Play Dirty (Make the Play #4)

by Amber Garza

  When I first walked up today and saw Josh in his tux, I couldn’t believe how good he looked. Not that he doesn’t always look good, but I’ve never seen him in a tux before. And it’s definitely flattering on him. The jacket accentuates his broad shoulders and muscular chest, and the white collar of his shirt is striking against his tanned skin. His hair isn’t tousled like usual, but I like it, which surprises, me since normally I love his messy hair. It goes to show that the boy looks good no matter what. It’s the kind of thing that would irk me about him in the past, but today it doesn’t. Today I can’t keep my eyes off of him. My gaze follows him, while a feeling that is an awfully lot like longing spreads through my chest.

  Josh’s face is somber, much too somber for a wedding. His gaze flickers around almost like he’s afraid to look up at his dad who stands at the front. I can tell by the slight pull of his lips that he notices Josh’s behavior too. The irrational side of me wants to leap up and drag Josh out of here. Clearly, he’s still struggling. But the rational part of me knows he needs to go through with this. His mom is right. He’ll regret it if he doesn’t. One day he’ll learn to accept this relationship. And when that day comes, he’ll be grateful that he made himself participate in the wedding.

  Still, I hold my breath as he makes his way stoically down the aisle. Sitting up straight, I will him to be strong and brave. As if he can sense what I’m thinking, his neck slowly cranes in my direction. I straighten my spine even more as his gaze sweeps over me, then abruptly stops, crashing into mine. I inhale sharply.

  Josh and I have touched many times. We’ve held hands, we’ve kissed. But this feels more intimate than all of that. His eyes are piercing as he continues holding my gaze. I don’t dare move. I don’t even think I breathe.

  Slowly Josh’s lips curve slightly at the corners, his entire facial expression softening, transforming before my very eyes. It’s as if he’s drawing strength from looking at me. As if I’m hugging him rather than just staring back at him. I offer him a slight smile and an encouraging nod before his head swivels back around. It all happens so fast, I doubt anyone else even noticed it, yet it leaves me winded, breathless, my head whirling.

  I came here out of obligation, but I’m staying because at this moment there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

  JOSH

  It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for all day. Thinking about this moment is what got me through the painful wedding ceremony and the awkward conversation with guests during dinner. This moment will make all of that worth it.

  “May I have this dance?” Standing in front of Talia as she sits around a circular table, I extend my hand.

  Reaching out, she wraps her slender fingers around mine. “Of course.”

  Gently, I help her up into a standing position. Then I guide her onto the dance floor. Couples are scattered around, and I spot Dad and Olivia a few feet away. Turning from them, I focus on Talia. Standing still, I wrap my arms around her waist and draw her close. Her arms loop around my neck as our bodies sway to the music. Lucky for me it’s a slow song. That gives me an excuse to pull her even closer. When our chests meet, I can detect the faint rhythm of her heartbeat beneath mine. For some reason it comforts me. All of the sudden the ugliness of the day falls away. Underneath the sparkling lights with music playing and Talia in my arms, I come alive. I feel happier than I have all day. It’s so confusing. Usually girls bring me down. They don’t lift me up.

  “Well, you did it,” Talia says, peering up at me. Her eyes are bright, her hair smooth and shiny. She’s gorgeous. “The wedding is almost over. You survived.” She winks.

  Nodding, I swallow hard. A few minutes earlier I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. Now I want to stay forever.

  “Are you glad you came?” she asks.

  “Are you?” It’s habit. Answering a question with a question. I’ve been doing it for so long now it happens without thinking.

  “I asked first.” Most girls would just answer, but Talia’s different. It’s one of the things I’ve grown to like about her.

  “And I asked second,” I banter back. But when her smile slips a little, I decide to cut the games and simply answer. “Yeah, I am glad I came.” Now that Talia’s in my arms, I can honestly say that I’m happy to be here.

  “Me too,” she answers, causing my heart to skip a beat.

  Nearby I spot Emmy and Chris dancing. I spin Talia away from them. Not because I care about them at all, mostly because I don’t want anything to interrupt this moment. She clutches tightly to my neck as we twirl around, her hair flying behind her. It’s weird the things I notice about her, the tiny details, like the way her eyes scrunch up when she smiles or the way she runs her fingers through her hair when she’s nervous. I’ve never been an observant guy. It’s got me in trouble with girls before. But everything is different with Talia, and I don’t even understand why.

  Honestly, my feelings for her came out of nowhere. One minute I’m going along, sticking to the plan, and the next I’m abandoning the plan altogether. Falling for Talia was a surprise. It hit me hard like a fast pitch from a guy who normally throws duds. I definitely wasn’t expecting it.

  But now that it’s happened, I don’t want to fight it.

  In the past, I’ve been accused of being commitment phobic, but the truth is I never met a girl I wanted to commit to. Earlier this year I thought I wanted to commit to Ashley, but now I’m not so sure. Everyone knows I like a challenge, and maybe that’s all Ashley was to me. Perhaps having two girls dump me for someone else was too much for my ego to take.

  But I do want to commit to Talia. I’m sure of that.

  Opening my mouth, I’m about to share this with her when I feel a tap on my shoulder. Flinching, I slowly crane my neck. Dad stands behind me wearing a tentative smile. Blowing out a breath, I release one arm from Talia and turn toward him. That’s when I see Olivia standing at his side.

  “Excuse me,” Dad says politely to Talia. Then he looks pointedly at me. “Olivia and I just need to steal you away for a minute.”

  I sigh, wondering what they could possibly need now. We’ve already taken a million pictures. When I see Chris heading in our direction, my stomach drops. Great. More family fun. Maybe I should amend my earlier statement. No, I’m not glad I came. Not now anyway.

  Reluctantly, I release Talia all the way. Annoyance swims in my veins. Why did Dad have to interrupt me right at this moment?

  “I’ll be right back,” I say to Talia, fighting hard not to sound as angry as I feel.

  “I’ll be right here.” She points to the chair I’d originally pulled her out of.

  “Hopefully this won’t take long,” I say, before following behind my dad, Olivia and Chris. As I walk with my dysfunctional family, I scour the place for the photographer. When I don’t see him, I sigh with relief. Posing for all those pictures was excruciating. I thought my face was going to freeze into a perpetual smile. I’m only just now getting feeling in it again.

  Besides, I felt like an imposter standing there next to Chris, Olivia and my dad, acting like one big happy family. Not only that, but it felt like a betrayal to my mom. A betrayal to all the family photos we’d taken over the years. Every Christmas Mom would make us wear matching outfits and stand out in the freezing cold until we got the perfect picture. Maybe she thought if the picture was perfect, we would be too.

  Boy was she wrong.

  When Dad leads us inside the building where we originally got ready, I’m confused. “Are we starting over?” I quip.

  Chris frowns, crossing his arms over his chest. Clearly he’s thinking the same thing.

  “No.” Dad lets out a nervous laugh, running a hand over his salt and pepper hair.

  “Then what are we doing?” Chris asks.

  Olivia gently touches his arm. It reminds me of a gesture my mom would do, and I have to look away. “We just wanted to have a minute with you boys before the day was over.”

  “Just a minute.” I yank
out my phone. “Great. I’ll start the countdown.”

  Again, Dad supplies the nervous laughter. His hand clamps down on my shoulder, but it’s harder than I expected, and it sort of stings. “No, not just a minute,” Dad says through a forced smile. “Olivia and I have a few things we want to say.”

  Great. Our first family meeting. Yippee.

  Olivia clasps her hands in front of her like she’s about to start praying. I sincerely hope she’s not. I don’t know much about her spiritual beliefs. “Dan and I really appreciate you both being here,” she says, squeezing her hands together tightly.

  Okay, so she’s not praying. She’s just using her hands as a crutch. I get that.

  “We know that this day hasn’t been the easiest for either one you,” Dad interjects, Olivia nodding at him as if he said his line perfectly. Had they rehearsed this?

  “And we know the two of you haven’t always gotten along so well.” Olivia looks pointedly between Chris and me. I don’t dare look at him. This entire thing is way too awkward. Why are they forcing all this today? “But we’re a family now.” She reaches for Dad’s hand as if to demonstrate her point. “And Dan and I would love it if you two could get along. If we all could get along.” Her smile deepens. “And, Josh,” she continues, placing a hand on my arm. “I know I can never replace your mom, but--”

  Wrong thing to say. Tearing my arm away, I interrupt her, “Damn straight you won’t replace her. No one could replace my mom, certainly not you.”

  “Hey, you better tread lightly.” Chris shoves a finger in my face.

  I bat it away. “You’re the one who should tread lightly. You and your mom,” I snap, the composure I’d been fighting to keep all day unraveling like the seam on a shirt after you pull it. “Do you have any idea what this has done to my mom? And now you want to talk about replacing her?” I ask a stricken Olivia. Dad places a hand on her shoulder and narrows his eyes at me.

  “Josh, calm down,” Dad says. “I know you’re upset, but you can’t speak to Olivia like this.”

  “Mom’s not even dead! She doesn’t need to be replaced,” I shout, wondering if I’m the only sane person in this room.

  “It was a poor choice of words,” Olivia speaks softly. “And I’m sorry.” The gentleness in her tone calms me a little. Not a lot, but at least I’m not biting anyone’s head off at the moment.

  “Yeah, she was only trying to be nice,” Chris interjects, pinning me with a glare. “This is new to all of us. You’re not the only one struggling right now.”

  I open my mouth to toss out another retort when my gaze lands on Chris’s protective stance, as he positions his body in front of his mom’s. It reminds me of something I would do with my mom, and that reminds me of the fact that Chris has had the same kind of life as me. We’ve both spent our childhood and teenage years protecting our moms. As much as I want to keep hating the guy, that is one thing I can respect. I may not like his mom that much, but I understand how much she means to him. And he’s doing the right thing by defending her. I can’t fault him for that. So I keep my mouth shut and simply nod.

  There is collective sigh of relief around the room.

  Dad steps forward. “It’s important to Olivia and me that the four of us learn how to be a family. We’re not expecting to all get along perfectly at first, but we really want you boys to at least give it a try.”

  Chris clears his throat, thrusting his hand in my direction. “What do you say, Josh?”

  I stare at his hand, an incredulous look on my face. “What? No Joshy?”

  He frowns. “I think they’re right. I think it’s time for us to call a truce.”

  I bite back a scathing remark. The truth is that they’re all right. Holding on to this grudge is pointless. We’re brothers now, whether we like it or not. I grip his hand and shake hard. “Fine. Truce.”

  Olivia’s hand flies to her face, and she lets out a delighted sound. It’s like she thinks we hugged or promised to love each other forever or something. But all we did was reluctantly shake hands. The next thing I know she’s pulled me into her bosom and is squeezing me hard. With my hands pinned to my sides, I gasp for air.

  “We’re going to be such a happy family,” she gushes before releasing me.

  I don’t know what she’s smoking, but I really wish she’d share.

  “Thanks, son.” Dad drapes an arm over my shoulder, while Olivia embraces her son.

  Once the lovefest ends, I back away from them. “So…is this over? Can I get back out to Talia?”

  “You and her are pretty tight, huh?” Chris asks, eyebrows arched.

  I think about how complicated things are between Talia and me. About how this entire thing was a rouse. But then I think about how close we’ve become; how much I like her. “Yeah.” I smile. “We are.”

  His head bobs up and down in appreciation. “Cool.”

  “It is cool,” I respond, thinking about how that was the most civil conversation I’ve ever had with Chris. My gaze lands on Dad. “So, we’re done here?”

  “Yes, we’re done here, son.”

  Thank god. Exhaling, I spin around and hurry out to Talia, praying that she’s waiting for me like she said she would be.

  TALIA

  Cal spins Taylor around the dance floor. She throws her head back and giggles. The smile on his face betrays how much he likes to make her laugh. Fluttering her lashes, she moves in close to him and presses her cheek to his chest. All traces of teasing and joking around flee as he tugs her close and gently plants a kiss on her forehead. My heart pinches. Palmer used to do that. I always thought it was the sweetest gesture.

  As I sit in the folding chair waiting for Josh to come back, I continue to watch Cal and Taylor. Their presence seems to command my attention. It’s obvious how much in love they are. Not that I needed to witness this to know that. Cal dating Taylor, even though she was pregnant with another guy’s baby, was proof enough for me. No guy would do that unless he was head over heels for the girl.

  I remember when Ashley was totally in to Cal. She talked about him nonstop, even befriended Emmy to be close to him. It bordered on obsession, and it worried me a little. However, I also understood why she chose Cal. He’s always been a good guy. Observing him with Taylor only confirmed that.

  Maise and Emmy saunter over, and Cal releases Taylor. Then he grabs his mom’s hands and begins dancing with her. Emmy and Taylor don’t miss a beat. They start gyrating their hips while laughing and talking the way best friends do.

  Ashley and I used to be like that many years ago. Before she became Queen Bee. Before popularity ruined us. Often I forget about the good times. The bad times are closer, the memories more fresh. But once upon a time we had a lot of fun. We even cared about each other quite a bit.

  Sighing, I glance around, picking at a thread on my dress.

  “Ready to pick up where we left off?” Josh’s voice startles me.

  But not in an unpleasant way. I’m grateful for his return. Smiling, I peer up at him. “Yep.” Reaching for his hand, I leap up.

  He ushers me out onto the dance floor and then places his arms around my waist. As his fingertips dance over my back, I grip him around the neck. His skin is warm and a little damp, the ends of his hair curling slightly from the heat. The scent of flowers waft under my nose.

  “What did your dad need you for?” I ask, curious.

  He shrugs, darkness flashing in his eyes. “Oh, you know. Family stuff.” His tone doesn’t match what I see in his eyes.

  “Anything you want to talk about?” I don’t know why I push it. I’m aware that Josh hates when people try to force him to talk about things he doesn’t want to. But for some reason I can’t help myself. Maybe it’s because he’s been so different lately. He’s made me believe that he might have turned over a new leaf. Plus, he pretty much confessed that he cared about me. That’s huge for Josh. And even though deep down I know it’s probably not true, a part of me wants to test it out. To see if it is.
>
  “Not really.” His gaze shifts around in agitation.

  My heart dips. At least he’s not lashing out at me. That’s something. However, he’s not opening up to me either. “If you decide you do want to talk, I’m all ears,” I say, determined to keep the mood light. It seems like what he needs right now.

  “Ah, like Dumbo?” he quips, reminding me of the old Josh.

  I know it’s only a joke, but for some reason it makes me self-conscious about my ears. I have been told they were large before. Instinctively, one of my hands leaves Josh’s shoulder and touches my earlobe. “Yeah. Maybe that’s the reason Hayes didn’t want me.” It’s the wrong thing to say, and I have no idea what possessed me to say it. Bringing up Hayes in this moment bordered on stupid. Hell, it didn’t even border on stupid. It was stupid.

  Josh’s arm juts out. I flinch, half-expecting him to shove me away and stalk off. That is his usual MO. But he doesn’t. Instead, he gingerly takes my hand away from my ear placing it back on his free shoulder. Then he places both hands over my ears, his thumbs gently caressing the soft skin. It causes a chill to snake down my spine and goosebumps to rise along my arms. “Your ears are not big, Talia. In fact, they’re rather small. Hayes is an idiot if he didn’t want you.” I snort in disbelief. “It’s true. He chose the wrong girl, plain and simple.”

  Wriggling out of his grasp, I wonder if I heard him wrong. There’s no way I can think straight with his fingers rubbing on my sensitive ears. “But he chose Ashley,” I speak slowly.

  “I know,” he answers deadpan, reaching for me again. Looping his arms around my middle, he tugs me forward.

  I catch his eye. “But you said he chose the wrong girl, and he chose Ashley, the girl you want.”

  “Wrong.” Leaning down, he speaks into my ear. “She’s definitely not the girl I want.”

  I shiver, but stay still. I know I should pull away, but I can’t. It feels good to be in his arms, to have him close. “She’s not?” I finally squeak out, his breath still hot on my cheek.