He grinned. “Well, the night’s still young. We could go dancing, check out the movies, play some indoor mini golf?” he suggested. “What do you feel like doing, m’lady?”
“Umm…” I came to a stop on the sidewalk and looked down at my feet, which were smushed into Mer’s painfully small boot heels.
“Ah, your feet hurt?” he guessed with a grin. “You wanna go home?” His phone buzzed again, making him drop his head back with a groan. “Excuse me for a sec.” After pulling out his phone and peering at it for a second, he held it out to me. “JP texted again saying I better let him know you’re safely back at Colt’s. Jeez, he’s being a bit controlling, eh?”
My mouth dropped open as I read his demanding text. “He is. What the hell’s gotten into him?” There’s no way he would’ve been monitoring my moves like this if I was still out on tour. The pastthree months passed by without a single word from him.
“Wait.” Niko’s dark eyes glinted under the streetlight lamps. “Wanna mess with him a bit?”
I rolled my lips together. “Is it bad that I do?” I laughed.
“Nah, let’s do it,” he said with a wicked grin.
___________
Giggling together, we burst into Niko’s luxury penthouse apartment and started stripping our jackets and shoes.
“Yeah, throw ‘em around, just like that,” Niko advised.
“You think that’ll sell it?”
He rolled his lips together in thought while looking me up and down. “The dress would help too.”
“Oh my God, what?” I shrieked. “I’m not taking off my dress for you.”
“Shucks,” he said, snapping his fingers. I swatted at his chest, making him grin. “I’m just kidding. Wait one sec.” He dipped into what I guessed was his bedroom for a second and then came out holding flannel pajama pants and a comfy looking hoodie. “Here, you can change if you want. Bathroom’s down the hall on the right.”
“Oh my God, yes,” I moaned.
“That’s what she said.” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously, thank you. I’ve been so uncomfortable. I can’t wait to get this off and finally breathe.”
As soon as I came out of the bathroom, two other hockey players from the team walked inside wearing towels over swimsuits and dripping water all over their nice hardwood floor. Feeling unsure of them, I instantly moved toward Niko.
He swung his arm around my shoulders. “Ah, Ali, these are my roomies. That’s Zukes.” Niko pointed to the shorter of the two guys who was built like a tank and had an impressive eight pack and long curly hair. “And that’s Nilsson,” he said, pointing to the tall, blonde Swede. Niko rubbed my back and met my eyes. “They’re both very stupid and very harmless,” he added.
“You’re missing hot tub time.” Zukes frowned. “We just came in for more s’mores stuff.” He ripped a bite off of a Twizzler. “Nilsson ate all the fucking chocolate.” He shot an unimpressed glance at his tall friend.
Now that he mentioned it, I could spot the remnants of s’mores on the two guys’ faces. I had to slip a hand over my mouth to smother a laugh.
“Damnit.” Niko looked like he was about to stomp his foot. “Why didn’t you guys wait for me?”
Zukes eyes widened. “We can’t deviate from the routine, dude. Hurry up and join us. You too,” Zukes said, pointing his half-eaten Twizzler at me. “Wait,” his eyes scanned the floor. “What are you guys doing?”
Niko grinned. “Making McQuaid jealous.”
“Oh no,” Nilsson groaned. “You’re poking papa bear,” he said in a thick accent.
“He’s gonna kill you,” Zukes said with a dry laugh.
Niko wagged his eyebrows. “I’d like to see him try.”
“I kinda feel for the guy,” Zukes said, pushing his long hair back. “I think he really loves you,” he said to me.
Hearing that had my heart wavering a little. “We’re just friends.”
Niko snorted. “Maybe this will finally show you that he doesnotview you as a friend.”
