beau





“The sorcerer casts a Ray of Sickness. Roll a constitution check.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I snap.

“Roll the dice.” So I do, and the players around the table wince in unison when it rolls to a stop.

“What the fuck does that mean?” I ask again.

“It means you’re dead,” the freckle-faced asshole sitting across from me says with a smug grin.

“What the fuck?” I toss down my character sheet as I glower at him, and I swear I see him flinch.

“Beau…” Sophie groans next to me in warning.

“What? That’s not fair. This guy literally makes up the rules and just decides that his stupid wizard kills my barbarian? This game is bullshit.” Trying to snatch the booklet out of his hand, I feel Sophie’s hand on my arm, so I pause. I look over at her, pink-faced, embarrassed by my outburst, so I quickly sit back down and let it go. Feeling all the players’ eyes on us, I decide to cool off.

With a grimace directed at the wizard, I bite my tongue. As much as I hate this stupid, fucking game, I do like being able to bring Soph, and if I act like an actual barbarian, she’ll find someone else to drive her to D&D night.

Since I’m now technically dead, it means I get to sit back and do nothing while she continues the campaign. It’s fucking boring, but it goes by quickly, and within an hour, we’re done, and we can finally leave.

As we’re packing up, I notice that fuck face wizard staring at Sophie a little too long. “Let’s get out of here,” I grumble as I tug her toward the door of the comic book shop.

“Bye, guys,” she says and they reply in unison.

“Bye, Sophie,” the kid calls after her.

Once we’re in the car, I sense her glaring at me. Finally, she breaks the silence. “Now I remember why I used to hate you.”

What the fuck? “You used to hate me?” I scoff.

“Well, you did cheat on my sister and treat her like shit, so…yeah.”

“Ouch,” I reply. “But wait…why do you hate me now?”

“Oh, I don’t know…maybe because you embarrass me in front of my friends and only care about yourself.” Glancing over at her, I do feel a hint of remorse.

“Why do you care about those nerds?”

“Those are my friends, Beau. And if you haven’t noticed…I am also a nerd.”

“But like a cool nerd,” I reply, smiling at her. She rolls her eyes at me and stares back down at her phone.

When Sophie’s sister, my ex, started dating my dad a year ago…it was fucking awkward as hell. Made even worse by the fact that I was pretty sure Charlie’s mom and sister hated my guts. So I’ve been doing everything I can to make things less awkward. Which has basically turned into me being a fifteen-year-old girl’s chauffeur and D&D partner.

“I don’t like that wizard kid. He’s not your friend, right?”

Her head snaps up in my direction. “Kyle? Yeah…I mean, no. He’s not my friend, friend, but I sort of know him from school. Why?”

My jaw drops as we pull up to a red light and I stare at her in shock. “Holy shit…do you have a crush on that wizard?”

“No!” she shrieks.

“You do,” I reply with a smile.

Her expression turns sour as she shoots me one of those sassy head tilt glares. “Even if I did, you’re the last person on earth I would talk to about it.”

“Why? I give great dating advice.”

She laughs. “Your ex-girlfriend is now dating your dad, so…”

“Ouch again. You’re being mean tonight.”

“Well, it’s true.”

It still feels like an insult, no matter how true it is, but I don’t tell her that part. Instead, I continue driving, trying to look as unaffected as possible.

I’m not bitter about Charlie and my dad anymore. I’m over it. I don’t care. It’s not like I thought Charlie was the fucking love of my life or anything. We broke up. She was too needy and wanted way too much from me…which I guess, looking back, was literally the bare minimum but that’s why I’ve said fuck off to dating all together. No matter what I do, it’s not enough, and I can’t keep anyone happy. And vice versa. No one holds my attention or makes me want to give them more.

Charlie is just better suited for my dad, and I’m happy for them. They can continue doing whatever the fuck it is they do at that weird club of his, and I can show up to Taco Tuesday every week with a smile on my face and it’s fine.

It’s fine.

“So are you going to talk to him?” I ask as we pull into Sophie’s neighborhood. “The wizard, I mean.”

“Probably not,” she replies, clearly forgetting that she just said I was the last person on earth she’d talk to about this.

“Why not?” My defensive instincts flex inside me, but I keep my cool. Sophie is as tough as nails, and I know she wants me to treat her like every other girl, but I can’t help but feel a little extra protective of her. It’s hard enough being a teenager these days, but then those fucking transphobes out there want to make it especially rough on her.