“Done,” he says a few minutes later. He gathers up the papers and hands them to me with a quick shove. “Here you go, princess.”
Even though I want to tell him not to call me that, I hold back the retort. I flip through the papers to make sure I have his signatures—the rest, I can examine later—then sigh with relief. “Thank you.”
He gives me a nod and presses himself inside the doorway, lifting his arms so he’s gripping the top frame. “So that’s it, huh? We’re not going to see each other again?”
I take a step back and give him my first genuine smile since meeting him. “Let’s hope not.” With that, I leave him with a wink and walk off, chuckling silently to myself.
I may not have had the upper hand after meeting Kingston Scott, but after a long struggle, I’m certain I have it now.
UNHEALTHY OBSESSION
KINGSTON
The large campfire is already blazing by the time I approach. As soon as Silver left my cabin earlier, I let the exhaustion from the last couple of days take me away, and I slept. I didn’t know if anyone would still be here, but there they are, a mixture of staff and my teammates, all chilling in a wide circle, sipping on their beverages of choice.
There’s another thing I forgot to bring with me here. Booze. I didn’t know what to expect when Coach told me to pack my bags. I had no clue I would arrive at a kiddy camp with zero amenities, including a liquor bar. At the very least, I figured the accommodations would include a fucking furnished room. But it turns out the unfurnished room isn’t even the worst part. I’ve literally been exiled to an island in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cheery Boy Scouts who get off on the number of badges they’ve earned. If it weren’t for the exciting back-and-forth I’ve had with Nurse Silver, I probably would have swum home by now.
Zach spots me on my approach and waves for me to join him where he’s sitting with his girlfriend, Monica. “Didn’t know girlfriends were allowed,” I say with a curl of my lip.
Monica grins and flashes her ring finger an inch from my face. “It’s a good thing I’ve leveled up to fiancée.”
“No shit,” I said, not even trying to hide my genuine shock. I nudge Zach’s side. “No way, dude. When did this happen?”
Zach chuckles. “Last Thanksgiving. Where have you been?”
I do a quick calculation and realize that it’s been over six months, and I didn’t have a fucking clue about a significant life event of a member of my own team. That’s shitty. How could I have missed that?
You’ve had your head up your ass—that’s how.
I shove my inner thoughts aside and focus on Zach. “Dude, I don’t know. Congrats to you both.”
Zach is a good sport about it, smiling back at me like he hasn’t got a care in the world. “Thanks, man. We’re getting married here, actually. In one month.” He reaches for Monica’s hand and winks at her. “This is a pretty special place for us.”
It takes everything I have to hold back my utter disgust. Zach and I couldn’t be any more different. “This place? This camp?”
Zach nods. “Yup. It’s a long story, but the short of it is that Monica works for BelleCurve, and she helped me set up this whole football camp event two years ago. I won’t bore you with the details. How about a drink instead?” He reaches into his small cooler and offers me a beer.
I look at it a long while before shaking my head. “No, man. Thank you, but I think I’m good.”
As I’m saying the words, I realize how foreign they feel coming out of my mouth. The normal me would have accepted it before Zach even finished offering, but something doesn’t feel right about drinking tonight, or at all. I don’t know, but maybe it’s the fact that I was sent to this island by Coach, who believed there was no other way to absolve me of my sins. Or maybe it’s the fact that booze was one of the many factors that resulted in me being here. I just want to pay my penance, go home, play ball, and try to put all of this behind me.
One month, or less, if I can convince Zach I’m not the total loser he probably thinks I am.
If I can spend the night in jail, I can handle roughing it at Camp Dakota. I’ll just have to find ways to make my stay more entertaining. At that thought, my eyes travel across the waving tips of the fire and catch on blond hair that’s been swept up into a messy heap on her head. Silver’s perfect lips are turned up into a soft smile as she chats with the girl beside her, and she doesn’t look at all as intense as the woman I spent most of today attempting—and failing miserably—to flirt with.
Silver is wearing a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt. It’s nothing special compared to the group of giggly wide-eyed girls I recognize as the Bikini Welcome Committee. Their attire leaves little to the imagination, but for some reason, seeing her in something other than her nurse scrubs has all my focus. I don’t know how long I’ve been staring when her eyes find mine across the fire, but by the surprise that glows in her expression, she wasn’t expecting to see me.
If there’s one thing that should deter me from entertaining any more thoughts of Silver, it’s how good she seems to be. Resisting me was my first clue. Her naïve outlook on the condoms sitting behind that locked cabinet was my second. But beneath all the goodness, there’s a spitfire of a woman who intrigues me in more ways than I can fully wrap my brain around. All I know is that I want to know more, and that’s a dangerous thought.
“Is this seat taken?”
I tear my eyes from Silver’s to look up at the syrupy smile of one of the bikini girls. Her dark-brown hair is curled in perfect waves around her fully painted face. Smile widening, she bats long, dramatic eyelashes that can’t possibly be real.
“It is now.” My response is pure instinct. I don’t have to be in my regular alcohol-induced state to recognize a gorgeous woman when I see one. And her timing couldn’t be more impeccable. She’s just what I need to get my mind and burning gaze off the innocent wonder sitting across the fire.
I pat the empty spot on the log beside me, noticing how she inches closer than I’d anticipated. Now, this right here, is what I’m accustomed to. A beautiful girl with obvious interest, who’s not at all afraid to show it. What’s the point in playing games? It only delays the inevitable. And the inevitable always lands in a war of tangled limbs followed by a fully satisfied woman.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
She doesn’t tense up and glare when I lend her the endearment. Instead, she tilts her head so a layer of hair falls over her shoulder, and her smile turns flirtatious. “Vicky.”
“Nice to meet you, Vicky. I’m Kingston, but you can call me King.”
Vicky’s eyes practically glow with delight. “All right, King it is then.”
That right there is the reaction I’m used to—the way she said that with my name slipping off her tongue like she’s mid-orgasm. The reaction that says, “Hello, nice to meet you. Let’s fuck.”
Not a second after that last thought runs through my mind, I scold myself, remembering exactly why I landed here in the first place. I don’t need the temptation of a quick hump to repeat my offenses. At least, not while Coach’s babysitter is sitting beside me.