Chapter 16
Conner looked over at Sasha in his car. He wished he knew what was going on with her. She had said ‘an unwanted visitor from the past,’ and while he wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, he could tell it was nothing good. Sasha was always so confident and put together. It was one of the things he found insanely attractive about her, no matter how much he tried to deny those feelings. But first the pepper spray and then her worrying that someone tried to tamper with her car told him this was more than the annoyance of an unwanted visitor.
He followed the GPS to an apartment building a few miles from the center. It was your average apartment building, but it wasn’t where he imagined someone like Sasha living. He had never given it much thought, but this wasn’t a place for someone like Sasha Maloof. He was even more sure of that when they got out and he walked her to the door that wasn’t even locked to the public.
“Is there no security?” he asked.
“There was, but the lock broke a few days ago. So, it’s open until they can get it fixed.”
He carried her bag up the flight of stairs to her apartment.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said as she opened her door.
He should leave, but he didn’t feel right leaving her. She seemed to be concerned about her safety. While he wouldn’t push her to share information she wasn’t ready to share, he didn’t want to leave her all alone, especially in a building that didn’t seem very protected.
“I’m not sure if you have plans, but if you were interested maybe we could order some dinner?”
“What?” she asked with a surprised look on her face.
“It”s up to you, but I was just going to go home and order some food and watch a game, but I could do that here if you felt like company.”
She evaluated him, chewing on her bottom lip.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said quietly.
“Trust me ordering food and spending time with you is no trouble at all. It would make me feel better. You don’t have to tell me what it is, but something is clearly going on.”
“Okay, that would be okay,” she said, opening her apartment door and walking in. They walked into her kitchen, and he took it all in. Her kitchen was clean, and nothing really stood out about it giving him any insight into her. But as they turned the corner to her living room, he saw more of her there. There was a white overstuffed sofa with a soft green throw blanket and yellow pillows. On the wall were photos of her family.
“It looks like you’re from a pretty big family,” he said. There was a picture of them at a wedding that looked like her sister. Then there was one of what looked like that same sister and her mom. Along with some that looked like her and friends.
“Yeah, there are seven of us.”
“Wow, I thought my family was big,” he said.
“Are there a lot of McPhee’s running around?”
“Too many…” he said softly. “But yeah, in my family I have two brothers and a twin sister. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many McPhees there are. My dad is one of eight and my mom is one of five.”
“Wow, that is a lot!” she said with the first genuine smile she’d seen since he found her in the parking lot. “My dad is one of five and my mom is one of six, I get big families. How did I not know you’re a twin?”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”
He hadn’t meant that to come out quite the way it did, but the energy between them shifted. He wanted to kiss her. She was close enough that he could just reach out and pull her soft voluptuous body to his own. He could get lost in Sasha Maloof.
The moment was broken by a buzzing in his pocket. He got out his phone.
“Looks like they just got your car to the garage. They are going to run some tests and figure out the problem.”
She took a deep breath. “That sounds good. Thank you so much for helping me.”
“Don’t mention it. While we wait, there is a place that has grain bowls that are on my eating plan, but they have all kinds of other stuff too. Does that sound okay for dinner?”
“Yeah,”
He pulled up the restaurant on his phone and handed it to her. “Put your order in and I’ll get it taken care of.”
She took his phone and after a moment handed it back to him. “I’m going to change. Make yourself comfortable.”
He sat on her couch and pulled out his phone to check some stats. The first game of the night was about to start. The Magic had already clinched their playoff spot, but several other teams were still playing for wild card slots.
“Did you want to turn on a game?”
He looked up from his phone and there was Sasha. She was out of her classy work clothes and now in an oversized magic hoodie and leggings. He couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face. She pulled up the game on the tv and sat on the couch. If he had his way, she would be right next to him, but this was good enough for now. His phone buzzed on the coffee table in front of him.
“Looks like it was the starter. Should I tell them to go ahead and fix it?”
“I don’t really have a choice.”
“It looks like they’ll have it done tomorrow afternoon. I can run you there after work tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” he said.
“Thank you, Conner, for everything. You’ve been a big help today.”
“That’s just what friends do,” he said with a smile, but even as those words came out of his mouth, he knew they were a lie. Sasha was more than a friend, and he was starting to think maybe it was time he started acting on the feelings he had been trying to deny for the past couple months.
After their food came, Sasha sat down on the other end of the couch while Conner watched a hockey game. Once it was over, he told himself to go home, but leaving didn’t feel right. There was another important game starting in twenty minutes, he should go… it was getting late, but he just turned on the other game. Sasha looked up at him and smiled when he did.
At the start of the third period, it was getting late. He should go home, but he just couldn’t get the look on her face when they were in the parking lot out of his head. There was something going on she wasn’t telling him about. He wouldn’t press her for information she wouldn’t freely give, but he also wouldn’t let her feel like she wasn’t safe.
He looked over at her and she was asleep, there was something so vulnerable about her sleeping peacefully with her laptop still open next to her. He closed it and set it on the table before covering her with the soft blanket that was on the back of the couch. He should leave…but the game was almost over.
Halfway through the third period she shifted, he looked down expecting to see her awake, but she was still sound asleep and appeared to be leaning his way. She snuggled into his chest and that was all it took. Ever since he found her in the parking lot, he had been pretty sure it was time to finally figure out what it was that kept pulling them together, but with how good she felt pressed into his side there was no choice. He needed to tell her how he felt and see if she felt the same.
As the game ended, he was telling himself to go home, but she would need a ride to work in the morning. He had his gym bag in the car which was all he really needed for work in the morning. It was just a video review meeting and then a special teams practice.
“Sasha,” he said, gently waking her. “Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll sleep here on the couch.”
She sat up adorably disoriented, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What?”
“You fell asleep. Why don’t you go to bed, and I’ll just crash here on your couch?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll feel better knowing you are safe here tonight, plus we can go into work together and I can take you to get your car whenever it’s ready.”
She gave him a sleepy smile. “You’re not so bad after all, Conner McPhee,” she said. She sleepily stood up and walked to the hallway before turning around to look at him. When her eyes met his he noticed they were a bit more awake. He was worried she might be about to send him home, but then she bit her lip and gave a small smile. “Good night. Do you need anything?”
“I’m all set.”
After she made her way into her bedroom, Conner sighed and let his head fall back against the wall behind the couch. What was happening? That was a problem for tomorrow. He picked up a phone and set an alarm before laying down into her surprisingly comfortable couch and pulled the blanket over himself. It was still warm and smelled like her, he should not be enjoying this as much as he was. It was time he made some changes in his life where Sasha was concerned.