Playing His Game (The Reynolds Brothers) (20 page)

Taking a few deep
breaths I stand back up and move over to the sink. My complexion has looked
better. I'm pale as a ghost and drops of perspiration are forming on my
forehead. I twist the nob on the faucet and splash my face with cold water. The
frigid cold feels good against my warm skin.

"Winn, open
up," Scott shouts from the other side of the door. I turn the faucet off
and dry my face with the burnt orange cotton towel he has next to the sink.
Opening the door I come face to face with Scott.

"I'm fine.
Let's get back out there." Pushing past him I walk down the hallway, but
he stops me, placing an arm on my shoulder

"Winnie, if
you're not okay with this I won't do it."

His words are what
I've been waiting to hear since he dropped the porn bomb on me last night. All
I've wanted was a say in this choice, but now that I have one can I actually
say no? Could I actually allow myself to be the person that takes this
opportunity away from him... when so much is on the line?

I can't.

I don’t want him
to do this and I especially don’t want him to do it with Tawny, but he has to.
This is his only option.

I keep my back to
him as I answer, "It's fine Scott. This is your only way out."

I roll my shoulder
to loosen his grip and walk the rest of the way down the hallway. When I enter
the living room I sit back down next to Tawny. She's looking at me concerned
but she doesn't say anything. Scott follows behind me and sits back on the
couch with Don.

"Do you need
time to think it over?" Don asks him, glancing at me and then back at
Scott.

"No, man.
We're good."

"Awesome. I'm
jazzed for this. I already have titles scrolling through my head. This is going
to make me rich and after your initial pay-out, you'll get a percentage of the
sales, too."

"As long as I
get my money from you after the shoot next Tuesday, I'll be happy."

"You've got
yourself a deal," Don says, shaking Scott's hand. He gets up and tells
Scott he'll call him later in the week with the details and Tawny walks Don
out, telling us she'll call later.

After all the
commotion of the past hour it's now just Scott and I in his living room and I
want to be anywhere but here. We sit, unmoving, and I have no idea what to say
to him. I just agreed to let him fuck Tawny on film. I think... I think I have
a lot of thinking to do.

I don't know if I
can be with him after this. It was fine in the beginning, because that was the
agreement I made with him, but it's different now. I've finally admitted to
myself that I'm in love with him. Hell, I told him that last night. He may have
been passed out but it was still a big deal to me. How do I get over the fact
that the man I love is going to be screwing another woman in a week? I can't.

"So... I've
got to go. Autumn's still training me on the new business software and I'm not
getting it at all."

"Are you sure
you're okay with all of this?" Scott asks again.

I don't look at
him as I stand up and move to the front entryway to grab my purse.

"Yeah, sure.
I mean, it's your only option and it's an easy way to get the money, so you've
got to do it, right?"

While I'm slipping
on my shoes he walks over to me and waits for me to look up at him.

"It's Tawny
so it's no big deal, right? We'll be okay?" he asks me.

"We'll be
fine. I'm not your girlfriend, remember?" I reply slightly colder than I
intended. "We'll talk later, Scott."

I pause and look
up at him while I'm opening the front door. "Just don’t sabotage this by
doing something stupid. Stay away from your buddies, stay away from your bookie
and don't leave the house unless you have to. You need this money, Scott. Don't
spend it before it's even yours."

I leave him to
ponder what I've said and walk down to my car, not even looking back to see if
he's watching me.

Chapter Seventeen

Scott

I'm bored. I'm
fucking bored and I can't leave this fucking house because the desire is too
intense. If I leave here I'll fuck up this deal with Don and it'll prove to
Winnie that I'm not strong enough.

Winnie.

After she left my
house on Tuesday morning I expected to hear from her later in the day or for
her to stop by in the evening in time to go to bed, but I got nothing. No call
or text and I'm not going to be a pussy and call her. She's the one who left me
here and she obviously needs some time, but how much time am I supposed to give
her?

I'm pathetic and
she feels sorry for me. It's the only explanation to why she won't come fucking
see me, but she'd sent a guy out to fix my sliding glass door and she had
groceries delivered on Thursday. When I went to pay the door guy and the
grocery company, they both said the bills were taken care of.

I'm her fucking
charity case.

It's been five
days since I've seen her and this is the longest we've gone apart since she
moved to California. I never noticed how much time we spend together until this
week and that's why I blame her for my boredom. She's usually my entertainment.

I've surfed, taken
Sinatra for a two-hour walk, showered, talked to a potential real estate client
and cleaned the house, but I still have half the day left and nothing to do. I
need something to do. I've even jacked-off twice but I've been doing that so
often the last few days that my dick needs a break.

My remote's
getting a workout, too, but that’s mostly because there is nothing on TV to
help me with my boredom. I'm not a TV kind of guy. I finally settle on a
Saved
by the Bell
marathon and relax into my sofa. I haven't seen this show since
I was a kid and I loved it then.

I'm dosing in and
out because as I've come to find out, the show isn't as great as I remember. My
phone goes off next to me and I check to see who it is.

Jared: How's
the face?

Me: Getting
better and better.

Jared: I'll be
there in five to check it out.

Fuck.

I've been trying
to avoid him all week. When he finds out about the porn shoot he's going to be
pissed, but I rather have him pissed than disowning my ass. I don’t move from
the couch because I'm not a chick. I don't care about straightening up my place
or brushing my teeth before a guest arrives.

I'm in the middle
of watching the episode where
Zack
and
Kelly
break up when Jared
comes barging through the door. Just another reason I need to get my key back
from him.

"You look
better but you still look like shit," he greets me as he enters the living
room and plops down on the love seat. "Have you heard anything back from
the cops or the credit companies?"

"Nothing
yet." This is why I've been avoiding his ass. I feel guilty for lying to
him.

"They'll
catch the bastards. Listen, I didn't come over here to bitch about your face. I
came over here to talk about Winnie. You break up with her or something?"

I shoot him a
dirty look before sitting up on the couch. I'm lounging around in a ribbed tank
and pajama bottoms. I can't imagine what Jared is thinking right now.

"I didn't
break up with Winnie. We were never going out."

"So you're
just not fucking her anymore?"

"I didn't say
that either."

"Well,
something's going on because she's moping around the house like a love sick
school girl. It doesn't bother me much, but Autumn's on my ass about it. She's
worried about her and now I'm worried about her. You promised you wouldn't fuck
her over."

I get up from the
couch and make my way into the kitchen to grab two beers. It's easy for him to
say that to me, he's never had half the issues I do. His perfect looks have
always nailed him the ladies and once he started getting tatted the rest of us
weren't even competition. Women like the bad boy. Sure, he had a tough time
right after high school when Coral died, but his rebellion was child's play
compared to the crap I've put our family through.

"For your
information, she's the one shutting me out. She just needs some time to think
and then everything will be back to the way it should be," I reply,
handing him a bottle of beer and then sitting back down on the couch across
from him.

"What
happened that made her shut you out?"

"It's a long
story. I don’t want to get into."

"Well, fix it
fast. Her birthday's coming up in two months and I don't want this shit between
you ruining her day and what we have planned for her."

"I know her
birthday's coming up. I'm the one who came up with the idea, asshole." I
chug the entire bottle of beer, pissed that he's bringing this shit up. I'm not
going to ruin Winnie's fucking birthday.

"Good,
because she's never been there before and she always wanted to go as a kid. You
can't screw this shit up."

"I
won't."

"Alright,
Scott. I'll let you fix whatever is going on between you and Winnie. I'm going
to head out, but if you need anything let me know. Did you change your mind
about letting me borrow you money?"

"No, I'm
good. Thanks though."

"Okay. I'll
talk to you soon."

Jared gets up and
walks out the front door while I head to the kitchen and grab another beer. I'm
suddenly in the mood to drink.

★★★

"Just come in
and don't be nervous. Since we're going for the whole sex tape vibe we're going
to shoot at my friend Matt's house and not a warehouse. He lives up in Thousand
Oaks so the drive shouldn't be too bad. Be prepared for anything because that's
pretty much what we're going to do. The shoot will only take a few hours and
then you'll have your money." Don's voice sounds a little muffled through
the phone.

"In cash,
right? It's too late for me to take a check, Donnie."

"In cash and
then you can give it right to whoever you owe. Are you going to drive in with
Tawny or should I call her to fill her in?"

"Can you call
her? I'm going to drive up there solo. Clear my head a little."

"Sounds good,
man. When you get to the house I'll need you to go and rub one out. You're new
to this so I need you to last as long as possible with Tawny. I'll have some
drugs on hand, too-"

"I'll be
fine, Don."

"Regardless,
you still need to masturbate. Even the best do it. How's that mug of
yours?"

I look at my
reflection in the bathroom mirror. My face is back to normal with the exception
of the light yellowish bruises around my eyes. I have a week’s worth of facial
hair, but I'm about to shave that off right now.

"My face
looks good, just a few faded bruises. Nothing a little make-up can't fix."

"Good to
hear. Listen, I’ve got to call Tawny so I'll see you in the morning."

"Bye."

I place my cell
down on my sink and look back at my reflection. I look pathetic, I feel
pathetic, and I miss Winnie. Fuck, I miss Winnie. I need her more than anything
right now and I'm still getting radio silence from her. Tomorrow is a big deal
and I thought I'd have her there with me for support, but by the looks of
things I'll be going at it alone.

I pick up the
razor and shave off the beard I've grown this past week and then turn off the
lights in the house and head to my room. Sinatra follows me and gets on the bed
with me as I slide under the covers. Maybe I should just text her. The least I
can do is let her know what's going on tomorrow. She might still want to know.

I scroll down my
messages until I find her name and then I type one out to her and hit send.

Me: Leaving
here at 8am tomorrow to drive up to the shoot. Just thought you'd want to know.

Chapter Eighteen

Winnie

Scott's pulling
out of his driveway as I'm pulling up to his house. I quickly park on the side
of the street and climb out of the car just as Scott spots me and puts his
truck in park. I walk over to the passenger side of his Dodge and open the
door.

"Hi," I
whisper as I climb inside and shut the door.

"I didn't
think you'd come."

I look over at him
for the first time and he looks much better than he did the last time I saw
him. His lip is healed and the swelling in his nose is gone, leaving only faint
bruises around his eyes. He looks at me with those beautiful gray eyes and I
melt inside. All of the emotions and inner turmoil of the past week threaten to
push to the surface.

"I wasn't
going to, but then you texted me and I changed my mind."

His hand comes out
to touch my thigh but then he quickly rethinks it and sets it down in the open
space between us. "I'm glad you did. I need you here today."

"That's why
I'm here."

I sit back and
buckle up for the hour or so drive we have ahead of us. After Scott's text last
night I called Tawny to get the details of today's shoot. She was excited about
filming, completely ignoring any signals I might have given her that I was
uncomfortable.

The last week has
sucked. I've barely been able to focus on work, instead, choosing to mope
around the house and drive my sister and Jared crazy. The only bright moment in
the week was going with Autumn to the doctor and having him confirm that she is
pregnant. We laughed, we cried and we jumped for joy. She is going to be the
best mother in the world and I get to be the fun auntie.

I thought for sure
she would want to tell Jared the news that night, but she's holding off for the
right time. Whatever that means.

The rest of the
week I was left sulking over what I should do about Scott. I love him and I
want him to clean up his life, but I know he has to do this shoot today. I also
know I can't watch a second of it. The thought of watching him and Tawny
together, now that I have feelings for him, makes me physically ill.