The Perfect Play by Cookie O’Gorman

CHAPTER 16: Charlie

The drive to the Omega Beta house was awkward—but what did I expect, right? Chase brought me a present, and I had a mini-freak out, wondering what it meant and why he did it. Most of all I was questioning why I felt so glad to see him so soon after watching him kick butt at practice.

It was unheard of.

It was concerning.

My feelings had never gotten involved before. I couldn't understand why they would now.

Maybe it was what Honor said about me liking presents. Yeah, that could be it. Everyone loved getting gifts. Not all people understood the beauty of giving them. Chase was one of those people, I thought then shook myself.

That was enough.

No more thoughts about him tonight. No more stressing about baseball or school. As I walked up the pathway to our destination, I had just one, simple objective. It was time to kick back, relax, and watch a sexy movie with my girls.

And about twenty frat guys.

I sighed as I glanced around the space. Ugh. If only there wasn't so much testosterone in the room, maybe I'd be able to truly relax.

"Hey Charlie," June said, standing at my side, running a hand through her hair. "Could you remind me of my assignment?"

"Sure," I said and shot her a smile. "But you know you don't have to do anything if you're not feeling it. You get that, right?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous."

"That's totally natural."

She took a deep breath then nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Your assignment," I said, "should you choose to accept it, is to talk to three of the guys here and get their numbers. Don't talk to anyone who looks like a creep. Remember, after getting a guy's attention, let him come to you. Be confident because you're gorgeous, and any man here would be lucky to have you."

June smiled. "You should be a motivational speaker. You'd be great at it."

"I know, right?" I said while waving her off. "Go forth, and get those numbers, June. If you run into any douchebags, come get me immediately or one of the other girls. We'll take out any of these guys if they mess with you, including the O'Briens."

"Okay, I'm going in," she said. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it," I said. "But good luck anyway."

She wasn't gone more than five minutes when another person came to stand next to me.

"Interesting conversation," Dex said.

"I wasn't aware we had an audience," I said without turning.

"Would you still have threatened to 'take us out' if you'd known?"

I gave a shrug. "Yeah, probably."

He chuckled.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked.

The lights were dim, and though some people were still meandering about, most of them were gathered in the living room. The guys at Omega Beta had a huge TV in there along with several couches. The smell of popcorn permeated the air. They'd started the movie a second ago, and the sultry beats of the opening song played through the speakers.

Instead of answering my question, Dex asked one of his own.

"What do you think of Chase?" he said.

My brows lifted. "I think he's my client, and I'm his physical therapist."

"Is that all?"

"We've also become sort of friends…I guess."

"Sort of friends, I guess," he repeated. "Sounds complicated, but I'm not sure that's where his head is at."

I turned to face him fully then. "What are you trying to say?"

Dex's stare was direct and unwavering, the scar on his face highlighted by the light coming from the TV screen. "Chase is a good guy. Too good sometimes. Unfortunately, he never learned how to hide his emotions."

"And?"

"And you're a fighter, like me," he said. "You stand up for your friends, don't take any BS. You also seem hard around the edges. Chase is more of a soft touch, if you know what I mean."

Like Honor, I thought.

"If you're here to warn me off from your brother," I said while flipping my hair, "don't bother. Chase isn't my type anyway."

"Why would I do that?" Dex said. "I think you'd be great for him."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You can't be serious."

He cocked his head to the side as if waiting for me to go on.

"Dex, I hook up with guys. I never keep any of them. Chase is looking for his perfect woman. He needs a paragon of virtue, someone who's innocent and sweet. In other words, not me."

"He say that? Or is this you, putting words in his mouth?"

I glared at him, but Dex remained unmoved.

"Just think about it," he said.

"Okay." I feigned thought for a few seconds then said, "There, all finished, and I still disagree. You can go now."

Dex shook his head. "I like you."

"So does anyone with taste," I replied.

Before he could say anything else, Baylor interrupted, and I was grateful. This talk hadn't gone anything like I'd expected it to.

"Hey," Baylor said, jogging over to us. "Dex, I need your help. Stat."

"What is it?" he said.

"June's over there, sitting between these two idiots. Freshman pledges. I think their names are Trent and Wallace. Anyway, I couldn't be sure, but it looked they were actually hitting on her."

"So?"

Baylor threw a scowl over his shoulder toward the living room. "Guess they didn't get the memo about her being off-limits."

"That makes three of us," Dex said.

Baylor rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Hey," I said, "I have a suggestion."

"Oh hey, Charlie," he said. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, just having a chat with sunshine over here"—I gestured to Dex who scoffed—"and watching a movie I've already seen a million times. But back to the matter at hand. If you're so bothered by seeing June with other guys, why don't you do something about it?"

He held out his hands. "That's what I'm trying to do right now."

"No," I said, "I mean, why don't you go flirt with her instead?"

"Why would I do that?"

Seeing Baylor's look of confusion, I barely repressed an eyeroll. This guy may have looked identical to Chase, but I swear he was totally out of touch. My thoughts must've called him over or something because a second later Chase was there. He glanced from me to his brothers and back again.

"Hey," he said. "What's going on?"

"I was just trying to help your twin," I said. "Baylor's upset because June's over there getting her flirt on."

Chase nodded. "Ah, I see."

Baylor frowned harder. "I hate that she's over there with them."

"Or," I said, trying to point him in the right direction, "maybe you hate that she's not over here with you?"

"I'm not following," he said.

"You should ask June out."

Alright, I'd said it as plainly as I could. There was no way for him to mistake my meaning. But after a moment, Baylor scoffed.

"Yeah right," he said. "She's my baby sister's best friend. Hell, June's like a sister to all of us. I'd never go there. Ever."

I crossed my arms. "Have you ever thought about kissing her?"

"What the hell?"

"People don't think about kissing their sisters, Baylor," I said with a shrug. "Not unless they're in Game of Thrones or something."

"I can't even believe you'd say such a…alright, that's it. I'm out," Baylor said. "Chase, good luck with this one. She's crazy in the head."

As Baylor stomped away, I looked up at Chase, who patted me on the shoulder.

"He didn't mean that," he said.

"Yes, he did," I said.

"Okay, but Bay will get over it." Chase shook his head. "When it comes to June, my brother's best friend is denial."

"Apparently," I muttered.

I watched Baylor stride into the living room like a man on a mission. June's eyes widened as he stopped next to her. The guys sitting on either side of her looked up. I couldn't hear the words that were exchanged because of the movie. But it looked like Baylor said, "Move over." That was all it took. The guy he was glaring at shot to one end of the couch, leaving enough space for Baylor to sit, thigh-to-thigh next to June. He fired another hot glare at the guy on her other side. That one couldn't escape fast enough. Once he was satisfied, Baylor draped an arm around June, who looked like she didn't know whether to tell him off—or sit there and enjoy it.

"Poor June," I said. "I hope he makes a move soon. A real one."

"You and me both," Chase said.

It wasn't until I saw Dex's slight grin and the direction of his gaze that I realized Chase's hand was still on my shoulder. Shrugging him off, I faked a yawn.

"Getting tired?" Chase asked. "I could take you home if you want."

"I'm fine," I said.

Archer and a couple of other guys approached us then. Guess this is what I got for standing in direct line of the kitchen. Was anyone actually watching the movie?

"Hey Chase," one of them said. I knew his voice from somewhere but couldn't quite place it. "I meant to tell you, good practice today."

"Thanks, Graves."

"Keep that up, and we'll win this next one for sure."

"I'll give it my best," Chase said.

A different guy said, "You better. Everybody under the sun wants to beat us."

"That's nothing new," Archer said.

"Yeah, but before Chase got injured, they couldn't do it."

"I think it's safe to say that the old Chase is back and raring to go."

Chase smiled, but I could tell it was forced. Didn't they get it? Could they not see how much pressure they were putting on him just with this one conversation?

"Hey, are you the reason our star pitcher was so on his game today?" one of them said to me.

"I guess," I said.

"Well, praise the Lord. We need him back to win."

"Ease off, Perez," Dex said then shrugged. "Though, you're right. I don't see us getting far in the tourney without Chase."

His brother took all of this in stride, but I was starting to get a little pissed.

"Your arm is feeling a hundred percent, right?"

Chase nodded, and Perez spoke up again.

"We all know you can do it—"

"Thanks, man," Chase said. "Appreciate the support."

"—but we really need you to bring some of that magic. Like you used to, before you got hurt."

I scoffed under my breath.

Archer gave a nod to his brother. "He won't let us down. Right, Chase?"

"Right."

Unable to take it anymore, I said, "Can you guys please stop? I'm getting second-hand stress over here."

The group of them looked at me in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Archer said.

"You're putting all your hopes and dreams onto Chase's back," I said. "That is a heavy load to carry."

Chase shook his head and said, "Charlie, it's okay."

"No, it's really not." I put my hands on my hips. "Are the Wolves a team, or what? Chase can't be the only one making the plays, getting the big goals, and scoring three-pointers."

Dex's eyes had narrowed. "Are we still talking about baseball? I can't tell."

I held up a hand. "My point is you may mean well, but the stress is neither wanted nor appreciated."

"The guys were just trying to be supportive," Archer said.

"Yeah well," I said, "try harder. He's not the old Chase anymore. Your comments aren't helpful. He's still amazing and talented as hell. But he can't win—or lose—by himself. Next time, why don't one of you step up and do something? Instead of laying all the responsibility at Chase's feet?"

No one said a word.

"His arm is fantastic by the way," I added. "Chase is going to kill it on the field. I have no doubt whatsoever."

Taking a last gulp of water, I looked to my left.

"Would you please take me home?"

Chase was staring at me like I'd hung the moon. I suddenly regretted my request, but it was too late to take it back.

"Absolutely," he said. "Let's get out of here."

Several of the guys apologized to Chase as we left, including Archer and Dex. They kept staring, and I didn't know if they were mad at me or not. But I wasn't sure I cared. Maybe now they'd leave Chase alone, let him be free of their crushing expectations. That was my hope anyway.

It wasn't a long drive to Magnolia House.

But the air in the car felt charged during the entire ride. I couldn't put my finger on it. Chase didn't say anything until we had parked, seeming lost in his thoughts. Again, I worried for a second that he might be pissed. But if that was the case, I didn't know what I could do about it. I said what I said.

After turning off the engine, he sat back.

"I can't believe you did that," he said.

I swallowed. "Did what?"

Chase looked over to me, his intense gray eyes meeting mine.

"You stood up to my team and my brothers…for me."

I shrugged. "It was nothing. I just didn't like all the pressure they were throwing your way."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you," he said. "It was very much something. Charlie…I really like you."

"I know," I said, trying to play it off. "You brought me those books, remember? And you said, you only give them to—"

He lifted his hand, pressed it softly to my cheek.

"We never got to the kissing," he said, his voice deep and resonant.

The sound of it struck something deep inside me, and I shivered.

"Oh?" I said. "I totally forgot about that."

"I didn't."

Chase's stare was fastened to my lips.

"I dreamed about you last night, was disappointed when I woke up to find it wasn't real."

"A little disappointment can be a good thing," I said.

He hummed, leaning closer.

"Chase."

"Yeah?" he said.

"I'm not sure we should do this."

Chase studied me a second, his eyes moving over my face, my lips, my eyes.

"I am," he said.

He closed the distance between us. There wasn't any hesitation. My eyes fluttered shut, and all I could feel were his lips on mine. His mouth was warm and soft—at first. I kissed him back like he was water, and I was dying of thirst. God, his mouth. I couldn't get enough of it. This was nothing like our first kiss.

That one had been sweet and innocent, barely a kiss at all.

But this one…Chase wasn't holding anything back.

His hands were on my waist and in my hair. He kept moving his lips against mine, taking his time, learning every inch of my mouth. It was euphoric. I'd never been kissed like this in my life. And I just wanted it to go on and on.

Chase didn't disappoint. It felt like he was content with just this. The kiss grew bolder, hotter and as the two of us got closer, there was suddenly no room left between us.

The kiss might've gone on for minutes or hours.

I wasn't sure.

The only thing I knew when I finally came up for air was that I had to kiss him again.

I didn't want this to end.

I didn't want Chase to leave.

I wanted him—

My brow furrowed as the thoughts ran through my head, so foreign and unfamiliar.

Chase placed another lingering kiss against my lips, and I hated myself for what I was about to do. I had to be the responsible one, try to stop this before it got out of hand.

"I should go," I said on a sigh.

"Why?" Chase asked. "Didn't you…didn't you like it?"

"Oh, I did. I really did."

He shook his head slightly. "Then what's wrong?"

"I think I liked it too much," I admitted. "It would probably be best if I go."

"Ah please, stay. I love kissing you, Charlie. We don't have to go any farther than that. I don't expect anything."

But he did, I thought. Nice guys like Chase were looking for commitment, and that was the one thing I couldn't give him. It was sweet, though. He was sweet. The fact that he'd even thought to assure me that he wanted nothing more than another kiss, it made my heart ache a little.

"Thanks, Chase," I said. "For saying that."

The desire coursing through my veins must've been stronger than my fears because the next thing I heard myself say was…

"Do you want to come inside?"

Chase blinked.

"The girls should be gone for at least another hour," I said. "Do you…want to?"

"Yeah," he said, his voice sounding rougher and sexy as hell from our kisses. "Yeah, of course, I do. But what about your rule?"

I looked into his eyes and made my choice.

"I'll make an exception for you," I said quietly.

One night.

It was the only thing running through my head as he followed me to the door.

One night is all this could be, but I would give it to him and myself.

Damn the consequences.