To Love a Player (8 page)

9

Mollie

I was sitting in class about 15 minutes before it started, trying to cram more information into my brain when I heard a bag drop next to me and the familiar scent of musky sandalwood drifted through my nose. I quickly shot a glance at Callen, "Hey."

I looked back at my notes, blinking and slowly looked at him again. My eyes traveled along the length of the right side of his jaw and my hand reached out to touch his slightly swollen his left eye—both were bruised. He leaned his face in to my hand and smiled warmly into my curious eyes.

"What happened to you?" I asked, shooting him a concerned look. He sighed softly when I removed my hand and simply replied, "Ask your boyfriend."

I scrunched my face in confusion and asked, "Why should I do that?"

"Because he's the one that did it to me," Callen said, propping his head on his hand as he looked at me. I studied him for a moment before I shrugged, "Oh, okay."

Callen raised an eyebrow at me as he asked, "You're not even the least bit curious as to why your boyfriend punched me?"

"No," I said matter-of-factly, shaking my head. "I'm sure that for whatever reason it was, you probably deserved it."

Callen opened his mouth to say something, but was immediately cut off by his phone ringing. He glared at me, causing me to roll my eyes. I wasn't in the mood for him today. I was nervous about the test. This was the hardest class that I took this semester and even though I was doing well, I knew that if I got a bad grade it would undo all my hard work. I went back to cramming while listening to bits of his one sided conversation, even though I tried not to. I was curious because he clearly seemed to be talking to a girl. He must have noticed that I was listening because the tone of his voice changed to a sickly sweet voice as I heard him say, "Yeah, I'll pick you up at eight. I can't wait to see you, either. Bye, babe."

I tilted my head towards him, my face marked with questions and he smiled, "My girlfriend."

"You have a girlfriend?" I asked, pointing at him in disbelief. Not that I truly cared, but there was no way he had a girlfriend with how he acted around the female population at this school. He shot me a casual look and shrugged, "You act like that's rare."

"I'm sorry, but you do know that you are a known womanizer who doesn't believe in dating, right?" I asked, and added, "She does know about that, doesn't she?"

He gave me a casual shrug as he gingerly touched his jaw and said, "She doesn't care."

I widened my eyes and shook my head as I turned back to my notes. She must be someone who didn't come around much, but then again maybe that was why he was the player that he was. He could do it behind her back and she'd never know. He smiled over at me as the professor called our class to attention and started passing out the final exam. I closed my eyes before opening the test and starting, hoping that I had studied enough.

I finished the test with confidence and looked over to see that Mollie was looking over her test. I gently nudged her with my elbow and her eyes flickered up to mine with deep intensity. I gestured with my head, mouthing the words, "Let's get out of here."

She sighed and closed her test, quietly following me down to the front and after dropping off our tests, we exited the classroom. I could tell that she was still nervous by the way she was biting her lower lip. My eyes focused on her mouth, causing me to lose all concentration and I ran into something hard. Mollie's eyes lit up as she burst out laughing when I stumbled back from the wall I had just run into.

She doubled over, her bubbly laughter came out in waves and I couldn't help but join in with her. A professor from a nearby classroom came out and shushed us, causing Mollie to grab my arm and we ran to the nearest exit. Once we were outside, she tried to control her giggling as she looked me over and asked, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, still chuckling "I think so."

She smiled softly at me and her eyes gathered in concern as she touched my bruised eye gingerly with her fingers. Her fingers traced lightly over my jaw and she sighed softly, looking at me apologetically. I knew she was feeling bad that Ben hit me. The tingles from her touch sent currents through my body, so I grabbed her hand as she started to drop it and said, "He's an ass. You deserve so much better than him."

She gave a slightly amused look as she shrugged. I pulled her closer to me, wrapping an arm around her waist, and kissed her gently on the forehead. I felt her breathe out softly against my neck before she pushed back gently and said, "I have to go. Ben's waiting for me."

I sighed, closing my eyes as she walked away. I watched as she slowly walked down the sidewalk towards her dorm room and glared when she stopped, letting Ben approach her. I watched the exchange for a moment and smiled when I saw her talking firmly with him, smirking when I saw him glance in my direction.

I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and turned to walk in the opposite direction, almost running into Ben's ex, Melanie. Her brown hair waved softly in the breeze and she was looking behind me at Mollie and Ben, who were now kissing. Her eyes narrowed with jealousy as she watched them.  Then she slowly turned her gaze at me as I started to walk away.

"Callen," she said coldly, grabbing onto my arm and I knew that she was up to no good. I pulled my arm out of her grasp and nodded at her, "Melanie."

"I can help you, you know," she stated boldly. I gave her a questioning look and she scrunched up her nose as she nodded her head towards Ben and Mollie. I shook my head slightly and said, "We're just friends. We'll be roommates over the summer."

"Oh, please," Melanie said, rolling her eyes in disbelief, "you have a thing for her. Everyone knows it, even Ben. He can't stand that you will be living under the same roof."

I gave a casual shrug as I said, "Well that's his problem. Besides, he's sharing a roof and working with you and neglected to tell Mollie that, so he has no grounds to be upset."

"I know and I was working towards getting him back, but then he told me last night that we had to just be friends because he really wanted things to work out with
her
," Melanie said, her eyes narrowing at Mollie who was walking off with Ben. Her voice turned whiney as she said, "She doesn't deserve him. I was so close to getting him back."

"Sounds like you have a problem," I stated, walking away from her. I knew that getting involved with her would not be a good thing. On the outside, Melanie looked like a nice, friendly girl, but on the inside, she was far from it. If she wanted something, she was almost always successful at getting it and if she wasn't, then she definitely ruined the person who did.

I needed space from Callen. Being close to him definitely messes up my senses and I knew that if I didn't get out of there, I would do something that I would regret. Even though Ben was an ass, I still loved him. We had just been going through something lately and it would work itself out. I didn't need Callen screwing with my head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben leaning against a bench as he waited for me to approach. I stood in my spot, smiling a small smile when he came over to me. He went in to give me a hug, but I put my hand on his chest and stopped him.

I glared at him as I asked, "Why did you punch Callen?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing through clenched teeth and grumbled, "Because he's an ass."

"Oh, really," I said, "he seems to feel the same way about you."

Ben looked away for a moment and I watched his jaw clench up. I touched his arm and said softly, "We are just friends, Ben, and this summer we're sharing a house together. With my nanny duties and his job, I'm sure that we will barely see each other. My days off will be with you in Boston or hanging out with Marnie."

He slowly looked into my eyes and I gripped his waist, pulling him towards me. I gave him an intense look as I said, "You don't need to beat up Callen. He's a jerk and whatever he did, I'm sure that he deserved a punch in the face, but you didn't need to actually do it."

He nodded slowly and I stood on my tiptoes, kissing him gently on the lips. His mouth responded to mine, deepening the kiss. When we parted, I kissed him once again softly and said, "I love you, Ben and Callen is not going to get in the way."

He wrapped his arms around me and said, "I wish I believed that."

"Well, should I be worried about Melanie getting in between us?" I asked, pulling back slightly and Ben shook his head. "Then you don't need to worry about Callen."

Ben nodded slowly and kissed me on the forehead. Releasing me from his arms and grabbing my hand, he said, "So, when are you moving to Lacey's?"

"The movers should be here at nine tomorrow morning to get my stuff that I'm taking to the house," I said as we started walking away. I had to divide my stuff from what I was taking to the house and what I was putting in a storage garage on the property. Since I had basically everything I needed already in the house, I was sending a lot of it to storage until school started again.

I couldn't wait to go to Lacey's and start my new job. I had babysat the kids a few times to get myself acquainted with them and they, in my opinion, were the coolest kids around. Little Jace had me wrapped around his little finger and even though Mara took a little bit to warm up to me, she was the  sweetest and funniest little girl. Elly was going to be a great helper and I was looking forward to hanging out with her more. It was going to be an awesome summer, I could tell.

10

Mollie

"I'm going to miss you," Marnie said as she pouted out her lip, holding her arms out to hug me. We were saying our temporary goodbyes and we were having a hard time doing so. Marnie was going home for the summer to help her mom out in her vintage clothing store called Daisy Rae.

"I'm going to miss you, too," I said, squeezing the life out of my friend, hugging her as hard as I could. Her mom tapped the horn, signaling that it was time to part. We had been at this for almost an hour. We would say our goodbyes and then we would start talking about our trip to Boston next weekend. Her mom stepped out of the car and grabbed her daughter's shoulders, pushing her towards the car as she looked over at me saying, "Goodbye, Mollie dear. If you need anything, you give us a call, okay? Don't be a stranger."

I nodded, letting go of Marnie's hand and waved as her mom pushed her into the car. I promised to call her later and I waved as they drove away. I let out a deep sigh as I turned to go back into the house to wait for my parents, who would be arriving any minute with Ben.

While walking through the living room, I looked down at my phone and smiled at the text message Marnie had sent. Smack! I collided with a bare chest and when I began to stumble back, I felt two strong arms wrap around me, keeping me steady. A silky deep voice asked, "Are you okay?"

I looked up into a pair of gorgeous ocean blue eyes and was too stunned to speak. The guy holding me was stunning and his lips were inches away from mine—so close that our breath was mingling in anticipation of something. His mouth formed a slow smile as I felt him step away and look at me with concern and amusement.

"You must be Mollie," he said with a warm smile and held out his hand. My eyes slowly took in his toned bicep before raking over his chiseled chest. I blushed when I heard him ask, "Do you see anything you like?"

Quickly, I shut my eyes and shook my head slightly before looking back in his eyes that were now dancing with amusement. I cleared my throat, suddenly finding my voice as I said, "Sorry, um, yes, I'm Mollie. And you are?"

"I'm Scott Willis, Sophie's brother," he said and my eyes widened. "Sophie Willis, the model Sophie Willis?" He smiled at me, knowingly, and said, "Yeah, I always get that reaction, too. Sometimes it would be nice to be known as just plain Scott."

"Well, you are definitely far from plain," I said letting out a nervous laugh as my eyes floated over his chest again. What was wrong with me? I hoped the drool wasn't oozing out of my mouth as I focused on his chiseled abs and the line of hair that was almost like an arrow pointing my eyes to look down further. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks as I quickly tried to find something else to look at. Scott chuckled softly and said, "Well, thank you and you aren't so bad looking yourself."

"Uh, thanks." I smiled at him and heard someone clear their throat, making me jump back slightly. We both looked over to see Callen standing in the doorway to the backyard with his hands on his hips wearing a hard look on his face. He, too, was shirtless and I could see why all the girls on campus were in love with his body. He was definitely nice to look at.

"Did you have trouble finding the beers, Scott?" Callen chided and Scott smirked back at him as he replied, "No, I just ran into something better and definitely more interesting."

Callen eyed me coldly and said, "She has a habit of doing that."

I scrunched my face at him and he rolled his eyes as he walked into the kitchen to grab a six-pack out of the fridge. His voice was flat when he said, "Come on Scott, let's get back to the ladies."

Scott gave me a look that indicated he was reluctant to leave me, but he stepped away from me anyway. He gave me a wink before walking out the door and said, "You could come hang out with us too, if you're not doing anything."

"Thanks for the offer, but I need to unpack some more stuff and my parents and boyfriend will be here any minute to go to lunch." I said, gesturing towards my room. He nodded and gave me a sexy grin as he said, "Okay, see you, Mollie. I hope to run into you again soon."

"Bye Scott," I said, turning and practically ran to my room. Just when I thought Callen was intoxicating to be around, I had a feeling that hanging around Scott would drag me under. I was only slightly flattered at the jealous vibe that Callen was putting out. I wasn't sure about mentioning Scott to Ben, he was having a hard enough time dealing with the living arrangement with Callen. He would flip over a new guy thrown in the mix and would suggest that I never leave my room unless it was to work.

I entered my room and picked up the picture of Ben and me that I had placed next to my pillow. I didn't want to admit it, but I felt us growing apart and I was secretly giving our relationship about four weeks before it ended. I knew Melanie was going to try something, Callen mentioned their conversation last night in a series of texts and told me to watch out for her. I didn't press for details, but I appreciated the heads up. I had recently heard about Ben and Melanie's late night dates after finishing their projects for the internship.

A lot of things were adding up in my mind about how he acted when she was around, the breakdown of communication between us recently—things were just different. I know they have history and that's hard to compete with, especially when they were going to be under the same roof. I loved Ben, however I was having doubts on how our relationship was going to withstand all that summer would bring. I was also hoping that I was wrong. What sucked the most was that when he and I were together, it was great, but only when it was the two of us.

I set the picture down and looked around the room. Lacey had my room painted a nice shade of lavender and everything that I had chosen while shopping with Callen worked quite well with the color of the wall. The bed was huge and soft; I couldn't wait to fall into it later that night. The bathroom attached to my room was huge. There was one of those Jacuzzi style bathtubs with a separate shower. I couldn't wait to soak in the tub with a glass of wine and a good book. I heard the doorbell ring and I quickly ran to the door, excited about seeing my parents.

"Mom! Dad!" I said, as I swung open the door and hugged the both of them. They both gave me wide smiles as they let go and my mom gave me an impressed look as her eyes scanned the living room. Ben grabbed me in a bear hug, kissing me on the forehead before presenting me with some flowers. I smiled at him as I took them and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ben said as I took his hand and led him into the kitchen where I found a glass container to use as a vase. While my parents took their own tour of the guesthouse, Ben wrapped his arms around me and kissed me passionately. We heard someone clearing their throat and I looked over to see Scott standing by the fridge with an amused expression on his face.

I leaned into Ben as he planted a kiss against my head and said, "Oh, hey Scott."

Scott smiled warmly at us and then held out his hand to Ben as he said, "I'm Scott Willis, and you must be the boyfriend."

"Duh," Ben stated and gave him a sharp look. I smacked Ben on the chest and said, "This is my boyfriend, Ben. Please, excuse his behavior."

"No worries," Scott said, holding his hands up and smiled, "If I had a girlfriend and she was as hot as you, I'm sure that I would act the same way towards another guy."

I blushed for what felt like the millionth time in the past hour and leaned my forehead against Ben's chest. This guy was such a charmer, worse than Callen, and the effect it had on me was scary. I felt like I could melt like hot wax in his hands.

He patted Ben on the shoulder and said, "You don't have to worry about me, bro. I don't go after another guy's girl; it's just not my style."

"Well in that case," Ben said and held out his hand, "I'm Ben Stevens. It's nice to meet you."

I watched Scott disappear into the house again. He gave some lame excuse about needing a glass, but I knew he just wanted to see Mollie again. I was almost delighted when I heard the doorbell ring and I knew that Mollie would be wrapped up in Ben and her parents. It was sad that the sight of Ben and Mollie delighted me more than seeing Scott and Mollie.

"Babe," Sophie purred in my ear and I smiled in her direction. Her lips glided over mine as we kissed and I tangled my hands in her hair. We had been enjoying the early afternoon hanging out in the hot tub with Scott and his latest fling. I was enjoying my last two days of freedom before I joined the working world, which I was definitely not looking forward to.

"You two better not be doing anything gross in my hot tub," my sister yelled as she walked by. "I just had it cleaned."

I smirked and said, "Oops."

"Ew!" Lacey said, scrunching up her face as she laughed and walked down the sidewalk to the guesthouse. Elliot, my brother-in-law, gave a flirty smile to Sophie before turning to me. I shot him a hard look. He was definitely not one of my favorite people in the world. There was always something about him that never sat well with me. Maybe it was because he was always kissing the ground my dad walked on, or how he was a little too flirty with the ladies. The one thing that made me happy about working with him was that I got to keep a close eye on him.

"Your brother-in-law just gets sexier every time I see him," Sophie purred in my ear as she kissed the side of my neck. I pushed her back, gripping her shoulders and asked, "What? When was the last time you saw Eli?"

"In Paris," Sophie said with a casual shrug before she moved away from me and climbed out of the hot tub. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me. I wanted answers. She wrenched her arm out of my grasp and said, "I ran into him at a museum and we went out for dinner. It was really no big deal, nothing happened."

I picked up how her voice slipped in a little disappointment with the last part of what she said. I gave her an inquisitive look and she shrugged casually as she finished stepping out. Shaking my head of the thoughts that were starting to creep in, I climbed out after her.