Player(27)

I’d also been irritated that she wouldn’t go for better-looking guys. She didn’t think she was desirable—it was clear in every little way—and the thought maddened me. Somebody had told her she wasn’t desirable. Someone had made her this way.

The thought made me want to find whatever man had told her such lies and rack up a bone count on him, too.

Fucking assholes.

My new mission in life was to convince Val of just how desirable she was. If the circumstances were different—if I didn’t like her so damn much, if I didn’t worry I’d inadvertently hurt her—I’d show her exactly how appealing I found her. But instead, I’d settle for teaching her confidence. She didn’t need lessons on dating because, just like with dancing, she was a natural.

Good guys finish last, and cheaters never win.

So who would get the girl?

I was beginning to hate Ian’s lurking. At work. At the club. In the back of my mind.

Ten years we’d been friends, ever since he had been kicked out of another prep school and accepted to mine with the help of his musical talent and an obscene donation from his parents.

It was just about all they’ were good for.

Ian had been raised by nannies, a long, miserable string of them. He’d always been an unholy terror, but even then, it was easy to see what he really wanted—attention. But his parents ignored him, and so he continued to act out.

The prank he’d been kicked out of his first school for—writing a choice swear word in the rugby field with bleach—was both harmless and destructive enough to get him expelled.

But when he showed up, I think somehow I knew. I knew he needed a friend, knew he needed someone to have his back. And I figured maybe I could temper him a little in the process. For the most part, I had.

I wouldn’t go so far to say he hadn’t been a terrible influence on me, but the truth was, he was almost like a brother to me, or what I imagined one to be. Somebody to spend time with, someone you’d known forever and shared history with. Someone you accepted without condition, who would put up with your bullshit, no matter what.

Although I was beginning to wonder if the feeling was mutual.

He was antagonistic by nature, but lately, with Val, his bite had taken an unfamiliar edge. Maybe it was because he’d temporarily lost his wingman. Or maybe I was just hyperaware of Val.

Either way, I didn’t like it.

I brushed the thought away like a fly, checking my watch with a sigh before standing to hook my guitar back on its stand between a French horn and a mandolin. We were a few hours from showtime and then the club.

And after that? Well, after that, I had big plans. And I hoped Val had been studying.

Because it was time for a date.



Val

“A date?” I squeaked, clearing my throat.

Sam laughed, the sound so easy and kind and good that I didn’t feel embarrassed. “A date,” he said as we headed out of the pit. “Getting a guy to buy you a drink is one thing, but getting through a meal with him is a real testament of skill.”

I blinked and made myself smile against my fear. “Okay.”

“Anything you don’t eat? Meat? Sushi? Peanuts? Dairy?”

“Oh God, please give me all the meat,” I blurted, rolling my eyes and thinking of steak.

To his credit, he didn’t laugh, though he watched me fighting a smirk.

“Steak,” I clarified, cheeks steaming. “I love steak and meat and chicken and sushi and all the dairy. Peanuts I could take or leave.”

“Loves steak—got it.”

I looked down and then back up, suddenly unsure of myself. “I don’t…I’m not sure…” I took a breath. “What do I wear?”

“How about I come over and help you decide?”

My mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, like a goggle-eyed goldfish. I imagined Sam stretched out in my bed while I dug through my closet, and something hot and tingly happened in my stomach. “Is that…I mean, is that part of my lessons?”

“Sure, if you want it to be.” Sam leaned in. “I like to think I know what men like.”

I chuckled and tried to act casual.

He extended his hand. “You ready for the club tonight?”

My hand. He was holding my hand and towing me toward the theater exit. I did my best to wrangle my wits.

“Yeah. I’m heading home to change and get Katherine and Amelia, so we’ll be right behind you.”

“I’ll ride home with you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said, blushing.

He shrugged. “I don’t mind. Anyway, I’m swinging by home too.”

I laughed, relieved. Of course we were already going in the same direction. He wasn’t offering to go out of his way.

Stupid.

“Oh. Well, in that case…” I took a thick breath when he let my hand go to open the door for me. “So, what kind of lessons will I be learning on our…date?”

“Anything you want to know. Like what to wear. Plus general conversational tips and rules of thumb. Like, don’t get too drunk.”

“Not a bad rule of thumb for life either.”

He laughed. “I meant to ask where you were the other day before work. You smelled incredible.”