Seduced by the Game (5 page)

“No problem,” Johnny said
before they both walked away.

“Having freshmen stalk
your newest conquest is just sad, King,” Grady said.

“Fuck off, I can’t be
everywhere. I need to know these things since she won’t give me anything to
work with.”

“Aw… poor Karson isn’t
having a girl fall to the ground with her legs open? However will you go on?”

“Fuck you,” Karson sneered
as Grady laughed.

Not saying anything else,
Karson returned to his book. It was the same one he had seen Lacey reading and
he had to admit, it was pretty badass. He wasn’t much of a reader, but from the
moment his eyes hit the pages, he was hooked.

“Who is she?”

Looking up, he met Lacey’s
big brother’s eyes and slowly closed the book, since he knew there was a good
chance this wasn’t going to go well. Taking in a deep breath, he said, “Your
sister.”

Grady laughed. “Fuck you,
no really, who?”

“Lacey,” Karson answered.

“You’re not funny. You
better be joking.”

Karson shook his head and
figured he owed it to Grady to be honest. They had been friends for years, but
what bothered him was that he had never known about Lacey. It was as if Grady
had hid her, and he didn’t understand why. Ignoring that fact, Karson shook his
head as he said, “I’m sprung over her, dude. She is amazing.”

Visibly upset, Grady
jumped to his feet, his shoulders squaring up as he glared down at Karson.
“Well, unspring yourself, asshole.”

“I can’t. Why did you hide
her from me? You never mentioned you had a hot sister.”

“Because I know you, and
knew that you’d be on her in seconds. You’re a sleaze.”

“Maybe I was, but it’s
different this time. I actually have this feeling in my chest for her.”

Grady’s nose flared as he
glared even more. “I’m going to kick your ass.”

“If you have to, then do
it, but I won’t stop. I need her, dude, like seriously. I’m in deep and, as my
best friend, you should understand that and support me.”

“Support you, huh?” Grady
asked, and Karson smiled.

“Yeah, man, we both want
what’s best for her, and I think I’m it.”

Grady didn’t say anything
else; he just shook his head and promptly decked Karson right in the left eye.
Taking the punch as a champ, Karson closed his eyes as Grady got close and
whispered, “Stay the fuck away from my sister.”

“You’ll have to kill me,
Grad. I can’t.”

When he opened his eyes,
Grady was glaring with the hatred of Hades in his eyes. “Is she worth our
friendship?”

Slowly, Karson nodded.
“Yeah, because I feel you’ll eventually agree with my way of thinking. A girl
like that doesn’t come around twice.”

Shaking his head, Grady
stomped away without a second glance. As Karson watched him leave, he asked
himself if she was really worth it.

The only answer was yes.

Karson knew it was true
when he heard Lacey sing. She had the voice of an angel and looked like one as
she sang along with the other Catappellas. He used to make fun of those weird
people that made music with their mouths, but now that he knew Lacey did it, he
vowed to never to call them that again. He only wanted to support her and, as
he clapped loudly, whistling for her, a smile grew on his face because he knew
exactly how to romance her.

All he needed was the help
of the Catappellas.

When Lacey came out the
back with the same brunette who Karson had seen her with before, he smiled as
their eyes met. She looked away like she had been doing for the past week, but
that wasn’t going to stop him.

Stepping out in front of
her, he said, “You have a lovely voice.”

“Thanks,” she said, trying
to go around him, but she must have noticed that his face was damaged. “What
happened to your face?”

He smiled as he ran his
fingers along the black eye. “Your brother punched me.”

“
What
?” she
shrieked, along with the brunette.

“Why?” Lacey asked, taking
a step toward him. She reached out, but then she stopped herself, tucking her
fingers into the red dress she wore. It fit her like a glove, and Karson was
salivating at the sight of her.

“I told him I was trying
to prove to the most gorgeous girl on campus that I’m worth her time. He asked
me who it was. I said you, so he decked me because when he asked me to stop
chasing after you, I said I couldn’t.”

Her lip wobbled as she
looked away. “You have to, Karson. I’m telling you, you’re going to be
disappointed.”

“The only way I’ll be
disappointed is if you don’t give me a chance.”

Looking at him, her eyes
filling with tears, she whispered, “I’m not worth it.”

“You keep saying that, but
I can promise you I’m about to prove to you that you are.”

Before she could say
anything else, Karson turned and left the hall, feeling pretty damn good about
what had just happened.

This is True.

Lacey was having the worse
day of her life.

After having it out with
Grady about Karson that morning—which really did nothing since all her
bullheaded brother did was scream at her about how she needed to stay away from
Karson—her day persistently got worse. First, she dropped her iPod into the
toilet. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but it did, so she had to walk to all
her classes without any music. She then failed her math pop quiz, slid on some
ice outside Jackson Hall, and to top it all off, they were out of the mocha
syrup for her coffee. Lacey was two seconds away from saying fuck it and going
back to bed. If she didn’t have to study for her design test the next day, she
would have done just that.

So after settling on a
vanilla caramel latte, Lacey sat down in her normal spot and opened her books
to get started. She was hoping that Rachel would come out, but she wasn’t sure
on that. Rachel was completely and utterly engrossed with Grady. She didn’t
understand it since she thought Grady was a pig and totally not Rachel’s type,
but it didn’t bother her much. She had every right to be a bitch about it, but
there was really no point. Shouldn’t Grady be grateful for that? Instead, he
was a jerk and made Lacey feel like she was ten and not eighteen.

She knew that Karson was
trouble. Knew he had been with more girls than he could count on his hands and
feet, but it didn’t matter. Even if she was to get involved with him, his past
was his past. As long as he didn’t screw her over, she wouldn’t dig into it,
but none of that mattered because nothing was ever going to happen between
them. It couldn’t. No matter how much she liked his smile, or his laugh, or the
way he made her laugh. She enjoyed him way more than she should, and that was
why she was doing everything to stay clear of him, but it was getting so hard.

Letting out a long breath,
she ran her fingers along her scalp and scratched quickly. She couldn’t wait
for her hair to grow back out. She missed her long locks, but she was embracing
the pixie. She just wanted to think she looked normal because when she looked
in the mirror, all she saw was the girl who lost all her hair because of chemo.
The girl who lost her breasts because the cancer was very aggressive, and then
lost all the confidence in the world. It was shitty and she hated her luck, but
it was her reality. Maybe one day she’d get the money to buy herself some new
breasts, or maybe she’d design something that would make her feel like a woman
who was worthy of the attention of someone like Karson. She wished that she had
gotten them back when she had the chance, but she had tapped her father out on
money, and he said he didn’t want to take out a loan for them. She figured she
didn’t need them but obviously, she did. Back then, she was just glad to be
alive and wasn’t thinking long-term of what her life would be later, about how
all this would affect her—how it would affect her confidence. Letting out a
long breath, she closed her eyes, knowing she needed to let all that go. She
was alive, and she needed to work. She had to get her degree, so she could
start her life. She had to let Karson go. She just had to.

With a sadness filling her
chest, she got to work. She was well into her second study guide when she felt
Karson in the coffee shop. It was nuts how she could feel him near her. It was
a warm feeling that rested deep in her stomach every time he was around her.
She knew he would show up, he always did, but she did everything to ignore him.
No matter how hard it was. For the last week, she had done well, except for the
night before when he had showed up at her concert. The thought that he watched
her sing still made her breathless, but knowing that he took a punch from Grady
for her made her heart explode in her chest.

There was a pull between
them. One she didn’t understand, and as much as she wanted to let go of her
insecurities and believe that he could genuinely like her for her, while not
being disgusted when he saw her deflated breasts, she couldn’t do it. What man
would find that attractive? Especially a man as gorgeous and experienced as
Karson King: the captain of the Chicago Cats, the number-one player in the
state, who had a one-way ticket into the pros? Yeah, he wouldn’t find her
attractive. He wouldn’t want her after he saw that. No matter how much she
wanted to believe he would, she couldn’t. It wouldn’t happen.

Moving her hair to the
side, she tried to concentrate on her work, but she couldn’t. She wanted to
look at him, make sure his face was okay after her boneheaded brother knocked
him one. Grady was a big guy, and even though Karson was too, that punch had to
hurt. When the chair pulled out in front of her, she looked up to see Karson
settling into it, a single rose in one hand and a candle in the other. Letting
out an annoyed breath, even though she was happy to see him, she said, “Karson,
I’m—”

“Please, give me four
minutes of your time,” he pleaded as he slowly slid the rose toward her.

Lacey wanted to say no,
but she could see it in his eyes. He just wanted four minutes, and after that,
she’d turn him down nicely and they could go on without thinking of each other.
She wanted to believe that but, for some reason, she couldn’t help but think
she’d never forget Karson King. When she didn’t say anything, he smiled before
he slowly nodded his head. Suddenly, the lights cut off. Panicky, Lacey looked
around, trying to figure out what was wrong. Karson lit the candle, setting it
on the table, his gaze holding hers hostage. Lacey was too busy getting lost in
the depths of his eyes to wonder why he had a candle, or to notice when three
guys appeared behind him. The same three guys who sung with her in the
Catappellas—Marc, Jessie, and Roger.

When she did, she said in
confusion, “What’s going on?”

Karson only smiled, and
then Jessie started to play the guitar she hadn’t noticed he was holding. She
didn’t recognize the music at first, but then Marc started to sing and she knew
the song instantly. It was “True” by Ryan Cabrera. As they belted the song out,
Karson held her gaze, his eyes telling her that every word was true, and that
this song was meant for her from him. When he reached out, taking her hand in
his, she allowed him, and didn’t stop him when he pulled her up into his arms
before slowly swaying back and forth with her. She couldn’t stop staring into
his eyes. She was mesmerized and completely shocked that this was happening. He
smelled so good, and it felt unbelievable being wrapped in his arms as everyone
watched and the guys sang to them.

When the song ended,
Karson stopped moving and slowly lifted his hands up to frame her face, his
eyes searching hers. Softly, he said, “I can’t sing for shit, but I will pay to
have someone sing to you. I don’t dance well, but I’ll do it just for the
chance to touch you. I’m not one to listen to guys sing to find the perfect
song for a girl, but I did for you. Most of all, I don’t usually pour my heart
out to a person in front of a full coffee shop because I’m not that much of a
romantic, but for you, I’d do it all. I’d do anything to be with you, and I’ve
waited for someone like you my whole life. It’s true, all of it, and I would be
the luckiest man in the world if you’d agree to go out on a date with me.
Please give me the chance to make you fall for me, like I have been falling
since the first moment I set eyes on you.”

Never in her life had she
had someone so ruthlessly come after her. Her heart pounded in her chest as he
held her gaze. His eyes pleaded with her, begging for that chance. She wanted
to scream yes and never let go of him, but there was a part of her that had her
frozen with fear. “I’m terrified of you, Karson. You don’t know what you are
getting into. I’m just now picking up the pieces of my life. I can’t redo it
all when you run for the hills.”

“I’m not going anywhere,
Lacey. I’m here. I’m yours. Just give me the chance.”

Biting into the inside of
her cheek so hard it hurt, she closed her eyes as she leaned her forehead
against his lips, taking in a deep breath. She was given a second chance at
life to live it, not to hide. She had to live her life to the fullest, and a
part of her knew that she wouldn’t be living if Karson weren’t a part of her
life. Yes, she was terrified, and yes, there was a chance that he would
completely break her, but she couldn’t help but try. She didn’t care how crazy
it was. She felt the same thing he did. So she slowly nodded, as she looked
back up into the caramel eyes she craved to look into daily.