To Love a Player (7 page)

7

Mollie

I was sitting in the library studying for my finals when I heard someone whisper my name so softly that I wasn't sure that I had heard it in the first place. Discreetly, I looked around, but didn't see anyone that was looking at me, so I figured that my mind was playing tricks on me; I had been in the library for about three hours, after all. I took a deep breath, shaking my head to clear my mind and went back to reviewing my papers spread out in front of me.

"Mollie," the voice whispered again, only this time it was a little louder and my eyes flickered to the bookshelf row beside me. Ben was leaning casually against one of the shelves, smiling his cute sideways smile. I sighed, rolling my eyes at him before turning back to my work and went back to studying. I was still slightly mad at him, even though we had an all night conversation about his neglecting to tell me about moving in with Melanie.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked as he leaned over the table, pouting out his lip and shooting me a sad puppy dog look from his chocolate brown eyes. I tried fighting back a smile, but I knew it was useless. I shook my head as he kissed me gently on the lips. He grinned wickedly as he sat down in the chair next to me. He slid his chair over to me and said, "Oh darn, I was prepared to beg for your forgiveness."

I gave him a sultry smile, raising an eyebrow as I asked, "Oh yeah? And just what were you planning on doing?"

He cupped my face in his hands as he said, "Well, it doesn't include sitting in the library all night." He kissed me deeply and pulled away slowly, placing kisses along my jaw and my neck. I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment, enjoying his lips fluttering across my collarbone. He pulled away, bringing his hand to my face and caressed it gently with his thumb as he whispered, "Come on, let's get out of here."

He reached down for my hand, but I pulled it away and said, "I can't, Ben, I need to study. Not everyone is as smart as you.  Some of us actually have to work hard for our grades."

"Hey, I work hard too!" he exclaimed, sitting back with a mock look of hurt on his face. I raised my eyebrows at him and he gave me a shrug before leaning in to kiss my cheek. He pulled out his laptop and started playing Angry Birds. Rolling my eyes, I was suddenly jealous of his workload this semester.

His phone buzzed next to him and he picked it up, turning the vibrating noise off. I caught a glimpse of "Mel" and I knew instantly who it was. He let out an annoyed sigh as he pushed his phone away from him. His phone buzzed in a text and I watched him shake his head slightly in annoyance. I couldn't concentrate on my studying anymore, so I asked, "Ignore her calls too?"

He flashed me a look as he said, "I don't purposely ignore your calls, Moll." I let out a humorless laugh, raising an eyebrow and he protested, "I don't."

Rolling my eyes, I inhaled deeply and he said, angrily, "I thought we already talked about this, Mollie. Nothing happened, we're just friends. She's going to be my roommate, that's all."

"In a three bedroom loft apartment," I stated, a slight hiss to my voice. I was trying hard to not be upset about it because I was sharing a house with Callen, who I may or may not be having feelings for. This was different, Melanie is his ex and she wanted him back, they had a history together.

"Yes," Ben snapped, "a three bedroom apartment where she's sharing a room with Steph and I'm by myself. We discussed this last night."

"I know, but I still don't understand why you couldn't have told me about it instead of acting all guilty when I found out," I said in a hushed whisper since we were starting to attract the attention of those around us. Ben gave me a defeated sigh as he said, "I don't know, Moll, I don't have any good reasons why I didn't tell you."

"I don't understand how you want me to trust you when you're hanging out with her when you do things like that," I said softly and his brown eyes looked intensely into mine. I sighed as I said, "I love you, Ben, however there are times when I don't think you're being a very good boyfriend. You barely answer my calls or return my texts and you leave out important information like your ex living with you."

He nodded silently as he looked down at our intertwined hands. He sat that way for a while and it was killing me to know what was going on inside of his brain. I knew he was sorry and I had forgiven him, kind of, but I had to let him know how I felt. He looked up at me, his eyes studying mine for a moment as he said, "I am sorry, Mollie and I promise from here on out, I will be the best boyfriend because that's what you deserve."

I smiled softly at him as he raised my hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. I closed my books with my free hand and he helped me pack them back into my bag. I leaned over, kissing him softly, saying against his lips, "Come on, let's get out of here."

I was walking into the library when Mollie and Ben were on their way out. Her eyes met mine as she passed me and I felt them look through me. Ben gave me a smug smile and I instantly wanted to punch it right off his face. I sighed, watching them leave with his arm now around her as they started walking towards his car. I couldn't help but stare as he opened the car door for her, giving her a long kiss before she sat down. The huge smile on her face faded slightly when she saw that I was looking in her direction. She gave me a small wave, which I stupidly returned. Sure, when he wasn't looking, she wanted to be friendly.

I sighed, shook my head and walked away from the library since my reason for going there was leaving with another guy. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and without looking to see who it was, I answered gruffly, "Hello."

"Callen," a familiar voice, belonging to my ex, purred on the other end. I stopped in my tracks and felt my heart speed up—Sophie had this affect on me.

"Hello Sophie," I said, and asked, "Back in town?"

"Oh so you've heard," Sophie said in her silky voice. How could I not hear? Lacey mentioned it last week and my mom had mentioned during every conversation I had with her. Even Brock mentioned it when he saw me on Friday.

"Yep." Sighing, I asked, "What do you want, Soph?"

"I want to see you and catch up," Sophie said softly. I listened for the fake genuinness that she sometimes poured out, but there was none. She tossed the bait by saying, "I've missed you, Cal. I was so stupid for letting you go."

Rolling my eyes, I knew that I was taking the bait. There was something about her that always brought me back in. It was why I didn't allow myself to be too attached to girls—the fear they were going to be the ones that used me, like Sophie always managed to. I sighed, kicking a rock across the street as I stood at my car and asked, "Where are you?"

"I'm at my townhouse," she replied. I opened the door and climbed in, knowing I was going to regret this as I said, "I'll be there in twenty."

I sat outside Sophie's townhouse for another 15 minutes after I pulled in, debating whether or not I should go in. My heart jumped when I heard a small tapping on my window and Sophie's face was illuminated by the soft light coming from the front porch. I climbed out and said, "Geez, Soph, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

She shot me a sexy smirk, tossing her wavy brown hair over her shoulder. Her green eyes sparkled when the soft light touched her face, reminding me of emeralds. She folded her arms across her chest as she said in her familiar breathy voice that made my heart pound, "I didn't think that you were ever going to come in, so I thought that I would come out to you."

"Well, I'm here," I said, stepping towards her, gripping my hands on her waist and pulling her close to me. Her sweet pea vanilla scent wafted towards me on the gentle summer breeze, drawing me in closer to her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and closed the gap, her soft lips gave way to my demanding ones. She whimpered when I picked her up, wrapping her legs around me, as I  carried her into the house.

It had been six months since I saw her last and that was when I found her in my bed with one of the male models she was on a shoot with. I threw them both out and she went away to Europe on a modeling job. Now she was back, helping my sister prepare for New York's Fashion Week by lending herself as a model. It didn't take long for our bodies to become reacquainted with one another, she was like a drug and I was an addict. Just like with any drug, I knew that I was going to regret it.

8

Mollie

I was hiding out in my favorite corner of the library, sitting on a plush couch and jamming to my iPod, when I felt something kick my foot. I looked up, finding a pair of sky blue eyes and the infamous smirk of Callen Grey. I shot him an annoyed look, pulling my earbuds out of my ears and he said, "I've been looking for you."

"Well, great job detective, you found me." I said flatly, turning the page in my book. I had been trying to avoid Callen all week and up until now, I had done a good job. It had been easy since I was either in the library, busy packing up my dorm room, or with Ben. Callen plopped down next to me on the couch, causing me to bounce on the cushion.

I rolled my eyes, letting out frustrated sigh as I turned towards him and asked, "What are you doing?"

He gave me an expectant look as he pulled out a book and a folder as he said, "I'm studying."

"You can't do that somewhere else?" I asked, annoyed and he shook his head, smirking. I looked around and pointed over to a couch a few rows away from me. He shook his head, grinning an impish smile. I huffed in annoyance and gathered up my stuff, then walked over to the couch far away from him and sat down. I shot him a glare as I inserted my earbuds and went back to studying. He had a way of getting under my skin and if I didn't know any better, I was betting that he enjoyed doing so.

I let out a small laugh as I watched her glare at me, shoving her earbuds in her ears and resuming her studying. Her eyes were piercing through mine as she shot me another glare, almost daring me to come over to her. I raised my eyebrow at her, showing her that I was thinking about it, but I knew that I didn't want to push it too much. I stretched out on the couch and cracked my book open. It was going to be a hard final and I knew that I would pass it, but it wouldn't be pretty.

After a very frustrating half hour later, I looked up to see her head back on the couch and a look of frustration on her face. I wondered if she was having as much trouble as I was. She turned looked in my direction, our eyes connected, and I nodded my head for her to come over. Indecision flashed in her eyes for a brief moment, before she sighed and gathered up her stuff, bringing it over. I bit back a huge grin as she sat down next to me.

"I hate you," she said half-hearted and I gave her a one arm hug, kissing her on the side of the head, letting my lips linger for a moment as I inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. She gave me a gentle push and smiled up at me.

"No you don't." I shook my head and she rolled her eyes with a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. She scooted out of my arm and curled up on the other side of the couch, tilting her head and flashing me a teasing smile as she said, "I've heard how you get girls to help you study, so you just stay over there."

I gave her a look of fake innocence as I said, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She let out a bubbly laugh while shaking her head. I grinned, shrugging my shoulder as we got back to work, stopping every now and then to quiz each other on things we knew were going to be on the final.

"How are things with your boyfriend?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to know the answer or not. Mollie inhaled a frustrated sigh and answered in a flat voice, "Fine."

"They don't sound fine," I said, giving her a concerned look. Her eyes met mine as she studied me for a minute. I could tell she was debating whether she wanted to open up to me or not. I reached over and patted her knee as I said, "You can talk about anything with me, I want you to know that. We're friends, remember?"

She nodded, letting out a soft sigh and said, "He went to Boston over the weekend to look at a loft apartment that he is sharing with three other people and didn't tell me that one of those people is his ex."

"What does Ben have to say?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even when I said his name. I definitely was going to punch him for being a jerk. Mollie rested her head on the back of the couch as she replied, "Other than apologizing and promising to be a better boyfriend, not a whole lot. He says they are just friends and it's not a big deal, but I've been having some issues with him lately, not answering my calls or texts, and while I know that he's been super busy trying to get this internship, I just feel like I'm slipping down on his priority list."

Good news for me, I thought happily, biting back the giddy smile that was trying to slip out. I cleared my throat, shaking my head to try to get rid of the excitement rising up.  She gave me a strange look and I quickly swallowed backa  smile.  I attempted a sympathetic look—successfully—and she smiled back at me gratefully.

I stared intensely in her eyes as I leaned over and caressed her face, "You deserve to be at the top of anyone's priority list. If he lets you fall, then it's his loss."

She leaned her head against my palm and I stroked her face with my thumb. The electricity between us crackled in the air. She slowly gave me a warm smile that made my heart quicken and said in a soft voice, "Thanks, Cal."

I nodded silently, our eyes still locked on each other's. All of a sudden, I wanted to cup her face in both of my hands, pull her to me and feel the softness of her full lips on mine. I wanted to taste the creaminess of her skin along her soft jaw line. I wanted to tangle my fingers in her hair and press up against her. I wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go. Sex didn't matter, I just wanted to kiss her and kiss her until I couldn't anymore. My eyes broke away from hers as I watched her throat move as she swallowed nervously and I wondered if she was thinking the same thing.

We heard someone clear their throat next to us, causing both of us to jump apart. Mollie's roommate was looking at us with a knowing smile on her face as she stood with her arms folded across her chest. She smirked as she asked, "Moll, are you all done here?"

Mollie looked at me and nodded, putting her stuff in her bag. I ran a hand through my hair and watched her silently. She slung her bag over her shoulder and said quietly, "See you in class. Good luck, Cal."

"You too, Mollie." I said and she gave me a soft smile before walking away. Marnie cast me another look over her shoulder. I waved at her and smiled as she began to talk excitedly with Mollie as they disappeared from sight.

"What did I interrupt?" Marnie asked me as soon as we were out of earshot. I shrugged, still lost in thought from the intensity of Callen's eyes. It was as though I could read every one of his thoughts through them and it scared me to death. I could see that he was thinking about kissing me and I knew that was what I wanted him to do. I wondered what his soft lips would feel like on mine, his hands in my hair, his arms tight around my waist. I felt Marnie jerk on my arm and I shook the thoughts out of my head. It dawned on me that she was firing off questions and I was completely zoned out.

"Mollie, are you even listening to me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised, a smile touching her lips. I grinned at her sheepishly, shaking my head. I could feel my cheeks turning pink. Marnie tilted her head back as she laughed. She hooked her arm through mine as she said, "If you two ever get together, the world better watch out."

"Why is that?" I asked, giving her a confused smile and she said, "Because you two have such an enormous amount of hot chemistry that the world may explode."

I rolled my eyes at her and felt someone wrap his arm around my free shoulder. My heart stepped up its pace as I thought for a fleeting moment that it was Callen, it quickly sank a little when I saw that it was Ben. I tried not to look disappointed as I looked up at him and smiled, "Hi babe."

"Hey beautiful," he said, giving me a quick kiss on my cheek while we walked. He pulled us to a stop and looked at Marnie as he asked, "Do you mind if I steal my girl for a little while?"

She pouted her lip out, nodding reluctantly. We were supposed to be having a Roomie Only Night since it was our last night together.

"You are the best!" Ben exclaimed as he kissed her cheek and said, "I promise that I will have her back so you can still have your night together."

I stood firm in my tracks as he tried to pull me away. He turned, giving me a curious look and I said, "I told you that I couldn't hang out with you tonight. I have plans."

"But, I want to take you somewhere. It's my last night with you. You'll get to see Marnie a lot more often than you'll see me," he said, as he gave me his famous puppy dog face and pulled me into his arms. Marnie insisted, "its okay, Mollie, I've got some more studying to do anyway."

"No, Marnie, we planned on hanging out. So," I stated firmly and turned to Ben "I will talk to you later."

I stood back out of sight watching Mollie completely blow off Ben and walk away arm in arm with Marnie. I couldn't hide my happiness, because I knew that it was my fault. She was still thinking about what was happening before we were interrupted. He stood in shock watching her walk away and I knew that it was my cue to come out from the shadows. I bent my head down low and pulled out my phone, pretending to be involved in a text message to not see him as I ran into him, hard.

"What the..." he said gruffly as he stumbled forward a few steps, turning around. I looked up annoyed as I said, "Watch where you're going, Stevens."

"Grey, you ran into me." His eyes flashed at me angrily and he puffed out his chest. I rolled my eyes at him, smirking like he was nothing. I started to walk away, but he grabbed my arm, asking, "Where do you think you're going?"

I gave a slow glance in Mollie's direction and then back at him. His grip stiffened at the thought of me following her. The jealousy raging through his body was coming out through his fingers on my arm. I tugged it out of his grasp as I snapped, "Get off of me!"

"You're going after her, aren't you?" he asked and I shook my head, giving him a look like he was nuts. He glared at me and threatened, "You stay away from her, Callen."

I rolled my eyes at him, shooting him a casual, cocky grin as I replied, "Yeah, and what are you going to do if I don't?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ben asked, giving me an incredulous look. He stepped forward, his face inches from mine as he said firmly, "Your ass would be handed to you on that silver spoon you have fed to you everyday."

I rolled my eyes at the threat. Ben may match me in size, but I was pretty sure that I could kick his ass if it came down to it. I was just that good and I loved to fight dirty. I could have him flat on his back right now, if I really wanted, but I knew that it wouldn't win any points with Mollie. I stepped back and smirked, "The last time I checked, your girlfriend has her own mind and her own friends. You don't own her, Ben."

"You are just after her because you love a challenge and that's all she is. She doesn't worship the ground you walk on and you will do anything to get her to. Once you're done doing that, you'll leave her hanging, just like you do every other girl you get your hands on." Ben fumed and I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth. There was some truth to his words, except that once I had Mollie, I was determined to never let her go. It still didn't stop the player in me from spitting out, "Your girlfriend will be mine by the end of the summer. I guarantee it."

His eyes narrowed to slits and I smiled a cocky smile as I said, "As a matter of fact, if you keep being a jerk, it'll happen sooner than you think."

In one quick blink, I felt the punch landing on my jaw as I stumbled back a few steps. I didn't have time to react to the second one, landing close to my eye, but the third one I managed to block by grabbing his fist. We were separated by two guys who came flying out of the library and Ben struggled against their grasp, yelling, "Stay the hell away from Mollie!"