“Well,” I said, twisting my lips, “he kinda deserves this. He’s being super weird and controlling.”
Niko weighed his head to the side. “True.” He bent down to rearrange the clothes a bit more. After straightening up, he pulled out his phone and took a picture, then quickly typed something before showing it to me.
Our clothes were strewn on the floor with the words: “Love my luck, lads” with a little four-leaf clover.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you sure it’s okay for you to post this? It’s not gonna hurt your reputation or anything?”
“Nah, if anything it’ll make me look good.” He smirked. “I just wonder if McQuaid will recognize your stuff.”
“I’ve had that coat for years,” I said with a shrug.
“Perfect.” He rubbed his hands together like an evil scientist. “All right, while we wait for the fireworks, wanna hot tub with us?”
“Me?” I questioned. “Oh, no, I don't think I can,” I said, my hand finding my stomach overtop of the hoodie.
“Just put your feet in, they were sore,” Niko said with a shrug. “And have a s’more with us.”
“Yeah, have some s’mores,” Zukes jumped in.
I hesitated. “That does sound good.”
“It’ll feel good too.” Niko gently grasped my shoulders and started steering me to the deck. “It’s a heated patio and we’ve got an incredible view of the city. You’ll love it.”
I spent the next half hour having fun chatting with the guys while looking out at the insane downtown Chicago skyline. At one point I realized I was alone with three guys, which probably wasn’t smart, but for some reason I felt safe with them. It was like I somehow adopted three younger brothers. And in the back of my mind, I knew I had a safety net here in the form of a 6’3 defenseman that was definitely checking up on me.
“She’s so confusing,” Zukes said, talking about a girl he’d been seeing. He tossed his phone aside and sunk further into the hot tub.
“Don’t blame the girl,” I told him, kicking some bubbles at him. “Girls arenotconfusing at all. Girls only want one thing, and it’s very simple.”
All three boys stared at me cluelessly.
“Love,” I said with a laugh. “Duh. A girl will mirror how you treat her. If you act unsure, she’ll be unsure. But if you’re consistently lovely, she’ll get to be consistently lovely. At the end of the day, she’s just looking for someone to love who’s not gonna make her regret it.” I shrugged. “But I honestly can’t say the same for guys. I have no clue what guys are after.”
“We wanna be loved, too,” Niko argued.
Nilsson shrugged. “I want back scratches.”
“Well,” Zukes started, “I just wanna f—”
“We know,” the rest of us chorused, making him laugh. After hearing some stories, it was easy to conclude that Zukes was a bit of a playboy.
“That’s how I feel loved,” Zukes said innocently.
“Okay, you”—I pointed at Zukes—“are not ready for a relationship. I hope you tell the girls all you want to do is…ya know,” I said, waving a hand in front of my face.
“Oh shit,” Niko said, holding up his phone. “JP’s calling. Do I answer?”
My heart picked up speed hearing his name, but I forced myself to reply calmly. “No, we’re busy. He can text and call a million times for all I care. He’s not the boss around here.”
“Okay, but…” Niko cracked up laughing while reading his phone. “He’s really losing his mind, guys.”
Zukes paused mid-bite into his gooey s’more. “You think he’llcome over? He knows where we live, guys.”
“So what?” Niko shrugged.
Zukes eyes widened. “So what? Sowhat?” he repeated. “Are you serious?” He clambered out of the hot tub and grabbed all the snacks. “We have to hide the junk food.”
“Wait, you’re right,” Niko said, snapping his fingers.
