The Perfect Play (Southern U O'Brien Brothers)

by Cookie O'Gorman

  Any questions I had flew out of my head as Charlie eased her hands behind her and leaned back against them. If I didn't know better, I'd say that pose was designed to draw my gaze to her breasts. I did my best not to look.

  "Well, now that you have me up here," she said, and my breath caught as her eyes met mine. "What do you want to do?"

  Anything, I thought. Anything that involves you and me, alone, with you looking at me like that. Not going to lie. I was a gentleman, and yes, a virgin. But I had an active imagination. My mind ran through a ton of scenarios, all of them involving Charlie and me and that bed. None of them I could say out loud.

  "I…whatever you want," I said finally. "You said you had something to ask me."

  "I do," she said.

  "What did you want to talk about?"

  "Sex."

  The word made my throat run dry, and though I was usually well-spoken, I stood there speechless.

  Charlie smiled. "You should see your face right now. I'd give anything to know what you're thinking."

  "I'm not," I admitted. "My brain went blank for a second."

  She laughed outright then. "Chase, it's just a word."

  I ran a hand over my neck. "Ah, but it's not. There's a lot of meaning behind that word, and honestly, I didn't expect you to come out and say it like that."

  "Get used to it," Charlie said. "If we're going to be friends, you should know I say what I mean 99.9 percent of the time."

  "And the other tenth of a percent?"

  She waved that off. "Mostly just niceties, pretty little lies to save people's feelings."

  "Very considerate of you," I said.

  "Thanks." Charlie threw me a smile. "Now, back to the matter at hand. Chase, do you honestly believe in soulmates?"

  The question took me aback but so had a lot of this conversation, so I decided to roll with it.

  "Yeah." I said. "Don't you?"

  "No," she said emphatically. "Soulmates are a made-up concept, a fairytale designed to give couples something to feel smug about and at the same time make single people feel like they're incomplete on their own."

  "Wow. You sound pretty sure there."

  "I am. I mean think about it," she added. "It's so unbelievable. That our souls are searching for their missing piece? It sounds like something straight out of a romance novel."

  "Hey, don't knock it," I said. "There's a lot of truth in romance novels. Trust me. If more people read books, there'd be a lot more love, understanding and kindness in the world."

  "Okay, but still. The idea of two souls being destined for each other." Charlie shook her head. "Don't you think it's a little too perfect?"

  I shrugged. "Just because something seems impossible doesn't mean it's not real. True love happens all the time."

  Charlie tilted her head then said, "I didn't think jocks went so deep into their mind space."

  "Some of us do."

  "I should've known you were different."

  "I'll take that as a compliment."

  "Please do. I've dated my fair share of athletes, and they've never said anything nearly as insightful as that. Also," she added, "they definitely weren't pining away for the One."

  Charlie sat forward.

  "So, the virgin thing, the celibacy? It's not an act?"

  I let out a long exhale. "Nope. I guess you read that article Honor wrote?"

  "Yes," she said. "And I want to help."

  I was confused. "Help me with what exactly?"

  "Chase, I know you're waiting and all." Charlie gave me a nod. "And I totally respect that."

  "Okay…"

  "But it might help if you practiced."

  I shook my head. "Sorry, you lost me."

  "To make sure you're prepared. For her."

  I must've still looked as confused as I felt because Charlie sighed then went on to explain.

  "Stop me if I get any of this wrong," she said. "You believe in soulmates, and you're waiting for the One."

  I gave a short nod.

  "That's why you turn girls away left and right"—I opened my mouth to argue, but she held up a hand—"and it's also why your family feels the need to get involved. The latest example, Baylor and Dex downstairs."

  "Yeah, I guess," I said.

  "They worry about you being anti-social, but in your mind, you're saving yourself."

  I felt heat surge to my cheeks but nodded again.

  "Well, are you actively looking for your soulmate?" she asked.

  "Not really," I said.

  "Ah, so you expect fate to deliver her right into your arms. Dream girl is just going to appear one day out of thin air, and poof. Happily-ever-after."

  My brows furrowed as I saw her grin. "Yeah, something like that."

  "One question: what will you do when you find her?"

  "What?"

  "You heard me." Charlie shrugged. "If she walked up to you now, what would you say? How would you act?"

  "I'll know what to do when it happens," I said.

  "Prove it."

  I blinked. "How?"

  "Practice on me. Pretend I'm the girl, your soulmate and one true love, and sweep me off my feet."

  A smile tugged at my lips. "You're kidding, right?"

  But Charlie just shook her head.

  "Everyone needs to practice, Chase," she said. "I think that's why your brothers are worried. To be honest, I can kind of see their point."

  "Hey, I've got game. I just don't use it."

  "Well?" She lifted a brow. "Go ahead then. Woo me."

  I laughed. "Come on, Charlie. Be serious."

  "Flirting, foreplay and kissing are important skills to master," she said. "I'm guessing you don't have much experience in these areas."

  "Not a lot," I said. "But I know enough."

  "But is it enough for the One?" she said. "Don't you want to impress your soulmate?"

  "Of course."

  Charlie nodded. "Then let's go."

  The horrible thing was…I was starting to see where Charlie was coming from. Almost all the books I read had romance in them, but I didn't have much experience—next to none actually. And I did want to make a good first impression. Feeling like an idiot, wanting to laugh at the same time, I did as she asked.

  "The wooing is about to commence," I said. "Prepare yourself."

  Charlie rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was amused.

  "I can hardly wait."

  I turned around then back to her, pretending as if I was seeing her for the first time.

  "Oh hey," I said. "I'm Chase."

  Charlie dipped her chin. "Hey."

  "And who might you be?"

  "I don't usually give my name out to strangers," she said, flipping her hair back. "Even the good-looking ones."

  I smiled. Oh, she was good. "Funny you should say that. I think you're gorgeous, too, and would really love to know your name. Can you make an exception just this once?"

  "Sorry, no."

  "Okay," I said. "Well, again, my name's Chase O'Brien. I'm the third oldest of six siblings. I have an identical twin, but we couldn't be more different if we tried. I'm an Aquarius who loves baseball, books, and my family—even when they're annoying. My favorite season is Fall. Favorite book is Outlander. I took a Harry Potter quiz, and they put me in Ravenclaw though I see myself as Gryffindor. I prefer dogs. My dream is to play in the MLB and to grow up to be an awesome dad like mine was. My mom raised me to be a gentleman, but if you really don't want to give me your name after all this, that's fine. I'll go lick my wounds in private."

  Charlie's lips were twitching by the time I finished.

  "Nice speech," she said. "I'm Charlie."

  Score!

  "Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," I said.

  "Really, you think so?"

  "Oh yeah, and I love the fact that our names go together so well."

  A line appeared between her brows at that
.

  "Charlie and Chase," I said. "Our couple name would be ChaCha. It's clearly meant to be."

  "Ennnd scene," Charlie said on a laugh. She stood and walked over to meet me in the middle of the room. "You were doing alright until the couple name thing."

  "Too much?"

  "Yeah, I don't think you should go there until at least the second date."

  "Thanks for the tip," I said.

  "You're cute, O'Brien," she said. "I'll give you that. Your flirting wasn't intense or in-your-face sexy, but for you, it worked."

  "You think I can't do intense?"

  "I never said that. And I still think you should practice. You want this girl to leave knowing she is it. You want her to be thinking about you for days afterward. If you can do that, you're golden."

  I followed Charlie as she walked past me.

  "Hey Charlie," I said.

  "Yeah?"

  Putting my hand against the doorframe, leaning down so I was speaking into her ear from behind, I said softly, "You don't have to worry. When I find my soulmate, there won't be any hesitation on my end. My girl will know she's the one for me. I've waited a lifetime to meet her. When I do, I'm never letting go."

  Charlie swallowed.

  "That intense enough for you?" I asked.

  "Yeah. That was…yeah," she said again.

  "You know, I think you're right. I could use some more practice. Maybe we should add that in with our PT sessions."

  "Sure, I'll see you later, Chase. Sweet dreams."

  Charlie's voice sounded slightly breathless, and that made me smile.

  "You, too," I said.

  Strangely, even after she was gone, my thoughts didn't once turn to baseball or my less than stellar performance. I was still thinking about her and our time together when I went to bed that night. ChaCha must've been a good omen because my dreams were definitely sweet.

  CHAPTER 12: Charlie

  My plan had backfired.

  I freely admitted that.

  Suggesting that Chase 'practice' had been a stroke of genius—or so I'd thought. It was a win-win situation. I save Chase from his brothers and the party he obviously wanted to escape, help him out a bit with his romance skills and win the bet with Emmy all in one go.

  It was supposed to be easy.

  I didn't count on him ignoring my cues or the looks I was throwing him. Though I knew Chase had done that in the past (with me and several other girls), we'd been in his room, and I was practically reclining on the bed for goodness sakes. I hadn't anticipated his willpower being so strong. That was my first mistake.

  My second was letting him get past my defenses.

  Nice Guy Chase wasn't supposed to have moved me in any way.

  His cuteness would've made an innocent, happy-go-lucky girl blush. But I was tough, battle-weary. I'd been on the dating scene too long. His inexperience shouldn't have worked for me.

  But seriously. Who knew nice guys could flip from cute to sexy at the drop of a hat? It shouldn't be allowed. Wasn't it enough that Chase was so amazing looking? Did he have to be charming, too? Was there no justice in the world?

  As I sat outside, baking in the midday heat, watching Chase's muscles flex as he wound up to pitch, I couldn't deny it. The lord had definitely blessed the O'Brien gene pool. I sighed—but snapped out of it as the crowd around me groaned.

  Emmy and June were the loudest.

  "What?" I asked, looking around. "What just happened?"

  Honor gestured to the field. "Chase walked that guy."

  "Is that bad?"

  She nodded. "It's his second game back, but there's only so much leeway people will give him before..."

  "Before?" I prompted.

  Emmy sighed. "If he doesn't start performing, people will talk. Doubt will set in. Word travels fast in baseball. If they think he's unreliable, it could devastate his chances of playing professional."

  "Oh come on," I said. "It can't be that serious. It's not as if that guy got a hit."

  "He didn't have to," Emmy said. "Walks are almost worse. It's like handing the other team a free pass without the batter doing anything. And it reflects badly on the pitcher."

  June grimaced. "Plus, he's fading every time he goes out."

  Emmy shook her head. "I noticed that, too. Poor Chase."

  I couldn't help but frown. "What are you talking about? He looks great to me. It's only been a couple days since the last game. Give the guy a break."

  "There's no time for breaks," Emmy said. "This is college ball, Charlie. The games are constant, and the other teams aren't messing around."

  "And," June added, "everyone loves beating the Wolves."

  If I needed any proof of that, I got it a few minutes later.

  "Chase just struck that guy out," I said. "That's what you call it, right?"

  "Yeah," June said. "It wasn't pretty, but he got him."

  "Awesome."

  Honor bit her lip. "I think they should take him out now. He looks tired."

  "What are you saying? He just got that guy out!"

  "Yeah, but it's nearing the end of the third. That's where he faltered last time."

  "Just give him a chance," I said.

  "Archer says Chase isn't as sure of himself anymore," she said. "He's holding back during practice, and he can't figure out why."

  I shrugged. "Saving it for the game?"

  Emmy spoke up. "Chase never used to do that. He gave his all at all times."

  "He needs to be careful," June said.

  "I told you his arm's fine," I said. "I examined him myself."

  "It's not that. If he isn't sure, if he doesn't go one-hundred percent, bad things can happen."

  "Like what?" I asked.

  A loud crack sounded, and the other team's fans went wild.

  "Like that," June groaned.

  Emmy's mouth was gaping when I looked to her.

  "Triple," she mumbled. "That's called a triple. The guy who was on first will score, and the batter who just hit ends up on third in perfect scoring position. Damn. With Chase pitching, that never happens."

  But it just did, I thought.

  "Wasn't that the other team's pitcher?" Honor asked. "I thought they weren't usually so good at bat."

  Emmy nodded. "They're not. But I guess that guy is. God, this is going to kill Chase."

  My eyes went in search of her brother, but instead of finding him on the mound, Chase was walking to the dugout. Looked like Coach O'Brien felt the same way as Honor. He was being taken out of the game. After allowing that hit, it seemed like adding insult to injury. Chase's face looked as if it had been carved from granite. Hard. Emotionless. But even from here I could see the tension in his shoulders.

  The game only got worse.

  Pulling Chase out didn't seem to matter in the end. The other team just played better. They looked more confident. They got ahead and stayed there, delivering a crushing loss to Southern U. This time when I went to find Chase after the fans had exited the stands and the visiting team was well on their way home, his face looked exactly as it had out there on the field.

  I was right about him being tense.

  His shoulders were like rocks, and it took some time to get him to relax.

  He didn't seem like he wanted to talk.

  But after his phone rang for the fourth time, I couldn't keep quiet.

  "Who keeps calling you?" I asked.

  Chase pressed ignore. "Agents, scouts, reporters. Take your pick."

  "Sounds like you're really popular."

  He gave a harsh sigh. "Yeah, for all the wrong reasons."

  "I hear you," I said, trying to distract him. "Back in high school, I once dated a guy named Vince Caputo. He told all his friends that he banged me in the back of his van. Gross, right? I was a freshman, and he was a junior. We only kissed, and it wasn't even memorable."

  "Seriously?"

  "Yeah. I denied it, of cou
rse, but his football buddies believed him. Vince was so hot and charismatic, who wouldn't? I became the girl everyone liked to say they got with—even if they hadn't. Vince's van, though, mysteriously ended up with four slashed tires and a cracked windshield."

  "Good for you," he said.

  "After that, I was the crazy girl everyone wanted to say they hooked up with."

  "Charlie?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Can we stop talking about this?" he said. "It's making me angry. The more you say the more I want to go find this Vince and kick his ass."

  My brows lifted in surprise. "But you're so nice and cool-headed. Have you ever actually kicked anyone's ass?"

  "No," he said, "but I would for you."

  It was quiet for a few moments as I continued to work on him, checking things out, making sure there wasn't any swelling. Inside, I was battling the urge to hug him for the sweet things he'd just said. Even if it was BS, I appreciated the thought. The Wolves had a room dedicated to therapy and recovery that was between the main locker room and exit door. Anyone leaving would have to go by us. I could hear voices coming our way before I saw who they belonged to—but I kind of wished Chase couldn't.

  "It's sad," one of them said. "The guy used to pitch near-perfect games. Now, he can't hack three measly innings."

  "Sad as hell," a second voice said.

  Chase's body went tight all over, but he made no move to get up.

  "Coach left him in too long." The third guy sniffed. "Not a surprise since she's always played favorites with her kids."

  "Chill, Snider. Don't badmouth Coach like that."

  "But it's true."

  This Snider guy grated on my nerves with his know-it-all attitude.

  "The O'Briens are way overrated," he went on. "I've said so for years. Now with Chase, everyone can see it."

  "What sucks is Chase used to be my idol," guy #1 spoke again. "I really looked up to him."

  "It's only been a couple games." Guy #2 was my favorite because he was giving my patient the benefit of the doubt. "He'll find his way again. Then everyone's going to have to eat their words."

  A scoff came from Snider. "He's already got two strikes against him. One more bad game, and he's out. Chase O'Brien better play amazing next time, or he might as well say goodbye to the majors."