The Perfect Play by Cookie O’Gorman

CHAPTER 10: Charlie

I'd never seen someone so sad to be at their own party.

"This sucks," Emmy said. "Chase is miserable."

I tilted my head, staring at the guy in question. He was sitting in a recliner across the room. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he did seem down, separate from the celebration going on around him.

"It can't be the party," she went on. "I tried my best, kept it lowkey, only invited a few people—though granted, my brothers added to the list. I know the game didn't go amazing, but it wasn't so bad. Maybe it's that book he's reading."

Honor took a sip of her water then said, "No, it can't be. Books make people happy. Well, the good ones do anyway."

My lips twitched at her answer. It was just so…Honor.

Seeing Emmy's frown, my best friend nudged me and lifted her brows. As if I knew what to say to make this better?

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Maybe you're imagining things. He looks okay to me."

"Hey." June joined the group, handing each of us a water, and gestured across the room. "What's up with Chase? He looks like such a sad sack."

Emmy groaned at that, and June's eyes widened.

"What did I say?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said as I watched yet another girl try to engage Chase in conversation. "On second thought, maybe he's just tired of all the girls. I don't think they've given him a break since we got here."

"Yeah"—June grimaced—"that's because they all want to comfort him. I heard a few of them in the bathroom. They were talking about who they thought had the best chance to hook up with him."

Emmy laughed. "Like that would ever happen."

"I don't know," I said. "Several of them seem cool. Plus, they have uncommonly good makeup and fashion sense."

"It'll take a lot more than that to win over my brother." She shot me a look. "Speaking of which, how's that going? Has he kissed you yet?"

"No." I grinned. "But he did strip down for me the other day."

June and Honor choked on their water, but Emmy gave an unimpressed sniff.

"I'm not worried about your therapy sessions," she said. "Even if you're in close proximity, I'm still going to win. Chase is never going to go there."

"Never say never."

"Honestly, you shouldn't be wasting time," Emmy said with a shrug. "By my calculations, you have less than six days to go…and yes, I'm counting down the minutes until I win the bet. A massage a day sounds very nice."

"You're right." I straightened, pulling my shoulders back. "I should go over there and save him from all that female attention."

Honor grinned. "Charlie to the rescue, huh?"

"Exactly."

"Well, this should be interesting."

"Thanks, I'll try to give you a good show." I threw Emmy a grin. "Watch and learn, O'Brien. This is how you win a bet."

Emmy shooed me along with an annoying smile on her face. It immediately made me suspicious, especially when she said, "Best wishes."

"Warmest regards," I replied.

Our latest watch party had included several episodes of Schitt's Creek. It was one of my favorite shows. I'd long ago decided that David was my spirit animal. It kind of irked me that Emmy had used one of my favorite catchphrases—and that she seemed so sure of my failure.

It made zero sense.

I mean, since moving in, Emmy had watched me win over more than a few guys. Shouldn't she be at least a little worried?

Shaking it off, I strode across the room, heading directly for Chase. I stopped in front of him a moment later. But he kept his head down.

"Having a good time?" I asked.

"I guess," he said.

"You seem to have a lot of admirers."

A grunt.

"Chase, this is unacceptable. I've been standing here nearly a minute, and you still haven't said anything about my outfit."

"Didn't know I was supposed to."

Ooh, so he wanted to pull out the sarcasm? Two could play that game.

Chase's eyes were still glued to that stupid book, and it was giving me déjà vu. Here I was, trying to talk with him, looking like a million bucks as usual, and there was Chase, ignoring the world and everyone in it. The only thing missing was the quiet library. We were currently at Omega Beta surrounded by people, but he wasn't engaging. Time to wake him up.

"I think that last girl wanted to sleep with you," I said.

The blush was super satisfying, but so was the look of shock on his face as his eyes met mine.

"Jeez, Charlie," he said. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's true." I shrugged. "She even tried to sit in your lap. Not that you noticed."

Chase blinked. "She did?"

"Yes," I said, "Almost fell off the arm of that chair, too. She was perched there when you went to turn the page of that book you're so into. Luckily, she stood up in time."

He looked stunned, but I was ready to change the subject.

"So, now that I have your attention, what do you think?" I gestured to my cute blue dress. The sleeveless number was fitted but flowy at the same time. Perfect for this 'low-key' party. "It's new. I got it because the color matched my eyes."

"The dress is nice." Chase shook his head. "But I think you'd look good in anything."

Goodness, I thought. Lord save me from nice guys with no filter. Blatant honesty could slay a girl quicker than any false flattery.

"You're dangerous," I said. "And I don't mean on the baseball field."

It was like a switch was flipped.

One moment we were talking, and Chase was starting to relax. The next, he was back to Mr. Doom and Gloom.

"If that's your way of telling me I sucked, believe me, I know," he said.

I nodded. "Ah, so you're over here sulking."

"I'm not—"

"No, I get it," I said. "You didn't go out there and get a bunch of goals, and now you're brooding."

"They're called strikes, not goals," he muttered.

"Oh excuse me. You didn't score the winning shot, get a hole in one, or hit a touchdown on your first try—"

Chase's lips twitched.

"—so now, you're going to bury your head in the sand. Or book, in your case. Gah, Chase, it was one game. Pull on your big-girl panties and do better next time. Why do guys have to be such crybabies?"

"I don't even know where to start," he said on a laugh. "In one breath, you referenced a handful of sports, but I don't think any of them was baseball. That's impressive."

I narrowed my eyes. "And?"

"You totally called me out."

Chase shook his head as he closed the book in his lap, and I considered that a win.

"You're right," he said. "I was sulking. But in my defense, I wanted to stay in my room and wallow alone, reliving every mistake I made today."

"How'd you end up down here then?" I asked.

"Dex. He came in and told me that Emmy would be devastated if I didn't show up."

I nodded. "Sounds pretty accurate."

"He also convinced me that I should think of this as a form of punishment for that poor performance today."

"Savage," I said, "and brilliant. He hit you on two fronts, played on the love you have for your little sister and your own guilt."

Chase held out his hands. "Yep. So, here I am."

I cocked my head, giving him one of my best angles. "Well, at least you're talking to me. So things can't be that bad, right?"

"Good point."

"Thanks," I said.

He let out another laugh. "Pretty sure I should be thanking you. This is the first time I haven't relived my crap pitching since the end of the game."

"You didn't look so bad to me," I said honestly. "Not that I know much about baseball. But I thought you could've stayed in the game longer."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

Chase crossed his arms. "Was this your plan? To come over here and cheer me up?"

"Now, why would I want to do that?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "But it's working."

I gestured to the book, resting on his thigh. "Honor says books make people happy."

"She's right." Chase tapped the cover in front of him. "I chose this one specifically to help me escape."

"The woman on the cover looks pretty kickass."

"Oh she is," he said. "Kate Daniels is a total badass. Urban fantasy is one of my favorite genres, and this series is amazing. I'm up to at least five re-reads. You want to borrow it sometime?"

I bit back a smile. "No thanks, Chase. I don't read much, but when I do, they're usually high heat level with plenty of naughty scenes."

His brows rose. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," I said. "Maybe you should try one. Sexy romances are a great way to take your mind off things."

I leaned closer to him then lowered my voice.

"Then again, so is talking to pretty girls."

Chase leaned forward to meet me.

"Did you just call yourself pretty?" he asked.

"I was actually talking about the women you've been ignoring all night," I said then flipped my hair over my shoulder. His eyes followed the movement before coming back to my face. "Not going to lie though. Every now and then when I need a confidence boost, I look in the mirror and tell myself I'm pretty."

Chase grinned. "That's tragic."

"You have something against good self-esteem?" I asked.

"No," he said. "What I have a problem with is you calling yourself 'pretty' when you're one of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen in my life."

My breath hitched.

"It's not enough, Charlie. You should never settle for pretty," Chase said. "If a guy calls you anything less than beautiful, you come tell me, and I'll talk some sense into him. Okay?"

I nodded without thinking.

"Good."

Chase sat back and crossed his arms while I tried to regain my voice.

"And if you like sexy romance, I have a few recommendations."

"I didn't think nice guys like you read naughty books," I said.

"Shh, don't tell anyone," he said with a wink. "We're not supposed to, but I do it anyway."

Gah, could he be any cuter?

My eyes widened as I had the thought. Where the heck did that come from?

"And I still say you should try Kate Daniels," he added. "That series is fire. Shifters, magic, romance, danger, killer battle scenes, characters you'll never forget. You have to read it."

I lifted my chin. "Maybe I will," I said. "If I have a free moment, I mean. I'm a very busy person."

"Glad you could spare a second for me," he said then looked at something past my shoulder. "Baylor and Dex are coming this way. If they say anything offensive, I apologize in advance."

I was about to respond, but his brothers beat me to it.

"Chase," Baylor said, holding out his hand for a fist-bump. "Why are you still sitting in that chair? In case you forgot, the party's for you."

"At least he's not reading anymore," Dex said.

"True." Baylor turned to me with a grin. "And Charlie. What brings you here? I noticed you've been keeping my twin company."

"We were just talking," I said.

"But Chase hates talking—especially to hot girls. Be honest. Did you mistake him for me? It's been known to happen."

I shook my head. "No. If I thought it was you, I definitely wouldn't have stayed so long."

His hand went to his heart as if I'd scored a direct hit, but the guy was smiling wide.

"Ouch," Baylor said. "So the girl has claws."

"I could've told you that," Dex muttered.

Chase spoke up then. "Charlie and I were having a perfectly decent conversation before you two showed up. Please, feel free to leave at any time."

Baylor and Dex looked at each other and grinned.

"Did he just ask us to leave?" Baylor said.

"Sounded like a clear dismissal to me," Dex remarked.

"Yeah. I think we should stay, though."

"Agreed."

"Wouldn't want to miss anything."

"Guys." Chase sighed. "This isn't funny."

"I think it's hilarious," Dex said.

"Funny as hell," Baylor put in. "Besides Chase, what you need isn't more conversation. I told you already. Find a girl to distract yourself with, take her upstairs and have some fun."

Chase looked like he was in pain.

"It'll take your mind off baseball," his twin went on. "And there are a ton of good candidates here. Nice, brainy girls who'd be more than happy to spend a few indecent hours with you."

I held up my water in a mock toast. "I'll take that as my cue to leave."

Chase frowned. "No, stay."

"It was nice talking to you," I said.

"You, too."

I looked to his brothers. "Baylor. Dex. Don't let him open that book again, okay? He's already read it five times anyway."

"You got it," Dex said.

Chase opened his mouth to speak again, but I turned away, throwing him a wave over my shoulder. "See you around."

His brothers were right. Chase should find a nice, brainy girl to hook up with. I didn't want to stand in the way of that. Besides, I'd accomplished my goal—well, one of them. Chase hadn't kissed me (yet), but he'd left the book behind for at least a little while, said I cheered him up and smiled a couple of times. Come to think of it…I'd been smiling, too.

You should never settle for pretty.

I shook my head as another smile pulled at my lips. Baylor might've been the big player on campus. But with lines like that, Chase could give him a run for his money if he wanted to.

Chase O'Brien, I thought. A heartbreaker just waiting to happen.