Chapter 9

Twiddling my thumbs, I stared at the ceiling as I tried to stop my mind from thinking. My legs were aching, my core was hurting, and I felt like I was going to be sick. I’d only managed to sleep for fifteen minutes before my mind decided to wake me up, leaving me with just my thoughts and worries about what was going to happen between Dash and me after all of this.

I rolled my head to the side and looked at Dash. He was sleeping soundly, and even with the little light that was available in the room, he looked beautiful. I had an urge to snuggle into him and wake him up for another round, but I knew that was only prolonging the inevitable heartbreak that was going to come my way.

I slept with Dash, and I already knew that no one could compare to him. Even when he found out I was a virgin, he didn’t stop because he wanted to make it good for me. I felt cared for. It might be a little foolish, but I felt loved. My chest was heating as I pushed a hair out of his face, admiring his long lashes. It was strange seeing him sleeping like this. Without that permanent scowl, he seemed peaceful, and I only hoped that I was part of the reason for it. He was everything I ever wanted, but I knew deep down that the minute he woke up, he’d come to his senses and push me away.

Before having sex with him, I was confident I could handle that, but I didn’t have as much certainty in myself now.

Biting my bottom lip, I looked at him one last time before rolling off the bed and tiptoeing around the room to find my clothes. Once I came out of the bathroom, the harsh reality of what I’d done came crashing down. Looking at Dash still snuggled in the sheets, I felt my heart breaking a little. One night with my dream guy wasn’t enough. I wanted forever, and even suggesting the idea was a rookie error on my part. One brought on from desperation.

Dash was everything, but could he see past my brother enough to give me a chance? I didn’t think so. Sometimes I wished I was just another uncomplicated girl at Covey U. One that he met at The Draft with no history. I rolled my eyes because I was basically wishing to be Sienna. She probably had one-night situationships all the time. I doubted there was a guy in this college who could keep her interest for longer than a few hours. If she were me right now, she’d take the emotion away and just walk out on the guy. That was what probably kept them interested.

I took a sharp breath, thinking about my own situationship, and as I looked at Dash nuzzling into a pillow, thinking it was me, a thought came to mind.

What would Dash do if he woke up and I wasn’t here?

I smiled just thinking about his reaction. He’d be pissed because that wasn’t something I’d do. I was his ‘good girl’, but what if I turned bad and left? He’d probably text me, annoyed, and he’d have to come to my dorm to check out where I’d gone. Either way, his attention would still be on me. Exactly where I wanted it.

I started smiling because it was all coming together in my head. That was precisely what I needed to do.

Leave.

He knew that I had liked him for years, so he’d totally expect me to stay here and most likely try to convince him for at least one more round. Honestly, that was pretty much my plan before we slept together, but what if I tried something different? What if I tried something unexpected? A different strategy worked at The Draft. Kissing Dash made him loosen up and kiss me back. A different strategy got him to sleep with me. If it wasn’t obvious he wanted me before that, it was damn obvious now. He just wasn’t ready to deal with the guilt of betraying his best friend that dating me brought along with it.

If Dash and I were going to have any chance of taking our relationship to the next level, I needed to play a different game. I needed to be the confident, sexy, experienced girl who chewed men up and spat them out.

What would Sienna do?

It could be my new motto. Sienna would play it cool because she knew she had the guy by the balls. So that was exactly what I was going to do, too. Take his balls out with me. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Let him worry and have to find me.

Grinning so widely, I could feel my cheeks aching. I grabbed my jeans and shucked them on, sans underwear, since I figured Dash would find them somewhere in the room, which would be his first positive reminder of me.

I slowly opened his drawer, careful not to make any noise, and pulled out a gray T-shirt with our high school logo on it and put it on. I immediately melted at the smell of him surrounding me, and I was fighting the urge to go back to bed and snuggle with him. If I had Dash by the balls, then he had me by the soul.

It was cold out, but I decided to leave my sweatshirt here since it meant Dash would have to see me to return it.

Blowing out a breath, I grabbed my purse and phone and headed to the door. Taking one last glance at Dash, who was still wiped out and looking gorgeous, I blew him a kiss and snuck out of his room, ready to see how far I could push this.

Turning my phone flashlight on, I nearly screamed when I saw a body asleep out on the couch. The guy’s butt wiggled a little, the blanket covering him fell off. It was then I saw the back of his shirt and realized it was Erik. I didn’t know why he’d passed out on the couch instead of walking those two extra feet to his room, but I wasn’t going to wake him up to find out .

I carefully snuck through the lounge, straight to the elevator, and as my finger hovered over the button, I stopped myself. If I pressed that, the ding might wake Erik, so I crept past the elevator doors, over to the stairs, and skipped out of the hockey dorm.

Shuffling down the steps, I was holding back a giggle because I got away with it. It was three a.m., and I was sneaking out of a one-night stand. When I made it out of the building, I started jogging to my dorm block, giggling the entire way. I felt naughty. Not only was I running around campus in the middle of the night, but I was leaving Dash behind, and I could only imagine his reaction when he didn’t find me in bed with him in the morning.

Would he text me or come running to my dorm?

Either way, I was ready for his next move.