Chapter 7
7
Nando cleared his throat, then checked his breath before ringing the doorbell. After spending the afternoon with the trainer, he headed to Lila’s apartment.
For the third time this week.
He’d been thinking about her a lot lately. And not just because she was pretty. Really pretty. Petite with a sassy smile that matched the attitude. He had a type when it came to looks, but not only did she check every box, she had a quality none of the other women he’d been with recently had.
He genuinely liked her.
She could have been the exact opposite of his type and he’d still like her. Her sense of humor, her way of treating him like a person instead of a celebrity. She knew herself and was true to herself in a ‘what you see is what you get’ style he appreciated. She was also smart, professional, and above all, compassionate. The way she kept him calm when he was two seconds away from freaking out stuck with him. She was a good person, they hung out like buds, had fun together, and he started looking forward to being with her, and he hadn’t even kissed her yet.
And he realized he wanted to.
Would she want to kiss him? They teased and trashed talked like his teammates and he loved it. She gave as good as she got but backed up her talk with actions. He liked her, respected her, and now he wanted to know if there could be more between them.
He had a week before he flew home to Arizona for the offseason. Maybe he could talk her into putting things on hold until he came back. Not that he wanted to put things on hold, He wanted to move things forward, but needed to know if she was interested in moving forward… right before he left for a few months.
Stupid timing.
He raised his hand to the doorbell when the door opened. It wasn’t Lila.
“Hey,” the woman said. “You must be Nando.” She stepped back from the entryway. “I’m Davina. Lila is just getting dressed--”
“And Davina was just leaving.”
Nando turned towards the voice and an appreciative smile curled his lips. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“No,” Davina answered. “I just stopped by to waste time before my nail appointment.” Pulling her purse onto her shoulder, she gave Lila a knowing look before heading out. “Catch you at work?”
Lila walked her to the door. “See you in the morning.” Shutting the door before Davina could say anything else, she turned back to Nando. “I’m almost ready to go. Just let me grab my purse and shoes.”
“No rush,” he said, following her into the family room. “What do you want to eat? Anything you’re in the mood for?”
“What are you feeling?” she asked, tying up her Chucks.
“What about a good burger?”
“I’m always down for a good burger.”
“Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, they found themselves with takeout from a little hole-in-the-wall diner, heading to the bay. Nando parked near the playground and grabbed a blanket from the back of his car while Lila grabbed the burger bags.
With the blanket spread, they got comfortable. Nando took his phone out and started one of his many playlists. Then handing Lila her shake, they started with casual talk about their days. After a few beats, Nando brought up the ball.
“Saturday night, I plan on spending most of the night out on the dance floor.”
She finished off her fries. “I hope you don’t mind me looking better with you.”
“Hey,” he protested. “I clean up pretty damn well.”
She looked him up and down and gave a grudging nod. “I suppose.” Taking a sip of her shake, “If you want to know, I’m wearing red.”
“Cool,” he said. “The WAGs all wear black, and the dates that aren’t booty calls wear red.”
“What do booty calls wear?”
“Not much,” he laughed. She laughed and tossed her last fry at him. “Seriously, the girls that get invited as guests get… creative with what they wear.”
“You’ve been before? I thought you got called up this year.”
Nando shrugged. “The team invites the best performers from the minors to the ball. I’ve been before, but this is my first time as an actual Corsair.”
She cocked her head. “Are you sure you want to bring me?”
“Yeah,” he said with a soft smile. “Very sure.”
Her face colored slightly as she turned her gaze to her lap then to the sunset. “I’m really looking forward to it. My cousin is gonna be jonesing for gossip.” She took another sip then teased, “I hope you don’t mind a ton of selfies, since she’ll be screaming at me if I don’t send her some.”
“I don’t mind,” he laughed. “Your cousin, the doctor? Is she cute?”
“Gorgeous, but halfway around the world right now.” At his questioning look, “She’s stationed in Japan right now.”
He snorted. “I’ve seen them military girls; they may be cute but built bigger than me.”
Lila looked offended. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her pictures and showed him one of a pretty young woman in a tan Navy uniform, leaning back against a railing, the sun setting behind her. “That’s my cousin, Jo.”
Nando whistled appreciatively. “She’s definitely cute,” handing back the phone. “But you’re cuter.”
Her cheeks colored and she smiled shyly for a few moments before she smacked him playfully. “You’re bad.”
“Not too bad,” he countered. “I mean, you like me.”
She looked confused. “Of course I like you. What’s not to like?”
“I mean, you like me for me. Not because I play ball or anything, but because you like gaming too. It means I actually had a real chance with you.”
She shook her head. “Seriously? You’re hot, sweet, and if you ever get out of line, I can threaten to draw your blood.”
Nando just laughed. “You think I’m hot?”
“You know you’re hot.”
He scooted over on the blanket. “It’s still nice to hear.” He started to lean in, reaching a hand to her chin…
When the lawn sprinklers came on.
She shrieked and hopped up quickly, grabbing her bag and their shakes. Nando followed after, grabbing their bag of trash and blanket. By the time they reached his car, they stopped, breathing heavily then started giggling. Soon they were near doubled over in laughter as Nando pulled out his key fob. “Let me get you home where you can dry off.”
He cranked the warm air in the car so they were both semi-dry by the time they reached Lila’s condo. Walking her up to the door, she linked his fingers with his. “Did you want to come in and finish drying off?”
Moving closer, he curled his fingers into hers, pulling her closer. “If you like…”
“Oh, I like…” His lips were barely brushing his when his phone rang. Nando stifled a curse before mumbling sorry and backing away from her to answer.
She watched him get more and more agitated as he talked. After a few more moments, he slid the phone back into his pocket and walked back to her.
“Everything ok?” Lila questioned softly.
Nando shook his head. “Yeah, one of the guys was in a car accident and is asking if I can give him a ride home. He’s ok, but the hospital won’t let him go home in an Uber because he’s medicated.”
Lila nodded. “I had fun tonight.”
Nanod took one of her hands in his. “I did too.” He leaned in to kiss her when his text chimed. “Crap. I gotta go.” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips then ran down to his car. “I’ll pick you up at six on Saturday!”
“I’ll be ready,” she breathed as he got into the driver’s side.
He saw her raise her hand in a little wave. Waving back, he put the car in gear and drove off.