To Love a Player (32 page)

"Yes, Mollie is still here. We fly out tomorrow morning to head back home." Callen said, then kissed my forehead softly. "Um, I guess we could do that."

I gave him a curious look and he covered the phone as he said, "My mom wants us to come out to Nantucket when we get back. Is that okay? Lacey, Eli, and the kids will be there."

I nodded slowly. I didn't really have a choice since it was his family and I had met all of them, but his mom. He caressed my face as he said, "Okay mom, we'll see you tomorrow. I'll call you when we land. Yep, love you too. Bye."

He hung up and said, "I guess she's having a picnic for Memorial Day and really wants you to come."

I inhaled deeply as he said, smiling "I promise, it'll be okay. She is going to love you, I swear."

I nodded, as I kissed him and said, "Can't wait."

"Good," he said and I pulled back as I asked, "How do you feel about going to my hometown next weekend? I know that you've met my parents, but I want to introduce you as my official boyfriend."

"I'd love too go home with you," Callen smiled as he brushed a stray hair from my face. I smiled at his touch and he bent down, kissing my lips softly. I couldn't wait to bring him home as my boyfriend and show him my favorite parts of my town, plus the Cherry Days Festival was always fun to attend.

His kiss deepened, jerking me out of my thoughts and I felt my insides start buzzing in anticipation at what was about to happen. I was glad that we were going to spend the rest of the day in bed together doing this over and over.

I looked over at Mollie as we sat in the plane, waiting for it to take off. She was fidgeting with her hands nervously. I placed my hand over hers and chuckled, "Look who's nervous now?"

She smiled sweetly at me and I leaned over to kiss her cheek as I said, "You're going to be fine, I promise. My mom is a piece of cake compared to my dad and you won him over with a handshake and your fearlessness."

"Okay," she smiled. She rested her head on my shoulder and I kissed the top of it as we settled in for our flight.

When we got off the plane in Nantucket, I groaned slightly when I saw our welcoming crew. There was my dad, my mom, Lacey, Eli and the kids, along with a few other relatives. I felt Mollie tense slightly next to me and I said, "I'm so sorry."

She smiled weakly up at me as we descended from the stairs, hand in hand. Lacey and the kids rushed to us first, pulling Mollie into a hug. Jace latched on to her neck as he planted toddler sized kisses all over her face. It was a cute scene to watch. My mom embraced me as she said, "Oh, I am so happy to see my baby!"

"Oh mom," I groaned, feeling my cheeks go slightly pink with embarrassment. "I'm a grown man!"

She chuckled and kissed me on the cheek as she said, "Yes, and a fine one you're turning out to be, but you'll always be my baby."

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and tried not to smile. She looked past me and smiled widely as she remarked, "She's beautiful."

Turning to face Mollie, who was hugging Elly and laughing at something Mara was saying, I nodded in agreement. I grinned and said, "I'm going to marry her someday."

My mom gave me a knowing smile and wrapped her arm around my waist.

When I saw the crowd waiting for us at the tiny airport, my nerves went into overdrive. This was more than just meeting his mother, this was meeting a whole family, relatives and all. Callen took my hand as we walked down the stairs and I was soon surrounded by Lacey and the kids. Jace practically leaped into my arms and planted little Jace kisses all over my face. I missed the little guy.

"El!" I squealed as Elly wrapped her arms around me. I kissed the top of her head and remarked, "I think that you may have grown at least two inches since I saw you last weekend."

She beamed up at me and asked, "Really?"

"I'm almost sure of it," I laughed, giving her a slight squeeze before hugging Lacey. I quietly asked, "So how did it go?"

"It went well," Lacey murmured with a wide smile. "I'll have to tell you later."

"Can't wait!" I smiled warmly at her. Mara hugged my legs and I squatted down to her level saying, "Hello Miss Mara, how are you?"

"I'm good," Mara said, wrapping her arms around my neck and competed with Jace for room, which made me laugh. Lacey took Jace from me while I scooped up Mara and hugged her tight. Even though it had only been three days since I had last seen them, I really missed them.

Callen came back to my side, putting his arm around me as he said, "Mom, I'd love for you to meet Mollie, my girlfriend."

I watched her eyes go soft when he mentioned girlfriend; they matched my own. The love that radiated from that word was almost indescribable. He practically beamed down at me and I returned his sweet gaze with one of my own.

His mother wrapped her arms around me as she said, "It's so nice to meet you, Mollie. I have heard a lot about you from my daughter and grandchildren that I almost feel honored to meet you."

"Thank you," I said politely as I gave her a gentle squeeze. "It's nice to meet you, too!"

She pulled back and caressed my face as she nodded her head towards the large group of relatives, apologizing, "Sorry for the Welcoming Committee. We were all just so excited about meeting Callen's girlfriend."

I smiled and said, "That's okay."

"I promise that there won't be a test on this later!" she said before releasing me, and Callen's arm wrapped around my waist as I was introduced to the group. It was a little nerve-wracking meeting all of those people. I was beginning to think that Callen has never brought a girl home, so I was proud of the fact that I was special enough. I couldn't wait to bring him home next weekend to show him off proudly like he was doing to me.

32

Sophie

I slipped my shades on under the glaring morning sun. I had just finished serving a 48-hour sentence for the destruction of Lacey's guesthouse where Callen and that bitch were shacking up. Thank goodness for overcrowding or else I would have had to stay in there for a month, it was very Paris Hilton. I had more than enough money to pay the $3000 fine that I was slapped with and then there was the issue of my community service working on a house for some homeless family.

I walked out of the front lobby of the jail and smiled widely when I saw my brother leaning up against his brand new Panamera GTS Porche. He smirked at me as he asked, "Ready to go jailbird?"

"Oh ha ha ha, very funny," I said, rolling my eyes as I slipped into the passenger seat of his car. "Now take me home so I can shower without other girls lusting after my body."

"Oh don't pretend you didn't enjoy it," Scott said as he started his car. I sent a glare in his direction as I said, "Oh Scotty, if I wanted to be a lesbian, it would not be with any of those girls in there. They were more your type. Plain, simple, and big eyed."

I watched his jaw clench and I knew I hit him in the heart. I couldn't understand why Mollie had the men in my life so enamored with her. It was disgusting. I just didn't see what was so great about her. She was only mildly attractive, and that nice act, I didn't buy it. No one can really be that nice.

"Do you want a ride home?" Scott asked, his blue eyes piercing into mine, "Or do you want to catch the bus with your new friends?"

Rolling my eyes, I smiled a sickly sweet smile and said, "No, my dearest brother, take me home."

With a huge sigh, he rolled his eyes while he shook his head and drove away. I turned in my seat and dug through my purse for my phone. Scott gave me a side-glance as he said, "He didn't call, Soph. He's not going to."

"Oh he'll call," I said, flashing him a cheeky grin. "He always calls when he's bored and trust me, he'll be bored with her soon enough. I mean, really, he loves her? That's a laugh."

"Soph, I've seen the two of them together," Scott said, looking at me as we stopped at a red light. "I've never seen Callen look at anyone else the way he looks at her. I would suggest letting him go and move on."

I rolled my eyes at him. Callen didn't love her—there was no way. He just thought that he was in love and I knew what I had to do to prove it to him. He'd come running back, I knew it. He belonged to me. Not her. Me.

"Look, she's my friend and if you hurt her, then I'm done," Scott said. I gave him an incredulous look as I asked, "Done, Scott? You're my brother."

"So? I have stood behind you on a lot of things, Sophie, but I'm not going to stand behind or beside you if it means that a friend of mine gets hurt," Scott said angrily. I sat back in my seat and sighed. Really, I didn't get this girl.

"Scott," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. "If I get the two of them to break up, then that means that you get to swoop in as the sweet rescuer and help her forget all about Callen."

Scott sighed, shaking his head at what I said and looked at me, there was confliction in his eyes as he asked, "And what happens if you are successful in breaking them up, how long are you going to be with Callen before you get bored?"

I sat silently in my seat as Scott turned his eyes back on the road. His voice was soft as he asked, "Aren't you tired of running through guys like you're running through clothes? Callen deserves to be happy and if that's with Mollie, then so be it. You need to leave him alone."

I fumed silently, ignoring him as I stared out the window. Despite this on and off relationship with Callen that we've had over the last 8 years, I've never stopped loving him. I believed that one day, we'd settle down and live a happy life together. I just wanted to live my life first and I thought that he was on the same page. Well he was, just with someone else. Still though, he was mine and I wasn't letting him go that easily, especially to someone who is not on the same level. I mean, he dated me, why would he settle for some Plain Jane? No, he didn't love her, I know him. He's playing a game, typical Callen.

Scott pulled up in front of the townhouse we shared and I quickly unlocked the door, rushing inside to get in the shower. I could feel my skin crawling from being in that awful place. I scrubbed my body at least three times before I felt that I was finally clean. Wrapping myself in my robe, I left my bathroom and grabbed my phone, dialing a number with a smirk on my lips.

Damn, he sent me to voicemail, so hit redial. Again, straight to voicemail. I hit the redial button again, I mean, third times a charm right? Callen answered angrily, "Stop calling me, Sophie!"

"Oh, Callen," I said so sweetly that my voice dripped with honey.  "I told you that you can't get rid of me that easily."

"I don't want anything to do with you," he said, his voice practically slicing through the phone. "I told you that I was done and I mean it."

"To be with her?" I asked, scrunching my nose up in disgust. "Ew, you have way better standards than that Cal. I mean, you dated me for the last 8 years."

"Yeah well, it was 8 years too long," Callen snapped and I felt like someone punched me in the gut. Regardless, I wasn't going to show my hurt so I said, "Oh come on, Cal, it wasn't all that bad. We had some good times and some amazing times."

There was a slight pause and I could hear him sigh in exasperation.

"Sophie, what do you want?" Callen asked and I could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose like he did when he was frustrated. I grinned knowing that I had won whatever battle we were fighting and I purred, "I want to see you. Come over."

"I'm not coming over," he said quickly and I smiled, knowing that he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if he came over. We'd end up in bed faster than he'd be able stop it. It was just our thing and our thing was good.

"Why not? Afraid you can't keep it in your pants?" I asked and then I lowered my voice seductively as I whispered, "Come over Callen. It'll be our little secret. Come on, you can have her on your arm for appearances and me in your bed privately. No one will ever know."

His response was something I didn't expect, he laughed. Hard and for a long time. The laughter was still in his voice as he asked, "Do you hear yourself? Sophie, you sound like a whore and I'm not coming over because it would be disrespectful to my girlfriend. I know that you don't understand this, but I love her and nothing you say or do will change that. Ever."

I hung up and threw my phone across my room. Scott knocked on the door, poking his head in and giving me both a curious look and a smirk. I knew he had talked to Callen. I pointed angrily at him and said, "You! You are my brother!"

"Yes," he nodded, raising his eyebrows at me like I was crazy. I glared at him and said, "You called Callen, didn't you?"

His face broke out into a grin as he laughed, saying, "Actually, I called Mollie. She must have told Callen. You see, they're like that now. They talk about everything and breaking them up is pretty much next to impossible, so you may as well give up now."

I felt the anger boiling in my veins as I let out a scream. Looking at Scott, I huffed, "Good thing I love a challenge."

He came into my room, shaking his head and placed his hands on my shoulders as he looked me in the eye and said, "You seriously need help, Soph. I'm not sure when or how you got this way, but I don't like it. I love you, sis, I really do, but I don't love this person that you've become. You are shallow, vain, and entitled. You need professional help before you go down a road that you'll never come back from."

He leaned in, giving me a kiss on my cheek and then left my room. I flipped my middle finger as he shut the door and decided that I didn't need him. I was going to do this my way and Callen would be back in my bed by midnight. I smiled at the plan coming together in my mind.

I stared at my phone, reading the three little words on my screen over and over, trying to figure out what I should do.

"Meet me 2nite?" Sophie had sent about an hour after I talked to her on the phone. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot outside the building that had Mollie's class. I didn't want to see her, but Mollie thought that it would be best to talk face to face. She thought that maybe Sophie would back off then. Mollie didn't know Sophie as well as I did.

Gritting my teeth, I called Sophie. She answered immediately, "I knew you couldn't resist."

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and snapped, "It's a good thing I'm with a goodhearted girl who loves to give people the benefit of the doubt. I'm at Worthington, outside of Nollen Hall. If you are not here in five minutes, then don't call me ever again because this is your last chance."

I hung up before she had time to respond. I got out of my jeep and stalked towards the bench that was right outside the building. I tried sitting, but that lasted about 30 seconds, so I paced back and forth, almost praying that she wouldn't show. I stopped when I heard the familiar roar of her Maserati GranCarbrio Sport whip into the parking lot at a top speed, slowing down as it reached the curb. I shot a glare in her direction, only to find it met by her sultry smile.

If eyes could throw daggers, I'd be a dead woman. Callen's eyes were so cold and sharp as he glared at me, which only made me flash him a sultry smile. I saw his eyes soften a bit, but only for a split second.

He looked good, different somehow, but I knew that somewhere past that schoolboy crush was the real Callen. The one that I knew and loved. My Callen, not hers.

"I'm here," I called out from my car as I stopped at the curb. His eyebrows rose as he nodded towards an open parking space. Rolling my eyes, I sighed as I pulled into it and took my sweet time getting out of my car. I really wanted to see if he'd come to me, but he just stood on the curb with his hands on his hips with the cold glare still on his face. I could see that I had my work cut out for me; it wasn't going to be easy.

I sauntered over to him, moving my hips sexily with each step, watching his eyes for any change. I was only slightly disappointed when they kept their steady cold stare. I stopped, inches from him, slinking my arms through his elbows and stood slightly on my tiptoes, waiting for the kiss that never came. He quickly pushed me off of him and asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Well, it's been a long time since I've seen you and I wanted a kiss from my sexy man," I pouted, gripping his shirt and pulling him back to me. His hands took hold of mine, forcing them from his shirt as he said, "Stop it, Sophie."

"Stop what?" I asked, leaning forward and placing my lips on his neck, catching him off guard. He stood still for a moment, causing me to smile as I placed another kiss just under his chin. I felt his breath catch in his throat as I flicked out my tongue, licking up to his mouth. His mouth parted slightly allowing me in, kissing me back in full force before he realized what he was doing and pushed me away. I smirked, knowing that I was right. He couldn't resist.

I smiled seductively at him as I purred, "Callen, my offer from earlier is still on the table. She won't even have to know. You can have me and then run back home to her."

"No, Soph," he said, wiping where my lips and tongue had been. He looked disgusted with himself, running his hands through his hair and swearing under his breath. It was an amusing scene to watch, so I let my head roll back as I let out a laugh.

"You still want me, Callen, you know you do or else you wouldn't be so mad at yourself right now," I shrugged as I stepped towards him again, slowly dragging my hands up his arms. He grabbed my wrists and snapped, "It was a moment of weakness that I promise will not happen again."

"You don't love her, Callen," I said, stepping back from him and letting out a humorless laugh. "If you loved her like you say you do, then you wouldn't have kissed me back like that."

His eyes narrowed at me, but he didn't object. Flashing a sexy smirk, I approached him again, but I heard someone clear their throat over his shoulder and saw his stupid little friend, Sam who was being held back by his precious Mollie. The look on her face was hard as she looked from me to the back of his head. I flashed him a sexy grin as I said, "We're not done here."