Played by Love (New Adult Romance): A #Played Novella Read Online Free

you run into a ladybug, love follows.”
    “I thought it was a bumblebee,” the big man said, scratching his balding head. Spittle flew from his bearded lips.
    “Derek, you’re such a moron. Bees bring money, ladybugs love,” Scott retorted.
    “Oh, stop with your ancient Chinese nonsense,” Tricia cut in. “You two fools aren’t going to win.”
    Ella elbowed her. “Stop egging them on.”
    “I’ve got a secret weapon,” Tricia whispered. “His name’s Mark.”
    “Backup plan?” Ella whispered back, too aware that the dumb frat guys were listening in.
    “Nope, watch and admire.” She dragged Ella by the elbow back toward the dance contest.
    A pair of hip-hop guys bopped on the stage. They had on their dancing gloves, wore baggy jeans and tight ripped tanks. One of them flung his dreadlocks in a mechanical manner, and another one, a buff, Asian guy slid on his toes like he had wheels on them.
    Their muscles flexed and twitched and they arched backward, then rolled on the floor, jerking and jiggling, like the drunken monkey kung fu routine. The dreadlocked guy flapped and squatted, sticking his legs out and in, robotic like. The energy was so high it threatened to electrocute the entire park.
    Ella and Tricia whistled and screamed with the rest of the crowd.
    “That’s Mark,” Tricia shouted, pointing at the muscular guy. “He’s so freaking hot.”
    Mark took a mike from the organizer and yelled, “Who wants to challenge us? Winner gets the girl I bid on. Loser goes home.”
    The dreadlock guy waved his hands in a come hither manner. “Bring it on, baby. I see some contenders out there.”
    Tricia poked Derek, the bearded bald guy. “How about you? Big guy like you, I bet you’d win. Do them Harley style.”
    “Yeah, Harley style beats Gangnam style.” Ella picked up on the plan quickly. She jogged Scott’s arm. “Take on those two and be my hero. Winners dance with us.”
    “Watch me, baby.” Scott spit on his palms and wiped his hair back. He shoved Derek. “Man up, let’s take them.”
    The two idiotic frat guys swaggered onto the stage. The organizer asked them their names and said, “It’s Scott and Derek against Mark and Reggie.”
    He cranked up the music and the crowd screamed. While everyone was focused on the gyrations on stage, Ella looked for Jaden. She didn’t want to text him and seem desperate, but she couldn’t spot him. Tall guy like him should stand out.
    Maybe she had been too forward with him. Scared him away. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her. If the three date rule held, she was way behind schedule. She browsed on her smartphone on advice in dating a Korean guy. One site said they liked dainty girls who were not assertive. Another one said they tended not to date Western women, fearing what their parents would say. And then there was Tricia, always telling her to play hard-to-get. What was wrong with being straightforward?
    “Will you put that away?” Tricia bumped her arm. “Look at those fools.”
    Laughter and jeering spilled from the crowd. Derek had fallen on the stage and was tangled in the amp wires, arms and legs twitching like he’d been defibrillated. Meanwhile, Scott flopped around like a dead fish doing pelvis tilts, oblivious to the cans and paper cups being tossed at him. He spun and stumbled two giant steps. The crowd howled when his baggy pants sagged to his ankles. The idiot wasn’t wearing underwear and there was nothing to see.
    “Help those guys out.” The organizer could barely catch her breath from laughter. After Mark and his friend propped the dweebs up, she shouted into the mic, “All those voting for Scott and Derek scream now.”
    A few scattered hoots emanated from a group of frat guys, but most of the crowed guffawed.
    “Mark and Reggie. Mark and Reggie,” they chanted.
    “Looks like Mark and Reggie are the winners! Losers go home,” the organizer said. “Now it’s time to bid on the dates.”
    “See?” Tricia said.