Playing the Player

by Lisa Brown Roberts

  Slade appeared next to us, boosting Max onto the lowest foot grips. “You can do it, buddy,” he said. “Just take it slow and you’ll do great.”

  We stood so close that our arms brushed. The connection made me feel like I could power a small city.

  “You can do it, Max!” I called. “You’ve got plenty of magic to get to the top.”

  I felt Slade’s gaze on me and turned toward him.

  “Magic?” he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Stay cool, I told myself.

  “Yes, magic,” I said. “It’s a private thing between Max and me. Don’t you worry your pretty head about it.” As soon as I’d tossed out that stupid phrase, the same one he’d used on me, I wanted to snatch it back.

  He grinned at me, then tilted his head toward Max, who was halfway up the climbing wall. “Hey, whatever works, BB.”

  I turned to Max and gasped. “He’s doing it!”

  Slade’s grin deepened. “Of course he is. You gave him some of your fairy magic.”

  “My what?” My cheeks burned. Fairy magic? Was he making fun of me?

  “Slade!” Gillian screeched. “Watch me jump!”

  We both turned, just in time to see her fling herself off the top of the rock wall, arms outstretched. Slade and one of the employees working the wall rushed forward to catch her, but Slade was faster. She landed in his arms, still attached to the harness, laughing hysterically.

  I looked up at Max, now two-thirds of the way to the top, worry turning his face pale.

  While Slade calmed down the freaked out employee and gently scolded Gillian, I moved closer to the wall. “You’re okay, kiddo,” I called up to him. “You’re almost to the top.”

  “Do I have to jump to get down? Like Gilly did?”

  “No, of course not. You just climb back down the same way you went up, nice and slow.”

  His eyes locked onto mine. “Trina, I don’t think I have enough magic to make it. I’m just gonna stay here.” He looked ready to cry.

  I bit my lip and looked around. Slade was deep in conversation with three employees now, one of them apparently a manager, based on the shiny gold nametag and blustering voice. Slade had a tight grip on Gillian’s hand, though she wriggled next to him, anxious for the next adventure.

  All of the harnesses were occupied, and the employees were too busy arguing with Slade to notice me.

  I took a deep breath and moved closer to the wall. It wasn’t that high, since it was for the youngest kids. And besides, if I fell, Slade would catch me, right? Like he’d joked in the car? I choked out a nervous laugh and reached out to grab a handhold. Keeping my eyes on Max, I climbed slowly.

  “I’m coming, Max,” I told him.

  “Do you have enough magic?” he called down to me.

  He had a point.

  “Hurry up, Trina.” Max’s voice was choked with tears. “I’m running out of magic.”

  “Almost there, buddy.” I didn’t dare look down. I seriously doubted that Slade could catch me if I did fall; I weighed a lot more than Gillian.

  I heard a commotion beneath me—voices yelling at me to come down immediately. Except for one voice urging me to keep climbing. Slade.

  “I think we’re in trouble,” Max said, tears now spilling down his face. “Those guys look mad.”

  I took one last giant step, praying my sweaty fingers wouldn’t lose their grip on the fake plastic rock handholds jutting out of the wall. I balanced next to Max and took a breath. I held out my arm toward him.

  “Go ahead, Max. You just need one good sniff for enough magic to get back down to Gilly.”

  “Do not let go of the handholds!” a voice boomed at me. “You’re not in a harness!”

  No kidding! I wanted to shout back, but instead I focused on Max, who was on the verge of a complete meltdown.

  “You can do it, Max! Trina, you’re a rock star!” I recognized that voice. Every nerve in my body tingled at the sound of it.

  Max leaned over and sniffed my wrist. A tear plopped from his face onto my arm. His eyes met mine, and I forced a grin. “Let’s do this, kiddo.”

  He blinked at me, but didn’t reply.

  “Trina. You can do this.” Slade’s voice was calm and clear over the cacophony echoing off the walls and in my mind. “One step at a time. Go slow. Don’t look down.”

  Of course I wouldn’t look down. But then I did. The wall might as well have been one hundred feet high to someone as scared of heights as I was. I took a shuddering breath and forced myself to smile at Max.

  “Go Max! Go Trina!” Gilly sounded like she was at a football game. Knowing her, she was doing her cheerleader moves, complete with cartwheels.

  “Maybe you need more magic,” Max’s voice trembled.

  I looked into his beautiful brown eyes. “We’ve got enough magic inside us. It’s time to go down, Max.”

  He bit his lip. “You sure I have enough?”

  I nodded. “Positive. I’ll stay next to you the whole way.”

  I moved down one foothold and Max followed me.

  “If the kid lets go of the wall, we can just lower him down in the harness!” That must be the manager.

  “No,” Max whispered, shaking his head violently. “I’m going with you. I’m not letting go of the wall.”

  “No!” I yelled, without looking down. “We’re coming.”

  I heard Slade’s raised voice, no doubt arguing with the manager, but I tuned it out to focus on Max.

  “Trina and Max go down and down,” I sang softly, to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus.”

  “I hate that song,” Max complained, but he took another step with me.

  “Trina and Max go down and down,” I sang again, moving to another foothold. This time he sang with me, his voice coming in soft breaths.

  It took another dozen verses of the song, but we made it. The manager unhooked Max from the harness while Gillian danced around him yelling, “Yay Max! Yay Max!” They high-fived each other, and an enormous grin spread across Max’s face.

  I sagged against Slade, who’d appeared next to me the second I hit the ground.

  “That was awesome,” Slade said, as his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I was shaking so badly I couldn’t pull away. As I leaned into him, his familiar scent tickled my nose.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” The beefy manager glared at Slade and me. “You’ve broken at least ten rules.”

  “Is that all?” Slade asked, his arm tightening around me. “We were going for twenty.”

  “Out!” the manager boomed, pointing toward the door.

  Slade laughed and pulled me closer. “We’re leaving already. Besides, this place obviously isn’t challenging enough for these girls.”

  The manager glowered at us as we walked away. Gillian and Max skipped ahead of us, laughing. Slade kept his arm around my shoulders, so now I couldn’t tell if I was shaking from residual climbing wall freak-out or because of his touch.

  Once outside under the bright sun, he finally stopped holding me.

  “You two,” Slade commanded the kids. “Go sit on that bench. Now. Or else no ice cream.” I’d never heard him sound so stern, but he bit back a smile as the pair ran for the bench.

  I desperately wanted to sniff my wrist again but didn’t dare.

  “You sure you’re all right?” he finally asked. “You were shaking like crazy.”

  Embarrassed, I stared down at my sandals.

  “Trina?”

  Ugh. Why did his voice have to go all soft and…and…

  “Maybe we should call it a day,” he said. “I could take you home and—”

  My head snapped up. “No.” The last thing I wanted was for him to think I was so pathetic that I couldn’t recover from a quick trip up a climbing wall.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You sure?”

  I nodded.

  “I think we all deserve some ice cream,” he announced loudly, and the kids whooped in response.

/>   Slade and I sat under a shade tree in a park, eating popsicles. Max and Gilly chased each other around a nearby playground.

  “I’ve never been kicked out of anywhere before,” I told Slade.

  He smirked at me. “Of course you haven’t.”

  “Is that an insult?” I tried to look offended.

  He tilted his head and his smirk widened into a grin. “Not an insult. Just a fact.”

  I needed to focus his attention away from me.

  “Look.” I pointed at Max, who’d scrambled up the ladder of a very tall slide.

  Slade watched Max with a satisfied smile. “He learns fast.” He shot me a glance. “He didn’t even ask you for more magic.”

  I felt myself blush. “I gave him enough to last all day.”

  Slade laughed, then stretched out in the grass, shading his eyes from the sun. “So what was that magic secret you two had going on, anyway?”

  I was so distracted by all six foot whatever of him sprawled out like a beautiful, lazy cat that I didn’t respond.

  “So you’re keeping it a secret?” he prompted, turning on his side to look at me with those glittering topaz eyes.

  I plucked a few strands of grass to braid. “It’s not really a secret. It’s just…”

  “Just what?”

  I concentrated on the grass, because I knew if I met his gaze, I wouldn’t be able to form a coherent reply. “You’ll think it’s silly.”

  “No I won’t. If it got Max to climb that wall today, it’s not silly.”

  I sighed deeply and finally looked at him. He already thought I was a Bird Brain. What did it matter if he added wacko to my nickname?

  “It’s lavender oil,” I said quietly. “It’s supposed to relieve stress. Some people use it to help them sleep. I use it when I’m nervous.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Use it how? Do you drink it?”

  I laughed and tossed my grass braid at him. “No, of course not. You rub a little on your skin.” I hesitated then plunged ahead. “Then you smell it when you get anxious.”

  He raised himself to a sitting position and scooted closer to me. “So Max smelled you, and that was the magic?”

  My heart raced wildly, and I tried to distract myself by focusing on the kids, who swung next to each other, pumping their legs and singing some made-up song.

  “It worked for him,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as wobbly to Slade as it did to me.

  “Hmm.” Slade’s responding hum was close—so close it made me shiver—but I still wouldn’t look at him. “Better let me try it. Where should I sniff? Your neck?”

  Startled, I turned toward him, and I froze at the look in his eyes. I must be imagining… He couldn’t be thinking of…

  “Well?”

  “Well, what?” I sounded croaky.

  “Should I just sniff randomly?”

  I knew that my face was on fire. Every part of me wanted to jump up and take off running. Well, not every part. One part of me had this crazy desire to lean into him and see if what I hoped I’d seen in the way he looked at me was true. To see if he really did want to kiss me.

  Instead I held out my arm, while simultaneously scooting away from him. “My wrist. I put it on my wrist.”

  He locked eyes with me for an eon before his gaze shifted. Then he cupped the back of my hand and gently raised my arm, then closed his eyes and sniffed. I wondered if my pulse would burst right through my skin. I was pretty sure this was what it felt like to swoon. I’d always thought it was some made-up word in old romance novels, but now I had proof it was real.

  “I can see why it worked,” he said, his voice husky. “It does smell like magic.” He lowered our hands, and I pulled mine out of his, reaching for new blades of grass to braid.

  “Slade! Trina!” Gillian charged across the park toward us. “Look at Max!”

  Max balanced on a branch of a tree, waving to us.

  “Oh my God.” I jumped to my feet and started toward him.

  Slade put a hand on my shoulder. “He’s all right. That’s barely five feet off the ground. Let him be.” He smiled down at me. “Just trust me.”

  “Watch me, Trina!” Max yelled.

  I caught my breath as he hauled himself up to a higher tree limb.

  “Oh no,” I said, moving toward him again.

  “He’ll be fine,” Slade said, jogging next to me, “but we can spot him if it’ll make you feel better.”

  We stood under the tree, looking up at Max, who waved down to us, deliriously happy.

  “Think you can get down by yourself, buddy?” Slade called to him.

  “Yeah! No problem, dude.”

  Slade and I laughed together, and for the first time it felt like we really were partners. Maybe it was a small thing, but we’d seen Max make progress today, and I knew we were both proud of him.

  Max clambered down the tree and jumped into Slade’s waiting arms.

  “Awesome, buddy.” Slade high-fived him as he set him on the ground.

  Gilly spun in circles shouting, “Max is awesome! Gilly is awesome!”

  “What about us?” Slade teased her, ruffling her hair.

  She giggled and spun faster. “Slade is awesome! Trina is awesome! Slade and Trina sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

  Slade laughed as he chased after Max, while I watched Gillian spin in circles singing her song, wishing it were true.

  Nanny Notes: Jungle Quest

  PROS: I am braver than I thought. Okay, I didn’t exactly go hang gliding. But still. Also, Max loves me now.

  CONS: No longer immune to the Slade spell.

  PRO/CON/??: Maybe I could tell him. About why I can’t swim. About my family.

  About my brother.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Slade

  Saturday, June 15

  I hoped nobody would drown today because of me. I was having a hard time focusing up in my perch in the lifeguard chair, where I was subbing for Lindsay.

  All I could think of was Trina.

  Trina convincing Max to climb the wall, and then climbing without a harness to rescue him, even though she was scared of heights. Trina sitting under the tree at the park refusing to look at me, and then shyly letting me smell her magic wrist.

  It had taken all my self-control, something I didn’t even realize I had, to stop myself from kissing her right there. But Trina was like a beautiful, anxious bird, ready to fly away if I moved too fast. It was like trying to catch a shadow, but I was determined to succeed.

  “Hey, Edmunds!” I looked down to see Alex flipping me off, his usual greeting.

  “Yo, dude. What’s up?”

  “When’s your shift over?”

  I glanced at my phone. “Twenty minutes.”

  “Cool. I’ll grab us a couple of chairs.”

  I thumbs-upped in agreement and turned back to the pool.

  Thank God everybody here was a great swimmer, and the little guys stayed in the wading pool. I’d never had to actually rescue anyone, and hoped I never had to.

  Once my replacement arrived, I stopped by the snack shack to grab sodas and hot dogs, then joined Alex, who was talking to a couple of bikini babes who obviously had lousy gaydar.

  The girls turned their flirting superpowers on me. Normally I would have lapped it up, but today it was annoying. Trina never acted like that. I didn’t think she even knew how to flirt.

  I wasn’t rude, but I didn’t flirt back, so the girls wandered away after a few minutes.

  Alex took off his shades and stared at me. “What’s wrong? You sick or something?”

  “What’re you talking about?” I asked around a mouthful of hot dog.

  He narrowed his eyes. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Since when do you ignore chicks throwing themselves at you?”

  I shrugged.

  He gave me the evil eye. “Is it Beth? Are you actually in some sort of relationship thing with her?”

  “Beth?” It took me a second to r
ealize he was talking about the girl I’d met a couple of weeks ago there at the pool. “Hardly. She left town. She was just here visiting relatives.”

  Alex crossed his arms. “You’re holding out on me, Edmunds. I know it’s impossible to turn queer overnight, so it’s gotta be a girl. A very special girl, if you’re not biting even when the fish throw themselves at you.”

  I shrugged. “Who has time for that? I spend all my time nannying and subbing for Lindsay and—”

  “Holy crap,” he interrupted, realization dawning on his face. “It’s Bird Brain, isn’t it? I mean Trina,” he corrected hastily, probably because of the look on my face.

  I never could keep any secrets from him.

  “Chill out, dude,” I said. “You’re imagining things. Trina’s just my work partner.” I couldn’t let him know how I felt. I wasn’t ready to talk about it, especially not to someone whose personal mission was to turn me into a loser who gave girls monogrammed cookies.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Whatever you say, Edmunds.” He ate some fries then spoke again. “Though I can see the attraction. I told you before, I think she’s visually interesting.” He snorted. “Translation into man whore language: I think she’s pretty, in her own unique way.”

  He grabbed another fry. “And she’s smart. Like you.” He paused, examining me like I was a criminal and he was the asshole detective. “How’s the relaxation mission going? You working your magic?”

  Magic. I was back in the park again, sniffing her hippie chick oil. Maybe I should’ve kissed her right then, even though we were on duty. If she’d kissed me back, I’d know if I might have a chance with her.

  My eyes traveled around the pool deck. Lots of easy pickings here, if I wanted. But I didn’t want any of them.

  Alex slurped from his straw. “Hey, I’d love to be proven wrong about your shallow, sorry ass.” He pointed his hot dog at me. “Don’t be a dick to her.” He looked at his hot dog and laughed. “So to speak.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We’re back to that?”

  He snorted. “I know you think they’re not in love with you. But every time you break a heart, I’m the one they come crying to. It takes them forever to get over you.”

  “That’s a load of crap.” I squirmed in my chair. I tried to let them down gently. I always told them it was me, not them. Which was true. I just couldn’t seem to stay focused on one girl for more than a couple of weeks.