A Game Of Temptation

LAURA

“Not that one.”

I looked away from the gown I was holding in front of me, to Balery who was sitting on my bed with her legs folded underneath her. She was referring to the gown and after taking another look at it, I nodded, agreeing with her.

I dropped that gown back on the bed and picked another one, lifting it up high. I turned it and stared at the back-or rather, the fact that there was none to speak of.

I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to wear it long before Balery shook her head.

“Definitely not that one,” she said with a small smile. “You can wear it when we go to the club.”

I tossed it on the bed, watching it join the scattered pile of clothes that had taken up most of the bed.

We’d all decided to go to a bar in town today and over the past hour, I’d been with Balery in my room, the both of us trying to decide on something for me to wear. Well, I’d tried to make a decision myself, and failed-terribly-then I’d gone downstairs and dragged her up here with me. It was starting to become an impossible chore, and I was really beginning to get frustrated.

Absently, I fished out a red long-sleeved gown that stopped mid-thigh and placed it against my body, turning and showing it to Balery. She lifted a brow and compressed her lips, but she said nothing.

It didn’t take a genius to translate that.

Huge no.

With a huff, I stormed over to the bed and at down on it, dropping the gown next to me. “At this point, I think I’m just going to go in a bra and panties.”

Balery laughed. “I’m very sure Alex is going to like that.”

Ugh. She just had to go and say his name, didn’t she?

I glared at her and she wiggled her brows, making me glare at her even more. When she just kept doing it like a grade A clown, my glare cracked and a smile broke through.

“Aha!” She exclaimed, grinning wide. “I knew I could get you to smile.”

I rolled my eyes and flopped back on the bed next to her, my face mere inches from her thigh. I loved curling up next to her. It was the most I allowed myself with anyone at all and I’d realised that after a few times of lying down next to Balery while we talked, I liked it.

The warmth that seeped from her body was… different. Comfortable.

Sleeping on the same bed as Balery would probably be divine if just a few seconds of lying next to her was this good, but I’d never do it. My not sharing a bed extended to females too.

“Why did you have to bring up Alex?”

She peered at me through curious eyes. “Was I not supposed to?”

Was she not supposed to?

Actually, she was allowed to talk about Alex if she wanted to. She didn’t need permission from me in order to talk about him. What she shouldn’t have done was bring him up in reference to me, but I hadn’t told her not to do that either.

I shrugged. “I mean… yeah, you can. But,” I shrugged again, avoiding her eyes. “You said it like there’s something between us.”

“But there is something between you guys.” She looked confused. “Isn’t there?”

That had me sitting up on the bed so fast, Balery had to yank her head out of the way so that I didn’t head-butt her. “Of course there isn’t. Why would you say that?”

“I’ve been seeing the way you guys look at each other,” She started and I scowled so hard, she had to rephrase, “I mean, I’ve been seeing the way he looks at you.”

If she was hoping that those words would help, they didn’t because that only meant that if Balery had noticed, then she wasn’t the only one who had, and the others had probably come to the same conclusion as her.

When she saw that my scowl had deepened, she swallowed down a laugh. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re not,” I managed to say before she dissolved into fits of laughter.

She doubled over, gripping her stomach as she cracked up even harder. When she’d finally gotten herself under control, she wiped the tears that escaped her eyes and coughed. “I’m so sorry, but it’s just so funny.” She laughed one last time before she stopped again. “For real though, I honestly thought there was something going on with you guys what with the way he keeps staring at you whenever you’re in the same room.” She paused, then. “If I remember correctly, I also saw you stare at him a few times too.”

“I didn’t!” I exclaimed, shooting up from the bed to a stand. “I don’t get involved, you know that. So why would you just assume that we have something going on?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “To be honest, I don’t even know.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I just thought maybe with the way you guys kept staring at each other-” I glared at her. “With the way he kept staring at you, add that to your history, I thought… you know.”

“It was just one night, Bales,” I snapped, frustrated, more at myself than at her. “Nothing more.”

“Okay, okay.”

“And I’ve never looked at him in any type of way. I’m sure you got it wrong.”

“Of course.”

“And if he looks at me in any way, then that’s his fucking problem.” I yanked some clothes out of my closet without even glancing at them, and stomping over to the bed to drop them. “I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“No, you don’t.”

“And nothing, absolutely nothing is going to happen between us.” I marched back to my closet, yanked some things out and marched back to the bed. “If he thinks that something can-which I don’t think he does, by the way. Still think you interpreted that wrong-then he’s got something else coming.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“Come to think of it, why would you even think-”

“Laura?”

“-that we have-” I stopped abruptly and turned to her, brows raised. “What?” I barked.

Her eyes were wide and unblinking, and she stared at me as though I was finally going crazy. “Why are you bringing out everything from your closet?”

“I-What?” I glanced around.

True to her words, I was bringing out everything from my closet and dumping them on the bed, right next to her. My closet was almost empty now, save for a few clothes on hangers, and if she hadn’t stopped me, I would have probably emptied the entire thing.

“Laura?” Balery asked slowly. “Are you okay?”

If she’d asked me that question an hour ago, I would have said yes. But now, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Before I could answer, someone knocked on my door.

I turned sharply and told whoever it was to come in.

Drew poked his head in a few seconds later and his wide eyes swept over the clothes strewn on the floor, along with the heap on my bed.

“Uh…” He blinked. “Jack said to remind you guys that we’re leaving in thirty minutes. He would have come up here himself, but he doesn’t want to intrude on your…”-his eyes darted to the bed-“girl time.”

I nodded, muttering a ‘thanks’ and waited until his head disappeared before turning narrowed eyes on Balery. “Not a word of this.”

“Whatever her majesty says,” Balery replied in a fake British accent, grinning like the cat that caught the canary, and I wanted nothing more than to slap that grin off her beautiful face.