The Perfect Game (The Perfect Game 1)

I leaned toward the phone and squinted at the grainy photo on its screen. It was definitely Jack holding open a hotel room door as a skinny, dark-haired girl walked through it.

“And this one too. ” She scrolled to another photo of Jack smiling while closing the door behind his new friend.

I fought off the heat rising in my body. “It looks like him. ” I sniffed in dismissal and forced myself to hold it together while I walked away with my head held high.

The sound of giggling echoed in my ears as I forced back the tears that burned in my eyes. I refused to let the mean girls see me crumble.

I strode toward Dean, my gaze burning holes through him. “What was that?” he asked when I got close enough to hear.

I dropped into a seat at their table. “That was a picture of some chick walking into Jack’s hotel room. ” My eyes began blurring from the tears that threatened to fall. “And then another one of him closing the door behind her. Did I mention the smile plastered all over his face?”

“No way. ” Dean shook his head.

“Yes, way. ” Unease quickly spread throughout my body, making itself at home. “ Fuck. I’m such an idiot. ”

Dean put his hands on top of mine and squeezed. “Maybe they’re old?”

“What are you talking about?” I yanked my hands away.

“There are a lot of pictures of Jack and other girls out there, Cass. Maybe they’re old?” He shrugged.

I winced, suddenly feeling vulnerable in my surroundings as the mean girls watched me greedily like coyotes from several tables away.

“Jack wouldn’t do that to you. ” Melissa attempted to reassure my splintering ego.

“I wouldn’t go that far. ” I choked out the words, my tone cold.

Melissa frowned at me with annoyance. “Why would you say that?”

“Because she knows my brother. ” Dean glanced at Melissa before looking back at me. “And she’s waiting for him to screw up because he keeps telling her he’s going to. ”

“Well, for the record, I want it noted that I don’t believe it. Not for one second,” Melissa said with confidence.

“I don’t either. ” Dean gave me a soft smile.

“Well, it was definitely Jack in those pictures. And the shirt he was wearing was packed in his bag. I saw it the other night. ” I could no longer hold back the tears as they rolled slowly down my cheeks. Refusing to allow my tears to be fodder for the mean girls’ gossip, I rose from the table and darted into the bathroom.

Once I was safely behind the locked stall door, I let the teardrops fall. My heart ached inside my battered chest. I felt stupid and embarrassed for letting Jack Carter ever get close to me.

A knock on the stall door caused my breath to catch. “Cass?” Melissa asked in a soft voice. Without a word, I unlocked the latch and she pushed the door open. She took one look at my tear-stained face before grabbing me in her arms.

Hugging my best friend only made the tears fall harder. “Why would he do this? I don’t understand. ”

“Cassie, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but you’re really jumping to conclusions here. ”

“You’d do the same thing if you were suddenly dating the one guy who’d never dated anyone before. ” I winced, my head pounding in time with my heartbeat.

“I know it looks bad, but didn’t he call you last night?”

“So what? He calls and texts me all the time. Doesn’t mean he can’t hook up with some girl after we get off the phone. Doesn’t mean he can’t send me a text while some random chick is in his room. ” The logic made perfect sense to me.

“That’s true, Cass, but I just think you should give him a chance to explain. ”

“Explain that I’ve been a complete idiot? That I got played by the biggest player on campus? You even warned me about him. ” I buried my head in my hands, my chest literally aching with each breath I took.

“But I was wrong. I mean, I wasn’t wrong that he was a jerk to all those other girls. But he’s not that way with you. You know that, Cassie. There has to be some sort of explanation. ”

“Why are you defending him?” I glared at her through my sobs.