Nate’s wearing a giant fucking grin with his stupid adorable dimple on full display. He’s sporting a perfectly tailored pair of burgundy pants with a matching jacket and a white button up underneath it. But he has the top few buttons undone. He’s always been really fucking good at dressing to impress. I feel like it’s some kind of requirement for athletes because these men all clean up nicely.
Number one, run fast. Number two, be able to look like a GQ model.
“Ask me if I ordered an ice sculpture,” he says as we’re pulling into Ford and Abby’s driveway and I see a large white truck unloading something on wheels covered in a tarp. My hands cover my eyes, carefully not to ruin any of my make up, but damn him. He really had to get an ice sculpture? This ought to be good.
“I cannot believe you,” I say with a laugh as he turns off the truck and gets out to help Summer and then comes around to my side.
“You gave me a challenge, Smalls. You know I don’t back down from a challenge,” he whispers as he helps me down from his truck.
“What the fuck is this?” Ford asks when he sees the giant bird made of ice.
“It’s a fucking swan, what does it look like?” Nate stands next to the sculpture as if he carved it himself. Beaming with pride. Ford shakes his head and holds up his hand before he just walks away.
Everything has gone smooth tonight and it’s nauseatingly clear how well matched Ford and Abby are by their constant public displays of affection all night.
After three hours, a lot of speeches, and endless glasses of champagne poured for everyone, I’m ready to clean up and call it a night.
“Everything looked so good. And the food… oh my God. Thank you, Mia.” Abby hugs me and holds onto me tighter than necessary. “I don’t really get all that,” she says, gesturing to the half-melted ice sculpture. “But I love it anyway.” Abby’s had enough champagne and I’m expecting Ford to whisk her away any time now, even if we’re all still here, it won’t make a difference to him.
“Clarky!” Liam shouts from across the room. I’ve barely seen a lot of the guys all night. I’ve spent most of the evening making sure Abby and Ford had everything they needed.
“Liam,” I say back to him once he’s closer. He wraps me into a hug and then pulls back, holding me. “Everything looked great tonight, everything went well. Overall, great job.” He kisses my forehead and releases me as I turn my attention over to Nate.
“Nate, are you ready? I’m going to pass out.”
He nods and we walk out the front door after saying goodnight to everyone. Summer is still out back chatting with Chase and Graham, but she said Chase would drop her off so I don’t think twice when I throw myself into Nate’s truck without her. I’m exhausted and can feel my eyes already closing.
My eyes flutter open and instantly I know something is different. This isn’t my bed. Why am I not in my bed? Where’s my body pillow? Why don’t I hear soothing sounds playing on my sound machine? I smell cologne. I feel around in the dark room and find that I’m wearing the same dress I had on last night and I realize I’m waking up in my best friend’s bedroom. I spring up, almost giving myself whiplash. The bedroom door is closed so I gently pull it open and walk down the hall to find Nate’s big body hanging off the couch still wearing his pants from last night, just no shirt. He looks really uncomfortable. Poor guy. Hendrix nuzzles up beside me and I bend down quickly to pet his head.
“Morning, Henny,” I whisper.
Nate’s kitchen light has a dimmer, thankfully, so I turn it on to the lowest setting—just enough so I can see as I make a pot of coffee. My best guess is I fell asleep in Nate’s truck and he just put me to bed here. The last thing I remember is pulling away from Ford and Abby’s house.
I’m leaning against the counter, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing when the Google Home device sitting on his counter grabs my attention. It has a picture slideshow playing that I don’t think I’ve ever really watched before. Pictures of him and his family make up most of it, but there is a surprising amount of him and I in there. One of the pictures that flashes on the screen is from the first weekend he moved to Tampa. I had just flown in since I was still in college, but he needed help apartment hunting. We looked at a handful of apartments that day, but when we were in this one, I took a mirror picture of us in the master bathroom. I jokingly told him this bathroom had the best shower sex mirror since the shower and mirror weredirectly across from one another. I’m sure that’s not what sealed the deal, but it’s the apartment he eventually signed with and still lives in.
Then, I see a candid photo of Nate and me at Summerfest five years ago. I’m on his shoulders, my hands are in the air and we’re both smiling from ear to ear. I smile, reminiscing on that weekend. When I first met Nate, there was just something about him that drew me to him. It had nothing to do with his talent on the football field and everything to do with the man beneath the helmet. He’s so many wonderful things. I hate how hard he is on himself. I hate how easily he lets outside opinions get under his skin. He’s incredible and easily the best man I’ve ever known.
It amazes me how deep of a sleeper Nate is. I most definitely haven’t been the quietest while trying to make a pot of coffee, but he’s slept right through the clinking of coffee mugs and the whistle of the coffee machine.
“Do you need a walk, Hendrix?” I ask, as if he can actually answer me. Walking back in Nate’s room, I grab a t-shirt of his and throw it on with a pair of his sweatpants and slippers. I look ridiculous, but I’m not taking this dog out in the clothes I wore last night.
I fasten the leash on his collar and turn towards the door to head out and lock it behind me. My phone starts ringing as soon as I turn to walk to the elevators so I put the phone to my ear and move the leash to my other hand. I really underestimated the strength of Hendrix at this moment, because the second he can, he runs towards the end of the hall and the leash jerks out of my hand, causing me to almost topple over. My phone falls on the hallway floor just before I’m able to even get two words out.
“Damn it!” I yell as I catch my balance.
“Jimi Hendrix, you come back here!” I leave my phone on the floor where it fell and jog over to where he is now sitting in front of someone’s door down the hall.
“That was not very nice, mister! Here I thought we were about to go have a nice morning walk and you’re already misbehaving?” I pick up the leash and bend down to scratch his head.
The door in front of me opens, and a very tall bare-chested man stands above me with a confused smile on his face. As luck would have it, the very tall and handsome, half-naked man standing in front of me is Connor. The man I met at dinner a few weeks ago. And naturally, I look like a homeless troll. This is perfect.
“Not what I was expecting at eight in the morning… but I’ll take it.” Connor smiles.
“I am so sorry. He never darts off on me like that.” Hendrix’s tail continues to wag as Connor reaches down to pet him on the head.
“It’s okay. It’s nice to see you again, Mia. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting here?” he asks, in a voice that’s as smooth as god damn whiskey.
“Oh, this is Hendrix,” I say, pulling his leash and motioning for us to leave the doorway and get on with our morning.
