Chapter 13 #3
But I can also make his time in Rebel about more than hockey. I can be his friend and not just another woman who sees him as a hockey player who can do things for her with his star power.
“You told those boys I’m your girlfriend.”
“Right. That’s what we’re doing, right?”
“For Rebel. So they’re nicer to you. And we’re just…spending time together. I’m not your girlfriend.”
He shrugs. “I don’t mind if other people know we’re dating. And—” He looks down at me. “You are my girlfriend while I’m here, right? You’re not dating anyone else. I’m not dating anyone else. Isn’t that what that means?”
I think about that. “But…”
“What?”
“I just told you I’m not going to sleep with you.”
He stops walking, and I’m forced to stop too. He frowns at me. “So what?”
“I don’t know… I just…” I look around, then step closer. “That’s kind of the difference between friends and girlfriends. Girlfriends are friends you get naked with. Otherwise, they’re just… a friend who’s a girl.”
His gaze roams over my face as he thinks about that. “I’m not sure I would have called any of the women I’ve gotten naked with friends.”
My eyebrows arch. I hate them even more. But also…that’s on him too. “Wow. That’s really kind of sad.”
“Everyone had a good time. I promise.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to have to get to know me. Talk about things that aren’t naked-time related or hockey-related. Do things that aren’t naked-time or hockey-time.”
He’s watching me with a faintly amused look. “Give me an example. And please say otter club.”
I grin. I really might have to take him to otter club one time. “Movie night in the park.” I have to be there anyway, so he might as well join us. In fact, he definitely should join us.
“That sounds like you’re asking me on a date, Wildflower.”
My heart does a little stutter-step with his use of the nickname. I nod. “Kind of. The town will think so. But for us, it’s friend time. Like the time I spent with Everly, Andi, and Sutton. Since that time won’t lead to naked time.”
“Every time you spent with your boyfriends led to naked time?” he asks.
Okay, that’s a fair point. “No. I guess…it’s just that we’re not together tonight because we met and liked each other and then wanted to spend time together…
” I trail off. That doesn’t sound quite right.
It’s true, but if I’d met Alex and had a conversation at a coffee shop, for instance, I think I would have wanted to spend more time with him.
I try again. “We’re not spending time together because we want to sleep together…
” I trail off. Okay, that’s not technically true either.
We want to. We’re just not going to. I take a breath.
“We’re spending time together because we want…
” I trail off again, still not sure how to really define all of this.
“Because we want other people to like me,” he fills in.
I don’t like how that sounds. I frown. “I guess. But I do like you. And tonight has been fun.”
Something flickers in his eyes. “I can promise you, Nora, that I very much like spending time with you, regardless of the naked-less status of our relationship. And I’m sure that even if I wasn’t trying to get people to like me and buy hockey tickets, I would still want to spend time with you.”
That’s so…dammit, is that romantic? Or is it just nice? Is it a thing a friend would say?
Andi or Everly or Sutton might say that to me, but they wouldn’t mention our naked-less relationship status. Nor would they have that low gruffness in their voice or the heat in their eyes.
And I wouldn’t have the very vivid memory of how it felt to have them kissing me imprinted on my brain, or be obsessed with how their big hands felt on my face, or be unable to stop staring at their shoulders in the suit they’re wearing.
It definitely feels strange to think of Alex Olsen as just a friend.
But I can not make him more than that. Not for real.
“But regardless of what we know, those kids are going to put the photos and captions on social media,” I finally say.
“I know.”
“But you told me that you weren’t going to make a big deal out of being here in Louisiana or what’s going on with your parents. Now you have those kids talking about the Revelers and posting on social media, and you talked about letting them watch the team. How are they going to do that?”
He shrugs. “Astrid and I can make that happen. We’ll get someone to film the games, and we can stream them online somehow. It really just takes money. And a few connections. We’ve got both. Astrid will love the idea.”
I’m so not used to having people with resources who can just make any wild and fun idea happen.
I like it.
“You were right,” Alex says. “Fans and the media are going to be interested in the Revelers. And they’re very much going to be interested in who I’m dating.
I told you that the town would like our romance better than all the hockey stuff.
I’m thinking we widen the net of interest. Get people talking. ”
“The hockey fans are definitely going to care more about the game and this new league than me,” I say.
He grins. “Let’s find out. Either way, if we want to put butts in the seats and sell tickets and stir up interest in what we’re doing down here, then we might as well really stir up interest.”
My heart does a somersault. I’m going to ignore the idea of my name and face being splashed across the internet by the sports media. “So you’re going to be public about this? The Revelers? The singing and dancing?”
“It’s still hockey,” he says. “Like Matt and Austin and Alex said, hockey is hockey on some level. Did you see how Alex was looking at his brothers when they were describing how they made his season with the horrible hockey team fun?”
I shake my head. I’d been watching this Alex.
“He was so crazy about his brothers and what they did. It wasn’t really about hockey.” Alex shakes his head. “It was about them being involved and those brothers all coming together like that. Hockey was just the way they showed their brother that they supported and loved him.”
My heart pounds harder in my chest.
Alex shakes his head. “I don’t know. There was just something about that that made me think that if the Revelers can bring Rebel together to have some fun and be together and can show people that Harley is the best choice for mayor because he cares about them enough to go all out and over-the-top… being a part of that could be cool.”
Oh…crap.
Not sleeping with this guy is going to be very difficult.
Because I really want to hug him. And hugging him will remind me of how good it feels to be up against him and how great he smells and how big his hands are.
And that will make me want to kiss him and kissing him definitely makes it difficult to remember that I shouldn’t take my clothes off.
“You know,” I say softly. “I totally get what you said earlier about loving having hockey fans come up to you.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. “Putting together events and clubs and fun stuff for the town is all I do. It’s what I spend my time and energy on.
Even when I’m not in the office, I’m thinking of things or getting supplies ready or making phone calls.
And it’s really amazing when people come up and tell me how much they enjoyed something or how a town tradition has meant a lot to their family or how they’ve had something I planned on their calendar for weeks or even months. ”
He gives me a smile that warms me from my chest to my toes. “You do get it. You work hard, put yourself out there, and it’s awesome when people care about that.”
I nod. “It is.”
“So we’ll do this thing. This bonkers hockey is going to be amazing.”
“Thanks, Alex,” I say sincerely.
“This is why I’m here, right? To bring people into that arena. It’s what I do. It’s what I’m good at.”
I squeeze his hand. “Right.”
But I will admit as we walk away from Jackson Square to his truck and then head back to Rebel, I feel a tickle of unease.
Yes, this is why Alex is here. His name, his stardom, are also supposed to help us.
But I can’t shake the feeling that I want this to be more than that.
I want to help the hot, famous, hugely talented, multimillionaire pro-athlete.
And I also want to do a whole bunch of things to him. Inappropriate, dirty, will-definitely-ruin-me-for-other-men-and-break-my-heart-when-he-leaves things.
Which is why, when he pulls into my driveway and puts his truck in park and turns to me and says, “I had a great time tonight,” I look at him for a long moment, then lean over and press a kiss to his lips and say, “I really do love spending non-naked time with you.”
And then I get my ass out of the truck and head inside alone.