Bedroom Games
Page 39

“Come on,” I muttered. “I need this. Come on.”
“You need it bad, huh?” Jendan was at my side, pushing through the sea of sliding, gooey pink and green balls.
“I do,” I said, pushing aside a pile that was off to my left. “You have no idea how badly.”
“Mmm,” was all he said. He pushed through a nearby pile.
I turned to look at him. As soon as I did, I spotted one. It lay atop a pile of its siblings, drippy lines of red coating it.
It was also right next to Jendan’s hand. As I watched, he looked at me, down at it, and then deliberately, slowly turned away.
He was letting me win.
I could have kissed the man. I lunged for the brain and grasped it in my hand, feeling a surge of success that mingled with my guilt. He was letting me win…because I needed it more than a stuntman, maybe? Whatever the reason, Jendan had my thanks. Hauling ass (well, as much as one could in a pool of clinging goo), I headed to the final chair and slid into it. I raised the brain into the air and gave a victorious cheer.
“Winner!” Brodie grabbed my messy, sticky arm and raised it above my head. “Kandis gets the twenty-five grand!”
I whooped again and immediately burst into tears, emotional. Twenty-five grand would help so much. It meant digging Mom out of the hole, even if it was only a little. It meant I wouldn’t have to get a second—or third—job to keep her above water.
And Jendan let me win it.
“Aw, she’s so emotional,” Sunnie said.
Brodie and I high-fived each other, reluctant to hug and get our clothing stuck to each other. When Jendan came to my side, though, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged the heck out of him. “You are the best man ever,” I told him in a low voice.
He laughed and gave me a tight hug back. “Nah. I just know what it’s like to need the money.”
I stiffened and pulled away from him, our shirts peeling apart with a wet noise. Shame filled me. “Oh god. Did you need the money—”
He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I was speaking in past tense. It’s your win.”
I hugged him again, tears streaking down my face.
“All right, all right,” Marla said in a sour voice. “You two get a room.”
I giggled through my tears and pulled away from Jendan. “Ugh. Speaking of rooms, I need a shower.” I glanced over at Brodie, grinning.
He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he’d left entirely and headed into the house.
 
 
~~ * ~~
 
 
There was one good thing about having wickedly short hair — it took no time at all to clean it. I took a quick shower to clean off after the challenge and raked a comb through my wet locks, and then I dressed in my favorite yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder tee before heading back into the Power room.
Brodie was there, sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me.
I tossed my towel in the laundry basket and headed to the bed, sitting on the edge next to him. “What’s bothering you?”
He regarded me for a long moment and then leaned backward and propped his head up on one hand, laying on his side. His fingers traced a pattern on the blanket that reminded me of the touches he’d given my inner thighs last night, and I clamped my legs shut in memory.
And he still said nothing. I nudged him with my hand. “Something’s bothering you. It’s not like the infamous Brodie Short to be silent and pensive.”
I was hoping he’d laugh at my joke, but his mouth only cocked in a half smile and he continued to trace patterns on the blanket with his other hand. “I saw Jendan throw the challenge. He picked that ball up, looked at you, and then tossed it down. Two seconds later, you grabbed it.”
So he’d noticed that? I nodded. “I know. He let me win.”
“You want to tell me why Jendan would throw away twenty-five grand?”
“Because he doesn’t need it? I imagine stuntmen are paid pretty well,” I said, and ran a hand through my wet hair again, oddly nervous. I felt like a kid that had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.
“Yeah, but I don’t think that’s it. Is there something going on between you two that I should know about?”
I gaped. “Are you kidding me?”
He shrugged, trying to seem all casual. “I know you and I are pretty cozy. I know you’re also cozy with him. I’m just wondering if it’s the same kind of cozy.”
I sucked in a breath. How dare he? I shoved him and began to push off the bed. “Fuck you—”
Brodie’s arms grabbed me and hauled me back down on the bed. “Oh no you don’t.”
“Let me go!”
“Not until we talk.” He wriggled over my flailing body until his weight pinned me onto the bed. Brodie looked down at me. “I want to know what’s going on.”
“Nothing’s going on, you suspicious turd,” I told him, glaring up at him over me. “You’re the only one I’m fooling around with in this house, and I question the wisdom of doing that as it is.”
“Do you, now.” A slow, wicked smile curved his mouth. “You find hooking up with me unwise?”
“Horribly unwise,” I said, my voice breathy. I was still angry, but that anger was giving way to desire faster than my brain could process his nearness. I was so close that I could reach out and lick his perfect chin. Not that I wanted to do that, of course. Not that licking Brodie was wise. In fact, it was downright stupid.
And stupid was going to end up costing me in this game. I just knew it.
He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “Wanna do some unwise stuff right now?”
I shoved at him. “No.”
“That’s cool,” he said, and his hands tightened on my pinned wrists. “That just means you can tell me all about why Jendan just gave you twenty-five grand instead of trying to get it for himself. You homeless outside of here or something?”
To my horror, tears welled in my eyes. Man, he hit the nail on the head pretty close there. “Not exactly.”
The look on Brodie’s face turned from calculating to concerned. He rolled off of me and then hauled me up until I was sitting upright. “What is it? Talk to me, Kandis. We’re partners.”
I swiped at the tears running down my face. “It’s stupid. I mean, everyone has their reasons for being here, don’t they? Mine are no more important than everyone else’s.”
“You let me be the judge of that,” Brodie said, and he reached out and brushed a stray tear off my jaw. “Now, spit it out.”
“It’s my mom,” I said in an anxious rush. “She’s a gambling addict. She goes to the casinos every weekend and spends every dollar she has. I don’t know how long it’s been going on, but I do know that at this time, she has two mortgages on her house and is behind on both of them. She’s about to lose her house. Her credit card debt is insane, her car was just repossessed, she has no grocery money, and she still somehow finds money to go to the casino. I don’t make enough at my job to help take care of her. I’ve been trying to, but it’s not working.” The stress of it all just made my eyes brim all over again.
“And what is it you do outside of this house? You said you were a student, but I’m guessing that’s a lie.”