“What to sign, what to sign, what to sign?” I whispered to myself, in frantic search for something to sign.
“Lake?”
“One second!” I grabbed the first thing I spotted on the counter. “Here.” Stepping back into the hallway I handed him the marker.
“Crispy Rice?” He stared at the box of generic cereal I handed him with the marker. “You want me to sign a box of cereal?”
No. I didn’t. But there was no turning back so I owned my moment of insanity.
“Yes. I mean, you’re not on the box yet, but maybe someday.” Because all NFL quarterbacks dreamed of having their picture on the front of a generic brand of crispy rice cereal.
I was stubborn to the point of my own demise. Had I grabbed a tampon box, I would have held my chin up and insisted he sign it.
Cage shook his head, but he signed it.
I held up my camera. “Selfie?”
He bit back his smirk and handed me the cereal and marker then took my camera. I jumped when he snaked his left arm around me.
“You okay?”
I nodded with a gulp.
“Crispy rice on three.” He held up my camera with his right hand.
I gave my best I’m-a-cheeseball smile while holding up thebox of cereal.
Dork. Such a dork.
“Thanks.” I slipped the phone into my back pocket then hugged the crispy rice box to my chest. “I’d love to stay and chat or completely embarrass myself some more, but I’m late for a date.”
Cage jabbed his thumb toward Everson’s door. “Yeah, they’re probably wondering what’s taking me so long.”
I nodded.
“It was good to see you again.” He smiled and it was genuine, not the broad-is-bat-shit-crazy smirk he had earlier.
“You too. Maybe I’ll see ya around sometime. Everson and I are pretty close.”
He squinted. “Really?”
“Oh yeah. I think he has a crush on me. It’s sweet.”
I loved the look of humor mixed with confusion on Cage’s face, especially since it brought out his dimples.
“Anyway… I’m off. Wish me luck.” I headed to the elevator.
“You’re taking the cereal on your date?”
I stepped into the elevator and turned back to him. “Hell yes. The quarterback for Minnesota just signed my box of crispy rice. I’m showing everyone I see tonight.” The elevator doors began to close. “And the selfie too!” It meant absolutely nothing to me to have an NFL quarterback’s signature, but since it was Cage Monaghan’s, there was a good chance of me humping the box later that night.
CHAPTER THREE
TOOTH FAIRIES AND DOLLS
My date sucked.Yeah, Tucker pushed his buddy’s wheelchair in a marathon, but he also had an actual fetish with missing limbs, or more accurately… the prosthetic itself. Before dessert was served, he asked how many prosthetics I owned and if I had any old ones that he could have because he just sort of “liked” them.
I considered offering to shove the one I had on up his ass, but a creepy little voice in my head warned me that he’d probably like it.
