To Love a Player (12 page)

"I bought you flowers," I said, gesturing over to them and she gave me a heart-melting smile as she said, "I can see that, thank you. They are beautiful."

My eyes gazed into hers and I kissed her gently again before letting her go. I took her hand, leading her to the flowers and she inhaled the sweet fragrance as she said, "You didn't have to, Cal, but thank you."

"Don't go to Boston," I blurted out. Her eyes were sad when they looked into mine and she let out a little sigh. She looked at the flowers, touching each one and smelling them, closing her eyes. Slowly, she looked back at me and said, "I have to, I don't want to, but I have to."

"I know, but it's ruining my plans," I whined, pouting my lip out. She gave me an amused look as she came back over to me. Tilting her head at me, she asked, "How so?"

"Well, for starters," I said, kissing her gently on her lips, "I was planning on cooking you an amazing dinner."

I started guiding her to my room as I continued, "Then there would be dessert."

She smiled against my lips as she said, "Mmhmm, I'm listening."

I grazed her spine lightly with my fingers, smiling as I heard a murmer catch in her throat. I kissed her on her cheek, before whispering, "And then I would kiss every inch of your body and when I was finished, I'd start all over again."

Mollie arched herself into me as I wrapped my arms tight around her, pulling her as close to me as I could. I kissed the spot under her ear, listening to her let out another breathy moan. I smiled against her creamy skin and murmured, "Then I would hold you in my arms as we drifted off to sleep and in the morning, I would make you the best breakfast in bed that you have ever had."

I gave her a long kiss and once we parted, I said, "See, if you go, then you'll miss all of that."

Mollie pulled back slightly, gazed into my eyes and softly said, "It's a shame that I have to miss it, but if I don't go to Boston, then I'd be cheating and Ben doesn't deserve that."

I frowned, but knew she was right. I didn't have to like it, but I knew she was right. I let out a sulky sigh and she leaned forward, brushing her lips up against mine as she said, "I'll try to get back here as soon as I can, okay?"

I nodded, kissing her one more time before she stepped away from me and we walked out of the room. About an hour later, I watched her as she packed her weekend bag and loaded it into Marnie's car. I fought the urge to pull everything out and make her stay, but I knew that it would be no use. She needed to do this face to face.

"See ya Callen," Marnie piped as she slid into the driver's seat. Mollie raised her eyebrows at me as she stood by the passenger side and I gestured with my finger for her to come to where I was standing on the porch. Gripping my hands at her waist, I pulled her to me and gave her a gentle kiss. I leaned my forehead against hers and said, "Get back here as soon as possible."

She nodded and said, "I'll try."

"Text me when you get there, okay? Just so that I know you made it safely," I said, giving her a kiss on her cheek. She nodded, smiling softly at me and said, "I will. Bye Cal."

"Bye Moll," I whispered, kissing her softly I watched her get into the car. I waved as they pulled away, resisting the urge to follow them and bring her back.

15

Mollie

I climbed into Marnie's car and waved at Callen as we pulled away. Marnie sat next to me snorting out a laugh and I gave her a gentle shove as I rolled my eyes. I rested my elbow on the edge of the window and put my head against the palm of my hand as I looked at her. I sighed, "How am I going to do this?"

"Easy," Marnie shrugged, "you simply tell Ben that you found a much hotter love."

"Marnie!" I exclaimed, slapping her on her leg. Marnie laughed, "Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what!" I laughed and she narrowed her eyes at me mockingly. I rubbed where I hit and apologized. She responded by sticking out her tongue at me and chuckling. We stopped at a stoplight and she looked over at me with a serious smile. "You two look so adorable together, Moll. He really likes you, I mean, really. There's no hypothetical "could he really?" thing to even analyze. Just trust me when I say that he REALLY likes you."

I looked at her in disbelief and she said, "I know things."

"What kind of things?" I asked, feeling the smile on my face widened. My heart pounded in my chest at the thought of what Marnie and Callen had talked about before I walked in the door. Marnie smiled a coy smile and just shrugged as she teased, "I'm not the one who should tell you, even though, oh my goodness, I really want to! I honestly never knew that Callen could be so freaking sweet!"

"Please tell me?" I pleaded and she shook her head as she replied, "Nope, it totally wouldn't be the same if I told you. This is something that you need to hear from Callen. Besides, I'd probably mess it up."

I sighed dramatically and pretended to pout, but Marnie just laughed at me. My heart fluttered at the thought of Callen telling me how he felt. It wasn't like I didn't have a clue because I could definitely feel when he was pressed against me how he felt. If Marnie had not been hanging out in the living room, I'm not sure how much longer we would have kept our clothes on. I looked out the window, trying to stop my imagination from going wild with thoughts of Callen naked.

Was I ready to go there with him? His amazing kisses were one thing, but to have sex? I mean, I wanted to, oh how I wanted to. But, would that make him leave faster? I wondered about these feelings that Marnie kept hinting at. If they were true, did this mean that he would want an actual relationship? That thought made me smile softly.

I thought of the flowers that he brought home. I laughed to myself at seeing all the different kinds he had in the vase. I was flattered that he bought them, even though he had no idea what kind I liked. I enjoyed seeing the sweet side of him, it balanced out the cocky side that he had on display when I first met him.

"I told him that you liked Forget-Me-Nots," Marnie said, smiling sweetly at me. "That poor boy had no idea, but he certainly nailed down your favorite color. Could you imagine what the sales clerk thought when he walked into the store and asked for every purple flower they had?"

We laughed together as we both tried to picture it. I shook my head as I said, "She probably thought he was a little nuts."

"Nah," Marnie winked, "he was just a boy in love."

My eyes widened as my mouth dropped open and Marnie laughed, "Okay, so I told you that part, but no more!"

"He said that he loved me?" I asked, not sure whether I wanted to freak out or cry from the sweet thought of it. Marnie gave me a sheepish look and said, "Um, sort of? He didn't use those exact words, though."

My eyes filled with tears and Marnie grimaced, "Ugh, why did I say that? I'm such a hopeless romantic so I get all giddy with stuff like this!"

He loved me? Wait, she said that he didn't say those exact words. I looked at her with my eyebrows raised, waiting for her to tell me more. I just had to know. Marnie shook her head and pretended to zip her lips. I'd just have to wait, even though my heart fluttered at the thought of him saying the words. I wonder if he's ever said it to anyone. Does he tell Sophie that he loves her? I was pretty sure that was more of a physical relationship than a loving one.

I looked out the window again and saw the sign for Boston, my nerves shot up in attention to seeing Ben. Was he going to be able to tell? How was I going to break up with him? I've never been the one who broke up with someone first, it's always been a mutual thing. My high school boyfriend and I split because we were going to two different colleges in two different states. I stayed in Massachusetts and he went to Iowa. We loved each other, but we didn't want to try the impossible long distance relationship. I dated a few guys in college, but none of them turned into relationships. Ben was actually my first college boyfriend, so this was going to be hard.

I saw the exit sign and took a deep breath as we pulled off the interstate. When we turned onto the street where he lived, Marnie reached over and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I gave her a grateful smile as we stopped in front of Ben's loft and his face appeared at the window.

I didn't know what to do with myself. I paced the house for a while thinking about Mollie and wishing that I could be with her or at least have her here with me. I'd prefer the latter if I really had a choice. I wondered what would have really happened if Marnie hadn't been in the living room and it was just us in the house. I knew that I wanted to slowly strip off her clothes and kiss her bare skin. I'd be happy if it led to sex, but it wouldn't have been my intention to start with.

I had never felt as strong about a girl as I did for Mollie, so this was all new to me. When Sophie and I first started dating, it was more because she was head cheerleader and I was the star football player. Sure, I loved her, but it was more teenage hormones than anything real. Even now, it was more physical than emotional. We were a drug to each other; hard habits to break.

I tried Sophie again and groaned when it went to voicemail. Instead of hanging up, I said, "Hey Soph, hope everything is still going well in Australia for you. Look, we need to talk, so call me when you get this, okay?"

I didn't want to break up with her over voicemail; it was bad enough to do it by phone. However, I felt that if Mollie was breaking up with Ben this weekend, then I needed to end things with Sophie. It was the right thing to do. Now I just hoped that Ben would be so distraught that she'd come back tonight or even as soon as tomorrow morning so I could do what I had planned.

I began pacing around the house again and decided to go for a run. I ran down our usual morning route and slowed down when I got to the path that went around the lake. It was different at night when the sun was setting than it was when the sun was rising. The crickets were chirping while the geese and ducks lazily swam, causing soft ripples on the surface of the water. The soft orange glow gave the lake a warm, inviting look. It created a romantic atmosphere. If Mollie came back tomorrow, this is definitely where I was taking her to tell her how I felt.

I wandered to the small boathouse and wondered if I'd be able to get into it. It was hardly ever locked anymore since all we kept in it were two old canoes and very outdated life vests. I turned the handle, surprised when it didn't turn. I peeked through the windows and saw that it seemed like it had been used somewhat recently. There was a plush blanket spread out on the floor, two pillows, a few melted candles. I smiled, wondering if Lacey and Eli used this place as a little getaway from the kids when they needed to be alone. Then I shuttered, 'cause well, the thought of my sister having sex anywhere was gross. I would be okay with the thought that my nieces and nephew just appeared in her womb.

I would definitely have to get rid of that stuff, or at least hide it when I brought Mollie here. The idea of a nice nighttime picnic popped in my head and I grinned, it would be perfect.

I walked down to the end of the dock, wishing that I had Mollie by my side as I watched the sun start to fade.

"You're here!" Ben exclaimed as soon as I stepped out of the car. He pulled me into a bear hug, kissing my cheek before kissing my lips. Instantly, I felt guilty. I pulled out of the kiss and hugged him tight. He cupped my face in his hands and said, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," I lied, smiling softly at him. Well it wasn't a total lie, I did miss him. We haden't really talked much this week because he had been busy with work. I looked in his eyes and hoped that mine weren't reflecting my guilty conscience. His eyes were different too, almost like he was trying to hide something from me. I ignored it, believing that I was just throwing my guilt onto him.

Marnie coughed and Ben hugged her saying, "You know that I've missed you too."

She smiled as she hugged him and when he let go, he took my bag and my hand as he led us upstairs. Marnie grumbled jokingly behind us about having to carry her bag, so Ben let go of my hand and took her bag from her. She looked at him with fake sweetness as she said, "Oh Ben, you are such a gentleman!"

"I do what I can for my two favorite ladies," Ben said as we reached the top of the stairs. He opened the door to his apartment and as soon as I walked in, I noticed Melanie's death stare. She quickly looked away when I saw her, but it was still there. She plastered on a noticeably fake smile as she waved hello. I saw Ben looking at her sternly and before I could focus on it anymore, I felt two strong arms grab me from behind and a voice ask, "Who is this lovely lady, Ben?"

I whirled around and squeezed Mike's neck as he laughed. He squeezed me back and I noticed over the top of his broad shoulder that Melanie was rolling her eyes and pretending to gag while Steph laughed. What the hell was her problem?

"Okay, Mikey, that's enough," Ben laughed as Mike slowly let me go. Ben pulled me away from him and led me to his room, carrying my overnight bag. As soon as the door shut, he pulled me to him and kissed me. The kiss wasn't the same as it was before; it almost felt like he needed to see if something was still there. I pulled out of it and looked into his eyes as I asked, "Everything okay?"

Ben looked away for a second, so fast that I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't been paying attention. He looked back in my eyes and I could tell that he was lying when he said, "Yeah, everything's great, now that you're here."

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. We were both lost in our own thoughts, each of us letting out a sigh. It was not the reunion that either of us thought that it was going to be. I closed my eyes and said, "We need to talk later."

Ben pulled away and nodded. I sensed that he knew what it was about and he looked relieved. He kissed me softly once more and then led me out of the room. We joined the others and I couldn't help but see Melanie curiously glance in our direction. Ben pulled me down to his lap as soon as he sat on the couch and I felt her eyes narrow as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Get reacquainted, you two?" Mike snickered and I laughed, shrugging my shoulders suggestively. Ben pulled me to him laughing and hugged me. I smiled at him and he kissed me on the cheek. I leaned against him and asked, "So what's the plan for tonight?"

"We are having some people meet us here and then we're going out to a couple of bars," Mike said. "Our loft is only a few blocks down from the best bars."

"Cool," I said and I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that it was a text from Callen, so I got off of Ben's lap and went over to the balcony to read it.

"hey u. was at our spot missing u. r u home yet?" I smiled, biting my bottom lip to keep my smile from getting any wider. I sent him a text back that said, "miss u 2. maybe home 2moro? talkin 2 ben 2nite."

Melanie's eyes watched me with suspicion as I came back into the living room. She shot me a haughty look as she asked, "Who was that from?"

I looked at her and shrugged, "Callen. He just wanted to make sure that I made it."

"How's that been going?" Mike asked and I gave a casual shrug as I replied, "Better than I thought it would. He's actually a pretty nice guy when he isn't surrounded by an audience and he's been a pretty good roommate. We have been getting along quite well."

My voice must have been a little airier than it should have been because Marnie choked on her drink and I shot her a curious look. Melanie gave us a curious look before a suspicious smile crossed her face. Her eyes shifted over to Ben and her mouth started to open, but he quickly said, "We better get ready if we're going out."