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“Right. The rules. Okay.” I had a feeling the first might be never to hug him again. In a flash, he was gone. As soon as my door clicked closed, I wrapped my arms around myself before flopping backward onto the mattress. My body bounced, confirming my earliercloudsuspicion. When I looked up, half expecting to see a ceiling fan, a pretty crystal chandelier hung above me. Everything about this room made me happy. Not wanting to give up, I scooched toward the tufted headboard, tested out those throw pillows, and closed my eyes—hoping that when I opened them, this all hadn’t been a dream.
Chapter 5
Collin
After leaving Charlie to get settled, I headed downstairs and straight into the kitchen to grab a beer. It still may have been early in the day, but I felt as though I’d earned it. Plus, the season hadn’t started yet, and as the saying goes, it was five o’clock somewhere… and right now that somewhere was right where I stood. After flipping the cap off, I took a long pull from the clear bottle and savored the carbonated hoppiness as it rolled past my taste buds and down my throat.
Charlie had been there for less than thirty minutes, and already my home no longer felt like my domain. Despite the vastness of the room, I could smell notes of her floral perfume wafting in the air. Usually after practice, even a short one, teammates didn’t smell like wildflowers and powdery fabric softener. Yet she did. There had been zero doubt in my mind that my car would also have her scent lingering inside. It wasn’t that I didn’t care for it, because I did. What I didn’t care for was having a female roommate. The last women I lived with were my mother and sister.
Thinking of my darling little sister, she had a bit of explaining to do. I leaned forward, reached into my back pocket, and snatched my phone out of it. Crossing my legs at the ankles, I relaxed back and scrolled through my contacts. Seeing the goofy picture she’d saved of her wearing my helmet as her profile picture, I tapped my screen.
One ring, two rings… I was about to take another sip of my beer when she answered.
“Well, hey there! If it isn’t my favorite big brother.”
“I’m your only big brother, and hey, yourself.” She giggled in a way only my sister could. It wasn’t a new sound to my ears, since Miss Innocent used it to schmooze the toughest crowds. However, this time it wouldn’t be so easy to talk her way out of her scheming ways. “Sally, care to tell me why you offered my house to Charlie?”
“How is my bestie? Is she kicking balls and taking names?”
“Sal—”
“You know what I mean. She’s good, right? I’ve only seen her play soccer, but the girl has game. And is a brainiac. You know she totally flew through school and wants to be a doctor just like her dad.”
A throbbing dull ache pulsed between my temples. “Sally, will you please answer my question?”
“Right. Okay. Look, I just figured since your house is huge, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Collin, she’s my best friend; you’re my best brother. Yeah, yeah, I know… my only one, but still. Charlie is beautiful, and imagining her around all of those tough guys…” She paused, and I waited for her to go in for the kill, a trait my sister had perfected. “I just figured you’d want to help her out. Sorry if I was wrong. Was I? Should I start looking for a hotel, or maybe one of your buddies has room for her. I’m sure they’d help her out.”
And there it was. Sally could lay down a guilt trip like nobody’s business. The thought of Charlie with one of my teammates for some reason didn’t sit well with me either.
Even though she couldn’t see me, I narrowed my eyes. My sister knew how to push all my buttons. An image of my teammates in the locker room losing their minds when they saw her flitted into my brain. And not because she was a girl on our team, but because my sister was right—Charlie was beautiful. Giving in a bit, I couldn’t help but agree with her. “I’m not saying that you’re wrong. You could have asked or at least told me of your plan.”
“And risk you saying no? Look how you reacted. Coll, I figured it would be easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Sorry, but you get cranky.”
My sister knew me well, because I most likely would have found a different place for her to live or maybe even ask Sophie if she could live with her. “And I’m getting crankier—”
“Okay, no more cranky talk. But you forgive me, right?”
I dropped my head between my shoulders in defeat. “Yeah.”
She let out an exasperated breath that could probably win her an acting award. “Thank you. You’re not going to kick her out?”
“No, I’m not. But going forward, let me know before you go and offer my house to someone, okay?”
“Yes. Oh, I need to go. My coffee order is ready. Love you.”
“Love you too,” I replied just as the screen went blank, not sure if she had heard me or not. Sally knew how much I loved her. That was why she felt confident in what she’d done. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I traipsed over to the sofa. I’d written down some things I wanted to go over with my mentee, but at the time I didn’t know that I’d be mentoring someone who didn’t understand the game. Everything seemed to be turned upside down. All I needed to figure out was how to navigate it.
And on top of all that, I had to introduce her to a couple of the guys. The plan was for us to meet at the Tavern tonight, but I think those plans needed to change. Thank God I’d decided to start slow and only invite Lucas and Mack. However, now I wanted Lucas’s girlfriend, Harley, there. She was totally cool, as was her best friend, Sophie, whom I’d grown closer to. Man, was she going to have a field day with this.
Sophie and I had started hanging out when we became the third wheels thanks to our friends getting together. She was absolutely gorgeous, fun, and everything a guy would want in a woman. Except to me she was just Sophie. There were no sparks or attraction between us. If she weren’t knitted into the fabric of my friendship cloth, we may have had a fling, but no way would I pull on that thread.
Then there was Cami, Lucas’s little sister. She was another off-limits beauty. I swear my buddy was trying to kill me. I supposed three times was a charm, because not only was Charlie off-limits, but she was also a teammate, my roommate, and most likely the soon-to-be cause of many cold showers and sleepless nights.
I once again grabbed my phone and tapped out a message to Lucas, changing our plans for the evening.
Me:Hi. Change of plans. It’s been a long day. Let’s meet at my house tomorrow night. Also, can you please ask Harley, Sophie, and Cami to come too?
Lucas:Why? Please don’t tell me you want to hook this guy up with Soph or my sister.
