Playing for Keeps

Chapter 19

"Did you just growl?" Mitch asked, laughing.

Jason tore his eyes off his little grasshopper's retreating ass and sent a scowl towards the man. "No." But he had. Oh goddamn, he had. He'd been imagining licking frosting off of Haley in a hundred different ways since she'd offered.

Licking frosting off a woman was a simple fantasy and one he'd dreamed of doing for years, but hadn't found the right woman to share it with. There was no doubt he could have asked any one of the countless women he'd slept with in the past to live out this little kinky fantasy with him before, but he never felt comfortable enough with any of them.

With Haley.......

There wasn't anything he couldn't talk to the woman about. In fact he'd mentioned this fantasy to her only last week. After she playfully teased him for a good hour about it she swore she'd let him lick anything he wanted off her body. Anytime. Thirty seconds later he was struggling to get his damn legs in his pants and mentally making a shopping list when she walked back into his bedroom wearing a smile and a whip cream bikini.

He may have tackled her to the ground and licked every damn creamy morsel off of her before he threw his giggling grasshopper over his shoulder and carried her to the refrigerator where he proceeded to put all the sundae toppings he had to good use.

God, he loved that woman.

"Excuse me? Do you remember me?" a beautiful woman with silky black hair asked, tearing him from his thoughts.

Jason looked at her and frowned. He didn't have a clue who the hell she was and judging by the appreciative look Mitch was sending her way, he'd like to get to know her better.

"No, I'm sorry," he said, taking a sip of his beer.

Her coy smile faltered for a second, and then was back in full force. Without asking she pulled out the chair to his left and sat down, making sure to lean forward enough to give him a view of her generous cleavage.

She reached forward to run her fingers down his arm only to find his arm pulled back.

"Can I help you?" he asked, feeling all his good humor fade away. There was no doubt this woman had seen Haley with him only a few minutes ago. It's funny how once upon a time he would have found this woman's assertive behavior flattering and probably would have ditched his date for her, but now he was with Haley. It pissed him off to no end that women took one look at his little grasshopper and dismissed her as if she was nothing.

"Well," she said, drawing out the word as she shifted in her chair, giving him a better glimpse of her breasts, "I was over there with my friends and funny enough you were the subject of conversation. Then suddenly you were here and I couldn't help but feel that fate was telling me that you and I should be spending a long sleepless night in my bed tonight," she said in husky voice.

"Holy shit," Mitch muttered, taking a much needed sip of beer.

"Weren't you sitting with Haley's friends?" Brad pointed out, sounding as pissed as he felt.

She shrugged Brad's comment off. "I'm sitting with my friend," she stressed. "I would never be friends with someone as cold as Haley."

With that announcement all three men broke out laughing. Haley was many things, but cold? Hell no.

She may still be a bit of a pushover, but only because she truly cared about hurting other people's feelings. Of course that was something they needed to work on, but he was willing to overlook it for now.

The woman glared at him as she crossed her arms over her ample chest, giving him what was probably her best bitch look.

"I wonder how you would feel if you found out you were being played," she snapped.

"Oh, and who's playing me?" Jason asked, still chuckling.

"Haley," she said.

"You can go now," he said, gesturing with his beer for her to leave. Damn, women truly could be cold hearted bitches. Putting down his little grasshopper for a chance at him was low. It was understandable, but low.

She cocked her head to the side, studying him. "Oh, really? Don't think she's playing with you?"

"Would never happen," he said, gesturing again for her to leave. Even Mitch looked like he wanted her to leave and that was saying something. The man usually wasn't so selective about his bed partners and for him to want an easy woman to leave said a great deal about how he felt about Haley. Jason knew the man was starting to see Haley as a sister otherwise he'd have to bitch slap him.

"Then why hasn't she slept with you yet?" she asked, grinning smugly.

Everything in him froze with that question. His eyes darted over to his two friends to see that both men were staring at him, clearly shocked.

"You have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking about," Jason snapped, trying to ignore the dread that was starting to rise.

They'd been together for two months and never once had he pushed or questioned her about her refusal to sleep with him. Even during those times when he'd thought he'd die if he didn't slide into her he held back. He'd assumed she just wanted to take it slow, make sure that he wasn't going to be an a*shole and drop her ass when he got bored with her.

Suddenly he wished he'd asked her why she wouldn't sleep with him the first and only time she'd brought it up instead of just being happy that she was giving him a chance.

"Oh? I happen to know that she hasn't slept with you and has no plans to. She's playing you right now. According to her you just don't measure up to her standards."

Mitch laughed it off. "Sweetheart, go try and play someone else. You don't know shit about what you're talking about."

She cocked a perfectly trimmed eyebrow at him as she stood up. "Don't I? I know she won't sleep with him because she's not in love with him," she announced triumphantly, causing the air in his lungs to rush out of him.

"When you get tired of being played with give me a call," she said, pushing a folded napkin towards him.

He was barely aware of what Mitch and Brad said to her or Mitch grabbing the napkin and tearing it up.

Haley didn't love him.

"Jason, you don't look so good, man," Mitch said, getting up and taking the seat the cold hearted bitch just vacated. He grabbed the pitcher of beer and filled Jason's glass. "Take a drink," he said, shoving the glass at him until he had little choice but to do exactly that.

"Look, I don't know what bullshit she was spewing, but I do know that Haley absolutely adores you," Mitch said in a reassuring voice, scaring the hell out of him. Mitch wouldn't try comforting him unless it was bad.

"He's right," Brad easily agreed. "She's obviously trying to start some shit for Haley. Just ignore her bullshit. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Jason forced a smile. "Maybe you're right."

Mitch snorted. "Of course we're right. Anyone who's been around the two of you the last two months knows you two can't keep your hands off each other."

But they hadn't made love, Jason thought bitterly. She'd done everything with him but that and now Jason had a sneaking suspicion the reason behind it was no longer so simple.

"Did you order hot wings?" Haley asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek.

Brad sent him an "I told you so" look over his beer.

"No, not yet," he said, putting his beer down so he could take her hand into his. His eyes shot past Haley to the table of women who were looking this way and laughing. His jaw clenched almost painfully at the idea of Haley playing him.

Haley of course was oblivious to everything including the change in his mood. "Well, I'm going to go place an order at the bar then. I'll be right back."

"Okay," Jason said, unable to take his eyes of the women laughing at him.

Mitch and Jason must have followed his gaze.

"Don't tell Haley this, but most of her friends are bitches," Mitch said, pouring the last of the beer into his cup.

Normally he'd agree with that, but right now he had a sinking feeling that he was the brunt of a joke. He really couldn't help but feel that Haley might have been playing him this whole time.

There was only one way to find out and tonight he was afraid he'd get his answers one way or another.

"Don't f*ck this up," Brad said, no doubt reading the determined expression on his face correctly. "I don't know what's going on between you and Haley, but those women are clearly out to f*ck her over. Please don't screw yourself over in the process."

Jason didn't answer right away. He drained the rest of his glass slowly. Finally he put the glass back on the table and sat back, allowing his eyes to search out his little grasshopper. She was at the bar laughing at something Becky the bartender said.

He didn't know what the hell he would do if he found out his little grasshopper was playing him, but tonight he was going to find out.