The Sweetest Game(18)

The truth of that sentence sucked the air from my lungs and I almost doubled over in the middle of the airport. Dean was right. And even though I wasn’t the type of person who prayed, I would definitely start praying tonight.

We stopped walking as other people from their flight started filling in the space around us. Melissa looked around. “Any paparazzi follow you here?”

I smiled. “They’ve backed off since the article with Vanessa came out. You know that. Although I am a little surprised they aren’t more up my ass since Jack got hurt.”

“Be thankful.”

“Oh, trust me, I am. The last thing I need is for them to catch wind of Jack’s piss-and-vinegar attitude.”

Melissa glanced around. “So, where’s our hot driver? Meow,” she said playfully, raising her eyebrows as I smacked her shoulder.

“He’s home with his pregnant wife, you whore. She wasn’t feeling well and I told him I’d go with another driver.”

“Well, that’s no fun.” Her bow-shaped lips puckered into that famous Meli pout.

I glanced at Dean, who tried to pretend like her words didn’t bother him, but his body language said otherwise. His back had stiffened and his lips had pressed together into a slight snarl. Glancing back at Melissa, I asked, “Who needs Matteo when you have Dean?”

Dean glanced at me, a sarcastic smirk replacing the snarl. “We all know I’m not good enough for Princess Melissa here.” He waved his hand in her direction.

“What?” Melissa snapped back. “Whoever said you weren’t good enough for me? And don’t call me Princess!”

Tension practically crackled in the air between them, and I sighed.

Dean squinted his hazel eyes and lowered his face to hers. “If you actually liked me back, Princess, then we’d be together right now.”

She rolled her eyes. “We are together right now, dummy.”

“No. I mean we’d be a couple and you know it. Stop avoiding the subject.”

“I’m not avoiding anything. You’ve never even asked,” Melissa half-shouted over the sound of the baggage claim carousel kicking into gear.

“Asked? Asked you what? I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about right now!” Dean threw his hands into the air before pacing back and forth. “You make me crazy, you know that?”

Melissa shrugged her slim shoulders. “I don’t even do anything.”

He stopped pacing and pointed a finger at her. “You don’t even do anything? YOU DON’T EVEN DO ANYTHING?” he repeated as his face reddened.

“That’s what I said.” She looked at me before smiling and flipping her hair.

Listening to this verbal ping-pong match all weekend was going to be the death of me. I stepped between them and gritted out, “Holy shit, you two, shut up. Work it out in the bedroom. Please, for the love of all that’s holy … just work it out.”

“I’ve been trying for the last two years,” Dean said through gritted teeth.

“He always makes me the bad guy!” Melissa yelled before stomping away.

Dean’s hands flew to the back of his head, where he threaded his fingers through his hair. “She is going to fucking kill me. Look at her.”

I did as he asked and stifled a laugh. Melissa was currently struggling to get her suitcase off the spinning carousel. The damn thing looked twice her size and she was being dragged along as she yanked at it, unable to maneuver it over the edge and onto the floor.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” I nudged his rib cage with my shoulder.





When we got into the car, I positioned myself in the rear seat between Dean and Melissa, feeling like a referee just waiting to blow my whistle and shout, “Interference!” or “Offside!” But neither of them so much as looked at the other. This was going to be a long few days.

Dean stared out the car window, his eyes widening as he took in the views. I remembered how alive I felt the first time I came here. In the midst of my Jack-shattered heart, New York seemed to be the only place that could mend it. It buzzed with energy in the day, but it created it at night. I loved this city.

“Wait until you see the view from our balcony.”

Dean turned to me. “I can’t believe you guys live here.”

“It’s pretty awesome, right?” I smiled.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The car slowed to a stop as we pulled in front of our building. “We’re here.”

Dean didn’t wait for our driver to open his door. “This looks like something straight out of Disneyland,” he said, glancing up at the light bulbs that lined the awning over our building’s entrance, and I laughed.