9. Chapter Nine
Social media is buzzing about our relationship still. Everyone is trying to figure out who Calliope is. Purposely hiding her face was my way to slowly ease her into what a relationship with me entails. No one knows her name, and no one has figured out who she is even a couple weeks later.
Today is all about Calliope. A day to spoil her and maybe distract from the media frenzy in the process. I want to take her to my favorite diner for brunch to start the day. It’s a small place off the beaten path that I found one day while exploring my new area. I’ve never found another that serves a better breakfast.
“Okay, I’m ready, but I really wish I knew what we were doing so I could dress for it!” Calliope traipses onto the balcony, standing with her hand on her hip while she stares at me, willing me to tell her the surprise .
I stand, pulling her into me. “You’ll find out when we get there. But you look perfect.”
“You say that when I’m in your tees and yoga pants, I don’t think your judgment can be trusted.” She stares up at me, and she isn’t wrong.
“Come on, let’s get a move on for your day.” I chuckle, pulling her to the elevators.
She groans but follows behind me.
She hates surprises. Noted.
“Do you want to know our first stop?” We step onto the elevator, riding it down to the parking garage.
“Obviously! But I won’t be able to change now!”
“We’re going to see Miss Daisy at my favorite diner. She makes the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life.” I open her car door for her as she slides into her seat.
Once I climb into my seat, she asks, “You’re on a first name basis with your pancake dealer?”
“A pancake dealer?” I look at her with an amused smile on my face.
“Hey, at the rate this baby wants pancakes, I need one.” She rubs her belly laughing.
At almost eleven weeks pregnant, she isn’t quite showing yet but as an expert on Calliope Miller’s curves I swear I can see a bump.
We drive along the highway listening to Write This Down by George Strait as she sings along to every word .
A lull in the music comes with an ad and I turn down the music. “So I was thinking maybe we could host your weekly family dinner tonight?”
“You want to come to meet my family?” She seems shocked. But the only reason I haven’t gone yet is because we’ve had a game every time.
“Of course I do. What do you think?”
“Well. I’d love for you to come, but we’re going to Big Joe’s with Joy and her parents tonight. Do you know how to line dance?”
“Can a penguin fly?”
She looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, no?”
“Exactly.” I laugh. “I have never once in my life been line dancing. How hard can it be though?”
She is just staring at me, a slight smile ticking up at the corners of her lips.
“I guess you’ll find out tonight, cowboy.”
I put the truck in park as I pull into the parking spot right off the town’s little Main Street. Anonymity is the best part of this diner. There aren’t many people that come in, and if they are, they're grumpy old ranchers who just want to drink their coffee in peace. It’s almost an understanding around here that I don’t have to be Viktor Karlsen, professional hockey player. Occasionally I see a kid or two who want an autograph, but the parents always keep it discreet without anyone having to ask. Well, Miss Daisy may have, but I’ll never know .
Pushing the door open, I usher Calliope in with my hand on the small of her back.
“Well if it isn’t my favorite boy!” Miss Daisy runs around the corner of the bar and pulls me in for a hug. Then she turns to Calliope. “And who is this gorgeous little thing you’ve brought me today?”
“Miss Daisy, Calliope.” I gesture between the two.
She pulls her in for a hug and Calliope’s eyes widen over her shoulder causing me to chuckle.
When Daisy pulls back releasing my girl, she tells us to take any table we want while she grabs two mugs for coffee.
“So how did you find this place that’s an hour from Houston?” She fidgets with her napkin, something I can’t decide if it’s a nervous habit of hers, or just a habit out of boredom.
“When I first moved here, I didn’t know anyone, and I wasn’t really close with the team yet. So I used to just get in my car and drive until I found something that caught my interest. That day, I was hungry and on my way back to Houston. I passed through so many towns with similar diners, but this one caught my attention so I stopped. And then I kept coming back.”
Miss Daisy comes over with our coffee, and some creamer and sugar. “Here you go, sugs.”
Calliope doesn’t reach for her coffee and Thelma, having owned the diner for the last forty years, knows when someone doesn’t want something. “You don’t like coffee?”
“Oh, no thank you, I’ll just take an orange juice, please?”
“Baby girl, the only people ‘round here who don’t drink coffee are pregnant. Viktor, what do you have to tell me?” She turns her stare to me.
I swear Miss Daisy can peg anyone in about five minutes. Calliope and I share a silent conversation.
“It’s early, we’re still keeping it quiet,” I admit in a whisper.
“You two stop it! How have I not met this beauty yet and she’s -” Pausing, she catches on to how we met, looking at Calliope. “Honey, I don’t blame you.” With a wink she walks off to get Calliope’s orange juice.
“So, line dancing, huh? Do you and Joy go often?” I mix in my three creams into my coffee.
“We’ve been line dancing since the days of the neighborhood block parties in Kindergarten. It’s actually how I met Joy. That fall we started school together, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”
“That’s amazing. I can’t wait to see you in action tonight. Tell me more about your parents. I need all the tips to win them over.”
“Win my parents over? Mom already loves you, simply because you aren’t Thad, and Dad loves hockey, well any sport really, so you have a leg up already.”
Daisy walks back over with juice and her order pad. “Meeting the parents, baby? They’d be crazy to think you’re not great.” She places a kiss on my cheek. “Ok, what can I get ya two to eat?”
“I’ll have my usual. She’ll have the chocolate chip pancakes and bacon.” I hand her the menus and she goes back to give our order to the cook.
“I can order myself, you know?” She raises her brows at me, I knew that would piss her off. But what can I say, fueling the fire turns me on.
“I know. But did you want something different or was I right?” A smile tips at my lips and I try to hide it with my coffee mug.
Glaring, she spits back, “You were right. Obviously.”
I grin at her response. “Let’s go back to why your mom will like me because I’m not Thad. They didn’t like him?”
“That’s an understatement. They always told me that I didn’t deserve how he treated me because he didn’t hide his comments about my body in front of them. Nothing I did was good enough for him, but I was so blinded by what I thought was love I let the red flags fly high.”
My teeth are clenched so hard they feel like they might crack. “Fuck him, he’s an idiot. Your body is perfection and no one should ever tell you anything different.”
She rolls her eyes in response .
“Skatten Min, don’t make me punish you,” I warn under my breath.
“Maybe I want you to.” She winks.
“Calliope.” I growl.
Miss Daisy has perfect timing as she comes to the table with our food. She places our plates in front of us. “Ok, enjoy! And let me know if you need anything.”
“Daisy!” A grumpy rancher calls from across the diner.
She sucks in a breath, “You hold your horses, you grumpy old ass.”
She walks away without another word to us and leaves us to eat while she tends to the grumpy rancher I’ve seen in here a few times. He owns a large cattle ranch on the outskirts of town, and he’s usually in here bitchin’ about one of his ranch hands. But he gives off the vibes that he’s only annoyed by them because he truly cares about them.
“Ohmygod these are sooooo good,” She mumbles around a mouthful of pancakes as she cuts another piece off.
“I told you.”
She points her fork at me, “Don’t you start with that smug look, Viktor Karlsen.”
“How could I be smug, Skatten Min, when you won’t stay with me and make my house our home? ”
I risk my chance while she has pancakes to keep her happy and bring up her staying with me again. Something that she’s dead set on not happening yet. We’ve still been together every night and just bouncing back and forth between houses. It’s worth it to be with her, but I’m exhausted from the constant moving, and I know she has to be tired too.
“Let’s make it through line dancing first, cowboy. Then we’ll talk.” She winks, popping a piece of bacon in her mouth.
“Oh, if that’s the deal, you can bet your ass I’ll be the best damn line dancer there.”
I vow to myself to spend the rest of the day online learning the moves. She thinks she can use this against me, I’ll prove to her just how bad I want her, with me, in our home.