Play Dirty (Make the Play #4) (12 page)

“Does Josh know you did this?”

I nod, still staring at the ground. My feet ache from wearing heels all day.

“Then why did you still go to the wedding?”

“Because I promised him I would.”

“What happens now?”

I glance up, my hands stilling. “I don’t know. I guess we stop the game and we move on. I suppose we’ll just tell people we broke up.”

“Is that what Josh wants to do?”

I bite my lower lip, and shrug. “I don’t know. Josh is being weird right now.”

“Weird how?” Anna furrows her brows.

I shift on the cushion to get comfortable. “He’s just kinda acting like he wants to be with me for real.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that Josh doesn’t do commitment. He may think he wants a relationship with me, but that’s only because he thinks of me as a challenge right now. If I say yes to him, I’ll be old news in a week.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“It absolutely is true. You don’t know him like I do.”

“I know that he likes you, Talia. It’s obvious, and no matter what you say, I know you like him too.”

“No, I don’t.”

Anna throws me an incredulous look that causes my insides to flip. Do I like him? I don’t even know anymore. A week ago I would’ve said absolutely not. I would’ve said that he’s a jerk and a player. But now I’m not so sure. The Josh I’ve gotten to know lately is sweet and kind, genuine. It’s so confusing it makes my head spin.

One thing I do know for sure, I’m not making any decisions tonight.

“How’d it go?” Mom asks the minute I get home from the wedding. She’s sitting on the couch, a magazine spread out over her lap.

Shrugging, I make my way into the family room and plunk down on the loveseat. Then I take off my shoes, grateful to finally be out of them. I never wear dress shoes, and now I know why. “It went about like I thought it would.”

“That bad, huh?” Mom cringes.

“Worse, actually.”

“It’s over now,” Mom says soothingly. She picks up the magazine, folds it closed and sets it on the end table. “And I’m proud of you for going. I’m sure your dad was happy you were there.”

“Yeah, I think he was.” After shrugging out of my jacket, I sling it over the back of the chair and then loosen up my collar. “I’m so glad I can get out of this tux. I’d burn the sucker if I could.” Mom tosses me a stern look. “But don’t worry, I won’t. I know I have to return it.”

“I went to a wedding once where all the groomsmen jumped into the pool in their tuxes at the reception.” She shakes her head, but a smile plays on her lips. “Idiots. I’m sure they all paid dearly for that drunken decision.”

“Oh, really?” I raise one brow. “Whose wedding was it?”

She hesitates a minute. “Mine.”

“What?” Mom never talks about her wedding, so this is the first time I’ve heard this story. Even when she and Dad were married, she never disclosed information about it. She used to have a large portrait from their wedding that hung in the hallway, but that was taken down a long time ago. I know there’s a wedding album somewhere in storage. I remember seeing it once as a child, but I never looked through it.

“Yeah.” She chuckles, running a hand through her hair. “Your dad’s friends were never the brightest. That’s why it’s probably best that he only had you and Chris as his groomsmen this time around.”

Scooting forward, I lean my elbows on my knees. “Do you regret it?”

“Marrying your dad?”

“Falling in love.”

“Of course not. Falling in love is part of life. A beautiful part of life.”

“But he left,” I say softly, not wanting it to come out harsh. The last thing I want to do is hurt Mom. It’s why I’ve never talked to her about this before. But now I need to know.

“That doesn’t mean I wish the whole relationship away,” Mom states simply. “A lot of good things came out of it. You, for example.”

I grin. “That goes without saying.”

She giggles. “See?”

“But if you’d never had me, would you still feel this way?”

“Yeah.” She nods. “Your father and I were really happy for a lot of years. And I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.”

Chewing on the inside of my mouth, I mull over her words. Seeing my mom get her heart broken left me with a sour taste in my mouth about love. If it ended up hurting like that, what was the point? That’s why I always chose girls that were easily expendable. Girls that I could have fun with. Girls that made me look good. Girls that I could let go of at any time with no issue.

It’s the reason Ashley was so perfect. She kept everyone at arm’s length, so I knew she’d never fall for me. When I realized that maybe she had, it kind of threw me. Usually when I broke it off with a girl she was ready to be done with me. Or, like Emmy, they dumped me when they found a guy who would commit to them.

This whole year I thought I wanted Ashley back because I was ready to try out this relationship thing. But when I started caring about Talia, the truth hit me. My prerogative in getting Ashley back had more to do with my pride and my need to protect myself than it did any real feelings for Ashley.

“I think I may have really messed things up with Talia,” I blurt out, staring at my hands.

“Oh? Did she end up showing up today afterall?”

I nod.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it?” Mom asks, her tone full of hope, reminding me of how much the two of them have bonded.

Maybe it’s a mistake to tell Mom what happened. “Yeah, it’s good,” I say, intending to leave it at that.

“Josh, you can talk to me,” Mom presses. “I am a girl. I might be able to offer some insight.”

I know she’s right. And if I don’t learn to open up more, I’ll never get Talia back. She’ll never trust that my feelings are real. Besides, my mom deserves the truth. I spend so much time being angry with my dad for lying to her, but then I do the same thing.

“Talia and I were never really a couple,” I start.

“What do you mean?” Mom’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, and I already regret sharing this with her.

However, it’s too late to back down now. “We sorta concocted a plan to get what we wanted. Talia wanted Hayes, and I wanted to get back with Ashley.”

“Ashley?” Mom winces. “Why?”

I laugh. “She’s not as bad as you think she is.”

“Maybe not, but she’s not the right girl for you.”

“I know that now,” I say. “But at the time I thought she was. And Talia wanted back with Hayes, so we thought if we pretended to be together that they’d get jealous and realize what they’re missing.”

Mom shakes her head, her eyes rolling. “Kids. I swear you guys think life is a television sitcom. I’m guessing it didn’t go as planned.”

“Not even a little bit,” I answer. “But the worst part is that I realized I want to be with Talia, only I think she still wants Hayes.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Mom responds firmly. “Trust me. I’ve spent enough time with her to know that.”

“Well, even if she doesn’t want Hayes, she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want me either.”

Mom plants her feet on the floor and looks me square in the face. “What exactly did she say?”

I think back over our conversation. “She said something about me only liking her because she’s a challenge.”

“There you go.” Mom holds out her hands as if I’ve just offered up my own answer.

“There I go?”

“Yeah. She told you what to do.” Mom laughs. “Seriously, even when we tell you what to do you guys are confused.” She’s certainly right about me being confused. “Talia didn’t outright say she doesn’t like you or want to be with you. She said she’s worried you only want her because she’s a challenge, right?”

I recall my last couple of conversations with Talia. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Then you just have to show her that you genuinely like her. You have to prove her theory wrong.”

“How do I do that?”

Mom shrugs, and the hope I had started to feel dwindles. “You have to figure that part out on your own.”

Great. So, I’m back to square one.

***

Maybe I won’t have to use Mom’s advice.

It’s Monday morning and I see Talia walking directly toward me while I get my books out of my locker. She even has my jacket slung over her arm. Slamming my locker shut, I whirl around, lean my back against it and throw her an easy smile. Inside I’m thanking my lucky stars. Looks like Talia’s coming back to me all on her own, which is perfect because I hadn’t come up with any ideas on how to prove my feelings to her. Romance isn’t really my thing. It’s like trying to speak a foreign language. No matter how much I may want to, it’s not that simple.

“Hey.” I greet her when she approaches, but I keep my hands to my sides. What I want is to grab her and draw her close, but so far she hasn’t given me the green light. I’m sure she will though.

“Hey.” Her tone is curt, her gaze flickering around like she’s uneasy.

My stomach knots. I push off the locker, wondering if I misjudged things.

Grabbing the jacket between her fingers, she thrusts it in my direction. “Here’s your jacket back. I figured there’s no reason for me to have it anymore.”

Yep, I seriously misjudged things
. She wasn’t coming over here to rekindle our relationship. She’s here to end it.

I stare at the jacket, unable to take it back. “Talia, please just keep the jacket.” Shaking her head, she continues to hold it out. A few students stare over at us openly while others try to be more subtle about it. However, it’s pretty clear that everyone in this hallway knows what’s going on. A girl doesn’t give a guy his jacket back unless she’s dumping him. Irritation surfaces at how Talia’s handling this. We weren’t even a real couple, and now she’s going to break up with me publicly? Angrily, I snatch the jacket back. “Fine, but you couldn’t have come to my house and done this privately? I thought I treated you pretty well. I had no idea you wanted to stick it to me like this.”

Her face drops. “I-I-I didn’t even think of it that way. I actually thought this was what you wanted.”

“You thought this was what I wanted?” I snap, incredulous. “After I confessed my feelings the other day? Yeah, Tals, this is exactly what I wanted.” Snorting bitterly, I cross my arms over my chest, the jacket dangling between my fingers. Her scent clings to it, wafting under my nose and turning my stomach. “Wow, you really are clueless.”

“I’m clueless?” She shoots back. “I’m doing exactly what you told me to do, Josh.”

“What?” Now I’m even more baffled.

“Yeah, remember the instructions you gave me at the beginning of all of this? You told me to remember the plan, and to not fall for you. Well, I listened. I remembered the plan, and I didn’t fall for you,” she says icily. “And now I’ve broken up with you for everyone to see, so we both can move on.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Heather watching us with interest from her locker.
Great. That chick will probably be all over me like stink on crap by the end of the day.
Turning back to Talia, I blow out a breath. “Well, then I guess I should thank you.”

Her expression hardens, and I have no idea why. Clearly, she wants out of this, so I’m letting her out. When her lips lower into a frown, my mom’s words knock around in my head.

You just have to show her that you genuinely like her.

Did she do all of this hoping I would protest? That I would beg her to stay with me?

“You’re welcome.” Her lower lip trembles a little, and she forcefully lifts her chin up. “Well, I guess I’ll see ya around.” She sidesteps me, and panic blooms in my chest.

Jutting out my arm, I grab her wrist. “Wait.” A thousand statements fly through my mind in a matter of seconds, but I have no idea if any of them are what she wants to hear. How can I prove to her that she’s more than just a challenge, that I genuinely want to be with her? I’ve tried saying that, but it wasn’t enough. What will be enough?

Her eyebrows raise as she waits for me to speak.

Heart plummeting, I release her arm and mumble, “Thanks for the jacket.”

Eyes narrowing, she nods. Then she mutely walks away from me.

“What was all that about?” Nolan swaggers over to me, his head bobbing toward an angry Talia as she tears down the hallway. My gaze drops to my jacket, and Nolan’s eyes follow. “Yikes.” He cringes. “That’s not a good sign.”

“No, it’s not.” My lips curling downward, I glance back down the hallway. But Talia’s nowhere to be seen.

The bell peals, and Nolan’s hand clamps down on my shoulder. “There’ll be other girls, man.”

“I don’t want another girl,” I say honestly.

His brows leap clear up to his forehead. “Did you just say you don’t want another girl? I’ve never heard you say that before.”

I shrug. “People change.”

“Clearly.” He smiles with appreciation. “Well, then get her back, man.” Leaning in close, he winks. “And I’d do it fast before Chase gets wind of this.”

“She’s never gonna go out with that tool,” I say, hoping I’m right. Still, his words light a fire in my belly. Talia’s hot. Other guys are going to try to snag the minute they know she’s free. I can’t let that happen.

“I gotta get to class. See ya later?”

“Yep.” I wave Nolan off and then stand in the middle of the almost empty hallway, feeling lost. The jacket is heavy in my hand, and my heart aches thinking of how Talia gave it back to me like that. Talk about public humiliation. I thought she was all about privacy. Boy was I wrong.

And then it hits me, and I know exactly what I have to do. I only hope I can pull it off.