Playing Hard to Get(106)

Knox keeps tapping at his phone, Cam and I studying each other, that same sweet smile plastered on my face while he wears a faint scowl.

The phone rings and Knox answers it, putting it on speaker so we can hear Blair’s voice in midsentence.

“…stop bugging me, Knox. I don’t want to go out tonight.”

“Come on, B. Just get your butt over here,” Knox encourages.

“Who are you with?”

“Who else would I be with? Jo Jo and the Duke of Camden.” Knox grins at us.

Cam keeps his scowl firmly in place.

“Oh.” Blair is quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like pizza.”

“Give me a break. You love pizza.”

“And I look terrible.”

“It’s just us, Blair. We don’t care what you look like.” Knox’s gaze lifts to Cam’s. “You don’t care what my sister looks like, right?”

I hold my breath, waiting for his answer, knowing it could be damaging with Blair about to hear what he’ll say.

Cam drains the beer he’s been sipping on, slamming the bottle onto the table with a loud thunk. “Nope. Don’t care at all.”

“Really?” Blair sounds…pissed, not that I can blame her. Not that I can blame Cam for what he said either. “Are you drunk, Camden?”

“I’ve had one beer, Blair. Give me a fucking break,” Cam mutters.

“Hey, language,” Knox says mildly.

“I’m not a baby, Knox. I can handle it when Cam drops a fuck here and there,” Blair says snippily.

“Ouch, okay sorry.” Knox’s gaze meets mine, and I can tell he’s confused. “Are you coming or not?”

“You know what yes, I’m coming. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” The phone goes dead.

“Good. She needs to get out more. I’ve been worried about her.” Knox leans back in his seat, stretching out his legs, his thigh bumping against mine. “She never goes anywhere lately, and when I asked her about it, she got all sensitive on me.”

Cam makes a noise in agreement and I stare at him, just daring him to say something. Anything.

Of course he doesn’t.

Men. They’re absolutely clueless.

Fifteen minutes later and Blair is entering the restaurant, gorgeous as usual despite her protests on the phone that she looked terrible. Her dark blonde hair flows down her back over the dark blue and green plaid jacket she’s wearing and when she slips it off, she reveals a tight black long-sleeved turtleneck shirt that emphasizes her curves.

As in, she looks smoking hot, without trying too hard.

Cam stares at her chest for a moment too long and I notice the smug look on Blair’s face. It’s all the confirmation I need.

These two have most definitely hooked up.

“Scoot over,” Blair demands and Cam does so without protest, allowing her to sit next to him. The distance between them isn’t much, and I can feel the sexual tension crackling between them. She won’t look in his direction, her gaze only for me as she smiles and reaches across the table, squeezing my arm. “It’s so good to see you, Joanna.”

“It’s been forever,” I tell her with a faint smile. “What have you been up to?”

“Nothing in particular,” she says vaguely. “School has been kicking my butt lately.”

A sigh leaves me. I don’t think she’s going to come clean either. “Mine too.”

“Not mine,” Knox chimes in with a smug smile. “Thanks to Joanna. She’s a huge help.”

Blair rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You two are so lucky and in love. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard it all before already from you.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” Knox glances over at me. “I don’t think I can stop talking about you.”

“Oh yeah?” We both ignore Cam and Blair, completely focused on each other. “Are you that in love with me?”

I’m teasing him, but there’s a serious glow in Knox’s beautiful green eyes that has my smile fading.

“Yeah, I am. I didn’t think it would happen like this,” he admits.

“Like what?” I ask quietly.

“Like all I want to do is tell everyone that you’re mine.” Dipping his head, he kisses me quickly. “I think I’m addicted to you.”

“There are worse things you could end up addicted to,” I point out with a grin.

“No shit.” We both glance up to see the server standing beside our table, holding a steaming hot pizza. “Blair, your timing is impeccable.”

“Yay, I’m starving,” Blair says, turning away from Cam, her gaze zeroed in on the pizza as the server sets it on the table.

Pretty sure they were talking when Knox and I were, and I’m dying to know what they said to each other. Not that I’ll ever get the chance to find out.





“That was weird,” Knox says later, after we’ve gone back to my apartment and locked ourselves away in my bedroom. Natalie is working tonight so we have the place to ourselves, which is nice. No forcing Cam to hear us getting up to our usual antics.

“What was weird?” I’m playing dumb on purpose. It was so obvious something was going on between Cam and Blair, and I want to know if Knox noticed.