My fingers fidget in my lap as I sit in his truck waiting for him to return. I hear a song I love playing from the radio so I reach for the dial to turn it up and notice it's coming from his Bluetooth. I wouldn’t have expected him to just leave his phone unattended, but it’s sitting completely unlocked in the center console and when I glance at the playlist, it saysSummer’s Cleaning Jams.
He added my playlist to his phone?
Maybe it automatically syncs with his Alexa device?
A moment later he emerges from the building, carrying a large to-go bag. He’s rolled up the sleeves on his white button up and my desire to straddle him in the driver's seat of his truck just rose tenfold.
“Tenders, wings, fries, mozzarella sticks, and pretzels.”
He places the bag on the floor in the backseat and the truck smells just like Louie’s, minus the beer, and I can’t wait to dive in.
“You’re listening to my playlist,” I say as he puts the truck in reverse and his hand spreads open on the steering wheel, doing that hot spinny thing that guys do when they drive.
“CeCe asked for it a couple weeks ago when we were at home. A lot of the songs grew on me. Guess you’ve got good taste, Kincaid.” He smiles with a shrug like it’s nothing, but it doesn’t feel like nothing to me.
Since Diane is at his house watching CeCe, we take the food to my apartment. Chase takes it upon himself, setting everything up and we both get comfortable on the couch with plates full of everything we love.
“Sorry about that restaurant,” he says, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
I wave my hand in the air at him, “Are you kidding? The place was gorgeous. But you know, I just… I don’t need fancy. This is perfect. It was a sweet thought, though, and now it’s just a funny thing to look back on.”
“There’s one more thing I wanted to do tonight. I have to go get it from my truck, though. I’ll be right back.”
My eyes narrow, suspiciously, but also with excitement.
“Okay…”
He kisses the side of my head, right next to my temple before he heads out the door. It’s quick and soft, like a routine, a common thing he does all the time and it fills my stomach with butterflies.
The door swings open and shut as I’m cleaning off the table and boxing up the rest of the food we didn’t get to eat before placing it in the fridge. When he rounds the corner into the kitchen, he places a stack of board games on the counter with a prideful smile.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask, playfully. “I don’t lose at board games.”
“You’re all talk, Kincaid.” His index finger wags in front of me, and I drag my eyes from his hands up his arm to the jawline that’s sharp enough to cut glass.
He takes the pile of boxes into my living room, placing one in particular on the coffee table and the rest he moves to the corner.
“Scrabble it is,” I say confidently, tossing my hair to the side and taking a seat opposite him on the couch.
After some time, the board in front of us is filled with short words, basic words, some naughty words and the name Don. I thought about challenging him about using a name, but technically, it’s a word so I let it slide.
Although, the moment he tries to play “qe” as a word, I draw the line.
“It’s not my fault you’re out of letters.” My voice raises and I start laughing while he pulls the letters off the board.
“You got away with using the word mote, what the hell is a mote?” He stands, placing both hands on his hips. His competitive edge doesn't just end at football, he’s the worst at losing games. I love it.
“Mote,” I say after pulling up the Scrabble dictionary. “a tiny piece of substance.” I rise from the couch, getting into his personal space to gloat for a moment.
“You know I don’t like to lose, Kincaid.” He pulls me by my hip closer to him.
“I know. You’resucha sore loser.”
His fingers pulse against the fabric of my dress before he holds them steady in place, bringing his lips dangerously close to my ear.
“I fucking love this dress,” he whispers against my skin. “Now, take it off.”
“You lost, I should be the one giving the demands.” My fingers begin to run down his chest, but he’s quick and spins me around in one swift movement, pulling my back flush against his chest.
