The Art Of Seduction ✓

|44| The First Game

"I'm not fat!" Joey, who was more fit than fat, looked mildly offended. 

Trying to ease the tension, I giggled.

Joey's brown eyes landed on me, mock horrified, "Do you think I'm fat?"

"A little," I teased. The tension had shifted, Grace leaned in James as he whispered something to her. Joey leaned closer  to me, a teasing grin on his face. He moved so close, invading my personal space. He has been doing it so often, I barely noticed it.

"Still think I'm fat?" He whispered.

"Yes, what are you going to do about it?"

His eyes darted down to my lips. I pulled back, not wanting to know what he was going to do about it. I forced a laugh, trying to get rid of the awkward tension the table had fallen into, again. Because while Kaden joined us at our table, it also meant that the things Joey normally did was enough to cause a bit of uncomfortable air with Rekha, Grace and surprisingly James analysing the three of us.

Joey acted like nothing was wrong. It made me wonder how much about my relationship with Kaden did Joey truly know. Had Kaden played it off, saying that it was unrequited? 

It felt so weird having Joey do all this to me, without even thinking of Kaden. Kaden whom according to Allison and Grace, loved me. 

"I'm not fat," Joey grumbled, eating the salad at the table. "I'm not."

"Maybe you need to start doing more cardio babe," Cassian snickered.

Joey flipped him, "Fuck you."

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ITS NO SECRET that most of us loved away games. Going to different schools, skipping classes and flirting with other attractive guys. The school normally rented out a bus for all of us. It was always a riot.

On a bus, there was this delicate way to choosing your seat, you don't want to spend an hour or so next to someone who was disgusting, or with someone you hated. If you wanted to doze of, you don't want to go right to the back of the bus away from authority figures and where it'll be the loudest. 

The middle seats were always the safest, but the back seats where always where the best stories were.

The girls and I flocked to the back. Joey and I sat together, Cassian and Rekha across us. Grace sat with Kaden who reluctantly joined the gang. Truth was, Kaden was on home ground with every boy and girl on the bus competing to sit with him. Girl's called him flirtatiously as he walked past and guys asked him questions along the bus.

Kaden wasn't someone you really wanted to sit next to, because he kept hopping from seat to seat, team members or girls.

I hated it when he sat to another girl that wasn't Grace. It was so fucking obvious the girls were flirting with him. That they wanted him to do things to them. They were so fucking -

"You look stressed," Joey said shoulder bumping mine. I turned to glance at him, a grin on his face, "Cheer up Am, it's not the cheer tournament yet."

I forced a smile on my face, trying not to glance at Kaden who was talking to Belle now. "And for someone about to play their first game you look awfully relaxed."

"That's because I've got my lucky charm beside me," Joey whispered softly.

I pushed his shoulder playfully, "Do you ever stop flirting?"