Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
NOAH
I’ve died and gone to heaven.
That ribeye is definitely going to be as big as her face. I’ve treated myself to it after a hard practice once or twice.
What an amazing woman.
She knows what she wants, and she’s going to get it.
“What are your teammates like?” she asks, taking a sip of her water.
“Well, Wyatt is our new defensive lineman. This is his first season here. He played for Green Bay during his rookie years. He’s from Wisconsin, very much a Midwesterner.
Jaden is from Louisiana originally, so he’s dealing with the heat much better than Wyatt.
He’s also been here a few years, about as long as me.
Colin is my best friend on the team. He and his college sweetheart got married last year.
Mack is our team class clown. I don’t think the man has ever been embarrassed in his life.
He just wants to have a good time. Nice to have someone who’s a glass half full kind of guy.
I think that’s my main group. The ones I see outside of the required organized team activities. ”
“They sound like a fun bunch.”
“It’s kind of a circus, but in a fun way.” I butter another piece of fresh-baked bread. I shouldn’t fill up on this stuff, but I can’t resist. “What about you?”
“My work team is just me. But in regular life it’s me and my childhood best friend Nicole.
We’ve known each other since kindergarten.
We went to different colleges, but never lost touch.
It’s so nice to live close to her again.
She’s a nurse, so she works holidays and weekends.
Hard to get together, but we make it work by DVRing Survivor and saving it to watch together. ”
“It’s nice to be so close to a friend again. What about your family? Do they live here?”
She looks down at the butter on her knife as she spreads it slowly on her bread. “They do. They run Space City Auto, the car shops. We have a… strained relationship. There are things in life they thought I would do, but I took a different path.”
“Like what?”
“Like not joining the family business in preparation to take it over one day. My brother, Lane, is going to, though, so I don’t know what the big deal is.”
“That’s it?” Her eyes go back to her bread plate.
“Among other things, yeah.” I’m going to ask more questions, but she doesn’t let me get a word in edgewise.
“What about your folks?” she asks.
It’s my turn to fiddle with the napkin on my lap.
“My dad was a pro football player as well; now he coaches a local team. We also had a strained relationship, but it got better when I went into the league. It’s what he always wanted for me.
My mom and I are really close. She’s responsible for me not becoming an overly macho, testosterone alpha.
She’s also responsible for all my southern gentleman manners. ”
Audrey laughs at this and it’s the sound of bells ringing just for me. “I like her already.”
Our food comes and I struggle to hold conversation because my focus is on every bite that passes through those lips.
When another bite of soft bread touches her tongue, little noises of appreciation escape her mouth and go straight through me, rewiring my brain.
I will never come to this restaurant again without replaying this meal in my head.
I give myself a mental shake as Audrey talks animatedly about her guinea pigs, Reba and Dolly.
“They sound super cute. I’ve never held a guinea pig before. We didn’t really have pets growing up.”
“It takes them a second to warm up, but I’ll let you feed them, and they’ll be your best friends.” A smile spreads across my face. She’s already planning on seeing me again.
I insist we order dessert, just to keep the night going. “The crème br?lée here is amazing. We have to get that.”
When the custard comes, I let her crack the torched sugar. I’m barely hanging on by a thread as I watch her slowly put the silver spoon in her mouth. Her eyes close in ecstasy as she savors the sweet cream flavor, and I feel her little noise of delight all the way to my toes.
The conversation so far has been meandering and comfortable.
Like we are getting to know each other, but also like I’ve always known her.
I can feel the familiarity in my chest and absentmindedly put a hand there to settle the feeling.
I’ve never been a guy to get so deep so quickly.
I’m a professional football player, for fuck’s sake.
If I fell for every girl who gave me a lick of attention, I’d have been married and divorced ten times by now.
She didn’t even flinch when I told her about my NFL career.
It seems to have no effect on her whatsoever, which is nice.
I guess that comes with the territory of managing the mildly famous influencers.
I tear my eyes away from Audrey’s radiance for a millisecond to catch sight of the chef coming toward us.
Pia likes to come out and greet my guests and get their honest opinion of the food since I can’t be impartial.
She’s my age, cheeks pinked from the heat of the kitchen, and her hair is tucked under her toque.
I look back at Audrey. “Excuse me.” I push my chair back and put my napkin on the table so I can hug Pia. Audrey catches the familiarity and rises as well.
I step back from Pia and gesture toward Audrey. “Pia, this is Audrey. Audrey, this is Pia. The head chef here at The Lush.”
Pia’s eyes cut teasingly to Noah. “Also his neighbor growing up. Our moms are best friends.”
“So he told me. It’s very nice to meet you,” Audrey says as they shake hands. “I loved the food.”
“I’m so glad you enjoyed yourselves! I like to see for myself. Noah’s already given us a five-star review on every existing platform, so now I have to rely on his friends.”
“I’ll be sure to write one,” Audrey says.
Pia turns back to me. “It was so good to see you, Noah. Good luck this season. I know it will be a winning one!”
I embrace her again. “Don’t work too hard back there.” She struts back to the kitchen, waving me off, and checking on various tables as she goes.
I turn back to Audrey. “Are you ready to go?”
“Let me just run to the ladies’ room real quick.”
Audrey stands and grabs her shiny black purse from the table and weaves through the room toward the back.
While she’s gone, I pay the bill and finish my glass of wine. I can’t help but imagine her lining her perfect lips in that pouty pink color. A color that makes it look like they’ve been kissed for hours. It’s so cute how she plays with her bracelet when I ask her questions.
I move to stand as I see her across the room coming back to the table.
I don’t want to leave it at just dinner and a shared dessert, but I don’t want to be too forward and freak her out. I’m willing to take whatever she’ll give me tonight. After one dinner I know that this woman is special.
Audrey returns to me with an expression I can’t quite read.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
I stand and, without thinking, take her hand to guide her through the restaurant toward the front door. When the zap of lightning hits my forearm, I realize I’m a goner.
I drop her hand quickly. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She slips her hand back in mine and gives me a dazzling, yet soft smile.
I smile back at her. As we walk, I let myself enjoy the feeling of her smaller frame so close to mine.
If I tucked her up against me, her head would rest perfectly against my chest. Her hair swings as she walks, gently grazing my arm and dusting me with the scent of her perfume.
It’s light and beach-y, like the perfect summer day.
I hope by the end of the night some of it lingers on my shirt so I can fill my car with it on the way home.
Yep. I’m a goner.
Audrey is everything I thought she would be and more. She’s funny, witty, smart, and beautiful.