The Perfect Play by Cookie O’Gorman

CHAPTER 17: Chase

I couldn't believe Charlie had invited me in.

Magnolia House was her sanctuary, so I knew what the gesture meant to her.

I did not want to screw this up.

My feelings were on high right now. She'd told off my teammates because she couldn't stand seeing me stressed. I would've done the same for her. I loved my brothers—but it had been a beautiful thing, listening to her rant at them.

And I couldn't stop thinking about that kiss in the car.

Her lips were addictive. I hadn't been able to stop. Breathing had ceased to seem so necessary when my mouth was against hers. Charlie seemed just as into it as I was. Even as we'd separated, I wanted to kiss her again. I didn't want to scare her off, was deathly afraid that I would. But I was having difficulty denying what my heart had been telling me for days.

Her.

She's the one.

You are hers, and she is for you.

Charlie wasn't ready to hear that yet, so I had to play it cool. But I knew the truth would come out eventually. I wasn't the type to hold something like this in for long. Guys were supposed to be smooth, but I had no chill where my girl was concerned.

Right after we walked into the house and Charlie locked the door, I went to her, placing my hands on her waist.

"So," I said, laying a kiss against the side of her neck. The goosebumps that rose on her skin made me smile. "We're alone. What now?"

Charlie turned, holding my hand, and pulled me into the kitchen.

"Oh, I have plenty of ideas," she said.

"I'd love to hear them."

"Why don't you start by lifting me onto the counter? You're tall—which I love by the way—but I can barely reach you from down here."

My lips tugged up to one side as I leaned down, caressing her waist before my hands slid to her hips. In one quick motion, I lifted her onto the counter and stepped in close. Charlie's gasp was music to my ears.

"I think I like your ideas," I murmured.

"Good," she said. "I don't think we were quite done with the kissing portion of the evening."

"Funny. I had the same thought."

Charlie's hands went up my arms, shoulders, and finally came to rest on my neck.

"Great minds," she said then pressed her lips to my jaw.

I groaned then pulled her to me.

"As much as I like the counter idea," I said, "there's something I want to try."

"Go for it," Charlie said, placing another kiss to the underside of my chin. "Just don't make me wait too much longer. I need your mouth again, O'Brien."

She squeaked as I lifted her into my arms once more, her legs wrapping around my waist on instinct.

Seeing her questioning look, I shrugged. "Always wanted to know what it would feel like to have your legs wrapped around me."

If I didn't know better I would've thought Charlie was blushing.

"Well?" she said. "Is it as good as you thought it would be?"

"No," I said, dropping my voice. "It's better."

Charlie ducked her head, and I chuckled.

"Plus, my doctor told me that if I can hold another person like this for at least three minutes, my arm was completely healed."

She looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah"—I leaned forward—"so we should test it out, just to be sure."

"Wouldn't want to disobey doctor's orders," she murmured.

"Hmm, I agree."

"But how ever should we pass the time?"

I smiled and closed the distance.

Kissing Charlie again felt like coming home.

Or flying.

Possibly both.

Our lips moved as if they'd always been meant to do this. My heart soared. I couldn't get enough of kissing her or the little sounds she kept making. When she bit my bottom lip, taking it into her mouth, my fingers tightened on her thighs. Her response was another one of those breathy sounds, part sigh, part moan. It was another thing I immediately became addicted to.

It's her, my heart said.

She is what you're addicted to.

I couldn't argue. Instead, I went back again and again to her lips.

"Has it been three minutes yet?" she asked breathlessly.

"Not sure," I said between kisses. "I think we should keep going, though. For my health."

Charlie nodded, pulling me back in, her talented hands moving across my shoulders and into my hair, her kisses making my whole body light up. It was so good. I was sure I could kiss her for hours, days, years and never tire of it.

"Okay," she said after another minute or forever. Who even knew? "I think you should put me down now, give your arm a rest."

"You know I was lying about the doctor thing, right?" I said.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I got that."

"How?"

"Your face," she said as I placed her back on her feet. "You should never play poker, Chase. That mug of yours is too honest and open. You'd lose every time."

I tried to frown at her but couldn't stop grinning, still drunk on those kisses.

"Plus, I knew no real doctor would ever tell you that."

I shrugged. "You might be surprised. They say a lot of messed up things."

Her brows furrowed. "What kind of things?"

"In the beginning, I had doctors telling me I might never recover, and that if I did, my arm would likely never be as good as it used to be."

"Don't listen to them," she said with a frown. "They're idiots."

"Actually, they're experts," I corrected her.

Charlie wasn't having it. Taking my hand once again, she walked us into the living room where we sat across from each other on the couch. She kept my hand in hers the entire time.

"You've got to think positive," she said. "You're like Chase 2.0."

I scoffed at that, but Charlie ignored it.

"You put in the work, had to fight your way back, and now you'll be better than ever."

"Or," I said, voicing one of my greatest fears aloud, "I could be worse. A cautionary tale for future MLB hopefuls everywhere."

She brushed that aside. "They'll all underestimate you, Chase. And trust me, that's going to work in your favor."

I shook my head. "How do you know this?"

"People always underestimate broken things," she said. "But sometimes, the cracks and what it takes to get over them makes you come back even stronger."

I kissed her again then. I had to. There was so much conviction in her voice that even I believed what she was saying. Any lingering doubts I may have had about my arm vanished.

"You're amazing," I said.

Charlie nodded. "I know."

With a laugh, I pulled her closer until we were both lying next to each other, her body half on top of mine. As she rested her head on my chest, I said, "You're going to be an awesome doctor someday."

"Thought I was already," she said and playfully poked my arm.

"What made you choose physical therapy?"

She sighed. "Long story short, I used to dance when I was younger. I loved it, thought I might even make a career of it someday. I'd have gone commercial, of course—my curvy body type would've never fit the classical mold. My dream was to be a back-up dancer for Beyonce."

I grinned, and Charlie pinched my side.

"Hey, don't laugh. It was my dream."

"Sorry," I said. "I can just see that so clearly in my head. Please, go on."

"Anyway," she said, "then I got hurt, pulled a muscle in my thigh and wasn't sure I'd ever be able to walk normal again, let alone dance. Luckily, I found a PT, who helped me get better." Charlie gave a shrug. "Now, I want to help others."

"Amazing," I said again.

"Funny you should say that."

"Why?"

"A lot of the guys I hookup with use that word," she said. "But they don't mean it the way you do. With them it's more, 'God, your mouth is amazing' or 'Your body, tits, and ass are amazing.' That kind of thing."

I didn't look away from her eyes.

"Well…your body, tits, and ass are fantastic. I'm surprised nobody's written sonnets about them."

She laughed as I'd intended.

"But seriously, I mean it." I gave her hand a squeeze. "You, Charlie. All of you is amazing."

"So, why baseball?" she said, abruptly changing the subject. "Your whole family is crazy about the dumb sport, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why."

I nodded, aware of what she was doing. Charlie hadn't meant to reveal so much, and now she was retreating. That was okay. I didn't press her. But I couldn't wait till she lowered her walls again.

"Family has a lot to do with it," I said in answer to her question. "My parents inspired all of us kids to love baseball. And the team is like a family. We're there for each other. We also annoy the crap out of each other. But in the end, we defend and give our all for our teammates."

"I guess there are some good parts," she said. "Watching you strike people out is kind of hot."

"Not as hot as it would be to watch you dance. Wish I could've seen that."

She gave me a half-smile. "Maybe you will someday—if you're lucky."

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to hers, tugging on her bottom lip before I drew away. She'd made another one of those noises again, and I found myself grinning.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said.

Charlie sighed. "Are you sure you're a virgin?"

That made me choke on air. "Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Because that kiss was fire, and now, I'm having trouble believing it."

"Can't lie, remember?"

She shook her head. "Crazy. Is it for some religious reason?"

"No," I said. "I'm not waiting for marriage or anything."

"Just your soulmate," Charlie said.

I nodded, running my fingers through her hair like I'd always wanted to.

"Chase, you should know that whatever happens here, it'll be a one-time thing. I don't hookup with the same guy twice. Learned that lesson the hard way."

"Hmm," I said as she kissed her way down my neck. "And you should know…I always assumed that my first time would be with my wife."

"What?!?"

Charlie's head popped up, her eyes wide as they met mine.

"Relax." I chuckled. "I'm not proposing."

Yet, I mentally added.

"Just thought you should know."

She let out a breath. "Jeez, give a girl a heart attack will you? I was so not expecting that."

"You think being my wife would be that awful?"

"No, no, it's just…wait, are you laughing?"

I totally was.

"Chase, this isn't funny!"

"Admit it. It was a little funny."

Charlie scoffed, but her lips were turned up in a smile. "Well, you're definitely not getting any tonight."

I shrugged. "That's okay. I wasn't expecting to."

"Besides that, though, we can do anything you want."

My ears perked at her words. "Anything?"

She nodded as she ran a finger up and down my chest. "Just think about it, Chase. You've got to have a top ten, right? If there was one thing you could do with a girl, what would it be?"

"Just so we're clear Charlie, for you, I have like a top 100."

"Well, pick one," she said on a laugh.

I lifted a brow. "Anything I want, right?"

She gave another nod, and I grinned.

"Okay then," I said. "There is something I've been dying to try. Would you turn over so your back is facing me?"

Charlie's eyes flared. "Well, well, well. Mr. Perfect has a kinky side. Who knew?"

I lifted a brow, waiting until she complied.

"I'm just putting this out there," she said. "For the record, I'm good with heavy petting or some dry humping. But like I said, no sex, tonight."

Feeling my cheeks flare hot, I muttered, "Good to know."

"Don't get me wrong. I'd love to feel you take me from behind at some point. But—"

"Charlie. Will you please stop?"

"Okay," she said.

As she got situated, I turned with her. I lay on my side with my chest pressed against her back, fitting my legs behind hers as well. Once we were both comfortable, I wrapped an arm around her middle and gently pulled her closer. I released a sigh into her hair.

After a few moments, I heard (and felt) her chuckle.

"This is what you wanted to do?" she asked in a quiet voice.

I hummed in response.

"Unbelievable." Charlie was trying to sound put out, but somehow even though I couldn't see her face, I knew she was smiling. "I give you a free pass to do whatever you want, and this is what you choose? Spooning?"

"Yeah," I said. "Like I told you, I've always been curious about it."

She humphed.

"Not as kinky as you thought, huh? I hope you're not disappointed."

My voice was teasing, but I meant it. The last thing I wanted to do was let her down in any way. Charlie was important to me. More important than she knew. I hadn't gone there yet because I was afraid to scare her off—but I'd tell her soon. Tense and nervous, I waited for her response.

Charlie sighed.

"It's not that," she said, and it felt like I could breathe again. "I'm just surprised. Chase, you're…not what I expected."

I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"You're not like most guys," she said. "With an offer like that, they'd try and get awaywith whatever they could. No one would ask to play the big spoon to my little spoon. Men are usually ruled by hormones. Why are you so different?"

I lifted a brow. "I assure you. I'm as hormonal as the next guy."

She scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"You laugh, but do you know why I love this position?"

My hand tightened against her waist, causing her breath to catch.

Good. I had her attention. I didn't want her to miss a word.

"I can feel you," I said softly into her ear. "Everywhere. Every movement from the way you just swallowed to how your heart is beating so fast. I feel it all."

Dropping a kiss to her shoulder, I grinned as she shivered.

"I felt that, too."

"What?" Charlie said. "It's cold in here. That had nothing to do with you."

"Liar," I breathed against her skin.

She shivered once more in response.

"I like being close to you," I murmured. "Holding you, touching you, learning what you like. And I know I didn't say anything before, but…I'd be more than happy to take you from behind."

Charlie's breaths were coming fast now.

"Or the side," I added. "Or the front. Any way you'd like."

She didn't say anything, but I knew she was listening.

"The first time, though, the very first time, I want to see your face. Doesn't matter who's on top or in what position. I just want to remember every second, every expression, every sigh that leaves your lips."

I didn't know if Charlie was breathing at all anymore. She'd gone still against me, seemed to be holding her breath.

"If I'm ever lucky enough to have you, I want to remember all of it," I finished.

After a few moments, I lifted my head to check on her.

"Charlie?" I asked.

Her eyes met mine. "Hmm?"

"You okay?"

"Yep, I'm good."

The way her voice squeaked at the end made me want to laugh, but I bit my tongue.

"Chase?" she said then.

"Yeah?"

"I think you should kiss me again."

She didn't have to tell me twice.