For The Love Of The Game

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"So, handsome, do you want to come to our place?" The redhead, Amy, whispered into my ear as she twirled her finger suggestively over my abs.

My eyes darted between the blonde's luscious breasts, the redhead, and Riley.

Riley scrubbed her cheeks with her sleeves, erasing the evidence, yet a red glow still lingered on her face. She kept her gaze averted, walked away, and was swallowed by the balcony door.

I cursed myself internally. It was evident she was under distress, and every bone in my body screamed at me to go help her. I'll add cock-blocker in chief to Riley's list of titles, the real life Daenerys Targaryen.

"Sorry, ladies, I think I will have to pass." I took a step back. I straightened my wrinkled shirt and combed my hair back into place.

"Seriously?!" Their voices pitched with indignation.

Ignoring the outraged blonde, I pushed past the lingering locals and exited out the door Riley escaped. She sat at the far corner of the balcony, looking up at the star splattered sky. Moonlight cascaded down her form, illuminating her body and giving her a cosmic glow.

She looked like a moon goddess masquerading as a human. It felt like a sin to intrude on the sacred moment.

I lowered my voice to not scare her. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Her puffy eyes fluttered from the sky to me. She gasped.

"Noah," my name dripped from her lips. She paused as the wheels turned in her head, processing my request. A darkness overcame her tone. "I wouldn't want to ruin your night. I'm in a 'drowning-my-misery-away' kind of mood." She held her drink up as proof.

I chuckled at her dramatic word choice; it sounded familiar. "That's just brilliant. I have some miseries of my own that I would like to drown." I looked to the sky, eyes glossy like tears would spill like waterfalls any second.

"Looks like our methods are quite different." She pointed her drink towards the collar of my white shirt.

Curious, I pulled at it. A bright red lipstick mark stained my previously spotless twill collar. I smirked, like a mischievous kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Perhaps," I took a step closer, "but why don't you teach me your ways?" I winked.

Riley looked at me, a right eyebrow arched that questioned my intentions. She tapped her fingers on the table in a galloping sequence. "Sure," she said. The destroyer of the world took a sip of her yellow drink and watched the ice swirl as she spoke. "I'm surprised that you want to sit with me."

I sat down on the netted metal chair and leaned my face against my closed hand. "Why is that?" I asked.

"Well, yesterday you wanted to burn me at the stake."

I chuckled. "Not going to lie, I did consider it, even ordered the stake on Amazon. Then I thought, 'What a shame it would be to not have such a beautiful neighbor anymore.'" The objective was to lift her spirits. In no way was I flirting with her.

Absolutely, no way.

"That's cheesy," she rolled her eyes and scoffed at me. Yet, her rosy cheeks betrayed her lack of conviction.

My voice lowered. "Then why are you blushing?" I winked, giving her the Noah smolder. The temptation was too much to resist, and a little innocent flirting never hurt anyone.

She rolled her eyes, and instead of answering, she asked, "Anyways, will you finally put me out of one of my miseries and tell me what was in the box?"

The question took me off-balance, and I recoiled back into the chair. "Perhaps another time." Telling her now seemed like adding salt to a gushing wound.