To Love a Player (31 page)

Reba shrugged as she said, "Yeah, but him being rich has to factor in to why you like him, though. I mean, he can buy you whatever your heart desires."

"I know, but the fact that he's rich doesn't factor in to why I love him," I said, applying my mascara. I caught Reba's green eyes in the mirror and held a steady gaze with them as I said, "I love Callen because, past the cocky exterior, he's a good guy at heart. He treats the people that matter to him a whole lot differently than the ones who don't. I love him because of his personality, he's so funny, sweet, and protective. I'm not superficial so the fact that he's rich doesn't factor in at all. I'd love him even if he came from nothing."

"Sexy," a male's voice said from the doorway. I looked over, catching Callen's intense gaze as he smirked, "You forgot to mention sexy."

"See what I mean about being cocky?" I asked with a laugh, rolling my eyes. Callen circled his arms around my waist as he laughed, "Are you girls about ready?"

"Yes, just give us a few more minutes," I smiled at him through the mirror. He sighed, nodding his head and left the bathroom.

31

Callen

The morning light was like daggers through the curtains of my room. Slowly, I opened an eye, just to shut it from the brightness of the room. Rolling to my side, I curled up next to Mollie and heard her groan as she asked, "Why is it so bright in here?"

"Because it's morning, silly," I whispered, my throat dry and scratchy. She rolled over and looked at me with pain in her eyes as she said quietly, "My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Mine too," I replied, rubbing my temples as I rolled onto my back. She looked intensely at me as she asked, "Why did we drink so much last night?"

"Because it was free," I responded groggily. She laid her head on my chest and groaned, "Oh yeah, damn Lia and her awesome job."

I let out a soft chuckle. Lia worked for a public relations firm that was promoting the new club. That was how she got tickets for all of us. She was given tickets to give out to people to attend the opening and since we came as special friends of hers, we got free beverages all night long. Something we are now regretting, despite the enjoyment of it last night.

I kissed the top of Mollie's messy bed head and said, "I'll go get some aspirin and lots of water."

"You are the best," Mollie said, lifting her head and kissing me lightly on the lips. I tried not to breathe in her alcohol infused breath, so I quickly nodded and scooted out of the bed. After quickly brushing my own teeth, I pulled on a pair of shorts before walking down the back stairs that led right to the kitchen where I found Maggie sitting at the breakfast bar with her head laying on top, face down.

"Good morning," I said, my voice was still scratchy from lack of moisture. Maggie grunted as she slowly lifted her head and muttered, "Morning. Is Mollie up, too?"

I nodded, smiling, "Barely, but she's up. Want some aspirin?"

"Oh god, yes, you are the best!" Maggie said, her eyes widened and she held out her hand. I put two in her hand and handed her a glass of water. She finished it all in one long drink and then headed up the stairs with me following her. Mollie was coming out of the bathroom and I handed her the aspirin along with the glass of water. She took them both, kissing me softly on the cheek.

She climbed back into bed and Maggie followed her. I watched them lay next to each other and laughed, "I guess I'll go make us all some breakfast."

"You are..." Mollie started to say and I finished her sentence with a laugh, "the best, I know."

She grinned cheekily at me as I walked over to the side she was laying on. After kissing her cheek, I said, "I'll yell when it's ready."

"Ok, love you," Mollie smiled as she caressed my face. I gave her a warm smile as I said, "I love you, too."

Maggie croaked, "Love you, too!"

Laughing, I just nodded and then left the room.

"He's the best," Maggie murmured as we watched Callen disappear down the back stairs. I grinned at her as I asked, "Isn't he? I am such a lucky girl."

Maggie nodded, then grabbed her head as she asked, "Does your head feel like its dead weight?"

I nodded while rubbing my temples and answered, "Oh yeah, that and like it's a bomb about to go off."

"I haven't been that drunk in forever," Maggie murmured, leaning her head against mine. Nodding, I said "Yeah, I know, I believe the last time I was this hung-over I said that we should never get that drunk again. I will again repeat myself and say, let's never get that drunk again, okay?"

"Deal," Maggie said, trying to give me a high five, but we missed horribly. Giggling, we attempted to try again a few more times before giving up and doubled over in laughter. Jack's head poked through the door. He gave us a curious look as he asked, "Mags, I thought that you were going to get some water? What are you doing in here?"

"Oh yeah, I sort of fell asleep down in the kitchen. I woke up when Callen came in and then I came up to see Mollie," Maggie replied, patting the bed next to her. Shaking his head while he let out a soft chuckle, he sat down next to her and kissed the side of her head. I reached over and patted his leg as I said, "Morning, Jackypoo."

"Morning Mollie Sue," Jack said as he squeezed my hand. He looked around and asked, "Where's Callen?"

"Making breakfast because he's the best," I answered, smiling. Jack got up and said, "I'm going to see if he needs any help."

"Okay, you are the best," Maggie smiled, blowing a kiss to him. We could hear him laugh as he went down the stairs and I said, "He's the best."

Maggie nodded and we pulled the covers up over us. It reminded me of when we were little and would get in bed together on Saturday mornings before our parents called us to breakfast. I was glad that I had a close relationship with my sister. Her tired eyes looked into mine and I asked, "So what do you really think of him?"

"He's the best," she grinned and I laughed softly. I gave her an expectant look and asked, "Seriously?"

"I am being serious," she responded, her eyes widened expressively. "He's a really great guy and you are right, he is really funny. He's a lot of fun to hang out with, too."

"Do you think Mom and Dad will love him?" I asked, wincing slightly. Maggie nodded as she replied, "Mom already loves him. She said that she could tell there was something between you two when they met him after you moved in and she knew that it wouldn't take long to get together. Dad, well, he's a tough one, but he didn't seem to have anything bad to say about him. Then again, you weren't dating him, either."

We both sighed. My dad could be a bit tough on the guys that I dated. I was his baby and he was very protective of me. Maggie looked at me pointedly and asked, "When are you going to introduce him as your official boyfriend?"

"I don't know. I thought about inviting them up sometime, but then I'd love to show Callen around where we live. He always tells me that he wants to see where I grew up," I said, smiling giddily. Maggie gasped as she said, "You should bring him to Cherry Days Festival next weekend!"

Shrugging, I thought it over. I smiled timidly as I said, "I'll have to talk with him about it and see what my schedule will be like with the kids."

"So, her kids are really great, huh?" Maggie asked and a huge smile spread across my face as I nodded. I propped myself up on my elbow and said, "Yes and I'm not just saying that because I'm dating Callen. They are the cutest kids ever and I haven't really had any issues with them, well except for once, but I broke a promise."

"What?" Maggie asked and I sighed, "I had promised Mara that we'd go swimming one afternoon, but then Jace got sick, so she threw a huge fit. They call her Hurricane Mara when she does that because she can destroy something in the matter of seconds when she's mad, but luckily she kept it to her room."

Smiling as I thought of that day, I said, "But then Callen showed up as a surprise to me and smoothed it all over. Jace got better, Mara calmed down and cleaned up her room. He was my hero and it gave me a look at what a life with him would be like."

"So you do see yourself with him, as in married?" she asked honestly and I nodded as I looked down at my ring. She ran her finger over it and then looked at me as she smiled, "I could see it too when I saw the two of you standing there when we got off the train."

"You don't think that I'm crazy, do you? I mean we've only been dating for a week, but it feels like I've known him forever," I asked, cringing and Maggie shook her head as she replied, "No, I don't think that you are crazy. Jack and I were talking about marriage on our first date. Sometimes, you just know, and I think it has something to do with our parents and their story."

"Yeah, I think so," I nodded, letting out a soft giggle. Our dad used to tell us that he saw our mother at a dance he went to his senior year of college and within a week, they were married. My dad has told us that he didn't want to take a year to date her, he wanted a lifetime, so he married her just so he could do that. It was a sweet and romantic story that had been told over and over. Maggie and I used to dream about having a love like that, it was a cool feeling to feel like it was coming true.

I had just put bacon on to fry when I heard someone come down the stairs; it was Jack. I nodded my head at him in greeting and he smiled, "Can I help with anything?"

"Uh, sure, how good are you with eggs?" I asked, pointing to the egg carton. He grinned and said, "I'm not an expert, but I think that I can handle it."

"What are the girls doing up there?" I asked, flipping over the bacon in the pan. Jack laughed while shaking his head and said, "Oh you know, being girls. I'm sure they are having the 'so what do you really think?' discussion about you."

I gave a nervous smile and Jack placed a hand on my shoulder as he said, "Don't worry, I think you passed with flying colors. You're a good guy, Callen, and good for her."

"Thanks Jack," I said and he nodded as he took his hand off my shoulder and started cracking eggs open. We heard the kitchen door open and a confused looking Reba wandered in. I grabbed the aspirin and a tall glass of water. She gave me a weak smile of thanks as she popped the aspirin in her mouth and drank the whole glass of water in one gulp.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Jack asked, cracking a smile. Reba grunted in reply as she croaked, "I feel like the room is spinning. How is it that you two are perfectly fine?"

I shrugged as I smiled, "Because we're guys."

She gave me a small glare before asking, "Where are the other two?"

Jack pointed at the stairs and said, "Up there."

Reba was about to drag herself up the stairs when Mollie and Maggie met her at the doorway. Maggie put her arm around Reba and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like my head weighs a ton," Reba replied and Maggie nodded in agreement as she said, "Welcome to the club."

"This should help you feel better," I said as I dished up three plates for the ladies, who dug in hungrily. Reba smiled and with her mouth full, mumbled "You are the best!"

Smiling, I glanced over at Mollie as I laughed, "So I've been told."

It was time for Maggie, Jack, and Reba to leave. Callen had called a car to take them to the train station. I offered to go with them, but Maggie insisted that they had interrupted our together time too much already, so we were saying goodbye at the curb.

"I'm going to miss you! You have to come home next weekend, okay?" Maggie said as she gave me a hug. I nodded and said, "I'll call you and let you know."

"Okay, love you," she said, giving me a quick squeeze before going over to hug Callen. Jack wrapped me up in a big bear hug and said, "He's a good guy, Moll, and I am happy that you are happy."

"Thanks Jack," I laughed as I kissed his cheek before he let me go. He shook hands with Callen while I gave Reba a quick hug goodbye. Callen wrapped his arms around my waist as I blew them a kiss when the car pulled away from the curb.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked and I said, "Take a nap with my amazing boyfriend and possibly never leave the bed unless I have to."

He turned me to face him as he said, "Mmm, sounds good to me."

He took my hand and led me back inside the house, then led me to the bedroom where we collapsed in the bed. Snuggling up against him, he wrapped his arm around me as I stretched out the length of him, tangling our legs together. He placed his lips against my forehead in a soft kiss and then murmured against my skin, "I love you."

"I love you," I murmured against his chest and soon we drifted off to sleep. We woke a few hours later by the sound of Callen's cell phone ringing loudly on the table next to the bed. Groaning, he reached blindly for it and answered, "Hello?"

"Yes mom," he said, then stifled a yawn before rolling back on his side facing me. I could hear a sweet voice in the phone ask why we were napping in the middle of the day. He sighed as he replied, "Because we went out with Sarah and her girlfriend and it was really late when we got back."