Play Safe (Make the Play #1) by Amber Garza Read Free Book Online

asshole?”
    “News to me too, man,” Cal shakes his head.
    “Why? Why would she want to stay with him?” My heart pounds in my chest, red hot anger burning me up. Emmy’s sad eyes and vulnerable expression fill my mind. She deserves someone so much better than him.
    “You know how stubborn Emmy is,” Cal reminds me, but I barely hear him past the blood rushing to my head.
    “We’ve got to put a stop to this. It’s gone on long enough.”
    “Whoa.” Cal puts his arm up to steady me. “I don’t want my sister dating that jerk either, but we can’t do anything about it, man.”
    “Why not?” I step past Cal. “I can do somethin’ about it right now.”
    “Okay.” Cal’s tone is wary. “I have no idea what’s going on with you today.”
    I close my eyes, trying to steady my heart. “Sorry. I just hate that guy so much.”
    When I open my eyes, Cal’s eyes are filled with understanding “Ah, I get it. This has to do with your mom.”
    Not at all. It has everything to do with the fact that I want to be with his sister, but I can’t admit that. So I bob my head up and down.
    “Look, man, you’ve gotta get past that. I know it’s tough, but we have to play ball with that guy.” Cal moves in closer. “But I’ll tell you what. If he hurts my sister at all, I give you full permission to beat his ass.”
    I want to smile at that, but the thought of him hurting Emmy causes me to see red. Besides, if he hurts Emmy again, I won’t need Cal’s permission to unleash on him. And no one will be able to hold me back.
    “Gladly,” I say, spotting Josh across the field. When his head cranes in my direction, I narrow my eyes. He responds by tipping his head, a smug smile painted on his face. I don’t break my gaze even though my insides are churning.
    “I know I can always count on you.” Cal grins.
    I force a smile, but inside I feel sick. Would he say that if he knew the truth?

EMMY
     
     
    Most people tell their best friend when they have their first kiss. Maybe their mom or their sibling. I told Christian. It’s not like I sought him out to tell him. In fact, I hadn’t planned to tell him at all. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell anyone about my kiss with Miles. It wasn’t the kind of kiss you want to relive. It was the kind of kiss you want to forget ever happened. And that was the plan.
    Miles’ mom gave us a ride home from the eighth grade dance. The minute she dropped me off I raced inside my house, hoping to outrun Miles’ triumphant grin. I knew he was hoping for another kiss, but that wasn’t happening. The house was quiet when I stepped inside, and I was a little surprised. I had assumed Mom would be waiting up, hoping for some juicy tidbit, some sliver of romance she could add into her latest novel. I wasn’t sure if she really used our experiences as material for her books, but I imagined she did. Mostly because she was so desperate to talk to us about it. Most parents discouraged romantic endeavors, but my mom pushed us into them.
    Grateful for the reprieve, I tip-toed toward my room, praying I wouldn’t wake anyone. And that’s when I saw him. Christian was sitting on the couch in the family room playing a video game. He had the sound on mute, so that’s why I didn’t hear it at first. Now I caught the faint clicking of the controller.
    “Hey,” he whispered over his shoulder as he continued playing.
    “Hey,” I answered softly. “Where is Cal?”
    “In bed.”
    “Couldn’t hang, huh?” I joked.
    “Nope. He’s a party pooper,” Christian bantered back.
    But we both knew the truth. Between school and baseball, Cal had been running himself ragged lately. Of course so had Christian.
    “I’m surprised you’re up.” I walked into the family room so I could raise the volume of my voice a little.
    “Nah, it’s still early.”
    It wasn’t that early, but for Christian it probably was. He’d always been somewhat of a night owl.
    “So, how was the dance?”