Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

35 | Miss Bo Peep

My little heart melts for this cute poster and quote from Play No More by @aaliyah.oughradar. Thank you girl!

Chapter 35: Miss Bo Peep

*Millie's POV*

We sat on the back rim of Dr Taylor's open-top car and looked out at the sunrise. 

 There was a stillness in the air now that the boys had gone. Luke, Austin and Jake were still inside the hospital and we were waiting for Austin to drive us home in his mom's car.

Annika glanced over to me and said, "When I first met Jake, he had this bad boy vibe about him but he's actually a total sweetheart. I never expected that, when I came to his hometown, his brother was the heartbreaker around here."

"Luke?" I asked, surprised she was bringing him up like that.

"Yeah. I mean," she gave me an obvious look, "He's hot. You've obviously noticed that. How did you choose between them?"

In the short time that Annika's been here, she's managed to dive deep into the crevices of the Dawson's family psychology. 

So I gave it my best shot. "Luke's got this energy, this determination, about him. He treats life with no fear. He's fun, kind, smart and caring," I said and chose my next words carefully, "He makes me feel like I can be somebody."

I am somebody.

Truthfully, my self-confidence has been a real holdup for me. I've seen a lot of disappointment in my life that I hesitate to dream. 

"I hope you don't mind if I ask," Annika continued, folding one leg under the other, "Jake told me that you agreed to go on a date with him not long before you started dating Luke. What was that about?"

I stared down at my hands. I could hear the judgement in her voice, and I didn't blame her.

That self-confidence problem - I've really gotten myself into a pickle because of it.

"Looking back, it was a mistake," I admitted. "I was confused. Doesn't that happen to others?"

Annika gave it to me straight. "Confused or not, it sounds like you played with them. Didn't you kiss both brothers?"

I kissed Luke. Jake kissed me, but I ran away. It's not the same thing but I didn't want to argue with Annika.

I definitely messed up because I took too long.

"Luke was someone I hesitated to be with, because I was scared of how much he could hurt me," I told her truthfully, "I've lived opposite him my whole life and we go to the same school. He was a player. He's never been serious with anyone and, even last summer, he dumped a girl he was seeing within a month. I was scared to be next."

"Couldn't you tell the difference between what you had with him and what he had with other girls?" Annika asked me.

"I knew what I felt, and I knew what he was telling me he felt," I said, finding it difficult to explain.

How do you explain to a confident girl how being unconfident feels like?

I tried it another way, "At the beginning, Luke was quick to say something incredible and then follow up with an insult. He's called me nerdy, heavy, unattractive and I'm meant to just forgive all of that? So, yeah, it took me time and it took him changing."

"OK but if you were so confused, why did you accept the date with Jake?"

Annika was really going in on me.

I answered, "I thought Luke and I were really done. I thought he was seeing a girl called Jamie, but it turns out he wasn't."

Annika nodded as if this was a classic case. "Sounds like you jumped to conclusions too quickly."