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“I’m not that nice. Nice guys finish last, so let’s forget that part, okay?”
She chuckles. “And I’m absofreakinglutely attracted to you.”
“Good. I didn’t fuck this up. Same goes.”
I brush my nose against hers and feel her exhale in relief.
“But we don’t have to rush the physical stuff, right?”
“Nope. No rush. We can wait, like, ten minutes. Twenty if you really need it.”
She laughs again and shakes her head at me. “Yeah, the sense of humor gets me.”
“What? It’s not my firm chin line? My rock-hard abs?”
“I haven’t seen the abs.” She stills my hands before I can pull up my shirt. “But I’m sure they’re lovely.”
“Yeah. Lovely is the word I’d use.”
“I can’t wait to see them, but for tonight, I think kissing is the right place to stop.”
“I can live with that. Happily. And I mean that.”
“And that is why you’re a nice guy.”
“Take it back.” I narrow my eyes, giving her a mock glare, and she just laughs.
“Nope. Leaving it out there. And I’ll tell you a secret.” She crooks her finger, inviting me to get even closer, and this time, she presses her lips to my ear. “I don’t care what other women think, Ike. I find kindness to be incredibly sexy.”
I pull back far enough to see her once more, and this time, I kiss her on the forehead, just breathing her in.
“One day, I hope I get to make love to you while you’re wearing just this jersey.”
Her eyes widen, and I grin.
“Nice guys have dirty desires, too, you know.”
“I should hope so.” She laughs and hops off the pinball machine. “I should get home. I have to work before our day date tomorrow. I just have to call an Uber.”
“Hell no. I’ll drive you.”
“I’m in the city,” she says. “You don’t have to drive me all that way. I can easily call a car.”
“I can drive you,” I insist. “Besides, I need to know where to pick you up tomorrow, anyway. It’s no trouble.”
“Are you sure?”
“Come on. Maybe I’ll get a tour of your house.”
“It’s a condo.”
“Shouldn’t take long, then.” I follow Sophie through my house and out to the garage, then open the truck door for her.
“Ike.”
“Yeah?” I lean in and fasten her seat belt for her.
“Thanks for everything tonight. I had a lot of fun.”
“I don’t remember the last time I had that much fun,” I agree and kiss her cheek. “And you’re welcome.”
Chapter 5
Sophie
He never left.
Ike brought me home, and I invited him up to my place so I could give him a tour, and we ended up on the couch with hot tea and talked for hours.
Then, in the middle of me telling him about how I had to take my high school SATs twice, he fell asleep.
Just drifted right off.
So, I covered him with a blanket and went to bed.
Standing in my living room, both hands full, I simply stare at the big man that I’ve quickly come to like very much, and grin.
At some point during the wee hours of the morning, he lay down fully on the couch and tucked the blanket firmly around him. Just before I walk over to wake him, Ike’s eyes flutter open, and he blinks when he sees me.
“Is this a dream?”
“Nope.” I walk over as he sits up, and I offer him a green smoothie. He scowls.
“What the hell is this?”
“Your daily allowance of greens,” I inform him as he takes the glass, and I sip my coffee.
“Why do you get coffee?”
“Because I already drank my smoothie. Now, be a good boy, and you, too, may have some coffee.”
He eyes me with distrust over the rim of the glass as he takes a sip and then scowls. “Mmm, so earthy.”
“It’s really good for you. I’m surprised you don’t drink these. Uncle Will told me that most of the players do.”
“They do,” he says after gulping down three-quarters of it. “Doesn’t make it taste any better.”
“It’s not that bad.” I sit next to him and sip my coffee. “How did you sleep?”
“Like a rock. I could always sleep anywhere.” He finishes the glass, then takes it into the kitchen and rinses it out in the sink, sets it in the dishwasher, and helps himself to coffee.
It doesn’t offend me in the least that he’s making himself at home in my condo. In fact, I like it.
“You have a lot of filming equipment in here,” he says, eyeing my tripod, lights, and the small microphone I usually wear that’s sitting on the counter.
“As I told you, I film a lot of cooking and shopping videos for my followers. It’s just me here, so I leave the equipment set up. It’s easier.”
“I can see that. What was the last thing you cooked?”
“The charcuterie spread that I took over to Uncle Will’s the day I saw you there was the last filming day. We did a few days’ worth of videos, so I’d have content all week.”
