Endgame: An Ocean Bay standalone novel

by Chloe Walsh

  Sagging against him, I allowed him to take on my weight, as his fingers trailed over my skin.

  He had a loofah in one hand, and when he pressed it between my legs, a low moan escaped me. My body ached, I was still sore, but that didn’t stop my skin from igniting in a burst of desire the moment he put his hands on me.

  Rourke never said a word as he gently washed the blood from my body before working on himself.

  When he was finished cleaning us, he pressed another kiss to my neck and whispered, “Thank you for trusting me with this.”

  What could I say to that?

  You’re welcome?

  I love you?

  I want to keep you forever?

  I didn’t know what to say or how to act now. I knew exactly how I felt about Rourke, but I wasn’t sure of his feelings.

  Well, I knew he liked me, but I wasn’t entirely sure how deep that like went. Did he like me the way a guy liked a girl he had just slept with, or did it run deeper?

  Rourke called me his girlfriend today, but what did that mean for him?

  I wanted to be brave enough to ask him straight.

  To be the kind of girl who wasn’t afraid of a guy’s rejection.

  I’d never been afraid before, but now?

  Now, I was clueless.

  Of course, I ended up not saying anything at all. Keeping all of my thoughts safely locked up in my mind, I turned in Rourke’s arms and kissed him instead.

  Mercedes - One Month Later

  EVERYTHING CHANGED AFTER THAT DAY. My plans, my goals, what I thought I wanted and needed? It all changed. At the time, I hadn’t realized what a monumental moment in my life it was; climbing into his car, climbing into his bed, choosing to take a risk with him. That slope I had been teetering on since July had finally given out beneath my feet in tremendous fashion. And even now, I was still falling; slip sliding and tumbling blindly for a boy whose only promise to me was that he wouldn’t keep me forever.

  Rourke’s warnings when we first got together should have been enough to make me rethink having a relationship with him, but they weren’t because I was in love with him.

  There was no point in denying it anymore; not after spending every waking hour of the past month with him.

  It felt like the moment accepted Rourke’s offer of friendship, something inside of me gave way, allowing Rourke the power to take over every waking hour of my day.

  During the daytime, I watched him from a distance, sat beside him in class when I could, and thought about him all day long.

  At night, I waited for him to come to my room, heart hammering in my chest, nervous butterflies flapping around in my stomach. Every single night, I would lay in my bed waiting in wistful anticipation for the moment the mattress dipped beneath me and I was in his arms again, our bodies fused together, desperate and needy.

  I was in love with him. It made me weak and incredibly stupid, but there it was. Rourke Owens had taken ahold of my heart and I knew I wouldn’t be getting it back anytime soon.

  When I was with him, I felt everything. Every single emotion I had spent my whole life denying existed. An intense connection. A deep, yearning need. This burning ache in my chest. All of it…

  “YOU HAVE TO COME TONIGHT.” It was Friday afternoon and we were in our last class of the day. I had hoped to put my head down and learn something. Molly, however, had other ideas. “You’re Rourke’s girlfriend,” she hissed in my ear for the third time since class started almost an hour ago “How do you think it will look for the poor guy if you don’t bother showing up to a single one of his games?”

  “I’ve told you a million times,” I shot back, forcing down the urge to choke her into shutting up about the stupid game tonight. “I don’t like football.”

  Since it was public knowledge that I was dating our school’s star wide receiver, people kept coming up to me to tell me how excited they were about the game, and asking me how many touchdowns did I think Rourke would make.

  One guy even had the audacity to ask me if I could somehow persuade to score a specific number of touchdowns; apparently, he had a lot of money riding on Rourke’s performance tonight and was willing to split his winnings with me if I persuaded my boyfriend to score at specific times during the game.

  I told him to fuck off and I didn’t even like football. He then proceeded to get all huffy with me and say that Britt would have made it happen before stalking off.

  Of course, the mention of the former love of Rourke’s life did little to calm me down; the opposite in fact. Hate was a strong word, but I honest to god loathed Brittany Beckitt with every fiber of my being.

  Truly, I did.

  “Do you like Rourke?” Molly challenged sweetly, bringing me back to the present.

  “You know the answer to that,” I growled. I did more than just like Rourke.

  “Then prove it,” she countered, brown eyes narrowing. “Go to the homecoming game tonight and show him some support.” She raised a brow and added, “You know he’d do it for you.”

  Dammit! She had me there. “You only want me there to protect you from Daryl King and his creepy fascination with you!” Molly turned red and I smirked. “Go low with me, Molly Peterson, and I’ll go lower.”

  “He doesn’t have a creepy fascination with me,” she shot back, tone defensive.

  “No?” I raised a brow, calling her out on her bullshit. “Then why is he constantly watching you. And why does he always seem to show up wherever we go? Did you lie to me?” I asked then, narrowing my eyes. “Did you actually make out with him at that party instead of just talking like you said?”

  “I didn’t make out with Daryl,” she bit out. “We have a past. That’s all.”

  A past? “What past?” I leaned closer. “You never mentioned this before?”

  “Because there’s nothing to mention,” Molly replied. “Daryl and I were…friends a long time ago.” She bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before adding, “And now, we’re friends again. Just friends. End of story.”

  “You’re holding out on me,” I muttered, knowing full well she and Daryl weren’t just friends. There was something weird going on between them. Ever since her house party last month, Daryl and Molly had been joined at the hip.

  “Anyway, stop trying to change the subject,” Molly said. “The game. Tonight. You are coming, Mercy James.” Damn, she was freaking relentless.

  I’d been to one of Rourke’s football game at the start of the year and had come extremely close to barfing. Watching my boyfriend’s ex jump around the sidelines with her pom-poms and throw her arms around him when he was walking off the field had been enough to turn me off going to his games for life. Ugh.

  For the past month, Britt had been a consistent source of discord in my life. She had this infallible ability of causing trouble for me – even when she wasn’t around. If she wasn’t spreading rumors about me or tripping me up in the hallway between classes, she was laying on the charm with Rourke, flirting boldly with him right in front of me.

  To be fair to Rourke, he didn’t encourage her and always told her to stop, but it still hurt me. Knowing there was a period in Rourke’s life – a five fricking year long period – when Britt was the center of his world, made me feel incredibly inferior and insecure. And Britt, being the clever bitch she was, had immediately honed in on my blatant vulnerability and used it to her advantage at every opportunity.

  Like last weekend, for example. The Falcon’s had an away game in a place called Church Hall, a three-hour drive from Ocean Bay. Because of the distance, the school had agreed the team should stay overnight on Friday and travel back early Saturday morning.

  I had to work last weekend and couldn’t go, which I didn’t even care about, until Britt made it perfectly clear that the cheerleading team would be staying over in Church Hall, too.

  Several of the cheerleaders were dating footballers and both teams had inevitably ended up partying it up together in one of the hotel rooms. I didn’t s
leep a fricking wink that night and ended up stalking Britt’s numerous Snapchat updates and Instagram posts, checking for any of her with Rourke. There hadn’t been a single one, and that should have been enough to ease my mind. But I was seventeen and in love with the hottest, most unattainable boy at school; it didn’t exactly bring out the confident side of me.

  “I’m going to the dance, Molls,” I offered then. “Isn’t that enough?”

  All week long, the only thing people at school seemed to be interesting in talking about was the homecoming dance tonight. It was being held at Ocean Bay’s elite five-star hotel and country club on the outskirts of town. I found this totally weird since every public school I had ever attended held their dances in the school gym.

  The bell rang, signaling the end of last period, and I released a sigh of relief.

  “I’m done talking about this, Mercy,” Molly announced, tidying her books into her bag. She shoved her chair back and stood swiftly. “You are coming to the game tonight if I have to drag you there myself,” she said in an assertive tone. “Now, go home, grab some dinner, kiss the hell out of your boyfriend and wish him good luck, and then get your game face on. I’ll text you in a bit.” And then she skipped off, leaving me sitting at our desk with my mouth hanging open.

  Shaking my head to clear my thoughts of Britt and football games, I got up and slipped the straps of my backpack on my shoulders before falling into step with the hordes of students all barging towards the school entrance, eager to start their weekend.

  When I finally pushed through the main doors and managed to get outside, I descended the steps and hurried to the student parking area.

  Traffic was always hectic at the end of a school day. Unlike previous high schools I had attended, everyone at the Academy seemed to either have their own car or their own driver. It was crazy. In the month I had been here, I had never once seen a yellow school bus full of kids. I guess Ocean Bay Academy was too elite and too damn posh to dabble in public transportation.

  Head down, I marched through the crowd, eager to get to my destination.

  When I reached the student lot, my heart began to thud rapidly in my chest, excitement churning inside of me.

  There he was, leaning against the passenger side door of his truck, looking like the worst decision I would ever make, and still I bounded towards him, moving my feet in the direction of the only boy on this planet that had the ability to destroy me. Conflicted and overwhelmed with my feelings, I walked straight into the arms of my enemy turned lover.

  “Fuck, I’ve missed you all day,” Rourke whispered in my ear, wrapping me up in his arms.

  Rourke and I didn’t have any classes together on Fridays and it sucked.

  I didn’t reply, but my heart screamed the words back at him, even if my brain tried to shield me with silence.

  “Don’t say it back, Six,” Rourke teased. Releasing me from his hold, he opened the door of his truck for me and winked. “I’m in a real masochistic mood today and enjoy my girlfriend’s complete silence when I tell her how I’m feeling.”

  “Are you all set for the game tonight?” I asked as I climbed into the passenger seat and fastened my seatbelt. I needed to veer the subject away from feelings because if I cracked and told Rourke how I felt, I had a feeling he would run like the wind. He hadn’t said the L word and I was determined not to be the first one to admit it. I knew Rourke cared about me – he treated me like a freaking queen this past month – but love? I had no clue if he loved me or not and that terrified me.

  I watched as he closed my door and rounded the truck before hopping into the driver’s seat. Rourke cranked the engine and pulled into the long line of cars trying to exit the parking lot. “I’m always ready, Six,” he finally replied, tone breezy.

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re always cocky.”

  “I’m that too.” He grinned. “You changed your mind about coming tonight?”

  “Yeah.” I scrunched my nose up at the thought of it. “Molly threw a tantrum on me in econ. She’s practically forcing me to go to the game with her.”

  “Forcing you to go,” he repeated, tone deceptively low.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “For someone so tiny, she’s actually pretty damn bossy.”

  I watched as Rourke’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t respond to that, obviously lost in his own brooding thoughts.

  “Rourke?” I said, staring at the side of his face in concern. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” he finally replied after a long stretch of awkward silence. “Did you get a dress for the dance?”

  I nodded. “Molly’s going to loan me one of hers.”

  “Six.” He turned to face me, blue eyes snaring me. “If you need money –”

  “I’m fine borrowing a dress, Rourke,” I quickly interrupted. I hated that; him offering to buy me stuff. It was like the time he offered to fuck me. It made me feel like a charity case. A burden.

  “Fine.” He threw a hand up in exasperation. “Suit yourself.”

  Rourke

  I HAD NO FUCKING clue where I stood with the girl. One minute everything was rosy between me and Six and the next she was pulling away from me; retreating into herself. In all honesty, I had never been more confused in my life.

  Females were hard fucking work and I was quickly learning that no two were alike. In my limited experience, I always thought girls loved to go shopping and buy shit. Hell, anytime I had offered to buy Britt something when we were dating, she had practically clawed the black American Express card out of my wallet. Six had proven to be quite the opposite.

  I had unintentionally offended her when I offered to take her dress shopping for the homecoming dance last weekend. And bringing it up again this afternoon had been a stupid fucking move on my behalf.

  Personally, I didn’t see what the big deal was. Six was my girlfriend and I knew she didn’t have much – the majority of her income from the coffee shop was spent on gas and maintaining her car.

  Meanwhile, I had more than enough and was willing to share it with her. But every time I offered, she shot me down with a glare and a cutting remark.

  She was so damn prideful...

  “I booked us a suite at the hotel tonight,” I announced when I pulled into the driveway of our house a little while later and killed the engine.

  “You did?” Six’s voice was full of surprise. She turned in her seat, giving me her full attention. “Really?”

  “Really,” I replied a little cagey. I hadn’t been sure of what her reaction would be. I was half expecting her to get pissed with me like she had when I brought up the dress. “Figured it would be easier than trying to find a ride home in the middle of the night.”

  “I’ve never stayed in a hotel before,” Six squealed. Seconds later, she had her seatbelt off and was straddling my lap. “Thanks, Rourke. This is so fricking cool!”

  Relief flooded my body followed by a sudden pang of lust. Six bouncing up and down on my lap had me hard as rock. The tiny, grey school skirt she had on rode up from her movements, exposing the tiniest slither of pink lace.

  “You’re welcome,” I managed to squeeze out as I clamped my hands on her curvy waist and bit back a moan.

  “Rourke?” Her voice was softer now and full of awareness. Wrapping her arms around my shoulders, she made a slow rocking movement with her hips. “Are you okay?”

  “Yep.” I clenched my eyes shut and groaned, my dick straining to get to her. “I’m…good.”

  “Do you want to…” her voice trailed off and she rotated her hips in that sexy way that drove me out of my fucking mind. “Go up to your room for a little bit?”

  More than I wanted my next breath.

  “I can’t,” I bit out, jaw strained with tension. “No sex before a game.” I didn’t make the rules, and I rarely followed them, but football was important to me. When coach instilled the no sex on game day rule in sophomore year, I’d followed it no problem. But now, with my girlfriend pressing her tight, little pussy
down on my junk, I was having a sudden conflict of interests…

  “Are you sure?” Six rubbed against my hard-on again and whispered, “I won’t tell if you won’t.” She pressed her lips to my neck and nibbled. “It can be our little secret,” she continued to tease, as she rocked herself on top of my dick; small, breathy moans escaping her mouth with every thrust. “Our dirty, little secret.”

  Fuck me.

  I was done.

  Football could kiss my ass.

  Hell, the whole damn world could.

  I didn’t care.

  Growling in defeat, I caught Six’s face between my hands seconds before our lips crashed together violently.

  This girl.

  This fucking girl.

  I felt complete when I was around her, like I didn’t have to search for the comfort and approval I’d been trying to find since my mother died. Somehow, Six gave that to me. She was enough for me. Fucking her, tasting her, being inside her, was more than anything I could have hoped for. She was fucking perfect for me.

  I knew most of the guys at school would kill to have Six, but she was mine.

  All mine.

  And I had no intention of letting her go.

  Fucking never.

  Mercedes

  THE MOMENT WE MADE it to his bedroom and had our clothes off, Rourke was inside me, filling me deeply.

  “Rourke,” I cried out as the sensation of his cock filling me set my body on fire. “Omigod…yes!”

  “Fucking perfect,” he grunted as he hitched my legs over his shoulders and quickened the rhythm of his thrusts until he wasn’t just having sex with me; he was fucking me. Raw, carnal fucking that caused my pussy to clench and suck him in tighter.

  “God…” My body jolted violently from his merciless fucking and I had to press the palms of my hands against the headboard to stop myself from buckling from the pressure. “Harder,” I goaded, loving every second of it. “Fuck me harder, Rourke. I can take it.”

  The growl that tore from Rourke’s chest then was so guttural and raw that it caused my orgasm to take ahold of me, and I came hard, the muscles in my core clenching tightly around his cock.