Rocked (Rock & Romance II.)

Chapter 2. - Playing the Game

A/N: Well, yes. So I have a thing for men with long hair. Obviously. Been trying to convince T for aaages to grow it out, but here we are. What's your guilty pleasure?

This chapter is dedicated to Mehraaneh ! Thank you for the continuous support!

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*Gia*

"Let's play a game, before you take off, firecracker."

I blinked, looking up at Ash in question.

Without me having to ask, he added. "You keep eyeing the door, like your life depended on it." He tilted his head back, and downed the rest of his glass. The empty cup was then tossed carelessly on the counter, and before I knew it, his big hand wrapped around mine, and Ash begun pulling me toward the exact crowd I was hoping to escape.

"I'm not much for-" I trailed off, looking at the various high school drinking games this group of rich, famous people were currently participating in. "-beer pong. Who plays beer pong in real life, anyway?"

"Tonight, you will." Ash winked, walking us over to the table, and telling the guys setting up to get lost.

Without a word of protest, they scrambled away, leaving the fully filled up cups to Ash and I.

"Let's see if your hands are just as precise as your sharp tongue." He took his position across the table from me, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Ladies first. Always."

I rolled my eyes at the blatant sexual reference he wasn't even trying to hide from me. Despite claiming that he wasn't interested in getting under my dress, his dark, wandering gaze suggested the exact opposite.

I lifted the little ping pong ball, and tossed it toward his cups. I figured that my chances of actually making it would substantially increase if I angled the throw at a higher curve, instead of throwing it straight on.

I was right.

My ball landed in his middle cup with a small plopping sound. A few droplets of beer splashed out, and I didn't try to disguise my satisfied grin. "Drink up, pretty boy!"

Ash downed the cup in a single swing, and tossed his to the side. "My turn." He warned, releasing his ball-

-which landed in the red solo cup closest to me. Fuck.

I drank, doing my best to ignore the bitter taste of the brown liquid. "You're going to get it this time..." I promised, tossing my ball with a little more effort behind it. The beer splashed on his black jeans, coating him with sticky foam.

We continued this game of back and forth, rarely missing any shots, until there was only one cup left, for both of us.

I held the ping pong ball in my hand, lifting it to aim as I stuck my tongue out. I was a 'one glass of wine with dinner' type of girl, hardly a drinker, and my head was swimming with the amount of alcohol I have quickly consumed in such a short period of time.

Ash leaned on the table, placing his hands on either side of the cup. "Let make this a little more interesting, shall we?"

I tilted my head to the side as I lowered the ball. "What are you thinking?"

"The loser has to grant the winner's wish - whatever it might be." Ash's eyes held sparkling diamonds in them, and I couldn't tell if it was from the drinks, or from something more sinister.

But I wanted to find out.

My body responded to his look, my thighs helplessly pressing together, trying to create some friction to help with my suddenly pressing need. "I already told you, Ash. I'm not sleeping with you." But the words sounded less and less convincing by the minute.

Ash's reply was a confident smirk. "I didn't ask you to, baby. But for someone who claims to be so disinterested in sex, you sure bring it up a lot."

I flushed, my pale skin probably turning the subtle shade of a ripe tomato. That was the thing about natural redheads - our skins were basically transparent. And now my thoughts were written all over my body for probably the last person who should ever see them.

"Fine. We can play it your way. It'll be you who will be forced to massage my feet for an hour while singing the unreleased songs from your newest album." I cocked a brow, feigning confidence I no longer felt. There was something unnerving about Asher Wolfhart. Something not exactly scary, but threatening and terrifying in a very carnal way.

To my words, a watched an array of emotions cross his handsome face - desire, yearning, then denial - reminding me of some sort of sexual fetish London talked about a while back. Now I wished I paid more attention to her ramblings about the different members of Hazmat.

Because standing face-to-face, in a stare-off contest with Ash made me want to have the upper hand.

"Be careful what you wish for, baby." Ash warned, his husky voice dripping with promises.

"And if you win?" I wandered, out loud.

Someone howled at the left of me in a very suggestive manner, and I discovered that we had attracted an audience. A small group of people stopped on either side of us to watch the game unfold, clearly curious about the final outcome.

I supposed, I must've been drunker than I thought, because my attention was focused solely on Ash. The rest of the world might as well have ceased to exist around us in this moment.

"You'll just have to wait to find that out!" Ash grinned, his pearly whites somehow looking sharper than before.

I nodded. This was an extremely bad idea. The worst idea I've ever agreed to. And I loved it. "You're on!" I said confidently, my voice coming across a lot more sure than I actually felt.

I aimed, then released the ball.

The world spun in slow motion as I watched my ping pong fly straight toward his single, loan cup. The small white object connected with the rim, to my utter delight, rolled around and-

-dropped out to the side, and slid off the table.

I exhaled. A few people snickered around me, but I was no longer concerned with them. I lost.

Not technically lost - not yet, at least. Ash had to make his shot in order for me to really lose. But I couldn't shake the dreadful feeling that it was over.

He picked up his ball confidently, holding out his pinky as he as he gracefully sent the ball flying. It bounced once, in the middle of the table, and flew straight into my cup. Now it was really over.

"Don't take it personally, babes." One blonde I've been introduced to earlier commented. "Ash never makes a bet he knows he can't win. And he always wins."

This would've been a very helpful piece of information two minutes ago! Now, it was too little too late.

And I wasn't naive enough to believe that Ash would let this bet go anytime soon.