Play Maker(51)

“Oh no?” I looked at my own menu, feigning nonchalance.

“Oh no.” She smiled. “I thought for sure we’d end up at one of those over-priced super fancy restaurants that serve peas on individual plates and give you flavored air for dessert.” She looked around the restaurant. “This place is far more my speed.”

“Mine too,” I confessed. “Besides, we have to see how these waffles live up to the ones at the hotel.”

Nicole closed her eyes and let out a soft moan of appreciation at the memory. I almost dropped my menu.

“Those were good waffles,” she said, opening her eyes.

“Mmmhmm,” my voice was tight. Almost as tight as my jeans, with my cock straining against the zipper. God, what I wouldn’t give to cover her with maple syrup and devour her like we had devoured those waffles.

But my extremely dirty thoughts were interrupted by the waitress who wanted to know if we had decided what to order. I hadn’t even taken a look at my menu, but Nicole plucked it out of my hands.

“Do you trust me?” she asked.

I nodded wordlessly. I probably shouldn’t, but I did.

“Two of the Herb’s Specials,” she told the waitress. “With cornbread.”

The waitress nodded and went to put our order in.

“You’ve been here before, I presume.” I leaned forward on my elbows.

“A long time ago,” Nicole confessed. “But I don’t remember enough to compare them to the hotel waffles.”

“I wonder if we should set up a rating system,” I teased. “Different categories to make this a serious competition.”

“I should have known someone like you would turn this into a competition,” she said with a smile.

“Someone like me?”

“Someone who makes a living out of being competitive,” she clarified.

“Actually—” This was the perfect opportunity to tell her about my change in plans, but before I could, she had flagged our waitress over.

“Can we get some crayons?” she asked. When I gave her a look, she turned over her placemat where it was clean and white. “To write down our waffle judging categories.”

“Well, what are the stakes here?” I asked as she started making columns for the two waffles.

“Since you picked this place, if the waffles here are better then you will be the winner. But if the waffles at the hotel are better, I win.”

“And what does the winner get?” I had plenty of ideas of what I would be happy to get from her.

Nicole’s smile was wicked. “If I win, I get to drive your new car back to my place. And if you win—”

“I get to drive it back to my place,” I added with a wink, thinking of all that we could do – all that we had done – in my hotel room.

But I saw the smile on Nicole’s lips slip, just slightly and she looked away, back down at the placemat.

I cleared my throat, knowing that she was still probably confused about my behavior last night. And while I couldn’t blame her, it felt like we had both been sending each other mixed messages since we first hooked up. Now it was time to clear the air.

“I wanted to apologize for last night,” I said, hoping Nicole would stop scribbling on the placemat. She did, putting aside the crayons. “I was an arse to you after the game and I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she responded. “We said we were keeping it casual, right?” But I could tell that she had been hurt. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to admit it.

“That’s no excuse for being a rude bastard,” I told her and she smiled. “I promise not to do it again.”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to invite me to more soccer games?” Her eyes sparkled with humor.

“Football.” I corrected automatically, even though I could tell she was teasing me. “And no, there might not be any more games, but I’d like to spend time with you.”

Her mouth dropped open.

I took a deep breath. “I like you,” I said bluntly. “A lot. And that scared the hell out of me.”

Her eyes widened, but the smile returned. “Thanks?”

I ran my hand through my hair. “I mean, what I’m trying to say is. Bollocks. I’m really cocking this up, aren’t I?”

She reached across the table and touched my other hand. “I’m listening,” she said softly, her gorgeous eyes full of encouragement, but also apprehension.

“I’m not going back to London,” I blurted out and saw her eyes widen. “I’m retiring from football and I’m staying in Los Angeles to work with a charity that focuses on helping foster kids.” All of it came out in a rush. “And I like you and I want to spend time with you. On a regular basis.”

There was a pause and I could see Nicole process all the information I had just thrown at her. I held my breath, not sure how she was going to respond.

She finally looked up at me, her eyes wide. “Are you saying you want to date me?”

It sounded so simple and so obvious when she said it that way. “Yes,” I finally managed to say.

“I don’t know,” Nicole said, drawing her hand back. My stomach sank.

“What don’t you know?” I had a hard time hiding my disappointment.