Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-one
Ben
Playing a rugby match while chubbed up had not been on my bingo card for the year. It had taken all my strength, and not looking at Mazzy…or thinking about Mazzy…or imagining I was catching Mazzy’s scent on the wind, but I got through it.
My girl was gorgeous. Always. But whatever they’d done to her at the spa had turned her into a sultry goddess. Couple that with her sitting among the WAGs, and I was dunzo.
This woman…did it for me. Her hair, cute glasses, and, my god, her tits and ass. And that was just the outside. Her insides were even more beautiful. I was pretty sure there was nothing I could tell her or reveal about myself that would make her blink. Her mind was as open to me as her arms.
That was why I was already half in love with her.
More than half, if I was being honest.
But I wasn’t. It was too soon for that level of honesty.
After I smashed some heads, per Mazzy’s request, I found my girl waiting for me and carted her into the back of a limo. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t let me go down on her, claiming her jeans were too difficult to get in and out of, but then the little fiend got on her knees and sucked me off.
It was…yeah…
Another drop in the overfilling bucket of reasons I was so crazy about this woman.
When the limo rolled to a stop, Mazzy was breathless and smug. Her lipstick smudged, her glasses crooked. She looked so sweet, I almost wanted to say to hell with my plans and call it a night.
“Where have you brought me?”
“Somewhere only we know.” I opened the door, and warm neon light spilled in like we were stepping into a tropical fever dream.
Mazzy blinked. “Oh my god. We’re still in LA, right?”
“Technically.”
The Lava Lounge was a showstopper, complete with a fake volcano that puffed steam every fifteen minutes, tiki torches, and plastic palm trees lining the sidewalk.
Inside was even more of a fever dream. Palm fronds everywhere, a fake waterfall behind the bar, ukulele covers of early two-thousand pop songs playing over the speakers, cocktails in ridiculous ceramic mugs shaped like sharks and volcanoes.
And dead center on the specials board: Blue Lagoon, Pago Pago style.
Mazzy gasped. “Ben! What…how…?”
I chuckled, pulling her toward the bar. “There’s a chance I called ahead.”
She stopped in her tracks. “You did this?”
I gestured toward the neon tiki god. “Well, not this. Just the drink. The rest of it already existed. I only did a little research and found it.”
We grabbed seats at the bamboo bar, and our drinks arrived quickly. They were just as neon blue as I remembered, with pineapple wedges on the rim and tiny paper umbrellas. Mazzy lifted hers, gave me that soft, fond smile that ruined me every single time, and clinked her glass to mine.
“Best birthday ever,” she declared.
“Really? Even though we lost the match?”
“Mmmhmm. You smashed a lot of heads, and that’s all that matters.” She leaned her head against my shoulder. “You really made this day special. I mean it. No one’s ever done anything like this for me.”
“Guess you better stick with me. I’ve got a lot more up my sleeve.”
She sighed like she was giving in. “I guess I better.”
It wasn’t often I got nervous, but this was important.
Mazzy hadn’t had the opportunity to be treated.
She’d been so damn young when Katty was born, then went through surgeries, her dad’s illness, moving, losing him.
Not to mention school, working, and taking care of our daughter like a champ.
I wanted this day to be spectacular for her.
So far, it seemed like I was doing okay, but there was always a chance I could ruin it.
“I have something for you, baby.”
She turned to me, eyes wide, her lips around her straw, looking so cute, I had to work to catch my breath.
“You do?” she squeaked.
“I do.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a velvet box. “Happy birthday, beautiful.”
She bit her lip as she took it, her cheeks glowing red in the bar’s low lighting. “You’ve already given me so much, Benny.”
“Not enough.” I nudged her hand. “Open it. You might not even like it, so don’t get your hopes—”
Her gasp when she flipped open the box made me lose all train of thought. “Ben…” she whispered, “this is…”
“They’re red ginger flowers. From American Samoa.”
She ran her finger over the rectangular hammered gold pendant. The shape of the teuila flower had been carved in the gold, and small gems gleamed from the center of the flowers. I’d thought it was pretty, but I couldn’t quite tell what she thought.
“And this is Katty’s birthstone.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “You must have had this made.”
I nodded. “I did. Do you like it?”
Mazzy didn’t wear much jewelry, so I hadn’t been sure if she’d want a necklace. But I had this one made for her on a wing and a prayer, hoping she’d like it enough to wear it on occasion.
Her lips rolled over her teeth as she blinked fast and looked away. Panic struck my gut. Had I gotten it so wrong, she couldn’t bear to see me? Christ, I’d take it back. I’d have it melted and tossed into the sea for the mermaids to find. I’d launch it into the—
Her hand closed over mine. “Will you put it on me?”
It was my turn to blink and try to focus on her. “You don’t have to wear it.”
“Ben.” She squeezed tighter. “Please put it on me.”
Spinning, she lifted her hair off her neck. I took the necklace from the box and carefully placed it, latching it at her nape. Then I leaned down and kissed the back of her neck.
She shivered and turned back around, touching the pendant resting on the center of her chest.
“How does it look?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Gorgeous.”
Then I took out my phone to snap a picture of her. She might’ve thought I was doing it so she could see herself, but this was for me. I wanted to remember the pretty, pleased flush in her cheeks and how her eyes shone with delight. And the fact I’d put that look on her face.
She smiled at me, and I smiled back, but my nerves were fizzling and popping so close to the surface, I couldn’t ignore them.
“You never said if you liked it,” I pointed out.
“I didn’t? Yeah, I guess I didn’t.” She lifted the pendant, sliding it back and forth on the gold chain. “I more than like it. I love it. I’ve never owned anything so beautiful or thoughtful. You’ve stunned me so much, I forgot my manners.”
“Nah. You don’t need manners with me.” My spine straightened, and I grew to be about ten feet tall. “All I need is you to be happy.”
“Well, you’ve accomplished that.” She scooted forward on her stool, her knees slotting between mine. “I’ve had a lot of great days, but all the best ones have happened since I met you. This one is right up there. Thank you, Benny.”
My heart flip-flopped like a dying fish. “Gotta agree with you, Mazz. My best days are with you.” I tucked her hair behind her ear. “Wish I could’ve spent more time with you today.”
“I do too, but I’m not going to complain. You sent me to the spa, got me front-row seats to your game, and now this. If you’d done more, I don’t think I could’ve handled it.”
I puffed up my chest. “I did do a lot, didn’t I?”
That got her to laugh. “Shut up and drink your blue drink.”
I grabbed it off the bar and held it up. “Cheers to Mazzy Belle’s frontal lobe finally reaching maturity.”
Laughing harder, she clinked her glass against mine. “Hopefully, we can cheer for the same thing on your birthday.”
I threw my head back and cackled. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
The blue drinks went down easy. Too easy. Before we knew it, we’d each had two, and the tiny square of available space in the center of the bar was beginning to look more and more like a dance floor.
Mazzy and I were given fake flowers by the bartender. She carefully tucked them behind her ear and mine, whispering I looked awfully pretty. I wasn’t really a flower guy, but if my girl wanted me to wear one on her birthday, who was I to say no?
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s dance.”
Mazzy blinked, her eyes a little hazy. The drinks seemed to be affecting her more than me, but that was no surprise. I was a full foot taller than her, and the last time she’d been drunk had been with me five years ago.
Her brow crinkled. “But there’s no dance floo—oh my god, is this a reggae version of Toxic?”
“Maybe? If I say yes, will that get you up and dancing?”
She let out a happy little squeak and hopped off her stool, her hand disappearing into mine. We made our way to the tiny, sticky patch of bamboo flooring, and I settled my hands on Mazzy’s hips, pulling her close.
She swayed against me, loose and warm and laughing. “I’ve never been dancing.”
“This doesn’t count,” I murmured into her hair. “I’m going to take you out to some place with a real dance floor when we’re home.”
Her head tipped back, her eyes searching mine. “What if I want this to count?”
My heart did that dead fish thing again. “Then it counts.” I kissed the tip of her nose, and she scrunched it so adorably, I had to kiss it again.
She pushed up on her toes so she could circle her arms around my neck. “God, you’re so hot, Benny. I know everyone thinks that, but believe me, I think it the most.”
I groaned. How could one woman be so cute and breathtaking all at once? “Same goes for you. Everyone notices how stunning you are, but I’m fully fucked by the way you make my heart stop whenever I see you.”
“Wow, that’s so nice.”
She tucked her face against my chest, humming along to the ridiculous ukulele intro.
We danced through two more tropical covers, her body molding to mine, her necklace catching the neon light with every shift.
We laughed and sang to each other. Whispered soft words and bits about our day.
She shimmied and twirled. I did a little of my striptease routine, minus the stripping.
Then she wrapped her arms around my middle and pressed her cheek to my chest, sighing happily.
Finally, she tipped her head back, breathless. “Ben. I’m tipsy.”
“I noticed. Think it might be time to get back to the hotel.”
“I think you’re right.”
Fortunately, the ride back to the hotel was short.
Mazzy spent it mostly on my lap, steadying me with her solid weight.
She stroked my neck and sobered a little, asking me about my meeting with my agent.
I told her he had something brewing—probably an endorsement—and was working on my next contract.
She listened and asked questions. We talked about the game today and our chances of making the playoffs.
As we pulled up to the hotel, she whispered I’d made her life better and she really hoped I didn’t leave. That she believed that was a possibility, even for a second, was a blast of frozen air.
“Jesus,” I muttered, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her into the elevator. “Come here.”
The doors slid shut behind us, and she was on me instantly—mouth soft and eager, hands in my hair, necklace pressing into my sternum as she rose onto her toes. I backed her against the elevator wall, swallowing her little moan as her fingers fumbled at my shirt.
“We’re not doing this in here,” I whispered against her lips.
“Why not?” she breathed.
“Because I want you naked,” I growled, lifting her by the hips. “And I want to take my time.”
She clung to me, breath hot in my ear, whispering my name like a secret she’d been desperate to tell. The elevator dinged, and I hauled her down the hall, her arms around my neck, her laughter warm against my throat.
The moment the hotel room door shut behind us, she grabbed the front of my shirt and tugged me in, her smile needy and tipsy and perfect.