Chapter 39 Willa
WILLA
At lunch on Wednesday when Eng made his intentions clear, the dam of reservations holding my emotions at bay broke.
I suddenly understood that Grinch cartoon when his heart swelled three times its size.
I’d always joked that such an event was a serious cardiac condition, but for me it felt like heaven.
Eng loved me. He wanted to make me his bride, his princess. He swore to always put me and my feelings first. The hurt, scared part of me wanted to not believe him, but that warm and somewhat fragile expression in his brown eyes convinced me of his sincerity, and I was swept away on a wave of love.
I wanted to drag him home, or drag him back to his home, but the guy really did look in need of a serious nap, so we kissed and I told him to text me when he was awake so we could make plans.
Again, the orc surprised me. I’d envisioned him taking me out to some swanky expensive place for dinner—the sort of place that served twenty-dollar cocktails and where the seventy-dollar entree was just a plate of meat with the sides costing extra, the sort of place with artfully arranged plates with one bite of food on them.
Instead he told me he was going to bring over a pizza.
Relief washed over me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved a fancy dinner as much as the next girl, but I really wanted to just curl up with Eng, eat some comfort food, and bask in the glow of love.
The pizza was enormous, wood-fired, and loaded with meat—just how I liked it. I’d Googled a top fifty list of romantic movies, quickly doing the film version of swiping left on most of them. Too sappy. Too cheesy. Good Lord, how the hell did someone think that was a romance?
In the end I settled on Scott Pilgrim vs the World which may not seem like a romance to a lot of sentimental folks like Abby, but it was to me. Eng loved it, and when he offered to kill all of my exes to win me over, I nearly swooned.
I insisted he spend the night, in spite of some half-hearted chivalry on his part.
The sex was slow and tender, so different from our usual frantic pairings, but absolutely right for the first time we’d been intimate since he’d left with the team for a set of away games.
It was perfect, and I adored being able to fall asleep in his arms.
The next morning I truly felt like we were in a relationship as we raced around my tiny studio apartment, grabbing breakfast and showers and barely holding back from falling into bed again and letting the world pass us by.
It wasn’t until we arrived at the arena and I saw the expression on the team’s faces that I remembered I hadn’t told any of my friends that Eng and I were an item. Or about our past.
Oops.
Judging from Ozar’s scowl, he was ready to beat Eng down.
And from his worried expression after I’d put them both into a corner, he would be telling Jordan as soon as he could about the threat to my person and heart from Eng.
They were allegedly enemies, but I got the impression from watching the two orcs that they were more like frenemies.
Either way, I needed to text Jordan right after the training session, then let Abby and Stephanie know as soon afterward as possible.
Eng worked his ass off at training, and he was equally dedicated on the ice during their practice. The guy had it in him to be an outstanding goalie, and I was happy he was taking this seriously. In between watching Eng practice, I was overwhelmed by phone calls and texts from my friends.
“You are fucking kidding me,” Jordan yelled into my ear. “I got your text and immediately abandoned a patient to call you, so this better not be an early April Fool’s joke.”
“It’s not a joke,” I told her. “We…okay, you’re going to kill me for this but we’ve been kind of sleeping together from that first game.”
“What!”
I had to pull the phone away from my ear at her shriek. “I know, I know. It was just supposed to be a one-and-done, but I ran into him after a date with another guy one night, and things just happened.”
“Willa, I swear to God if he hurts you I’m going to have Ozar fuck him up and toss his body in the Patapsco.” Her voice lowered in volume as she must have turned to talk to someone else. “No, Mrs. Turner, everything is okay. My friend has just once more thrown her heart at a total jerk of a man.”
I faintly heart Mrs. Turner tell Jordan she was a good friend, and that she knew where to hide the body.
“We kind of broke up after they had their away games, but he’s been so kind and patient and just awesome since then. He’s serious about our relationship, Jordan.”
“Are you sure this is Eng we’re talking about?” she asked. “Because that does not sound like Eng.”
“No, it doesn’t sound like the Eng he shows the rest of the world, but I assure you that he is serious.
I just wanted you to know because he spent the night last night and we arrived at the arena this morning for the team workout together, holding hands.
Ozar is going to say something to you, and I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
“I should have heard it from you last month.” Jordan’s voice held the sharp edge of hurt feelings. It made my feelings of guilt deepen further.
“I should have told you, but in the beginning it was just sex, and by the time my heart was involved…well, I didn’t need to hear that I’d screwed up again and that I would never learn.”
“Willa.” Jordan’s reply was soft. “I would never say that to you. I know what it’s like. You’re one of my best friends and I might worry about how a choice you’ve made might hurt you, but I’d understand, and I will always be here for you.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Thank you. And I hope you’ll reassure Ozar that I am not some helpless damsel. I’ve made the decision to date Eng, and I hope that he’ll accept that.”
Jordan blew out a pfft noise. “Accept it? Damn it, we’re going to be going on double dates with you two.
I don’t care how awkward that might be for the guys, I don’t want any friction between me and a bestie.
I’m going to marry Ozar, and if you’re going to consider marrying Eng, then the guys need to get over it. ”
I laughed, because yes, they did.
The other calls went pretty much the same.
Abby was just as concerned as Jordan. Stephanie was torn between excitement that my mystery booty call guy had turned into something else, and worry that he might be playing me for some weird narcissistic goal.
In the end, they both expressed their support and enthusiastic participation in any murder and body disposal a breakup might spur.
After training, Eng and I went for lunch.
Then he had a key to his apartment made for me at the hardware store down the street from his apartment.
I went back to my place to pack a bag, and he returned to his own apartment to nap.
I arrived at his place to find him still sleeping.
Once more I admired the changes he’d made to the apartment and the gorgeous Amy Sherald painting.
Then I went into the kitchen to see what I might need to supplement from my own home.
The fridge was stocked, although a few of the items seemed a little odd.
There were condiments, the usual eggs, milk, beer, and cheese.
In fact, the cheese was downright excessive.
The guy had entire drawer in the fridge dedicated to the stuff, and some of what he had was quite expensive.
I also found luncheon meat, thick slab bacon, steaks, and four pounds of chicken.
Luckily he’d also stocked the non-food items in his kitchen and I was able to bag and freeze some of the chicken, thinking that I might cook the steaks tonight.
Did he have a grill? A broiler pan? How the heck could I pan-fry New York Strips?
The cabinets were loaded with dishes, housewares, spices, dried goods. The guy had bought out half of a Trader Joe’s from the look of it.
“Hi, beautiful.”
I turned to see Eng, naked except for a silk cap on his head. I stared at the hair accessory.
“For once I don’t wake up to matted and flat hair.” He swept the cap off with a hand to reveal his short locks. “We seriously need to import these back home—both this version and the one you wear. Orcs tend toward the hair type that would make these very useful—especially those with longer hair.”
I laughed, walking over to wrap myself around him. “I was exploring your kitchen. Steaks tonight?”
He made a grumbling mmm sound and held me tight against him. “Steaks. But first I feel the urgent need to return to my bed. With you.”