***

I raised an eyebrow at Liz.

Surely she couldn't know about that.

Liz took her phone out from her pocket and tapped around for a few seconds before she handed it to me. I quickly got a hold of it, eager to know what she was insinuating.

The Queen of Players

The 'Legendary Player' has finally been outplayed, ladies.

Leon Stone has had his heart crushed into pieces by the infamous player from New York: The Black Widow.

If anyone could make Leon fall so foolishly, it was her. And she has definitely lived up to the expectations.

Well played, Cross.

"Poor boy," I heard Liz say.

As I looked up from the screen, I saw she had pulled a pouty little, mocking face, which completely vanished before she spoke up again. "He's hot, though. You gotta' at least give him that."

I scrolled down to see a picture of Leon and I sitting down in the school's cafeteria, looking at each other with a playful expression. I almost didn't recognize myself. I let out an amused chuckle, but my eyes were lacking of any emotion. "Oh yeah, I had completely forgotten about that," I muttered.

"I'm not surprised, considering I've read all about the trail of broken hearts you've left behind in NYC. You've been dumping guys left and right," Liz said and giggled.

I just replied with a smile, she had one of those contagious laughs.

"Anyway, now that you're all settled in, we can finally get to having the real fun," she said as she got up from my bed.

Liz stopped dead by the door and whipped her head towards me. "Suit up, girl. We're going out."

I rolled my eyes, then sat there reminiscing about the year I'd left behind. I had had my fun those last few months but now I was about to move on to bigger and better things.

Could Rhode Island really handle me? I guess we were going to find out soon.

Ready or not, here I come.

***

As we glided in through the front door a few heads turned to look at me and my girl. Soon everyone in there was eyeing us up and down, giving us their full attention.

Just the way I like it.

Liz and I sure knew how to make an entrance.

I scouted the place before making my way deeper into the party,  then grabbed the drink of a good looking guy as he stood there talking to another girl.

The look on my face was innocent at first.

He was looking a little confused as to what had happened until he met my intense gaze.

While he took his time to process the situation, I gave him my signature smirk, took a sip of his beer and slowly wiped a little from my lips as I gave him back his cup. He ogled me up while I looked at the girl.

She seemed pissed as hell, her scowl burning through me.

Isn't she adorable?

I turned my whole body in her direction and clicked my tongue. "Cute glare."

With that, I glanced back at the guy, shot him a wink and, right before I was out of the girl's sight, I smirked at her. Watching her face light up with rage made me want to laugh.

People need to learn how to control their emotions, for their own good.

As I walked away from them, I began making out the sound of music that was playing from further inside the house. I started to let loose as I came closer to the dance floor, I guess one's body relaxes the second it steps foot in the comfort zone.

I spotted Liz almost immediately, dancing seductively against a guy. She certainly had wasted no time at all. Smiling, I shook my head in amusement at how remarkably quick she had captured that clueless frat boy.

I taught her well.

Fully aware that I was already the focus of most of the guys' attention, I closed my eyes and moved my hips to the rhythm, then ran my hands through my hair before lifting them both up in the air.

For some reason guys are exceptionally attracted to a woman who is laid back and carefree, someone assertive who doesn't hold anything back.

In a matter of seconds I had a bunch of them dancing around me, pretending as though they hadn't seen me. They obviously didn't want to look desperate.

How subtle, I thought to myself - but they were not what I was after.

I looked around innocently, scanning the room. My eyes landed on a tall, well built guy with dark brown, curly hair and a sharp jawline covered by a well kept stubble.

His eyes were this tone of brown... almost copper - they kind of reminded me of someone.

If only I could remember his name.

He was wearing a dark shirt, some well fitted jeans and a really cocky, overconfident smirk that undoubtedly made him stand out from the rest. Overall, he looked like my next victim.

I gave him a sultry smile as I checked him out.

Pity his nose was too big for his face. But then again we can't all be perfect, can we?

I smirked at my own thoughts, locking eyes with this guy, who clearly liked what he saw and began making his way over to me.

Suddenly my view was blocked by Liz.

Right as I was about to glare a hole through her head, she grabbed my wrist and shot me a cheeky grin. Instead, I narrowed my eyes at her and a suspicious expression fell on my face.

I knew that look. She was definitely up to no good.

Leaning over her shoulder so I could see "Hot and Curly" over there, I smirked and whispered into Liz's ear, "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."

She gave me a confused look before she started laughing as if I had said something hilarious. Then she hugged me and discreetely spun me around (or at least that's how Liz thought it must've looked) to get a better look at the poor boy.

At this point he looked like unsuspecting prey as he cluelessly fought his way through the spider webs - just to get to whom he foolishly thought was his long awaited mate.

Liz's expression contorted into an amused grin. She looked at me again and arched her eyebrows."I can see that," she pointed out. "He's hard to miss."

There was a brief pause as she studied him for a little while longer. "Nice." She scrunched her nose and bit her lip, then looked back at me and gave me an approving smile.

I just exhibited my pride with a mischievous smirk.

"But he kinda' looks a little like..." Liz trailed off, her eyes clearly alluding to a certain player.

I cut her off instantly by pressing my cold beer against her lips, "Not a word." I scolded. My stare went back to the guy. "Besides. I already have my target and I got him right where I want him," I said coldly.

"Yeah, well..." she took a good sip of the beer. "I found something better."

That was all she had to say for me to be interested in whatever it was she was hinting. I snapped my eyes back at Liz, giving her all my attention.

Instead of explaining, she dragged me to another room of the house which looked like the living room; to be honest it was hard to tell with all the stuff that was lying around and everyone standing on literally every surface.

As I let her guide me, I looked back at Curly Boy and gave him a subtle, sideways nod, signalling him to follow me. An arrogant smirk formed on my lips when he almost tripped over trying to catch up with me.

He didn't even think twice.

***

"So, the rules of the game are simple," the girl on top of the table was saying.

I must've been in the wrong earlier, this was definitely the living room. The two couches surrounding the table Ginger stood on gave that away. The girl had a red beer cup in her right hand and a bullhorn in her left.

She brought it up to her mouth and announced, "We'll pick out two random pieces of paper with your names written on them, one for the actor and one for the victim. These two people will go outside, while we all decide if the victim gets a hot kiss..." She made a small pause for everyone to hoot and whistle, "- or slapped hard across the face."

That last sentence made my eyes light up as if it were christmas and caused a sneer to take over my face. I took a sip of my beer and patiently waited for her to continue, completely aware of Curly's fixed stare from across the room. He was feening over the word "kiss" and the slight possibility that it might just be with me.

So we all gathered around to write our names down on some pieces of paper. We folded them before putting them inside of a blue plastic bowl.

The two first pieces of paper were drawn out and two guys went out to the entrance, closing the door behind them. In the end we all settled for a hardcore make out session, knowing damn well that even just a quick peck on the cheek would hurt their manhood way more than getting slapped in the face.

I waited eagerly as they walked in with an anxious look in their eyes. I hoped, for their own good, that they were drunk enough for what was about to go down.

Please let this be as funny as I think it's going to be.

The actor had the instructions whispered into his ear by the redheaded girl carrying the bull horn, who had stepped down from the table to watch it all play out.

He tried to keep a straight face as he received the bad news. Could've fooled anyone but me. I could see the disgust in his eyes all the way from where I was standing, craving to be exposed.

When Poker Face finally manned up and kissed the victim, (or perhaps I should say absorbed) said victim stormed off, spitting out all sorts of swear words on his way out of the room.

I rolled my eyes at the toxic masculinity that was so evidently being displayed. This was probably the most fun I'd had without actually having orchestrated it myself, and so far I was not hating it.

"Jade."

A voice calling my name through the speaker snapped me out of my reverie and prompted me to look up from the ground with a blank face.

"You will be our next actor," Ginger announced as she looked around, waiting for me to make myself known from among the crowd.

I took a sip of my beer before setting it down on a table, then slowly raised a hand in the air so I could let people know who I was.

The girl smiled as she drew out another name from the bag.

I put my hand down and stared at Curly with a defiant smirk, hoping to God it was him whom I got to mess with.

"Give it up for the next victim, Jesse!"

My mind automatically went to Jess from New Girl which forced me to look away from Curly, fighting the urge to cackle loudly.

Jesse? Is that what your name is? I thought.

Everyone started whistling and murmuring, but my focus was still on him, watching how he pursed his lips together in frustration. He clearly did not want to be fucked with.

At least figuratively.

My smirk turned into a confused frown when he stood there motionless and I heard some shuffling sounds coming from behind me.

Another guy brushed past me with one hand in the air and the other one grasping a beer.

I crossed my arms tight in front of my chest and threw daggers at his back with my eyes, watching how my plan to toy with Curly came undone right before me.

I was pissed.

***

So the guy stood to my right, holding his beloved beer. We were both standing a few inches away from the door, staring at it awkwardly.

At least he was, I was straight up mad.

He nodded his head a few times and clicked his tongue, creating what he must've thought was a percussion sound. It was really getting on my nerves.

We quietly sneaked peeks at each other, neither of us saying a word.

"Sooo..." he began. "It's like a really nice temperature out here tonight."

I turned my head to him with an incredulous glare on my face that said, are you serious?. My lips then formed a slight smirk. "You are really going to open up with temperature."

My snarky tone suggested it was best he kept quiet.

"Ookaay..." he muttered under his breath.

Smart boy.

He chuckled awkwardly and we both went back to looking at the door. These were being the longest 3 minutes of my life.

What was taking so long?

"You ever slapped anyone before?" he blurted out, out of nowhere.

I went back to contemplating him in amusement and took the chance to get a good look at this Jesse guy.

He was literally the most average looking guy if I'd ever seen one.

He had light brown, slightly wavy, medium-length hair and dark brown, almond-shaped eyes; almost black. I noticed a few dimples on his face. He had a couple around the frown area on his forehead and a small one in his chin.

I figured he must be awfully expressive.

His face was kind of weirdly asymmetric. He had medium to full lips, the top right lip being a little higher than the left one. I'd say that's the first thing that stood out from him. Or perhaps his slightly bigger-than-average nose. Although, Curly's was bigger.

Honestly, what's up with the guys in this place and their noses?

"Not really, no." I finally spoke up.

Jesse chuckled lowly. "God, not another unexperienced slapper," he mumbled, without taking his gaze off the door, then took a sip of his beer.

I rolled my eyes and allowed myself to let out a small laugh, but said nothing back to him.

Back to the awkward silence and door staring.

"For what it's worth," Jesse took a peek at me. "I'm kind of honoured to be either slapped or kissed by someone as attractive as you."

My eyebrows shot up as I snapped my head towards him in surprise. He doesn't look like the type to flirt, I thought.

Well, if I can't have Curly maybe Jesse will do.

Turning on my charm, I sent a seductive smirk his way and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door swinging open to reveal a highly expectant crowd.

My eyes sparkled with excitement as they locked on my next target, but my face didn't hold a single glint of emotion.

Finally... some real fun.

***

A/N

The song is Spider in the Roses by Sonia Leigh and Daphne Willis

YALL NEED TO LISTEN TO IT, I DON'T THINK THERE IS A SINGLE SONG THAT FITS JADE AS PERFECTLY AS THIS ONE :O

A/N

Ooh, girl the drama has only just begun. Plenty more will come.

Eventually.

Honestly, I'm like in love with Jesse. I fell more in love with him with every single chapter I wrote, which was a bummer once reality struck and the fact that he's not a real person smacked me in the face.

Whatever, I'm through with bad boys, players and whatnots and all the bullshit they bring along. Although who's to say he's none of those things? LOL, I'm playing.

Or am I?

Nah, that's stupid.

Unless it isn't...

Okay, enough of that. I'll catch y'all in the next chapter.

***