Free PleasureGames: A Games Novella by Jessica Clare

like to go?"
    My eyes widened and I looked over at Leona. She knew he was my ex. She knew he was showing interest in me. Surely she'd turn him down, right? She wanted him and me to get back together, right?
    "I'd love to go," she gushed.
    I kicked her under the table.
    Leona glared at me, then turned her smile back to Heathcliff. "What time?"
    "After breakfast?" he said, settling in next to her and examining the menu. After a long moment, he looked over it at me. "Good morning, Juno."
    "Hi," I said, and my voice sounded sullen to my own ears. Dammit.
    "Did you sleep well?"
    "Like a baby. You?"
    "Terrific." He gave me another heartbreaking grin. "So what do you recommend for breakfast?"
    "Food."
    "Be nice, Juno," Leona said, shaking her head at me. "Heathcliff's trying to take that scowl off your face."
    My eyes widened. "I'm not scowling!" I was trying so hard to be neutral.
    "I'm sure Juno's not upset over anything," Heathcliff said mildly. He examined the menu for a moment longer, then looked over at me. "So what did you think of the beaches?"
    I watched him, puzzled. Was that a call-back to our secret get-together yesterday? Was I supposed to take a hint from that? "Um, I found them very inspiring," I told him. "But I'm not having a lot of fun."
    "Oh really?"
    I nodded. My vision of the sea vase was tickling at the back of my mind, and I was desperate to fire up my furnace and see what I could do with my ideas. "This place is called Pleasures of Eden but we're not even allowed to leave the place to enjoy the island. I don't like sitting around idle. My hands need something to do, and this place isn’t fun for a glass blower. I wish I was back home."
    That eyebrow went up and his smile grew tighter. "I see."
    This time, Leona kicked me. "She's glad to be here, though. Aren't you, Juno?"
    I just nodded lamely and tried to smile.
----

    I spent the rest of the day in the hotel room, doodling in my sketch pad, trying to come up with concepts for an entire line of seaside glassware. I tried not to watch the clock, but I couldn't help it. Leona sure was out for a long damn time. Where exactly were they riding their horses to? Hawaii? Grumpy, I toyed with another drawing, then gave up and flopped on my back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
    I had no idea why I was so bothered by Leona and Heathcliff spending time together. That was totally fine with me. I wanted Leona to get a great guy, and when I had dated Heathcliff, he'd been an amazing boyfriend and even more incredible in bed. He was exactly what I wished for her.
    So why was it making me so crazy?
    Unable to stand it any longer, I left the room and headed down to wardrobe an hour early, since Leona and Heathcliff still hadn't returned. Might as well see what we were going to be wearing tonight. That, and I was curious to see if any of the other women were nearby, because now I needed details.
    Sadly, there was no one around except staff. They looked surprised to see me, because I was normally the last one to show up for wardrobe. "You're early," one commented. "Checking out what's up for wardrobe tonight?"
    "Might as well." It wasn't like I was on a date with the billionaire.
    "Tonight, there's a dance," one of the wardrobe assistants said, gushing. She ran to one of the racks in the back of the room and rolled it forward. "Total ballroom stuff. It's gonna look fabulous on television."
    She pulled out a white gown to show me, and I mentally cringed a little at the sight of it. Big, poofy bows decorated the shoulders and led down to tight sleeves. The skirt was a beautiful bell-shape that would have been gorgeous if it wasn't for all the tulle edging around the sides. I looked at the dress, then at the others. Every single one was overdone in a bad prom sort of way. "Wow."
    "Pretty spectacular, huh?"
    It was pretty something, all right. "It's awesome. Did you make this?"
    "Me? Oh no. They won't let me do more than a few alterations." She made a face. "They're from a