Chapter Eleven
Damn, what a loud-ass doorbell Nils has. And it just has to ring when we’re clearly having a moment.
But now the connection has been ruined, so I huff and look away. “That must be the pizza,” I mutter.
“I’m sure it is.” He sighs as he stands up. “I’ll go get it.”
As I wait for Nils to return, I think about how we really do need partners in our lives who understand our passions. Like, I may be figuring things out, but what I told him is true. Once I have a new direction, which may even end up being my old direction, I plan to be 100 percent committed to it.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have someone special in your life,” I remind myself softly.
It’s true, and saying it out loud makes it more of a possibility.
Wouldn’t it be wild if Nils is that person for me?
And I’m the one for him?
I mean, hockey is his number one priority, and I’m fine with that.
Or I could be.
“I could,” I say out loud with a smile. “I definitely could.”
“What could you do?” Nils asks as he returns to the room, pizza held high in one hand and two bottles of Coke intertwined in his fingers in the other.
Damn, that man has excellent hearing.
“Er, uh, um…,” I stammer as I try to come up with some plausible explanation. And then I do. “I was just saying to myself that I bet I could eat more pizza than you.”
“You think so, huh?” He raises a brow as he sets the pizza box and Cokes down on the coffee table. “Are you sure enough that you really would bet on it?”
Oh crap, I’ve trapped myself in a corner now. I’m hungry, yes, but as I eye the extra-large pizza box on the table in front of me, I’m not sure I can outeat this man.
Nils goes on. “You know, some hockey players love to bet on things.”
I laugh. “And just why do I have a feeling you’re one of them?”
“Because I am,” he states proudly, puffing out his chest. “So, are you up for a little wager or not?”
I don’t know what I’m getting into, but I go ahead and say, “Yes, I am.”
I kind of have to at this point.
Nils, looking pleased that we’re wagering, says, “Okay, first, before I put out there what I want if I win, I have to ask if you’re working tomorrow.”
“Nope.” I shake my head. “I’m off. Well, wait, until the evening. I have a short shift then.”
I don’t elaborate that it’s actually my training session at Boots that I need to go to. That must remain a secret.
Nils sounds über-excited as he exclaims, “Great! This will work, then. I only have a morning practice, and what I have in mind won’t go into the evening.”
“Okayyy,” I draw out. “Go on.”
Looking pumped, he states, “If I win, you have to promise to spend the day tomorrow out back at the pool with me. It’s supposed to be beautiful, even warmer than today.”
Hell, I’d spend the day with him anywhere, including at the damn pool even if it was raining. But I won’t share that with him.
Putting on a neutral expression, I say nonchalantly, “I can agree to that.”
I almost kind of want to lose now, but I still have a chance to get something I want if I win.
What should that be?
Tickets to an upcoming Thunder game?
No, I can get those anytime from Arden.
Access to their locker room?
Nah, same deal—Arden can make that happen too.
So, what do I want?
Hmmm, what I’d really like to ask for is for Nils to kiss me.
Just once.
And a really good one at that.
But I can’t say that.
First, I want him to do it on his own, not because he has to.
Yeah, I need the idea to come from him.
Plus, it’d be better if it just sort of happened.
So, sighing, I stick with a boring, safe bet, one I have a feeling will extra-motivate him to win so we can hang at the pool tomorrow.
“If I win,” I say, acting like the idea really excites me, “you have to go clothes shopping with me. Yay, right?”
“Yay?” He grimaces. “More like ‘ugh.’ Is that what you really want?”
I nod decisively. “It is, for sure.”
He sighs as he flips open the pizza box. “Oh hell, I’d better win, then. Let’s get this thing started.”
“You got it.”
As we begin our pizza eat-off, I’m feeling pretty damn smug. Despite my competitive nature urging me to gobble down as many slices as I can, I really don’t care to win.
First, I hate clothes shopping! And second, I want to hang at the pool tomorrow with Nils.
So I throw the challenge.
I eat three slices, and he devours five.
“Looks like I won,” Nils declares victoriously as he tosses a single piece of crust into the empty pizza box.
I don’t push that he should technically be required to eat that too. It doesn’t matter, though, as five beats three.
“Yes…” I take a swig of soda, swallow, and set the plastic bottle down on the coffee table. “You did. You won fair and square.”
With victory in his hands, Nils is so pleased with himself that he tells me I can pick the movie.
“Anything at all?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Sure, it’s your choice.”
“Even a chick flick?”
He groans but concedes, “Even a chick flick.”
I decide not to torture him, though. After zooming through a multitude of selections on the screen, I choose a comedy.
“Is this okay?” I ask.
Looking relieved, he states, “Perfect.”
The movie is decent, and it has some good laughs, but the whole time we’re watching it, I’m only half paying attention. I’m too busy thinking about our pool day and how much fun it’ll be. I’m also trying to decide which of my many bikinis to wear tomorrow.
I think I need to wear one that’s über-sexy, as I want to capture Nils’s attention. In fact, I think I’ll go with the skimpiest I own, a hot pink number that leaves little to the imagination.
That sly choice may just get me one step closer to winning what I really wanted to bet for tonight—a kiss from Nils.