The Perfect Play (Southern U O'Brien Brothers)

by Cookie O'Gorman

  My teammates and I nodded.

  "Some people have already written us off. They think the Wolves have lost it. They think we're out of the hunt for the championship before it's even begun. Are we out?"

  "No, Coach," echoed off the walls of the dugout.

  "I said, are we out?" she repeated.

  The response was even stronger this time.

  She gave us all a nod. "That's right. We are very much still in this. The winner of the conference gets an automatic bid to the college tournament. Both titles have been ours for the last three years. I think we can do it again. Do you?"

  "Yes, Coach," we said as a group.

  "What do you think, Bear?" she asked, turning to her head assistant coach.

  "I think they can do it," he grumbled. "If they work their asses off and don't slack."

  I wasn't the only one who smiled a bit. Bear was always growling about something. Even when he was trying to build us up, he delivered it in a gruff manner.

  "I agree," Coach said. "Let's get after it, gentlemen. We're wasting daylight."

  "You heard her," Bear said and blew his whistle. "Get out there."

  I took a moment to center myself. Meditating actually did help me clear my mind. Knowing Charlie was there amped me up even further. Today. This was my real comeback. I wouldn't let anything stand in my way—not even myself.

  "Oh God, is he praying?" Snider said from my side. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

  I stood and shot him a grin. "Actually, I was meditating," I said. "You should try it."

  "No, thanks. I've got nothing to worry about. My game's fine—unlike yours."

  Dex stepped in front of me, but I put a hand on his chest.

  "It's all good," I said. "He's right. I do have something prove."

  My brother frowned, the scar on his face pulled taut. "Not to that idiot."

  "No," I said. "I have to prove it to myself."

  "Let's go, Chase," Bear called from behind home plate.

  I gave Dex a pat, nodded to Snider then walked out to the mound. On the way, I shook out my arms. A flash of blonde hair caught my eye, and my gaze shifted to the left. Charlie was still there. It looked like she was sitting on the edge of her seat, and I wanted to reassure her, tell her not to be nervous.

  "I've got this," I said to myself.

  And for the first time since coming back, I believed it.

  Dex stepped up to the plate, and Archer got into position. He gave me the sign. Fastball. I nodded. Breathing in and then out, I wound up then let the ball go. That first pitch felt good. The smack it made as it hit Archer's mitt was even more satisfying.

  My older brother looked surprised, but he tossed the ball back and signaled for another.

  I gave it to him.

  Strike after strike.

  Again and again.

  "Looking good," Bear yelled. Then as if he couldn't help himself, he added, "It's about time."

  "Thanks, Bear," I called back.

  Archer jogged to meet me on the mound. "You weren't kidding," he said. "Those fastballs are on point. Was this how it was with Charlie?"

  I shrugged. "Yeah, like I said, she helped me."

  "Do you want to stop?"

  "Not really," I said. "But I will if you think I should."

  "Your arm okay?"

  "Feels better than okay."

  Archer's lips twitched then he gave me a nod. "I think you could do a few more."

  "Alright then, let's go."

  Placing a hand on my shoulder, he said, "It's good to have you back, brother."

  "Good to be back," I said.

  And it was. It really was.

  #

  Charlie didn't stick around after practice. By the time I'd showered and come back out, she and her car were gone. That was okay, though. I knew where to find her. The gift I'd brought her was still sitting in the back of my car.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I drove to Magnolia House, walked up the path and knocked twice on the door.

  Emmy answered almost immediately.

  "Hey, Em," I said. "How are you doing?"

  "Not so hot," she said. "Any chance I had of getting a massage a day from my very talented roommate went out the window the minute you sold me down the river."

  My brows rose. "You can't be mad about that. You're the one who broke the rules, sis. Not me."

  "My victory was a sure thing, Chase."

  I shook my head at her as she shot me the stank-eye.

  "You know what bugs me the most?" she added. "You wouldn't have done it anyway. Kissed her, I mean."

  "I might have," I said.

  "No, no, you never hook up, and you're way too shy to make a move."

  Her voice was forlorn as she sighed.

  "I should've just let things play out," she said. "The die had been cast; my beautiful plan was already set in motion. But instead, I tried to be a good sister and protect your virtue. Chase, I can't believe you're not thanking me right now."

  "I love you, Em," I said on a laugh.

  "I guess that'll do," she muttered then perked up as she looked me over. "By the way, why are you here? You must've come straight after practice."

  "I did. Is Charlie in?"

  Emmy looked surprised. "You came to see Charlie," she said slowly.

  "Yeah," I said. "Is she here? I brought her something."

  Her eyes took in the bag I was holding then moved back to my face.

  "Wait out there for a second," she said. "I'll get her. I would let you in, but you know the rule."

  "I'm fine waiting outside."

  Emmy grinned as she backed away then turned to go find Charlie. Not a minute later, they came back to the door. Charlie looked a little surprised to see me.

  "Hey," she said.

  "Hey," I replied. "Thanks for coming today. I think you brought positive, healing vibes to the field."

  Charlie's lips turned up. "Yeah, you looked good out there."

  "Glad you thought so."

  Clearing her throat, she crossed her arms. "Was there something you needed?"

  "I wanted to see you."

  "But Chase, you just saw me at practice."

  "Yeah, but that was at a distance," I said. "We didn't even get to talk."

  "I think we did enough of that yesterday," she said.

  I shrugged. "No talking then. Like I said, I wanted to see you, to say thank you again and to give you this."

  Holding out the bag, I waited for her to take it. Charlie, however, stared at the gift like it was a living thing that might attack her. I couldn't understand her reaction. The bag was small and pink, the same shade as her shirt from yesterday. There was nothing threatening about it.

  Or so I'd thought.

  "What's in there?" she asked.

  "A present."

  "Why? It's not like it's my birthday."

  I rolled my eyes. "Just take it."

  She shook her head. "No, that's okay. Whatever it is, I'm sure you can get your money back. Return it and buy yourself something nice."

  The bag was still in my out-stretched hand when Archer came up behind me. He took in the scene in a glance but said nothing. Honor walked out to meet him, and Rose and June followed a second later. An entire crowd had gathered to watch Charlie refuse my thank-you gift. Awesome.

  "Hey guys," Honor said slowly. "Somebody want to tell me what's going on?"

  Emmy was the one who answered. "Chase brought Charlie a gift, and she's refusing to accept it."

  "But why?" Honor said. "Charlie, you love gifts."

  "Oh, I do," she said. "I'm just not sure about this one."

  "Why not?" I asked.

  Charlie's smile looked forced. "I don't want it but thank you."

  "You don't even know what it is."

  "Still," she said.

  After a beat, Emmy sighed, took the bag from me, and pressed it to Charlie's chest.

>   "Here," my sister said. "The suspense is killing me. I've got to know what's in that bag. Plus, it's not like it's going to bite."

  A second later, she turned to me.

  "It's not, right?"

  I scoffed then watched as Charlie finally opened the gift. This was supposed to be simple, but I found myself on edge as I waited for her response.

  "It's…books," she said then looked up to meet my eyes.

  "Yeah, those are the first five books of the Kate Daniels series," I explained.

  "You mean the ones we talked about at the party?" she said, lifting up the different covers and examining them. "With the shifters, romance and kickass heroine?"

  I nodded. "She reminds me of you. I thought you'd enjoy them, and if you're like me, you won't want to stop at just one."

  "Thanks," Charlie said and placed the books back inside. "This is a great surprise."

  "Told you it wasn't anything bad," Emmy said.

  "I wish someone would bring me books," Rose added under her breath.

  I saw Honor nudge Archer with her elbow out of the corner of my eye, and the two were smiling at each other like they had a secret. I knew books had played a role in getting them together. Maybe they could help me out as well.

  "Honestly, I'd prefer flowers," June said. Seeing everyone's eyes shift to her, she blushed then added, "It sounds like Chase put a lot of thought into it, though—which is awesome."

  I grinned. "It's true. I only get books for the people I really like."

  Charlie blinked at that, but Emmy hit me with a frown.

  "Hey, then why don't you ever buy me any?" she said.

  "Because you never like the books anyone chooses for you and prefer to pick you own," I said.

  Emmy sniffed. "That's no excuse. You could always get me the ones off my wish list."

  "I'll keep that in mind."

  "Please do," she said. "They make great Christmas gifts, and it's never too early to start shopping."

  "I hear you, Emmy."

  My gaze moved back to Charlie, and I grinned.

  "What do you girls have planned for tonight?" I asked.

  "Nothing really," she said with a shrug. "Unless you count watching make-up tutorials and doing my nails. You?"

  "The guys at Omega Beta are having Monday movie night. We're going to watch Fifty Shades of Grey."

  Charlie smirked. "I thought guys didn't like those movies. Too girly, not enough action."

  "Oh there's plenty of action," Rose said. "Of the heated glances, heavy breathing, sexy variety."

  "Do you want to come?" I asked.

  The question was supposed to be directed at Charlie, but…

  "We were about to head that way," Honor said, and Archer nodded. "There's room in the SUV if anyone wants a ride."

  "I'd love to go," June said.

  "Yeah, sign me up," Rose put in. "My class got cancelled since the professor's sick."

  "I'll come, too," Emmy said.

  Archer held up a hand. "I know it's uncool, but you're my little sister, Em. 50 Shades is kind of risqué. I don't know if you should be watching that kind of movie."

  She laughed. "Please Arch, I've seen it like a hundred times already. Ana and Christian weren't even my first erotic read, and they definitely weren't the smuttiest."

  The way his face paled made me want to laugh out loud.

  "Don't worry," I said. "I'm going to have to scrub that last sentence from my brain, too."

  "At least I'm not the only one," he muttered.

  "So"—I looked back to Charlie—"are you in?"

  She sighed. "I guess so since everyone else is going."

  "If you need a ride, I can—"

  "That's okay," she said. "I'll go with Honor."

  I nodded. "Alright, see you there."

  She held up the books. "Thanks again for these."

  "No problem," I said.

  As Charlie walked back inside, presumably to put my gift away, Archer shifted to stand beside me.

  "Don't give up," he said. "She'll come around eventually."

  I nodded, unsure of why Charlie had reacted the way she did—but I knew one thing.

  I wasn't giving up.

  Not by a long shot.

  CHAPTER 16: Charlie

  The drive to the Omega Beta house was awkward—but what did I expect, right? Chase brought me a present, and I had a mini-freak out, wondering what it meant and why he did it. Most of all I was questioning why I felt so glad to see him so soon after watching him kick butt at practice.

  It was unheard of.

  It was concerning.

  My feelings had never gotten involved before. I couldn't understand why they would now.

  Maybe it was what Honor said about me liking presents. Yeah, that could be it. Everyone loved getting gifts. Not all people understood the beauty of giving them. Chase was one of those people, I thought then shook myself.

  That was enough.

  No more thoughts about him tonight. No more stressing about baseball or school. As I walked up the pathway to our destination, I had just one, simple objective. It was time to kick back, relax, and watch a sexy movie with my girls.

  And about twenty frat guys.

  I sighed as I glanced around the space. Ugh. If only there wasn't so much testosterone in the room, maybe I'd be able to truly relax.

  "Hey Charlie," June said, standing at my side, running a hand through her hair. "Could you remind me of my assignment?"

  "Sure," I said and shot her a smile. "But you know you don't have to do anything if you're not feeling it. You get that, right?"

  "Yeah, I'm just a little nervous."

  "That's totally natural."

  She took a deep breath then nodded. "Okay, I'm ready."

  "Your assignment," I said, "should you choose to accept it, is to talk to three of the guys here and get their numbers. Don't talk to anyone who looks like a creep. Remember, after getting a guy's attention, let him come to you. Be confident because you're gorgeous, and any man here would be lucky to have you."

  June smiled. "You should be a motivational speaker. You'd be great at it."

  "I know, right?" I said while waving her off. "Go forth, and get those numbers, June. If you run into any douchebags, come get me immediately or one of the other girls. We'll take out any of these guys if they mess with you, including the O'Briens."

  "Okay, I'm going in," she said. "Wish me luck."

  "You won't need it," I said. "But good luck anyway."

  She wasn't gone more than five minutes when another person came to stand next to me.

  "Interesting conversation," Dex said.

  "I wasn't aware we had an audience," I said without turning.

  "Would you still have threatened to 'take us out' if you'd known?"

  I gave a shrug. "Yeah, probably."

  He chuckled.

  "Why are you talking to me?" I asked.

  The lights were dim, and though some people were still meandering about, most of them were gathered in the living room. The guys at Omega Beta had a huge TV in there along with several couches. The smell of popcorn permeated the air. They'd started the movie a second ago, and the sultry beats of the opening song played through the speakers.

  Instead of answering my question, Dex asked one of his own.

  "What do you think of Chase?" he said.

  My brows lifted. "I think he's my client, and I'm his physical therapist."

  "Is that all?"

  "We've also become sort of friends…I guess."

  "Sort of friends, I guess," he repeated. "Sounds complicated, but I'm not sure that's where his head is at."

  I turned to face him fully then. "What are you trying to say?"

  Dex's stare was direct and unwavering, the scar on his face highlighted by the light coming from the TV screen. "Chase is a good guy. Too good sometimes. Unfortunately, he never learned how to hide his emotions."
<
br />   "And?"

  "And you're a fighter, like me," he said. "You stand up for your friends, don't take any BS. You also seem hard around the edges. Chase is more of a soft touch, if you know what I mean."

  Like Honor, I thought.

  "If you're here to warn me off from your brother," I said while flipping my hair, "don't bother. Chase isn't my type anyway."

  "Why would I do that?" Dex said. "I think you'd be great for him."

  My eyes widened in surprise. "You can't be serious."

  He cocked his head to the side as if waiting for me to go on.

  "Dex, I hook up with guys. I never keep any of them. Chase is looking for his perfect woman. He needs a paragon of virtue, someone who's innocent and sweet. In other words, not me."

  "He say that? Or is this you, putting words in his mouth?"

  I glared at him, but Dex remained unmoved.

  "Just think about it," he said.

  "Okay." I feigned thought for a few seconds then said, "There, all finished, and I still disagree. You can go now."

  Dex shook his head. "I like you."

  "So does anyone with taste," I replied.

  Before he could say anything else, Baylor interrupted, and I was grateful. This talk hadn't gone anything like I'd expected it to.

  "Hey," Baylor said, jogging over to us. "Dex, I need your help. Stat."

  "What is it?" he said.

  "June's over there, sitting between these two idiots. Freshman pledges. I think their names are Trent and Wallace. Anyway, I couldn't be sure, but it looked they were actually hitting on her."

  "So?"

  Baylor threw a scowl over his shoulder toward the living room. "Guess they didn't get the memo about her being off-limits."

  "That makes three of us," Dex said.

  Baylor rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. Are you going to help me or not?"

  "Hey," I said, "I have a suggestion."

  "Oh hey, Charlie," he said. "What's up?"

  "Nothing much, just having a chat with sunshine over here"—I gestured to Dex who scoffed—"and watching a movie I've already seen a million times. But back to the matter at hand. If you're so bothered by seeing June with other guys, why don't you do something about it?"

  He held out his hands. "That's what I'm trying to do right now."

  "No," I said, "I mean, why don't you go flirt with her instead?"