To Love a Player (6 page)

All of a sudden, she was bumped into me and I caught her in my arms. I stared at her intensely, ignoring the pushing of the crowd as “Moves Like Jagger” came on and people started dancing. I circled my hands around her waist to steady her and she placed her arms loosely around my neck, her hips beginning to sway with the beat of the music. Smiling widely at me, she shouted above the crowd, “I love this song!”

We danced in perfect rhythm with each other and I noticed that Brock was dancing with her friend. Apparently, he had fought off a few guys who were hitting on her too because we were getting several jealous stares from guys that were around us. I sneered at them as I pulled her in closer to me and she tightened her arms around my neck. I loved the feel of her being this close. Our faces were inches from each other and we were staring intensely in each other’s eyes.

A slower song came on, so I leaned in to talk softly in her ear, “Want to get a drink?” Shaking her head, she gave me a warm, sexy smile as she tightened her hold on my neck. Her intense gray blue eyes swallowed mine as we danced slowly, just looking at each other. Any other girl, I would have been in the bathroom with already making out and on my way to scoring, but I was just content holding Mollie close to me and staring into her soulful eyes. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take her to the bathroom and have my way with her-- my lower extremity was begging me to-- the nearness of her was enough.

"We need to just be friends," I heard Mollie say and I pulled back to look at her. She looked like she was trying to convince herself of something, so I nodded and she gave me a soft smile. "I have a boyfriend plus you and I are going to be roommates. It's easier to just be friends."

"Of course," I said, not really believing that I could stay on the friend line with her. I'm not usually the kind of guy that has girls as friends. I either eventually sleep with them or…yeah, that's about it; it just doesn't work out very well. I would try it out with Mollie, though and who knows, maybe this is what I need in my life.

"Are we casual friends? Acquaintances? Friends with Benefits?" I asked, smiling suggestively after the last question. She laughed softly, shaking her head and gave me a semi stern look as she said, "Just friends."

I nodded, brushing a strand of hair away that fell and tucked it gently behind her ear. Her eyes caught mine and I had a feeling that this just being friends thing was going to be hard, but if I wanted to win her in the end, then that's what I needed to do. I smiled at her as I asked, "Do you want to do some roommate shopping tomorrow?"

"Why, are you shopping for a new roommate?" she asked with a teasing smile. I laughed and said, "Well, you know if my new one doesn't work out, then possibly."

She gave me a mock glare and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny."

I laughed, pulling her in closer to me as a faster song started playing. Her hips bumped against mine and I fought the urge to press her against me. It would not be roommate appropriate. Her friend tapped her on the shoulder and Mollie turned to dance with her. I stayed behind her with a firm grip on her hips as she swayed seductively to the beat.

This just being friends thing was going to be the death of me, I just knew it.

6

Callen

I practically hummed all morning while getting ready for my day with Mollie. There was just something about getting to spend time with her that made me feel like the day was somehow brighter. We agreed to go shopping for things we needed for the house we were sharing. It was already furnished with everything that we needed, but it could use a little personal touch and our own food. We were also going shopping for Elly's birthday gift for her party tonight.

Mollie had been invited to the party so that she could help chaperone plus meet all of Elly's friends and I think Elly really wanted her there, too. She really seemed to like Mollie. I found out, through Mollie, that Elly had friended her on Facebook and was texting her off and on since they met last weekend. I knew that would help ease Lacey's transition back to full time because she was worried about not finding someone the kids would love. Mollie definitely fit the description of the person she wanted for the job. Jace and Mara had been talking about Mollie all week and being excited about having her as their nanny.

I paused by a mirror before walking out the door of my room. I cringed when I saw my dark blonde hair, it was looking a little shaggy, but it'd have to do. I put gel in it and it gave it a bit of a messy bed head look. I took a deep breath, but I could see the smile twitching at the corners of my mouth when I thought of Mollie. I hoped that she wasn't going to back out of hanging out with me today.

I pushed in her speed dial number and she picked up on the third ring, "Hey Cal."

My heart fluttered at the sound of my nickname. I had been called that by both my parents and my sister all my life and it never affected me the way it did when Mollie said it. I smiled into the phone and said, "Hey you."

"Oh, forgot my name already?" she teased and I replied, "Of course not, I just need a nickname for you since you keep calling me by mine."

"I didn't realize I answered the phone saying 'Hey Cocky Ass'," she laughed and I let out a sarcastic laugh, pretending to be offended. I sighed dramatically and asked, "Are you ready to go? I'm on my way over to your dorm."

"Yes I'm ready," she said, her voice light and airy. She sounded happy. "I'm on the third floor in room 307."

"Okay, see you in a few," I said and hung up the phone.  I turned into the parking lot of her dorm wearing a huge grin on my face. A few girls smiled seductively in my direction as I passed them when I jogged up the steps to her floor. I ignored them and kept on going, hearing one of them calling my name. I reached her floor and waited until my breathing evened out before stepping out in the hallway. Even though, I was in really good shape, I didn't want to show up panting from my jog up the stairs. I found her room and knocked on the door. Her roommate, the hot blonde from the night before, swung it opened. Her hazel eyes raked over my body slowly before meeting mine. Instead of relishing in the attention like usual, I felt a little uncomfortable as she practically molested me with her eyes. I felt myself blush slightly as I said, "Um, hi, I'm here for Mollie."

She nodded, giving me a knowing smile and Mollie's face appeared over her shoulder. She smiled brightly at me as she pushed her roommate back slightly and said, "Hey Cocky Ass."

I sighed, smiling as I shook my head and rolled my eyes. She leaned against the door frame with her arms folded across her chest. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I can go shopping by myself, but then you can't complain when I deck out the house as a man cave."

Her eyes narrowed slightly and a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth as if she was imagining what the house would look like. She sighed breathily and said, "Okay, I'm sorry, Cal."

I leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on her forehead and said, "Now that's better. Let's go if we want to make it to my sister's by 4 to unload our stuff and help with the party."

We heard someone clearing their voice and Mollie laughed, "Oh yeah, you remember my roommate Marnie from last night. And I know that you know the infamous Callen Grey."

"It's nice to meet you officially, "Marnie said, as we shook hands. I nodded, smiling and said, "Uh, you too." Mollie shook her head and gently pushed me out into the hall, looking over her shoulder as she said, "I'll call you later."

Marnie nodded, calling out, "Have fun you two!"

We walked side by side as we went down the steps, our hands brushing up against each other. I wanted to grab her hand and hold it, but she had a boyfriend and I wanted to try to respect that, even if I didn't like it. We had enough contact last night that would have driven her boyfriend crazy if he knew.

I looked over at her, and she looked amazing today. Her hair was in a soft braid and she was wearing a blue plaid button down shirt over a white tank top. Her blue denim shorts showed off her toned legs and fit snug over her ass. She smiled over at me and asked, "Are you checking me out?"

I nodded, smiling.  I shrugged a shoulder as I opened the door to my Jeep for her. She laughed softly as she climbed in and I shut the door behind her. I jogged around to my side and climbed in.

I was standing in the snack aisle of the grocery store, when I felt the nudge of a shopping cart. Turning my head, I looked over at Callen, who was wearing the same goofy grin that he'd been wearing all day. I smiled back at him, knowing that my smile matched his. I couldn't help it and I knew that it needed to stop. We had decided to just be friends since it would be awkward to have this weird tension while we were sharing a house together, plus I really didn't want to hate him all the time.

He raised an eyebrow as he looked into my half full cart. He was in charge of shopping for drinks and alcohol, while I covered snacks. We already had a cart going through the checkout line with stuff to make meals. He walked over to me, placing his hand on the small of my back which sent tiny shivers up my spine, and said, "Okay, Mo, why don't you have more than that in there? It shouldn't be that hard getting it filled with snacks."

"I know, but I didn't know what you liked and I didn't want to fill it with everything that I liked," I replied, pointing at the things I had placed in there. He lightly brushed against me as he guided me down the aisle and tossed his favorite snacks into the cart. We steered our carts to the front of the store and as we waited to pay, I couldn't help but wonder what the clerk behind the cash register was thinking of our three carts full of groceries.

After we had lunch, we went to shop for Elly. I found a pretty necklace that I knew that she'd love along with an outfit to go with it and Callen got her a book from a series that she had been reading. After that, we went to look for things to decorate the house with since it was currently decorated a little generically. I found lavender colored bedding for my bed and a few cute things to hang on the wall, as well as lavender candles for the bathroom. I knew that the walls were a cream colored, so the lavender was going to look amazing against it.

I looked over at Callen, who was thumbing through a magazine. Our afternoon together was actually a lot more fun than I expected. There was never a dull moment and we never seemed to run out of things to talk about. When he's not being a player, he's actually a gentleman. He was constantly opening doors for me and guiding me with his hand on the small of my back. He would make a great boyfriend for someone if he would just drop the player routine.

He looked up at me, giving me a warm smile as he stepped forward to pay. I looked at the four carts that held our groceries and my eyes widened. I gave him an astonished look as I asked, "How is all of that going to fit in the back of your vehicle?"

Callen gave a casual shrug as he looked over at our purchases and said, "It'll fit, don't worry."

I blurted without thinking, "That's what she said."

Callen looked at me shocked for a moment before bursting out laughing a deep and hearty laugh. I couldn't help but laugh along with him, even the clerk cracked up. Callen wrapped his arms around me, still laughing and said, "That was great! I totally wasn't expecting to hear you say that. I completely walked into that and left the door wide open."

He kissed my forehead before letting me go, reaching for my hand as he led me out of the store, still chuckling. He and Brock had been doing that all night last night whenever Marnie and I would say something that could be taken in a sexual way. I couldn't help but give it back to him, especially when he made it so easy. We were still chuckling when we pulled into the driveway of the guesthouse.

He sighed audibly and reached over for my hand, interlacing our fingers. I honestly loved how natural my hand felt in his and how the current going between us felt surreal. He kissed the back of my hand and then looked at me as he said, "Thank you for hanging out with me today. I had fun."

"Me too," I smiled brightly at him, feeling incredibly happy. Without thinking, I leaned over to kiss him.  But before I got too far, Ben called. Callen sighed, closing his eyes as he let go of my hand and got out of the Jeep. I leaned my head back against the headrest and let out a deep sigh. Whew, that was close.

"Hello?" I answered and Ben said, "Hey babe, sorry it took me so long to return your call."

I bet you are, I thought to myself and responded, "Yeah. How's Boston?"

"Amazing," Ben said enthusiastically and went on to explain all the things that they saw. He talked about the tour of where he was going to work and the new loft. When he mentioned that, I asked, "So where's Melanie going to stay?"

The other end of the phone was quiet and I heard him breathe in sharply through his teeth. I knew by that response that it was true. His voice sounded far away, "How did you know?"

"It's a small school, Ben, it's hard to not find out," I snapped. Biting my lip, I got out and stepped into the house, finding Cal leaning on his hands against the counter. I could see his lips moving as he was letting out silent curses.

"I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure how you were going to react," Ben countered and I scoffed, "How did you think I would react? You are living with your ex-girlfriend, whom I pretty sure wants you back." Callen shot me a curious look. I ignored him and walked into the room that was going to be mine. I didn't really want an audience for this conversation.

"We're just friends, Mollie, I swear," Ben stated. "There's nothing more than that."

"Then why didn't you just tell me? Why did it take you 24 hours to call me back? Boyfriends don't send their girlfriends to voicemail or ignore their texts," I said angrily. Ben apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't feel my phone and when I read your texts, I knew you would be asleep."

It sounded like an excuse, a poor one in fact. I could hear Callen carrying in the groceries, so I said, "Look I have to go help Lacey get her daughter's party ready. I'll talk to you later."

"You're working?" Ben asked and I replied, "Yes, it was a last minute thing. She needed some help and it will give me a chance to meet Elly's friends."

"Oh," Ben said softly. "Call me later, then?"

"Are you going to answer your phone?" I asked angrily. Ben sighed, "Yes, I promise."

I hung up and went out to help Callen.