Play With Me

early for you to be here, too.” I folded my
arms over my chest, but then the towel threatened to slide down with that move.
I returned to clutching it.
    “Oh, come on...”
He rose from the mattress and came toward me.
    I backed off until
the door behind me stopped me dead.
    “I don’t like it
when you’re mad at me.” He gave that sweet, teasing pout he always did when he
tried to make me forgive him whatever he screwed up. His playing with my wet
strands of hair worked on my defenses. “To make it up to you I’ll stay with you
inside all day, and we can watch some movies.”
    Solitary, just
the both of us, like in the past. He almost had me with it. But I decided to
stay strong. With a snort, I slipped past him and strode to the closet, fetching
a green t-shirt and jeans. Staring at the top for a couple seconds, I put it
back. I wouldn’t wear his favorite color today.
    “I brought Indiana
Jones ,” he cooed and held the DVD collection in front of my face.
    Oh, the bastard.
He knew this was my all time favorite. I owned the DVDs too, but he had the
director’s cut. I pressed my lips together. A grin still escaped.
    Victory lit up
his face. “You go dress, and I’ll set the DVD-player.”
    Faithful to his
promise, Tony stayed the entire day. By the time we started on the second
movie, I had forgiven him so far that I overcame the foot of distance between
us on my bed and snuggled up to him. His arm wrapped around my shoulders
brought back the familiar comfort. I wasn’t sure if he noticed when he started
winding a wisp of my hair around his finger, but I gloried in it.
    There was just
one thing bothering me all this time. I couldn’t stop comparing the feeling
with him to the sensation that rode me when Ryan Hunter had rolled with me off
the couch and I landed on top of him.
    While now I was
completely at ease, I had barely been able to reign in my fluttering heart in
Ryan’s tight embrace. How could this happen when I loved only Tony? Since I
missed two thirds of part III of Indiana Jones thinking on that
question, I decided to drop the thought altogether. After all, Hunter wasn’t a
guy worth daydreaming about. Right?
    The teasing
smile he wore so well captured my mind once more.
    Tony ruffled my
bangs. “What? You still in love with the dude?”
    “Bullshit! I’m
not! It’s just training!” The words were out before I could think again as I
jerked out of his arm and glared at him.
    He gave me a
very uncomfortable stare. “What?”
    “What—what?”
Shit. Something had gone wrong. I sat back on my heels and chewed the inside of
my cheek. “Sorry, what did you say?”
    His eyes
narrowed a little more. “You sighed. Like you were drooling over Harrison
again.”
    Harrison… Ford .
Right. Not Hunter. A little late, but my cheeks started to burn with shame.
    “Liz, is
everything all right?”
    “Sure.” And in
my most innocent I-don’t-know-what-you-mean voice I added, “Why?”
    “Ever since I
came back from camp you’ve been acting a little crazy.”
    “Bullcrap. I’m
fine.” The way he lounged on my bed, arms folded over his chest, brow creasing,
it gave me the creeps. I slid off the bed and stopped the DVD. “Let’s call it a
day here, shall we?”
    I held the case out
to him, but Tony didn’t take it. Instead, he sat up, Indian style, and angled
his head. “Are you throwing me out?” He said it so slowly, disbelief flaring
into his eyes.
    Did I? In over
thirteen years of friendship, I’d never asked him to go. Jeez, he was right—I
was crazy.
    “Look, I’m just
tired from this Indiana Jones marathon. And then I promised my mom to clean up
my room today.” I dropped the DVD case on the bed in front of him. “It’s almost
four. I should get started.”
    “I’d offer to
help you, but I’ve got this feeling you’ll just say no.” He stood, looking at
me as if he waited for my contradiction.
    What in the hell
rode me to disregard his offer? I avoided his gaze, finding his hoodie, and
handed it over to him. “See you tomorrow?” A hopeful edge to my voice made me
wonder if I expected him to be mad because I didn’t let him help me clean.
    “Yeah. Meet you
at training. I can’t pick you up, though.” He grimaced, and I wondered why. “But
hey, tomorrow we’ll play the first real match with the newbies. Make sure you
play in my team.” There it was again. The typical sly Tony-grin that caused my heart
to melt every time.
    Just that it
wasn’t