For the Win (Playing for Keeps Book 1) (9 page)

“Well, now you found me.”

“Why didn’t you answer any of my texts?” She maneuvered around the bookshelf and plunked down on the ground beside me. Her long hair fell down her back in large curls. It smelled like hairspray and apple shampoo. “I was worried.”

Guilt struck me. Skyler was a good friend, and I shouldn’t have ignored her. I dropped my head onto her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I guess I needed some time alone.”

“Did it help?”

“It helped me process things a little,” I said. “The one thing I do know for sure is that I’ll never trust another guy like Cooper again. No way will I ever be swayed by a guy just because he has dimples.” The corner of my lip tugged upward.

I expected Skyler to laugh at this, but her face grew serious. “Didn’t you read my texts?”

Shaking my head, I patted the front pocket of my backpack where my phone was safely nestled inside.

“London, you should’ve seen Cooper at lunch. He told Calista off and made her delete the pictures.”

My body heated up. “He did?”

She nodded emphatically. “Yeah, he did.” Then she slumped back, sighing. “God, it was so romantic.”

Rolling my eyes, I groaned. “Everything is romantic to you.”

“True.” She sat up. “But this was honestly the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen. Like as romantic as when Edward saves Bella from being hit by a car.”

“Weird comparison, but okay.” Skyler was obsessed with all things Twilight. I sometimes worried that she’d never be happy with any guy in real life because she compared them all to Edward. And let’s face it, no real boy could compare to a fictional vampire. But I knew this wasn’t at all like a scene from a romance novel. Cooper didn’t defend me because he was into me. But then why did he? I thought back to our discussion in English class, how I’d been thinking about how no one ever stood up for me. But now Cooper had, and I didn’t understand why.

Cooper

“Dude, come on, you’ve got this!” Nate hollered from third base.

But he was wrong. I didn’t have it. For some reason I couldn’t get my shit together today. My mind was a jumbled mess. I couldn’t focus. But I needed to soon or Coach was going to pull me. Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath, pulling it in through my nose and exhaling with my mouth. When I opened them, I locked eyes with the batter.
Okay, Cooper, you can do this.
I got into position and brought the ball into my chest. When I released it I knew instantly that it wasn’t a good pitch. When the umpire called ball four, I groaned. I never walked guys. I struck them out. It’s what I was good at. And it’s what my team counted on.

After two more walks, the batter dropped the bat and jogged over to first base making it bases loaded.
While the next batter headed out of the dugout, Nate jogged over to me.

“You all right, man?”

I nodded, blowing out a ragged breath. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.”

“Well, you better figure it out.”

“I will,” I promised, even though I wasn’t sure if I could keep it.

While he headed back to third, I faced the batter.

I’m sure you’ll get it together in time for Monday’s game.

When I saw you play, you were incredible.

Shaking my head, I tried to get London’s words out of my head, but they played over and over like a song on replay. I needed to stop thinking about her and get my head in the game. But she kept floating into my mind. And she was loud, damn it. I couldn’t shut her off. It wasn’t just her words, it was her face too. I pictured her large caramel colored eyes, her shimmery lips. I didn’t know why she was taking over my thoughts like this. Remembering the angry expression she had after looking at those pictures Calista posted, my stomach clenched. If only she would’ve listened. If only I could’ve explained. I never meant for any of that to happen.

But it was clear she didn’t want to hear anything I had to say. Not that I blamed her.

“C’,mon, Coop.” Nate’s voice yanked me back to the game.

Never before had I had this much trouble concentrating. Frankly, it sucked. Attempting to quiet my racing thoughts, I honed in on the batter. He was a guy I’d struck out numerous times in the past, and I remembered his swing. Feeling confident, I threw the pitch. I felt better about this one than the others.

The batter swung, and the ball flew past me. Whirling around, I watched where it landed. Good thing Brandon was in the outfield and caught it. Luckily, it wasn’t hit deep enough to score the runner from third. After he made a great throw to the cut-off man, I hopped up on the mound and my hope buoyed. But it quickly took a nosedive when the next batter hit a line drive over the second baseman’s head for a single.

It didn’t get any better as the inning progressed. By the time it was over, I’d allowed two more runs, and now we were losing the game. Shoulders slumping in defeat, I trudged toward the dugout. When I glanced up at the stands, only a few parents were sitting on the guest side. I was relieved that my grandparents weren’t here to see this. Sometimes they came to our away games, but this one was a little too far for them. Besides, it was stinking hot out here. They were better off hanging out in the air-conditioned house. I sure as hell wouldn’t be outside if I had a choice. Sweat slid out from under my hat and rolled down my face. Reaching up with my free hand, I wiped my skin. Not that it helped much. More sweat followed.

“It’s okay.” Nate sidled up next to me. “We’ll get ‘em next inning.”

“I’m sure Coach’ll pull me before that.”

I was glad that Nate didn’t bother to argue with me. We both knew what would happen. Thomas was already in the bullpen warming up his arm.
Damn it.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Nate asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with what happened today? With Calista and the newspaper chick?

Irritation bubbled inside of me like the carbonation in a soda. “Her name is London.”

Nate threw up his arms as if he was involved in a stick up. “Hey, I don’t know what’s going on with you and London, but for the sake of your baseball career, you better work it out.”

I nodded, knowing he was right. If I had any hope of getting my head on straight, I needed to face this.

After the game, I drove straight to her house. The sky was darkening, turning a deep blue, almost navy color. When I pulled up to the curb, my stomach knotted. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to be happy to see me. However, I didn’t have a choice. I had to talk to her, and it had to be now. Shutting off the engine, I threw off my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. It was cooling down, but it wasn’t exactly cold yet. Still, goosebumps rose on my arm. My hair was damp from sweat under my hat, my shirt a little moist. Shoving the keys in my pocket, I slammed my car door shut and walked up the driveway. I’d changed out of my cleats and into a pair of tennis shoes, but I hadn’t taken off my uniform yet.

After rapping on the door, it took only a few seconds for it to pop open. London’s dad stood in the doorway, and I swallowed hard.

“Hi Mr.---”
Shit. What was London’s last name?
“Miller,” I practically shouted when I finally recalled it.

“Hi, Cooper.” He nodded his head. “You can call me Dexter.”

Right.
Dexter.
He’d told me that. “Okay.” I glanced over his shoulder, but the family room was empty. “Um…is London home?”

“Yeah. I’ll get her.” Dexter eyed me warily. “You want to come in?”

I hesitated, unsure if London would want me inside her house. She wasn’t exactly my biggest fan right now. Remembering Emma’s statement on Saturday caused a fresh wave of shame to descend on me. “Um…no, it’s okay. I’ll wait here.”

“Suit yourself.” He wore an amused expression as he turned around and walked away from me, leaving the front door open.

Nervous, I shook my leg while I waited. Less than a minute later, London appeared in front of me. She was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, her hair down, her face scrubbed clean. She smelled like soap.

“Hey,” I greeted her.

“What are you doing here, Cooper?”

I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, but a little cordiality would have been nice.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, and then wished I’d rehearsed something on the way over. Now that she was in front of me, I had no idea what I would say.

London peered over her shoulder and then sighed. “Okay. We can talk out here.” Stepping outside, she closed the door behind her. Her toes were bare, her toenails painted pink. It seemed out of character for her, and it drew me to her in a weird way. Leaning against the house, she crossed her arms over her chest. But not before I noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra. Damn, first the bare feet and now this. I had to fight against the attraction I felt, and it confirmed what I already knew.

I wanted this girl. And I wanted her bad.

She cocked an eyebrow, waiting for me to speak.

I cleared my throat. “I played like shit today.”

“Thanks for the report. I’ll alert the media.” Her statement was sarcastic, but her tone was detached; bored.

“It’s your fault,” I blurted out.

Her eyes widened. “Wow. Way to kick me when I’m down.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m no good at words. That’s your thing. What I’m trying to say is…” I stared at her, attempting to formulate my next statement.

London bit down on her lower lip, dragging it through her teeth.

Damn, it was all too much.
There was only one way to get this chick out of my head. I stepped forward, curved my palm around her neck and drew her lips toward mine.

“Cooper.” She threw her hands up, creating a wall between our faces. “What are you doing?”

Grunting, I moved away from her. “God, I’m totally screwing this up, aren’t I?”

“Well, it’s not going great.”

I chuckled at her honest response. “You know, you’re the first girl to ever turn down a kiss from me.”

“Maybe give me some warning next time.”

I froze. “Is that your way of telling me to try again?”

“Cooper.” She sighed with exasperation. “You’re not making any sense. What’s going on?”

“I know, I know. I’m all over the place.” I shook my head. “It’s just that I’ve got all these thoughts swirling in my mind. I’m so confused. I-I.” Pausing, I locked eyes with London. Taking a deep breath, I focused in on what I wanted to say the same way I focus during a game. I was pretty sure if I didn’t dumb down the crazy a little bit, she’d head inside any minute. And I couldn’t let that happen. I was on a mission, and I wasn’t leaving until she heard me out. “I had nothing to do with those pictures. I need you to know that.”

“I do.”

“You do?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Skyler told me how you confronted Calista about them.”

Relief washed over me, then it was replaced by confusion. “Then why are you still mad at me?”

“I’m not.” She shrugged. “I’m not anything at you.”

Her words pierced my heart, and I suddenly knew how every girl I’d brushed off felt. And it sucked. I didn’t want to be nothing to London. When I stared into those amazing light eyes of hers, I knew why. It was because in her eyes I saw myself. I saw the sorrow that resided deep in my heart reflected back at me. London had been through the same kind of hell I’d been through, I was sure of it. And she’d survived. She’d clawed her way back to life. It was why she was so strong and determined. I’d seen it when she’d sprained her ankle, and when she’d fallen at school, and when Calista posted the pictures online. The other girls I’d been with could hardly survive a hangnail. But London was tough.

“What can I do to be something to you?” I asked sincerely.

She narrowed her eyes. “Are you drunk?”

“No. I don’t drink at my games. Although, today it might have helped,” I joked.

“Is this a dare?”

Stepping forward, I caught her eyes. “Of course not. I would never do that.”

“C’mon, Cooper. I’m not an idiot. I know what kind of reputation you have. Hell, I saw the picture of you all over some blond girl just this past weekend. And don’t forget, I was an eye witness to the train wreck with Calista.”

“I’m not gonna deny it. I’ve hooked up with a lot of girls. I never really thought it was a big deal until you called me on it last week. Now I feel pretty shitty about it.” I searched her face, but it was unreadable. I hoped my words were hitting their mark; that I was getting to her. “The thing is that I’ve never wanted a relationship. I don’t have time for one with baseball and school. Those are the things that are important to me.”

“Then why hook up at all?”

“Because I’m a guy.” I smiled, but she didn’t return it.

“Well, I’m not like Calista or that girl from the picture. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a slut. I’m sorry if Calista’s little message on my back gave you the wrong impression.”

“I know you’re not.”

“Then why did you try to kiss me?”

“I couldn’t help myself.” I reached for her, snatching up her hands. “You stir up these feelings inside of me that I don’t understand. That’s why I screwed up so bad at the game today, because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She yanked back her arms, her hands slipping from mine. “I-I-have to go.”

“London,” I pleaded with her.

She shook her head as she reached for the doorknob.

I grabbed her around the waist, pressing my chest to her back. “Don’t go yet.”

“Get off me or I’ll scream.” The terror in her voice was real. Too real.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I was acting like a desperate lunatic tonight.

Shoving off of her, I felt like a dick. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Her response was the door slamming in my face after she’d raced inside.
That went well.