Why is he acting like this? It’s nothing like how he was acting the other day. And it’s not like I purposely ran into him. I mean, sure, I wasn’t exactly paying attention when I rushed out of the bathroom, but I didn’ttryto trample the guy. And wedefinitelydidn’t do anything he’s insinuating.
“Hey, what is he talking about? Are you alright?” Kaitlin asks me in a whisper.
“It’s nothing. I just ran into him the other day. If he’s desperate enough to think that’s ‘something,’ then that’s his deal. Let’s just get this over with.”
Kaitlin explains briefly how to play the game as Miles watches with a devilishly handsome grin. I wish I could slap it right off his stupid, totally not attractive, face.
“Ladies first,” he says, and Kaitlin tosses her first beer pong ball. It bounces off the rim of a cup and lands in another.
“YES!” She cheers, giving me a double high five.
Miles’ partner, who I overheard him calling Chase, drinks the beer and sets the cup off to the side of the table. It’s my turn now. I toss the ball and it flies past the cups, hitting Miles in the leg.
“The cups are over here, gorgeous. I know you like to hit me, but you’re not gonna win the game that way.”
I sneer at him, wishing I had made that damn cup so I could have watched him drink. And of course, he’s still smiling at me.It’s like he’s getting off on my embarrassment. I hate to admit how hot he looks right now.
Miles tosses his ball, never breaking eye contact as it flies, landing into one of our cups.
Holy shit. We’re fucked.
“That means you drink, Princess. Now be agood girland make sure not to leave a single drop.”
Fuck me. My body is on fire. The way it instantly reacts to his words scares the shit out of me. I clench my thighs together in an effort to relieve the ache I feel between them and drink the contents of the cup, purposely leaving the tiniest amount of liquid at the bottom.
Thankfully the beer is cold, however, it tastes like shit, and I try to keep a straight face as the liquid slides down my throat. The last thing I need is for Miles to see me struggle to swallow some beer.
Chase goes to take his shot. The ball bounces off the table and lands in a cup. “WOO! That’s two, baby!”
Excuse the fuck out of me?Two cups? Just because he bounced the ball off the table? What kind of stupid game is this?
Kaitlin and I drink a cup of beer each and the game continues. We go back and forth until eventually the two of us are down to two cups, and Miles and Chase have four on their side. I still haven’t made a single cup yet, and I’m starting to feel a little buzzed. Kaitlin and I both have to make a cup just to be even with them, and that’s with the hope that they don’t make any of their shots.
Kaitlin goes first. She takes aim and tosses her ball. It misses. I’m panicking on the inside while trying to not seem stressed on the outside. I don’t know why I want to win so badly. Maybe it's pride, but the idea of beating Miles at his own game just so I can rub it in his smug face sounds so sweet.
I take a deep breath, aiming my ball at the cup in the middle. I exhale, closing my eyes as I toss it to bounce off the table and I feel Kaitlin hit my arm. She yells and starts jumping up and down. I made the damn cup!
“Well, I’ll be damned. Look at you making your first shot of the game. Keep doing that and maybe you’ll have a chance, thanks to your friend here.”
“I just might have to do that. Maybe it’ll get you to shut your damn mouth for once.” I smile back at him with a lifted brow.
That liquid courage I was trying to find earlier has finally hit and I’m starting to feel like some kind of badass.
He downs the contents of his cup and says, “Oh, so youdohave some bite. Let’s see how hard that bite is after you lose.” Miles bounces his ball off the table and makes it into one of our last two cups.
Shit.
That’s it, we lost.
“Redemption! We can still win if we make this cup. It’ll cancel out his last shot. You can do it, Maddie. You gotta bounce it off the table to count as two cups.”
I hold the ball out and take a deep breath. I look past Miles and my breath catches.
Wait—is that? No, it can’t be. Is that Austin? There’s no way he could be here right now. But that’s definitely him, I would recognise him anywhere. But how? I left Alabama without telling a soul. How the hell did he find me?
“Maddie! Take the damn shot!”
I’m frozen in place, the ping pong ball still clenched between my fingers, as panic begins to take over. Sweat coats my neck, and for a second, I forget to breathe. Surely, I must have been drugged, right? Someone definitely laced these cups with something and I’m just hallucinating. I think I’d prefer that,actually. Because, if I’m really seeing Austin right now, he must be here to confront me.
