“My mom has never been a great cook, and one year she accidentally burned an elf doll pretending to eat cookies to ashes because the roast chicken on Christmas Day came out on fire from the oven.”
My jaw drops because that is hilarious.
“My dad was prepared for a mishap, so had already ordered Chinese food. The eggrolls were pretty damn good that year.”
I laugh because he’s more upbeat than I thought. “We seem to talk about our family a lot when we run into one another. I guess we are family people.”
He snorts a laugh. “Sure. But I am by no means rushing to have my own family. I’m not sure I even have the personality to be a parent. I’ll stick to having family photos in my living room.”
“Huh, okay. But do you actually have a cozy home? Because I am getting the vibe that you just live out of a suitcase and might only occasionally turn on the washing machine if the dry cleaner is closed.”
His cheeks remain light and tight. “This is where I need to tell you that actually I have a house where I can unwind. And even though I will not be handing out candy to little heathens, I have a bowl of Halloween candy in my kitchen purely for aesthetic because it’s October.”
“No!” I gasp and grin. He nods his confirmation. I raise my hand with stretched fingers into the air. “Mind blown right now.”
He bites the inside of his cheek and tilts his head gently to the side, and it’s clear he has a sinister thought from my sentence, but it kind of feels natural between us, so I don’t think twice. Instead, I switch gears. “I’m kind of surprised to run into you. I assumed you don’t really, well…” My lips slide side to side. “Have a life outside of hockey. Then again, you were with a colleague.”
He hears the humor in my tone, thankfully. “Sometimes I wonder if I have a non-work life, then I remind myself that I need to shut off, even if just for an hour.”
“That’s a good mindset. When you are a creative person, you have the problem of never being able to calm your brain. Sometimes I just want to sleep but a design hits me, and I can’t help but want to draw.”
He takes a quick sip of his tea then indicates with his long finger to the pile of notebooks at the end of my counter. “Are those them?”
“Some.” He reaches out, but I tsk. “Invading privacy, huh?” I tease. His eyes tell me that he isn’t an easy man to challenge.
“Just dresses?”
“And lingerie. Lots of lingerie,” I say bluntly. “It’s always lace season,” I taunt.
The way he licks his lips and his eyes glue onto me gives me the sign that he isn’t disappointed by our unexpected encounter this evening by the slightest.
“You mentioned Halloween candy if I’m good.” The way he says it with a straight face, but with inuendo dripping in his sentence causes my stomach to tighten. He has a domineering presence.
But I’m still testing the waters of where this evening might go, if anywhere at all. With purpose, our eyes locked, I walk to the bowl that I have in the corner by the toaster and ceremonially pick it up, returning to him to offer him a piece.
His eyes drop down, and he smiles. “Alright, you have good options. I approve. I was a little worried you might have gummies or those sticks that are pure sugar.” Hefishes out a chocolate coconut bar, and I swoop up a chocolate caramel bar before setting the bowl down.
“Happy my Halloween candy choices appease you.” We both unwrap the candy and pop them into our mouths. “You don’t strike me as someone who indulges in candy,” I mumble, as I have chocolate in my mouth. Asher is in as good shape as the players on his team.
“Balance. It’s about balance, especially when you have a job with grueling days.”
I chuckle under my breath. “I’m well aware, and I don’t believe it has anything to do with age. If this is where you are highlighting that you’re older than me, then you have succeeded. It doesn’t matter if we are just two people having a friendly conversation.” It’s very obvious this is attraction.
“Right.” His face says he disagrees, and it’s playful in a way.
For a few seconds we stew in the tense air that pulls us closer even without moving.
Suddenly, I remember why we even came up to my apartment.
My eyes drop. “You’re lucky your coat protected you. I need to get out of these wet clothes.” Maybe there is a tint of sultriness in my tone. “There is more tea over there if you want another cup.” He has barely touched his current cup.
Without thought because this is my home, I walk away and begin to peel my sweater up and off my body, then move on to the zipper on my jeans but pause.
The sound of a hum stuck deep in a throat causes me to look back at Asher. His eyes skate over my body then anchors to my eyes.
“You just happen to be wearing that?”
I glance down, and a satisfied smile crawls on my face because I’m in a black lace bra with a touch of orangeintegrated with the lace of the band. “Yes. Every day I dress in case a fireman needs to save me. I also attempt to coordinate with the holiday.”
