To Love a Player (21 page)

24

Mollie

I had just gotten out of the tub when my phone rang. I smiled when I saw my sister Maggie's name and answered it, "Hey, you."

"Hey, Molls!" Maggie chirped on the other end. I could feel her bright smile radiating through the phone, echoing my own and I asked, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in to see how you were doing because I missed you!" Maggie said and I smiled, "I'm doing great and I miss you, too! I need to plan a weekend to come home. I have a new guy to run past dad, although they met him a few weeks ago when he was just my roommate."

"You and Ben broke up?" Maggie asked as I remembered that I hadn't told my family about that yet. I sighed, wrapping myself in my bathrobe and said, "Yeah, we have been having some issues lately and the time apart made us realize that we weren't really meant to be together. It's good though, we're still good friends."

"So, now you are dating your roommate?" Maggie asked, then chuckled "I heard he was very good looking and, to quote mom, had a body that was hot enough to melt ice cream."

I slapped my hand to my forehead softly. Hearing my mother say that was embarrassing and I prayed that she would never say that to Callen. My cheeks went pink just thinking about it. Groaning, I said, "Oh my goodness, where does she come up with things like that? I hope that I never hear her say that about dad."

Maggie laughed, "I know, right? I think she's been watching too many Bachelor episodes."

"I agree!" I laughed along with her. Maggie sighed as she settled down, saying, "So tell me about this guy."

"He's amazing," I said simply, smiling as I started to get dressed. "Just simply amazing and I can't wait for you to meet him. You're going to love him."

"Well, if he's got you this happy, I know I'm going to love him," Maggie remarked and I laughed, "Definitely!"

"I hate to cut this short, but Jack is taking me to dinner. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be in New York this weekend looking at dresses with Reba and wondered if you wanted to go. We could swing by and pick you up and make a road trip out of it. It is a last minute thing, so if you can't make it then I'd understand!" Maggie rushed and I imagined her trying to dash out the door. I squealed, "I'll be in New York this weekend visiting Callen. He's there on a business project, but I'm sure that he wouldn't mind if I met with you and then you can meet Callen!"

"Oh my gosh, that'd be awesome! Talk to him first because I'd hate to intrude on your plans, but I'm your sister so I have that right!" she teased and I heard her say something in the background to Jack, "I'm on the phone with Molls. By the way, Jack says hi!"

"Hey, you could bring Jack and the two guys can hang out while we go look at dresses? When are you going to be there?" I asked quickly and Maggie replied, "We were thinking leaving here early Saturday morning and going to Boston to board the train, but I'm not quite sure what the plans are after that. We're still getting the details worked out because we're not sure if we just want to stay over or come home really late, but I should know more about that when I talk to Reba later."

An idea struck me, but I knew that I needed to check with Callen first. I walked out into the living room and received a curious expression from Callen. After walking over to him, I kissed his cheek before saying to my sister, "Okay, let me know as soon as you can! Love you!"

Hanging up with my sister, I took a deep breath of the deliciousness coming from the kitchen and grinned, "What are we eating? It smells amazing in here!"

Pulling me tight against him, he placed a slow kiss on my forehead, saying "We are having homemade margherita pizza. It's a pesto garlic sauce with tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, and mozzarella cheese on a grilled flatbread. I just put it on the grill outside, so it'll be ready in about twenty minutes."

"Mmm, sounds amazing," I said, circling my arms around his neck and standing on my tiptoes to level my mouth with his. I leaned forward as our mouths collided and felt his arms wrap tight around me, lifting me slightly in the air. I loved the feel of his mouth on mine, it was addicting. I never could seem to get enough. I felt my butt sliding onto the counter and my legs parting as he moved to stand between them, his arms pulling me impossibly closer to him

His fingers entangling in my hair, sending little shivers through my scalp and down to the center of my body, I tilted my chin up as his lips left mine and moving to the soft skin just below my ear. I let loose a breathy moan as his tongue lightly brushed against that spot and I heard his quick intake of breath against my ear. His mouth left a trail of fire as he kissed across my jaw, stopping to leave me breathless with a deep passionate kiss before moving to the other side.

He was on his way back to my lips when the kitchen timer went off. Resting his forehead against mine as we caught our breath, our eyes met and I noticed they were dark with passion. He gave me an intense look and was about to kiss me again, but the timer blared its interruption. He sighed in slight frustration as he muttered against my lips, "Stupid dinner."

I giggled softly, giving him a quick kiss before he stepped away from me. He shut the timer off, still grumbling, and went outside to check on the pizza. I slid off the counter and got the plates, silverware, and napkins, setting them on the table. He slid the door open and a heavenly smell carried on the breeze. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, leaning in to smell the pizza as he went by. My mouth watered at the smell and I couldn't wait to taste it.

He took out wine glasses and a smile twitched on my lips as I asked, "Wine with pizza?"

"You don't normally drink wine with your pizza?" he said giving me a strange look and I shook my head, teasing, "No, I didn't grow up a Miss Fancy Pants."

"Oh, I'm a Miss Fancy Pants?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and sauntering over to me. I circled my arms around his neck as I nodded, smiling widely at him. He gave me a mock glare before leaning in and giving me a deep, soulful look into my eyes. I felt my insides stir as his intense gaze reached down to my core. A small smile crossed his face before he leaned in for a soft kiss, then he said, "Let's eat, I'm starved."

I smiled as I sat down at the small table next to him. As he poured my glass of wine, he asked, "What would you normally eat with a pizza?"

"A normal pizza?" I asked and he nodded, sticking a bite in his mouth. I smiled and said, "I would have a beer—a good old, never can go wrong beer. I mean, I love wine, but every once in awhile it's great to have a beer."

He smiled, letting out a little chuckle and then got up from the table. I followed him with my eyes in a curious gaze as he went to the fridge, pulling out two beers. Laughing, I leaned back in my chair as I watched him open them and then place one before me. I cupped his face with my hand as I smiled at him, shaking my head, saying "You didn't have to do that."

"Well, I hate to be a Miss Fancy Pants in front of my girlfriend," he winked at me and I let out a soft laugh as we clinked the bottles together. Girlfriend, I loved the sound of that. I took a sip and after swallowing, I said "Ahh, now that hits the spot."

I took a bite of the pizza and felt like I had died and gone to heaven—it was that good. I gripped his arm as I let out a small moan while I chewed. He gave me a sideways smile as he said, "I take it you love it, huh?"

"Yes," I said, putting another bite in my mouth. While chewing, I said "I've decided that no matter what happens between us that you are just going to have to cook for me for the rest of my life."

A warm expression crossed Callen's face as he hung his head for a moment and then looked up at me. He took my left hand in his, lightly tracing his finger in my palm, focusing on my ring finger. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I wondered what it would be like if there was a ring, his ring, on my finger. He brought my hand to his soft lips as he kissed my empty ring finger, making me wonder if he was thinking the same thing.

We finished dinner in a strangely comfortable silence. I loved him, but it was way too soon for any kind of proposal, but the thought of being with him for the rest of my life wasn't a totally absurd idea. I did love the thought of it far, far down the road. As we were cleaning everything up, he broke the silence by asking, "Who were you talking to about New York earlier?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed."My sister called to ask me if I wanted to go to New York with her and the co-Maid of Honor this weekend. They are driving to Boston to catch the train to New York on Saturday to start looking at dresses. She said that it was completely last minute, which knowing Reba she probably thought of it while she was drunk, and understood if I couldn't go."

"And?" Callen asked, with a hint of a knowing smile on his face. I sucked in a breath as I said, "And I told her that I was already going to be in New York, so I thought I could hang out with her for a few hours on Saturday."

Wincing slightly, I asked, "Is that okay? I didn't know what the plan was or if you had something specific planned for us."

"Not anything specific, no, just some sightseeing tourist stuff, but it can wait until when you are finished," Callen said. He caressed my relieved face and said, "It's your sister and what kind of boyfriend does that make me if I don't let you see her when you are in the same city?"

I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck, saying sweetly, "You are the greatest boyfriend ever."

I loved the way she was looking at me right now.  Complete happiness warmed her face, making her more beautiful than I thought possible. Her eyes were lit up as radiance just shone from them. It hit me right in my heart. I knew that I wanted her to always look at me this way, even when she didn't feel like it—I could be pretty dumb sometimes. I am a guy after all.

I was slightly disappointed in losing her for a while on Saturday, but I didn't want her to miss out on dress shopping with her sister. It had been a while since Mollie had seen her and I wanted to make a good impression. Besides, coming home and being with her right now more than made up for it.

"I hate to ask this, but do you have any hotel connections you could swing for them? With it being last minute, I'm not sure what prices they are going to be facing," Mollie asked, crinkling her nose as she did so. I shrugged casually and said, "They can stay with us at the townhouse. I have four floors they can choose a room from."

Her eyes lit up as she asked, "Seriously? You're offering that?"

I nodded, looking into her eyes, tucking a stray strand behind her ear as I replied, "Anything that will make you smile like that."

She raised an eyebrow suggestively as she took my hand, leading me out of the kitchen, and said, "Well, in that case, I think we need to pick up where we left off."

She wrapped her arms tighter around my neck, pressing her whole body against me, and pulled my face to hers as she began to kiss me passionately. I felt the groan pressing in the back of my throat as her hands began to slowly slide through my hair, pulling gently at it as our kissed deepened. I lifted her up, hitching her legs so they wrapped around my waist as I carried her to the couch. We didn't break contact as I sat down with her on my lap, then shifted to where she was below me and we both stretched the length of the couch. It was as though our bodies knew the next move and easily followed through with it without hesitation or awkwardness, almost as if they had done it before.

Her hands slid under my shirt and I drew in a sharp breath when she lightly touched the skin underneath as she slowly slid my shirt up, taking it off. My mouth left hers and made its way across her jawline before she lifted her chin so I could have better access to her silky throat. My hands roamed the length of her upper body, slipping under the t-shirt she was wearing and she let out a whimper as my fingers lightly grazed the skin under her breasts. I stopped and looked up at her, pleading with my eyes to see what lie underneath. She nodded, arching herself against me as I slowly lifted her shirt off of her.

My breath caught in my throat as I gazed down at her breasts covered up by a lacy bra. My hands lightly traced the outline while I looked into her eyes and said, "You are so beautiful."

She pulled my face towards her and kissed me deeply, before letting out a breathy moan as my finger grazed across her nipple through the fabric. I pulled away from her slowly, leaving a trail of kisses down her neck to her collarbone. Her skin tasted like sweet cotton candy, practically melting against my tongue. I was fighting the urge to rush, wanting to take my time to enjoy the feel of her skin against me, in my mouth, on my tongue.