ALL Chapters & Episodes of The Game You Play by L.A. Cotton - Page 4

All Chapters of The Game You Play: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

89 Chapters

My hand glided down his hard abs, cut to perfection from hours and hours of physical conditioning. But when I grazed his dick, Jason snagged my wrist, pinning it to the mattress at the side of my head.“Patience,” he said against my lips before diving back into the kiss. His tongue stroked every inch of my mouth before he moved to my jaw, drifting down the slope of my neck and along my collarbone. I writhed against him, desperate for him to end the sweet torture. But something told me he was only just getting started.The thought both exhilarated and terrified me.On a normal day, Jason was a lot to handle. Too much. But like this—half-naked, his skin pressed up against my skin, his mouth latched onto my neck, his hands curled into the flesh on my hip—he was lethal.Jason broke the kiss again but only to move down my body. He dipped his tongue into my navel, swirling it around. Something so insignificant wasn’t supposed to feel so erotic, but it did. My toes curled, my body aching to

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“It was just an idea.” I ducked my head, feeling silly suddenly. I never commented on my parents’ relationship. They were happy, content in their life together. So what if they liked routine?“Are you okay?” Mom asked. “You look a little... I don’t know... sad.”“I’m fine, Mom, just tired.” I yawned for effect.“Are you seeing Hailee today? We miss her.”I miss her too. I swallowed the words. We hung out all the time still, ate lunch together at school every day, and did all the things we did pre-Cameron, but she had someone now.Someone who wasn’t me.“I’m not sure. I think she said something about hanging out with Cameron and Xander.” Cameron’s baby brother was the cutest and he’d taken a real shine to my best friend. But then, who wouldn’t?“You could go with them? Just because she has a boyfriend now, doesn’t mean—”“Mom,” I sighed. “It isn’t like that. I’m happy for her. She deserves this.”“Oh, sweetheart, I didn’t mean... Of course you should be happy for her. I just meant, I r

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“Hailee grounds me,” my best friend said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “When everything was falling to shit, and stuff with Mom was at its worst, she was there. No questions asked. Not because I wear a Raiders jersey or because she sees me as a meal ticket.” He flopped back on the bench, heaving a deep breath. “I’m lucky to have her.”Yeah, until she grew bitter and began to resent his ass for the commitment and dedication required to make something of yourself in one of the country’s top college football teams. High school football stars might have been treated like gods amongst men, but college was a whole other level of worship. Especially if you made waves, which I fully intended on doing. Penn hadn’t asked me to commit early because they thought I’d be a valuable asset to their team—they thought I had potential to be the asset.Even if I wanted someone by my side through it all—and I didn’t—there wasn’t enough to go around. I couldn’t be committed one hundred perc

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

It was the truth. People always found a way to hurt one another. Screw each other over in the name of love… greed… jealousy.“I can see this was a bad idea; forget I said anything.” She hurried out of the kitchen, her sobs punctuating the tension.I probably should have felt even an ounce of guilt at making my stepmom cry, but the truth of it was, adults were supposed to set the standards. To teach their kids respect and integrity. My old man might have taught me how to throw a perfect pass, but he failed miserably when it came to teaching me how to be a stand-up guy. Even after losing his shot at going pro, after meeting Mom and settling down, he couldn’t give up his football-star life. He and Mom spent years pretending, years of playing their roles as doting father and mother, husband and wife. When really it was all a sham. Mom stayed with him out of obligation, while he clung onto a dream that would never be his, finding solace at the bottom of a bottle or a stranger’s bed. I neve

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“Girl, it’s written all over your face every time he enters the room.”Oh God.The color drained from my cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”“Seriously?” Mya’s mouth lifted in a half-grin, not that anything about this was amusing. “You’re fooling nobody but yourself.”“Crap. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to...” I stuffed down the words.“Fall for him?”“I’m not... it isn’t like that. I know it’s doomed. He’s Jason Ford for Christ’s sake. But there is something there.” Something that was proving pretty damn hard to ignore. Especially since he wasn’t making it easy to forget him.My cell vibrated again, and Mya nudged me, urging me to look at it.Jason: Dancing naked under the rain?“That is Jason, right? The Jason Ford? Because damn girl, what did you do to him?”“It’s silly really.” I didn’t return his text, giving Mya my full attention. “I created this list for senior year, kind of like a bucket list.”“Neat.”“You think?”“Yeah, I mean, life is for living, right? If ha

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“Were we young? Of course we were. But when you know, you know, sweetheart. And I took one look at your father and knew he was the one.”“What do you think has been your recipe for success?” Because where a lot of marriages ended in heartache, my parents had weathered the storm.“Hmm, let’s see. Communication, never going to sleep on an argument, and routine.”“Routine?” I squeaked. “Jesus, Mom, you make it sound so romantic.”“Baby, your father is about as romantic as that wooden spoon.” She flicked her head to the utensil rack. “But he’s always been there for me, and that’s what really matters. I’d rather have a lifetime of your father than a few months of fire and passion.”I found it a little sad that she didn’t think you could have both. But who was I to judge? They were happy enough and one hundred percent committed to each other and our family.“Favorite senior year memory?”“That one’s easy.” She smiled wistfully. “Prom. It was magical. Just how the movies portray it. Your fat

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“Dogs, really? I had you down as more of a girl scout.”“Nope. I always wanted to be veterinary doctor.”“So start there...”“Start where exactly?” She was making no sense.“You’re not sure you want to follow in your parents’ footsteps, right? So you need to figure out your own path.”“I guess.” A heavy weight settled on my chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”She chuckled softly. “Is that your way of telling me I overstepped?“Not at all. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you.”“Hey, what are friends for, right? I’ll see you tomorrow.”We hung up and I stared up at the ceiling, replaying the conversation.I’d always been the good girl. Agreeable and passive, all too willing to go along with my parents hopes and dreams for me because it was what was expected. But if senior year so far had shown me anything so far, it was that some things in life required you to take a risk. They required you to let go of all your insecurities and doubts and take a leap of faith. Maybe they would

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

Her expression hardened. “Shit to take care of? That’s all I’m getting?” She was drawing attention now; my teammates pretending not to listen as they ate their lunch and talked among themselves.“Careful,” I ground out. “You’re starting to sound like a girlfriend and we both know I don’t do girlfriends.”Her hands slid up my chest as she leaned in, giving me a perfect view of her rack. “You keep saying that, and yet, you keep coming around for seconds and thirds and fourths…” She licked her lips in what I assumed was an attempt at seduction. But all it did was make me bristle.“I come around because you’re good for it. Nothing more, nothing less.” I pulled Jenna’s hands free of my chest and shoved them back at her.Someone snorted. Everyone watching to see what I would do next. Everyone including Felicity. Her gaze burned into me, forcing me to look at her. There was so much in her eyes, I didn’t know which emotion to pluck out first.But Jenna shrieked, “You’re such a self-absorbed a

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“Come on, Jase, this is me. I know you better than that and I know no girl has ever got under your skin the way she has. Tell me I’m wrong?” His brow rose.It was my turn to smother my reply.“Didn’t think so.” He flashed me a knowing grin.“You like her,” I said.“It doesn’t matter.” Asher shrugged in that easy laidback way of his, but I saw the tightness around his eyes.He did like her.Probably a whole lot more than he’d ever admit.“So what’s the plan? Try and talk me into giving her a shot and then you hang back in the wings waiting for me to screw it up and swoop in and fix her broken heart?”It was a joke. An attempt to wipe the smug smile off his face. But it backfired because the second the words left my mouth, I realized it was probably true. I would screw it up and he would be there, waiting to wipe away her tears.“Admit that you like her, and I’ll back off,” he said. “I know it kills you seeing me flirt with her.”“You’ve lost your fucking mind.” I barged past him and ke

The Game You Play/L.A. Cotton

“If you want to go back, I can—”“Just drive,” I repeated.“As you wish.” Jason smirked as he pulled off and headed out of the school gates. “You know, it might help if you breathe.”I shot him daggers and he chuckled again.A few seconds of silence passed and then he said, “I was sorry, about Sunday morning.”“No you weren’t,” I replied, resigned more than angry. Jason was Jason. He hadn’t promised me anything, and I hadn’t asked for anything. So the fact I was in the car with him when I should have been sitting in third period English wasn’t lost on me. But I couldn’t seem to make rational decisions when it came to Rixon’s bad boy star quarterback.Maybe I was more like Jenna Jarvis and the gymnastics team and cheerleaders than I realized. But they didn’t have a list. They didn’t want to live every second of senior year as though it was their last.I did.At least, that was my excuse for my behavior of late.“You’re not what I expected, Giles,” he murmured, his words making me sit a

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