THEO
“Done!” I called, raising a hand in the air after swallowing down the last of the crickets.
“We’re done,” Miles called out louder beside me. “We finished the last challenge.”
“So soon?” Lia looked over, brown eyes narrowing as they flicked to the empty plate. “Did you actually eat all the crickets?”
“They’re all in there.” I nodded, scanning the table for something to wash down the salty, nutty taste that probably wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t known exactly what I’d just eaten. “You can smell my breath if you don’t believe me.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Lia scrunched up her nose, then gestured toward the refreshment table behind her. “Go grab something to get rid of the taste. I’ll run inside and get your prize.”
I was already moving when Romeo announced to the other teams, “We have a winner.”
A collective groan went up from the other tables. But despite disappointing most of our opponents, I caught Owen staring at the pile of untouched crickets before him with a look of relief.
While Romeo announced that Miles, Amanda, Nora, and I were the winning team and would be awarded our prize as soon as his wife returned, I cracked open a can of Dr Pepper and took a long pull. Then another.
It helped, but it didn’t wipe out the aftertaste completely. So when I spotted a few extra “dirt and worms” pudding cups on the table, I swiped one without hesitation. Three bites in, I finally felt like myself again.
I just wouldn’t think about what was currently making its way to my stomach.
“You good now?” Nora asked when I made it back to the group, my half-eaten pudding in hand.
“Much better.” I studied her face. “What about you? Is your mouth okay?”
“Mostly,” she said. “The bread and milk helped. But I gotta say that my sinuses have never been so clear.”
“Go us for taking one for the team.” I chuckled and lifted my hand for a high five.
She met it easily.
“Whatever this prize is,” I added, “I think we deserve most of it.”
“Seriously,” she said. “I mean, I would’ve struggled with the shrimp, but…” She tipped her chin toward Miles. “Our macho football player friend stealing the pudding? How can he even call himself a real man after that?”
“Definitely not a gentleman, at the very least,” I said, lifting my own cup in agreement.
“I heard that,” Miles called over his shoulder. “And just so you know, I’m lactose intolerant, so I actually did take one for the team.”
“Oh really?” Nora asked, brows lifting.
“He says that…” I leaned closer, lowering my voice. “But I’m pretty sure I saw him take a lactose pill while you were fighting for your life with the pepper. So, he’ll be fine.”
“So basically, he just wanted an excuse to have dairy again.”
“Probably,” I said, shrugging.
“Well, since I’m not lactose intolerant…” She glanced back toward the table. “I think I’ll grab some pudding, too. Are there any more?”
“There were a couple left by the drinks.” I nodded toward the table on the patio.
She headed off, and my gaze followed long enough to notice how toned and tanned her legs looked in her shorts.
I blinked and looked away.
She’s your sister’s best friend and way too young for you. Definitely not someone you should be checking out like that.
“Okay,” Lia said when she came back outside, holding two envelopes in the air, a wide smile on her face. “Romeo and I thought it would be fun to give our winners a fun night out on the town. Hopefully, something a little out of the norm.”
She stepped closer, holding one envelope out to me and the other to Miles.
“Go ahead,” she said. “Open them up and see what you won.” Then, smiling at Amanda and me, she added, “Romeo and I will be happy to babysit your kids while you’re out, of course.”
I slid my finger under the flap and opened the envelope, pulling out a small stack of gift certificates.
“What did we win?” Amanda asked, leaning in over my shoulder.
I turned them so she could see as I flipped through them one by one.
“A hot air balloon ride,” I said, reading the first aloud so everyone could hear.
A few impressed sounds followed.
“Dinner for two at The Serpent and Apple,” I added. It was the new upscale restaurant downtown that everyone had been talking about since it opened.
Then I reached the last certificate.
“And a ninety-minute couple’s massage.”
My pulse kicked hard, heat creeping up my neck as the full picture clicked into place. This wasn’t just a fun night out. It was a romantic one.
Perfect for a long-term couple.
Slightly less perfect for four people who were very much not that.
“Well, those sound nice,” Amanda said, smiling up at me. “I haven’t been wined and dined in a long time.”
“Yeah…” I chuckled, a little stiffly. “Me neither.”
Which was definitely putting it mildly. For a guy who hadn’t even kissed a woman once since Alisha passed, this felt like a lot. The balloon ride and dinner, sure. I could wrap my head around that.
But a couple’s massage? With a woman I’d just met?
That was just slightly out of my comfort zone.
I glanced toward Miles and Nora. “You guys get the same thing?”
“Sure did,” Miles said, showing us his certificates.
There was a brief pause, as we all seemed to be thinking about our particular group’s dynamics and the romantic nature of the date.
“I wonder if Lia had certain couples in mind when she set all this up,” Nora said, glancing down at the gift certificates again.
I nodded. “She probably wasn’t expecting to hand these to a group of singles.”
“Probably not,” Miles agreed with a laugh.
“So…” Nora looked around at the four of us. “Do we want to divide these up somehow? Or keep it more of a united team thing? The team who wins together goes on romantic dates together?”
“Like a double date?” I asked, latching onto that possibility.
I mean, Amanda was pretty and had been easy to talk to so far. But I was definitely still adjusting to the idea of being romantic with a new woman, so having Miles and Nora there as a buffer would help take some of the pressure off.
Well, not all of the pressure, since I doubted group massages were a thing.
As if reading my thoughts, Nora added, “And maybe for the massage part, us girls can do ours together and you guys can do yours together.”
“Should I be offended that you don’t want to strip down for a massage in the same room as me?” Miles scoffed, placing a hand to his chest.
“As tempting as that sounds…” she said, her cheeks flushing. “I’d hate for the rumor mill to start talking about how everyone’s favorite quarterback was spotted at a massage parlor with another unknown girl.”
“Fair point,” Miles said, his expression sobering. “I probably don’t need any more rumors floating around. I’m still getting over the ones from last summer.”
“Oh dang.” Amanda snapped her fingers. “And here I was just thinking it would be fun to suggest you and I go in together and leak it to the press, if for no other reason than to make my ex-husband jealous.”
“I’m guessing your divorce wasn’t exactly the most amicable?” I asked, curious.
“Not exactly.” She chuckled. “It’s hard to be on the best terms when you find out your husband has a secret mistress.”
“Oh geez.” I winced. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay.” She waved her hand. “I had a good lawyer, so he definitely paid for it.”
“I guess that’s good?” I said, not really sure what to say since I knew it still had to be painful. The betrayal. Having to upend your life because of choices someone else made.
“It is what it is.” She shrugged. Then, glancing at the gift certificates still in my hand, she said, “Anyway, enough about my relationship drama. Did we decide if you guys are cool doing your massages together?”
“I’m game for a massage with Miles,” I offered quickly, since it sounded better than the other options I’d been worried about. “If he’s comfortable enough with his own masculinity, that is.”
“You do remember that I spend a good amount of time in locker rooms with a bunch of dudes, right? I’m pretty sure I’m more than comfortable there.
” Miles chuckled. Then, pulling back his sleeve, he flexed, revealing an impressive bicep.
“Just try not to feel too intimidated when you see my physique, okay?”
“Put those guns away,” I said, waving a hand at him. And then, before my brain could intervene, I was pulling back my right sleeve, revealing my own bicep and saying, “I mean, why would I be intimidated when I get to look at myself in the mirror every day?”
Amanda’s brows lifted and Nora’s eyes widened as they both took me in.
“Uh, sorry.” I dropped my arm, my cheeks instantly blazing with embarrassment. “That was way too cocky.”
“Cocky?” Miles arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying that you feel cocky when you look in the mirror?”
I cringed.
“I mean conceited.” I squeezed my eyes shut, then exhaled. “Wow. That was absolutely the wrong word.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Amanda said, her gaze flicking over me slowly enough to make my ears heat. “I’m sure that was the perfect word. Don’t you think so, Nora?”
Nora’s jaw dropped, and I could’ve sworn I heard a small squeak escape her lips before she said, “Um, I think it’s probably best that I not comment on that right now as he’s currently my employer for the week.”
“He’s your boss?” Amanda laughed. “How scandalous.”
“She’s watching Charlotte this week,” I hurried to say before anyone could get the wrong idea. “My nanny quit.”
“Anyway…” Nora cleared her throat. “I think it sounds like we know how things will work. We just need to figure out when to do this.”
“Okay, yes. Logistics.” Amanda clapped her hands together. “When works for everyone? Are you free at all this weekend? Lia already said she could watch the kids, so I can call and see if these vendors have availability Saturday or Sunday.”
“I think I’m pretty open,” I said, pulling up my calendar to be sure. “Yeah. Nothing on there so far.”
“I have a couple of parties on Saturday,” Nora said, “but I’m free all day Sunday.”
“Sunday is wide open for me, too,” Miles said. “Off-season perks.”
“Perfect,” Amanda said. “Give me your numbers and I’ll start a group text so we can iron out the details.”