The Perfect Play by Cookie O’Gorman

CHAPTER 5: Charlie

Was that his first kiss?

Couldn't have been, I thought. My mind refused to believe it. And yet…

The way he'd frozen, the flush suffusing his cheeks now, his genuine response. All evidence pointed to the answer being a great big yes.

It was crazy to even think it, looking at him. Chase O'Brien was very attractive. His brand of male beauty could not be denied. I mean, those piercing gray eyes, the golden brown hair, that deliciously fit body. If they weren't so stuck on baseball, he and his twin—any of the O'Briens really—could've been models. They'd sell so many pairs of boxer briefs, I thought then shook myself.

The point was Chase didn't look like someone who'd never been kissed.

He hadn't moved to kiss me back until the end, so I couldn't be sure. Maybe I'd just surprised him. My intuition, though, was buzzing.

How did a guy like Chase get to this point in his life, a college junior, star athlete in his prime, and not make-out with a single girl? Or several? Or heck several guys?

I knew he had to have admirers on both sides of the aisle.

Could it really have been his first kiss?

To think, my lips may have been the first to touch his.

And if that was the case…was he really a virgin?

Sure, he told Honor he was in that article she wrote about him, but honestly, I'd thought it was all a bunch of crap, a ploy to get more action. In my experience, most guys would say anything to get laid. But maybe that wasn't Chase?

No, I decided. I'd simply shocked the heck out of him.

And to be honest, he'd done the same to me.

I couldn’t remember the last time I'd felt anything, let alone actual electricity, with such an innocent kiss. I'd die before admitting it. To Chase or to anyone. But there had been something…

"Well," he said, clearing his throat, "that was—sorry, Charlie. What was that exactly?"

"Oh," I said. Shooting a look over my shoulder, I exhaled. Devlin and his crew were finally clearing out as the three other O'Brien brothers loomed over them. "See those guys? I was trying to get them to leave us alone."

He frowned. "Were they bothering you?"

"They're harmless. Just couldn't take a hint."

Chase was glaring at the guys like he might go say something. It was cute but unnecessary.

"I told them my jealous boyfriend was on his way and that they might want to make themselves scarce."

Chase nodded. "I take it that's supposed to be me."

"Yeah," I said.

"And that's what the kiss was about."

"Of course."

His eyes narrowed. "Maybe I should go talk to them, make sure they got the message."

Okay, I wasn't going to lie.

Chase's willingness to defend my honor was kind of hot.

But again unnecessary.

"Nah, it's okay," I said. "You played your part well."

His fingers flexed against my waist. It was only then I realized he was still touching me, had been the entire time we'd been talking. Taking a quick step back, watching his hands fall, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Anyway, thanks," I said, and his eyes came back to mine. "That kiss was…interesting."

With that, I turned and walked back to the table.

I knew he'd follow—but I hadn't expected Chase to slide into the booth right after me, the sides of our thighs ending up pressed together. He shrugged as I lifted a brow.

"Jealous boyfriend, right? Figured we should keep the ruse going," he said. "Otherwise, those guys might come back."

Baylor chuckled. "From what I hear, she might like it if they did."

Chase turned to him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Apparently, they came over after June was giving them the 'signals' that Charlie taught her."

I winced, but Chase just looked confused.

"What kind of signals?" he said.

Dex grinned. "The seductive kind."

June's face was red, but she crossed her arms in defiance.

"I don't see what the big deal is," she said. "So Charlie showed me how to attract a guy. What's wrong with that?"

Baylor threw her a frown. "You really think if you learn some stupid moves guys will start hitting on you? Come on, June. Get real."

"It seemed to work on Devlin. He asked for my number, and I was about to give it to him when you walked in."

"And you want a tool like that?"

"Would you be jealous if I did?" June asked, and Baylor sat back.

"No," he said. "Of course not. But that doesn't make it any less sad."

June got up from the table and excused herself. The wounded look on her face made me want to reach across the table and smack Baylor. Unfortunately, he was too far away.

"If you were closer, I'd slap you," I growled.

"Me, too," Emmy said.

"Me three," Honor agreed.

Archer reached around and popped Baylor on the back of the head.

"Hey," Baylor cried. "What did I say?"

"The wrong thing," Dex muttered. "As usual."

I lifted my chin at Archer. "Thanks for that."

"No problem. He had it coming," he said.

Honor's boyfriend and I didn't have the best relationship. I still hadn't forgiven him for how he'd treated Honor last year, his dumb self-imposed absence after Chase got hurt. But since then Archer had made my best friend happier than I'd ever seen her. And he did try to keep his brothers in line—though he wasn't always successful.

"Why isn't anyone else upset about this?" Baylor said.

"About your crap comments?" Emmy said. "Trust me, we're all mad about it. Please shut up now."

"I'd take that advice, Bay," Chase put in.

But his twin didn't know when to quit.

"June's so innocent. I don't want anyone corrupting her," he mumbled. "I won't apologize for that."

"We aren't the ones you should apologize to," Chase said.

Baylor's brow furrowed.

"Go find June, and make sure she's okay."

I shook my head. "I wasn't corrupting anyone. We were just having fun."

June came back to the table with a basket of garlic knots, and Dex scooted over to make room for her.

"These things are amazing," June said, and I was proud of how cool and composed she sounded. There was no trace of the upset from a few minutes ago. "You guys have got to try some."

Dex was the first to dive in, and the others followed.

"Hey," Baylor said softly, "you alright, Junior?"

"Totally," June said.

"Sorry if I made you upset."

"You didn't." She looked to me and smiled. "Devlin caught me on my way back. He said he'd call tomorrow."

I nodded. "Way to go, June."

Emmy whooped, holding up her hand for a high-five. "Yes, girl! That's awesome."

The smallest and only female O'Brien sibling threw Baylor a look that promised death if he gave the wrong answer.

"Isn't that awesome, Baylor?" she said.

He grunted. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"I guess this means Charlie's instructions for seduction worked," Dex said.

Honor nodded. "A little too well. They came over and refused to leave."

"Even after Charlie told them about her big, scary, made-up boyfriend," Emmy added. "Which I assume was the reason for the kiss you laid on Chase?"

I nodded. "You assume correctly."

"Now, that was awesome," June said.

The others laughed and kept chatting, but I felt Chase shift a bit closer. He dropped his voice so only I could hear.

"Speaking of which," he said, "what did you mean by interesting?"

"Hmm?"

"The kiss. You said it was interesting."

I nodded.

"How so?" he asked.

"Well, whenever you kiss someone new, it's always different."

His eyes turned bright. "Is it really?"

Okay, that definitely supported my first-kiss theory, but I still couldn't be sure.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "People have different kissing techniques. You know how it is."

Chase shook his head. "I don't actually, but I'd love to hear more."

Before I could respond, he frowned and put his arm along the back of the booth behind my shoulders. I looked to it then back to him in question.

"There's a man over there looking at you," he said quietly. "Jealous boyfriend, remember?"

I nearly laughed as he gave whoever it was a glare.

"Nice," I said.

"I try."

Chase turned to me again, his lips tipped up.

"Hey, thanks for your help today at the game," he said. "I don't think the other Wolves noticed. But I did."

I sniffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." Chase let out a low scoff. "Just please promise you won't try to distract me if I ever get back out there. Sellers never stood a chance. Not sure I'd fare much better."

"I thought baseball players were trained to ignore distractions," I said.

"We are," he said. "For some reason, though, I couldn't take my eyes off of you."

There was no way I was blushing. None.

"So, I hear you recommended this place."

I tried not to notice how close our faces were. "Yeah, I found it a few years ago by accident. Village Pizza is a little hole-in-the-wall gem. Not only is it unique. They have the best food in the universe."

"It's amazing," Chase said, glancing around, his gaze appreciative. "I haven't tried the pizza yet, and I already want to come back."

"I love it here," I said.

"I can see why."

"You should definitely try the pizza."

"Oh, I will. In a second."

"Why wait?"

"Because I'm having too much fun talking to you."

I blinked. His words washed over me like a bucket of ice water. I felt the sudden need to get out of there.

"Well, bye," I said as I rose from the table. More than a few pairs of eyes shot to me in confusion, Chase's included. "I should get home. I've got a lot of studying to do."

"But we rode here together," Honor said. "Is everything okay, Charlie?"

"Um hm, it's all good." I made sure to meet her eyes so she'd believe me. "You all can get a ride back from the guys, right?"

Archer nodded. "We took the SUV. There's plenty of room."

"Alright," I said. "See you girls at Magnolia house."

We said our goodbyes, and I was nearly to the door when a voice called my name.

"Charlie, wait."

Chase put a hand on my wrist, and that same electricity ran up my arm. The feeling was odd, not unpleasant per se…but it refused to be ignored. I stopped, turned to face him, thought about pulling away but didn't want him—or our friends—to see how affected I was. The whole table was staring, a bunch of nosey spectators. I couldn't really blame them. It was rare to see the two of us together.

"What's up?" I asked.

Chase had been staring at his hand on my arm, but at the question, he looked up.

"Why me?" he said.

I shook my head. "I'm not following."

"I mean, why did you choose me for the fake boyfriend role and not one of my brothers? Why did you kiss me?"

My mind went through several possible answers: Archer was Honor's guy, so that wasn't happening. June was basically in love with Baylor. It would've broken her heart if I'd used him—and despite what some people assumed when they look at me, I wasn't the type to steal someone else's man. That left Dex and Chase. Honestly, I didn't know Dex well, but he probably would've gone along with the kiss. Some people thought he was intimidating, and he gave off that vibe. I'd dated guys with scars, piercings and tattoos before, though, so I wasn't fazed by his appearance. And his sarcasm kind of matched mine. I didn't have a good response for Chase, so I played it off.

"You were the first one I saw," I said with a shrug, "I just acted, and I didn't think you'd mind too much."

"Ah." Chase's eyes flashed. "I see."

"Like I said, don't read anything into it."

"Got it," he said. "Well, it was an honor playing your boyfriend. Drive safe, Charlie."

I swallowed as he backed away, wasn't sure he realized it, but his touch lingered, trailing down my skin. A slow glide from wrist to palm to fingertips. When our hands finally disconnected, I felt the loss somewhere inside my chest. Put it down to heartburn from the pizza.

Hurrying to the car, I shut the door and started the engine.

His questions replayed in my head: Why me? Why did you kiss me?

The truth was as unsettling as it was surprising.

Why did I kiss Chase?

Because I hadn't even considered anyone else.

I'd only wanted him.

I hadn't even seen the others.

Just him.

The thought propelled me forward, and I pulled out of the parking lot. I decided to take my own advice and not read too much into it. The electricity was probably just a result of heatstroke from the game, the flutters in my stomach I put down to indigestion.

I wanted to check the rearview mirror, almost did a couple of times, but I forced my eyes straight ahead. Even though I didn't look, somehow I knew Chase was there, watching as I drove away.