Rascal (Rascals Book 1)(47)

Now that it was evident that Alex was a kick-ass poker player, all pretenses were dropped, and she began kicking our asses in earnest. The guys responded the way they always did when they were losing—they began shit-talking with vengeance.

At first I worried that Alex would be put off by it, but she took it all in stride. In fact, it wasn’t long before she was dishing it back.

“Come on.” She took a card from Dante. “You guys are playing like a bunch of girls.” Then she paused and looked around the room. “What am I saying, you wish you played as well as a bunch of girls.”

Kelsey and Hayley laughed.

“Watch it,” Liam snorted at his cards. “Or we might have to ban you from the bar.”

“I doubt you’d be able to.” Alex put her arm around me. “Haven’t you heard I’ve got an in with the manager?”

She gave me a big, smacking kiss on the cheek before excusing herself from the table. As seemed to always be the case with women, she headed towards the bathroom, with Kelsey and Hayley following close behind. The minute they were gone, the guys turned to me.

“You are whipped, dude,” Sawyer commented with a smile.

“Totally whipped,” Liam agreed, but all of them were wearing grins.

“Jealous?” I asked them, crossing my arms.

“Fuck yeah,” Liam said immediately. “She’s hot.”

“I’d let her whip me any time,” Chase quipped.

We all threw popcorn at him.

“She seems nice,” said Dante, surprising all of us. “What?” he asked, when he noticed we were all staring at him. “She’s a good poker player.”

There you have it: the ultimate stamp of approval for him.

We were all laughing when the girls returned to the table.

“What did we miss?” Alex asked me.

“Nothing important,” I told her, pulling her onto my lap.

“What happened to you?” Kelsey asked Chase, brushing the popcorn out of his hair.

“Hazards of the job,” he told her. “The guys are jealous of how much attention you’re giving me.”

She laughed and was about to take a seat, but her phone rang. Her face lit up when she looked at the screen.

“Justin! I should take this,” she said, and she hurried outside to take the call.

“Who’s that?” Chase asked when she was gone. “Her boyfriend?”

“In a way.” Alex looked cagey, and the conversation moved on.



After a few hours—and more wins for Alex—we called it a night, and I headed upstairs with her.

It wasn’t until we were in her apartment that I realized I hadn’t even asked to come up. I had just expected that I would be spending the night at her place, the way we had been doing for the past couple of nights.

“OK if I stay?” I asked her as she slipped off her heels.

“Of course,” she said, winding her arms around my neck and kissing me. “I like it when you’re here.”

“I like it when I’m here too,” I told her, kissing her back, losing myself in her.

Then, abruptly, she pulled away. She had a look on her face, one that I couldn’t quite decipher, but it almost looked like she was nervous.

“What is it?” I asked, taking her hand.

“I don’t want to date other people,” she blurted out.

I blinked at her. “That’s good,” I told her. “I don’t want you to date other people either.”

“And I don’t want you to date other people,” she said, avoiding eye contact. “I want us to be exclusive.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I had been holding back on having a conversation like this because I didn’t want to scare Alex away—and now she was the one bringing it up. I was a damn lucky guy.

“Is that OK?” Alex asked, and I realized I hadn’t even answered.

“Fuck yeah, it’s OK,” I told her, smiling. “I have no interest in dating anyone else.”

Her face brightened. “Really?”

“Really,” I confirmed, kissing her deeply.

Before she could protest, I swooped her up in my arms and carried her to the bed. We tumbled down onto the sheets, pulling each other’s clothes off. But just as we were going to get completely naked, Alex put her hand on my chest.

I paused and looked down at her. She was gorgeous, her soft blonde hair spread out across the pillow, her beautiful eyes blinking up at me, her lush lips parted.

“Well, since you’re officially my boyfriend,” she started, pausing for a moment, that nervous look returning to her face.

“Which I am,” I told her.

“I know it’s not your scene, but the firm is hosting a black-tie gala this weekend, and I would love for you to come with me.”

It wasn’t my scene, but I also knew that there was absolutely no way I could say no to Alex. And I didn’t want to. I wanted to make her happy. And I would do anything to achieve that.

“I’d love to go with you,” I told her.

She lit up, and she kissed me until I forgot how much I hated black-tie galas.

The guys were right. I was falling for this girl. Hard.





19