Page 35 of Game Misconduct

She smiled. “I think so too. Change as big as what you went through is a shock. Time will help, but I have an idea of what can make it better right now.”

“What?”

“Food. Everything’s so much better when you’re not hungry.” She waved her phone. “Delivery from wherever you want. Anything sound good?”

She had a point, but I didn’t know of enough places to have a preference. “You choose.”

“Hmmm.” She pursed her lips, and after a second, I realized I was staring and looked away. “There’s a really great deli with the best soups, sandwiches, and salads, or a place down the street that makes fresh stir-fry to order.”

“Those both sound delicious.” I stared up at the ceiling while deciding.

“Close your eyes,” she directed.

I almost asked why but decided to just follow her instructions.

“Now focus on your mouth. Envision the food. What do you taste?”

Trying not to laugh, I closed my eyes, but food didn’t appear in my mind. Her face with those lush lips coming closer. The slight blush in her cheeks as she looked up at me through her long lashes. I shook my head. I couldn’t think about her like that. We were working on becoming friends. Nothing more.

I refocused my thoughts and decided a club sandwich was what I needed. Not the feel of her lips on mine.

I opened my eyes and grinned. “The deli.”

“Perfect.” She did a little happy dance-wiggle and tapped on her phone. “Tell me what you want.”

After we ordered, she turned on the TV, and we settled next to each other to watch the evening news. Nothing particularly thrilling was going on in Salt Lake, but it was nice to be able to turn off my brain for a few minutes.

“Just so you know I was planning on watching a movie tonight, and since we’re getting dinner now. You have to watch with me.”

“What movie?”

She wouldn’t look at me. “A good one.”

“Oh, no.”

She giggled, “It’s really good. I promise.”

“It’s a chick-flick isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

I groaned. “fine.”

“I’ll consider letting you choose next time.” She teased.

Minutes later, when she shifted and pulled a blanket from behind her to drape over her legs, she ended up even closer to me, close enough that I could feel the heat from her skin on mine and smell her floral shampoo. It shouldn’t have caused a reaction in me. We weren’t even touching, yet my whole body warmed, and I prayed she wouldn’t look at me. I could only imagine how red and blotchy my face must be. I probably looked like I just spent a solid five minutes on the ice during a playoff game. At least I wasn’t sweating. Yet.

That would be the cherry on top of this whole experience. I might be able to hide it for now, but once the food got here, I’d have to move.

I closed my eyes and focused on calming my breathing. I couldn’t control most of my body’s responses, but I could try my hardest to prevent this embarrassment from happening.

She laughed, and I flinched, opening my eyes, thinking she was laughing at me but she was watching the screen. Then Elena appeared on screen to cover the weather, and Viv perked up. “Oh, there she is!”

“I thought she did mornings.”

“Me too.” She paused. “Maybe she’s having to cover for someone.”

“Oh, right.” That was the exact distraction I needed for my body to calm down. There was no reason to get so worked up. We were watching the news. Nothing unusual or romantic about that.