Play Safe (Make the Play #1) (3 page)

“What?” I ask, certain I misheard him.

“Cal,” he repeats.

Nope. I heard correctly.

“Um…no, I’m Emmy,” I joke, because I have no idea what else to say. Why would my brother’s name be the first thing out of Christian’s mouth after kissing me? I don’t even want to touch that question with a ten-foot pole.

“No, Emmy.” He points his index finger behind me. “Cal is right there.”

I peer over my shoulder, spotting my brother moving toward us. “Oh.”

Christian’s hand lights on my arm. Goosebumps arise on my flesh as the memories of his gentle touch and heart-thumping kiss flood my mind. I look up at him, and he throws me a cautionary expression. “This. Never. Happened,” he says firmly, punctuating each word.

My stomach tumbles to the ground. His words sting, but I’m determined not to let it show. How many times am I going to let a guy stomp on my heart tonight? “Right.” I nod, and pull in a deep breath. Then I turn, grabbing the door handle.

“Emmy.” Christian reaches for me, but I yank the door open and step out of the car.

“Hey, Cal.” I force a smile I don’t feel.

Cal’s forehead furrows under the bill of his hat. Even though he had a date tonight, he’s wearing standard Cal attire – jeans, a t-shirt, and his baseball cap. Actually, it’s similar to what Christian is wearing, except he’s not wearing his ball cap tonight.
eHe CalAs
Cal glances suspiciously between me and Christian, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. I wonder if he saw us kiss. A part of me hopes he did. Then it can be out in the open. Another part of me hopes he’ll never find out. I can tell Christian is hoping the latter by the panic-stricken look on his face. My stomach knots. “What’s going on?” Cal asks.

“Nothing,” I answer quickly. Too quickly. Christian’s eyes flash. Cal’s quizzical expression deepens. “Christian just gave me a ride home from the bonfire party.”

“You went to the party?” The puzzled look is replaced by one of anger.

“Ashley wanted to go,” I explain.

“You went with Ashley?”  His face darkens. Cal doesn’t like Ashley much, but he likes her more than Josh, so I know I made the right choice in mentioning her over him.

“You know how she likes to party.” I shrug. A car drives past our house, its lights flickering over our bodies. A breeze whisks my hair softly, and a few pieces flutter over my face. “Anyway, she was too drunk to take me home, so Christian did.”

“You weren’t drinking, were you?” Cal takes a step toward me.

“No.” I breathe in his face. “See.”

He scrunches up his nose and waves his hand in the air. “God, Em, that’s gross.”

“Oh, shut up.” I punch him good-naturedly in the arm. “My breath doesn’t stink.”
At least Christian didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
My gaze drifts over to Christian still sitting in the front seat. Our eyes meet, but he quickly averts his. Another chink in my heart. I’ve got to get out of here. “Anyway, Christian got me home safe. He did his brotherly duty for the evening so you can stop worrying about me now, Cal.” I step past him. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long night.”

“Good night, Emmy,” Christian calls after me.

My shoulders stiffen momentarily, but I don’t bother responding. At this point I’m not even sure I can. My heart feels shattered, torn into a million pieces. A few minutes ago I thought I’d finally gotten what I’ve always wanted. But you know the old saying – be careful what you wish for. Everything comes with a price. However, this price is a little too high. It was bad enough when I had to contend with my fantasies about Christian. I wanted him without even knowing what that meant. Now I do. I know what it feels like to have his lips against mine, to feel his arms around me. And I also know what it feels like to have him reject me, toss me aside like I’m nothing more than a dirty secret.

This. Never. Happened.

He said the words with such force, such finality. Whatever happened between us is something he regrets. And that’s too much to bear. With my head down, I hurry toward the front door. My hands are slick and shaky when I reach it, and it takes longer than I’d like to get my key into the lock. I practically sigh aloud when the door opens, and I step inside. It’s dark and quiet. Mom and Dad must already be in bed.

Thank god for small favors.

Sometimes Mom stays up late writing in her office, but I don’t detect the sound of fingers on a keyboard. Peering around the corner, I note that her office door is closed and no light escapes underneath. I blow out a breath. The last thing I want is a heart-to-heart with her right now. Mom writes romance novels, and because of that she mistakenly thinks she’s an authority on it. I’ve reminded her over and over that making up fictional stories is not the equivalent of being a relationships counselor. Her characters aren’t real people. The reason their relationships work so well is because they’re made up. But rational conversations never go well with Mom. I swear that woman not only writes about fictional worlds – she lives in one. I’ve gotten used to it over the years. But it was tough when I was younger and I was the only kid who was still standing outside of the elementary school hours after school ended because Mom was too taken by her latest story to remember my schedule. She can remember every line in every book she’s ever written, but she can’t remember when I have a minimum day.
Go figure.

Feeling the weight of the day, I slump down the hallway toward my bedroom. My shoulders feel heavy like I’m wearing a giant coat instead of a thin jacket over my favorite pink tank top. I’ve almost reached my room when the front door pops open behind me. I swing around as Cal steps into the house, closing the door behind him.

“Hey,” he says when he spots me. “What was going on between you and Chris?” With his thumb he points over his shoulder.

“What do you mean?” I feign confusion.

“C’mon, give me some credit. I see what’s going on.”

“You do?” My insides coil into tiny knots, and I struggle to catch my breath. Does he know? Am I that obvious? He comes closer, raising one brow the way he always does when he catches me doing something I’m not supposed to. Is that what’s happening now? I suppose it is. I never should’ve allowed Christian to kiss me. Clearly he saw an opportunity. Or maybe he was just trying to prove a point. Isn’t that what Cal and Christian are always doing? Trying to teach me a lesson or some crap like that? Then again, maybe it had nothing to do with me at all. Perhaps Chris was using me as a way to get to Josh. Whatever it is, it’s clear his feelings for me aren’t what mine are for him. Josh may be a jerk sometimes, but at least I know where I stand with him. Christian likes to think he’s so much better than Josh, but what he did tonight was pretty low.

“Sure. You’re getting older. More mature. And I know you think you don’t need me and Chris looking out for you,” he says, “but you’re wrong. You have no idea what guys are capable of, little sis.”

Trust me, I do
. I snort, but don’t say what I’m thinking. Then he’ll want an explanation, and I don’t have one I’m willing to give him.

“Luckily, you have Chris and me around to protect you.”

Yeah, I’m lucky all right.

He musses my hair with his hand.

“Stop.”

“Make me.”

“Fine.” I shove his hand away, but he grabs my arm and pins it behind my back. A tiny yelp escapes through my lips. “Let go,” I speak through gritted teeth.

“You know what you have to say.” Cal grins.

“Oh, please. I’m not saying it.”

“Then I guess you don’t like your arm as much as I thought.” He grips me tighter. I writhe around, trying to loosen his fingers. But it’s no use. It never is. No matter how many times I struggle, he always wins.

“Okay.” I exhale. “You’re stronger than me. You’re the greatest. You’re the winner,” I rattle off the words with no inflection at all.

“It doesn’t sound like you mean it.”

“I don’t,” I snap.

“Wrong answer.” He doesn’t let up. His fingers hold me in place.

“Cal!” The word bursts out in a frustrated grunt. “It’s been a long night. I don’t want to play your stupid games.” I may be younger by over a year, but sometimes it feels like I’m the older one. Dad says it’s because boys mature slower than girls. But I really hope Cal catches up one of these days.

“What’s going on?” Dad appears in the doorway of his bedroom at the end of the hall. He’s wearing a wrinkled white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. What’s left of his salt and pepper hair is sticking up all over his head.

“I was just reminding Emmy that I’m the stronger one,” Cal responds proudly.

“Well, can you wait until morning to show her? We’re trying to get some sleep,” Dad answers dryly.

“Sure thing.” Cal releases my arm and flashes dad an A-okay sign. He’s such a cheeseball.

“Good night, Dad.” Grateful to be free, I slip into my room and flick on the wall switch. The bright light almost blinds me.

“Get to sleep, you two.” Dad’s bedroom door clicks closed.

I glare at Cal. “You heard Dad. Go get some sleep.”

“I’m not tired.” He leans against my doorframe. “Tell me about tonight. How was the party?”

The entire night plays like a movie reel in my mind, and I suddenly feel exhausted. Perching on the edge of my bed, I rub the back of my neck. “Nothing really to tell.”

“I don’t buy it.”

I throw up my arms. “Why don’t you just say whatever it is you want to say? Clearly you’re fishing for something.”

“Why did Chris take you home?” He pushes off the doorframe, making his way into the room. His gaze is fixated on me, and I feel his eyes piercing my soul.

I swallow hard. “I told you. Ashley was drunk and couldn’t drive me.”

“The truth, Em.”

He must have seen me and Christian kissing, but he’s not going to say anything until we come clean. And I suppose it’s better coming from me than from Christian. I gather up all my courage before opening my mouth. “Well…” I start, but Cal cuts me off.

“Why didn’t Josh bring you home? Did something happen between you two?” He sits next to me, the bed creaking beneath his weight. The mattress slopes underneath me. I scoot further up onto it so I don’t fall off.

Ah, so this isn’t about Christian
.
It’s about Josh
. “Um…” My fingertips skate over the buttons on my jacket. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. “No. He had been drinking so he couldn’t drive me either.”

“Yeah, that guy never misses an opportunity to party.” He chuckles bitterly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I seem to know someone else like that.” I elbow Cal in the side.

“Hey, I’ve settled down as I’ve gotten older.”

“Ah, yes, you’ve mellowed out in your old age,” I tease.

“Sweet of you to notice, sis.” He smiles.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“That’s not what Melissa says.” He waggles his eyebrows.

“Oh, I see. So this newfound maturity is because of your older girlfriend?” Recently Cal started dating a college girl, and he likes to throw it in all of our faces constantly. As if that proves his manliness.

“Maybe.” Bumping me with his shoulder, he winks.

“How was your date tonight?”

“Fun.”

“That’s it? Just fun?” Cal and I have always been close, but rarely does he share much with me. I sometimes wonder how different it would be if he were a girl. I imagine girls share more. I mean, I know I’m much more talkative than Cal. He reminds me of it all the time.

“It’s about as much as you gave me about the party.”

Two can play at this game.
“Fine. You want to hear about tonight? Here goes.” I lie back on my bed and take a deep breath. “Ashley came over and we were talking about what we wanted to do tonight. She wanted to go to the party. I wanted to go see that new chick flick. You know the one about the guy who goes away to school and falls in love with that super pretty girl. What’s the name of the actress who plays her?” I snap my fingers. “Man, I can’t remember her name. Gemma something, maybe. No, Jenna, I think. Oh, why can’t I remember her name? I really like her. Do you know her name?”

Cal throws me an exasperated look. “No. But I know what movie you’re talking about. It looks stupid.”

“Not to me.” I sit up. “I totally want to see it. But Ashley already went with Heather and Talia last week. Which was totally rude because they didn’t invite me. I was kind of mad at first, but then I let it go.” I wave away the words with a flick of my wrist. “So I figured if we couldn’t see the movie then I might as well go to the party with Ashley. But you know how Ashley is at parties. The minute we got there, she went in search of alcohol, so I went to look for Josh. When I found him he was standing in front of the fire pit with Chase and Nolan. Also, there was this weird group of girls standing off to the side giggling. You might know them. Two of them were brunette and one was blond--”

“Oh, please, make it stop.” Cal leaps up, pressing his hands to his ears.

I giggle, flashing an I-told-you-so look.

“Okay, you made your point.” He turns away. “Good night.”