Chapter 29
I didn’t realize my sprite is a Mermaid Mini Golf hustler.
Nolan
I knock on Terri’s door. Excitement for this evening fills me. Going on a date shouldn’t be a big deal. But it is for Terri. Which means it is for me, too.
The door opens and there she is. I half expected her to hide from me.
I kiss her cheek. “Good evening, sprite. You look gorgeous.”
Her cheeks darken. “Thank you.”
Progress. She didn’t fight me. She accepted the compliment.
“Are you ready?”
She motions to her sundress. “Is my outfit okay?”
Her outfit is more than okay. It’s strapless and shows off her honey colored skin. The bodice molds to her breasts before it flares out. I resign myself to spending the night hard and horny.
“Your outfit is perfect.”
“What are we doing?” she asks as I escort her to my SUV.
I lift her up and set her in her seat. Her breath hitches. She loves it when I carry her. Which means I plan to carry my little sprite as often as possible.
I kiss her nose. “Mermaid Mini Golf followed by a sunset picnic at Mermaid Point.”
She smiles. “Sounds fun.”
It’s supposed to sound romantic, but I’ll take fun. I’m just glad she agreed to go out on a date with me. And now I need to convince her to give me a second date and a third date. All the dates because I’m not going anywhere.
I make sure she’s buckled in before shutting the door and rushing around to the driver’s seat.
“What do you usually do on a first date?” I ask once we’re driving toward Mermaid Mini Golf.
“It’s tradition to steal a mascot on a first date. Plank is due to be stolen.”
Is she messing with me? I glance over at her. She’s not laughing or smirking. She’s serious.
“You need to explain. Mascot? Parrot? Is it a parrot outfit and a mascot of what?”
“There are three towns on Smuggler’s Hideaway – Smuggler’s Rest, Rogue’s Landing, and Pirate’s Perch. Each one has a live mascot.”
“Live? As in a living animal?”
“Yep. Smuggler’s Rest has an otter named Viking. If you’ve been to Pirate’s Pastries, you’ve seen him. Rogue’s Landing has a raccoon named Rogue.”
I bark out a laugh. “Now, I understand why Gage complained about raccoon vomit.”
She purses her lips. “Addy knows better than to feed Rogue too many marshmallows. He’s addicted.”
“A raccoon addicted to marshmallows?”
“He’s a slut for marshmallows. And, last but not least, there’s Plank the parrot. He’s the mascot for Pirate’s Perch. He’s also the most difficult to steal.”
“Why?”
“The Perchers, which is how the residents of Pirate’s Perch call themselves, taught Plank to shout like he’s a policeman. Whenever someone he doesn’t know opens his cage, he shouts Stop! Police! Everyone on the island knows this but they still chicken out.”
I chuckle. “Does this mean you want to go steal Plank? Today is our first date after all.”
She motions to her dress. “I’m not climbing through a window in this. Besides, I don’t know where Plank is. I need to do some research. We can steal him on our second date.”
Second date? Yes! But still…
“You’re not climbing through a window while you’re pregnant.”
“Don’t go all caveman on me. You’re the one who asked to go steal Plank.”
“I didn’t…”
She giggles. “I’m teasing you. I’m not stealing Plank while I’m pregnant.
I mean I could. I have the skills. But the entire island of Smugglers would lose their minds when they found out.
It’s bad enough I can’t go out in public in Smuggler’s Rest because everyone on the island is determined to give me pregnancy advice. ”
“I didn’t want anyone to know until the second trimester,” she ends on a whisper.
I squeeze her hand. “They know and they love you. If the unthinkable happens, they’ll be here for you. As will I.”
I hope. Once the season starts, I’ll lose control of my schedule.
“But tonight isn’t about our little mermaid. Tonight is about us.” I turn into the parking lot of Mermaid Mini Golf. “And me kicking your ass at mini golf.”
“You’re delusional. I’ve been playing mini golf here since I arrived on the island. You’re going down.”
She can tease me all she wants if it removes the fear from her eyes. I may even let her win at mini golf.
We reach the booth.
“Hi, Cindy!” Terri greets the young woman working there. “How are you?”
“Relieved you’re pregnant and not here with a group of friends.”
Terri frowns. “You’re not supposed to know I’m pregnant.”
Cindy rolls her eyes. “The entire town knows.”
“You’re supposed to pretend you don’t know.”
Cindy throws her arms in the air. “Excuse me for being excited I don’t have to worry about you getting drunk and deciding to do an autopsy on a plastic mermaid. Hole 6 isn’t repaired yet.”
I nearly choke. “An autopsy on a mermaid?”
“It’s what happens when you drink shots of moonshine and play drinking games.”
“We’re not drinking, and we won’t be playing any games.”
Terri blinks up at me. “Are you afraid I’ll win?”
I scowl. “No.”
Her grin is mischievous. Happy and not worried looks good on her. “I bet I win. What do I get when I win?”
I smirk. But when I open my mouth to answer, Cindy cuts me off.
“NO!” She slashes her hand through the air. “I do not want to hear any sexy talk from the gorgeous quarterback. Everyone on the island is getting some from a hot football player except me.”
I clear my throat. “I should pay.”
“Do you want me to pretend I’m going to pay?” Terri asks.
“What?”
“I can offer to go Dutch if it makes you feel better.”
“I’m paying,” I grit out.
“That’s what I thought.”
She snatches a scorecard while I gather the balls and clubs. “I’ll keep score. Otherwise, you might cheat.”
I hand her a club. “I don’t cheat.”
“We’ll see,” she sings. “What should we play for?”
This is the perfect opportunity. “How about every hole I win I get to ask you a question?”
“And every hole I win I’ll ask you a question?” She rubs her hands together. “I’m going to learn all the gossip about Nolan Allen tonight.”
“I motion to the first hole. You can go first.”
“Awful confident.”
“I am a professional athlete.”
She tweaks my nose. “You’re adorable.”
She sets her ball down and wiggles her ass as she gets ready. She can take as long as she wants to get ready if she wiggles her ass every time. She stares at the target, brings back her club, and whacks the ball.
The ball hits a pirate barrel, ricochets off a treasure chest, bounces off a decorative cannon, and drops straight into the hole.
“And that is what you call skill.” She bows.
I snort. “Skill? The ball committed insurance fraud.”
She pats my cheek. “Don’t be jealous. Hurry and hit the ball; I’m ready to ask my first question.”
Unlike Terri, I try to putt correctly. And end up needing five swings to sink the ball.
“Five embarrassing strokes,” she mutters as she fills out the scorecard. “Now, first question.”
I groan. I made a lot of stupid choices when I was a rookie player.
“What did you want to be growing up? Did you always want to be a football player?”
I don’t call her out for asking two questions. I’m happy to answer. She’s asking about my life, getting to know me – the person, not the player. It’s what I want.
“I didn’t want to be a football player. I saw how my dad was, and I didn’t want to be him. I actually wanted to be an actor.”
“Really? Tell me more.”
“I used to participate in all the plays and musicals back in junior high. Then, in my freshman year of high school, I landed the role of Biff Lowman in Death of a Salesman. He’s a former high school football hero whose life has stalled.”
“Wow. You weren’t kidding about the acting thing.”
I shrug. I loved pretending I was someone else. That I wasn’t Danny Allen’s kid. That I didn’t have to go home to a house with an absent dad. That I didn’t have to help Mom raise the kids.
“Anyway, I thought I’d go all method and learn how to play football. I tried out for the high school football team, and before I knew it, I was the quarterback on the varsity team.”
Her nose wrinkles. “You stayed on the team despite the pressure from your dad?”
I blow out a breath. How to explain it to her? “I didn’t want to be like my dad. But when I throw a ball and it sails in the air to land in the hands of my teammate? There’s nothing like the thrill.”
“You love it? You love football?”
“I do. I’m not sure I know what to do without football.”
I remember helping Beck. How good it felt to show him some quarterback tricks. I frown. I’m not ready to coach. I’m too young. I still haven’t won the Super Bowl. And I will play in the Super Bowl if it’s the last thing I do in my career.
Terri grasps my hand. “Thanks for opening up to me.”
I smile down at her. She doesn’t get it. I’m happy to open up to her. Because she’s not just the mother of my child. She’s Terri. I want her as much as our little mermaid.
I need to convince her I’m serious. I’m real. And I’m here.
“We can’t have a relationship if I don’t let you in.”
“True. But I didn’t expect you to open up your heart at the second hole of Mermaid Midget Golf.”
“For you, my heart is always open.”
Her eyes widen and her foot bounces. She’s ready to bail. Time to give her some space. In the meantime, I’ll show her I’m serious by my deeds. Actions matter more than words after all.