Off the Field: Bad Boy Sports Romance (20 page)

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When I woke up sometime the next afternoon, Xander still hadn’t returned. I left him a sense of mystery rather than writing a note. I hoped he was okay, but it was time for me to move on. After a quick walk to my apartment on the other side of the neighborhood, I packed the few belongings I had with me. Having just a few possessions was truly liberating. It didn’t take me long at all to pack up the new Jeep Cherokee I’d bought for the journey west.

I headed west in my car, to Indiana or maybe further. The only thing I knew about the Hoosier state was that they were known for pot and corn. If I was lucky, I’d find some mutant brand of pot-corn that melted in your mouth and made you really high while taking care of your munchies and daily fiber at the same time. I laughed at myself as I drove out of Cleveland, like most of the city’s jobs had decades earlier. You’re becoming jaded on this cross-country road trip, I noted to myself.

St. Louis was another possibility – the arches would be cool to see up close. Maybe. If I was honest with myself, I wasn’t sure where the hell I was going. I told myself California was my destination, but Colorado had started to seem just as good as a destination. They had legalized pot, which was one of my favorite ways to relax. As I said goodbye to Cleveland, I also left magic mushrooms behind for a while. If I wanted to find true love, I needed to be sober.

Nikki Dates the Geek

Once again, listening to the radio in the car got me into trouble. I headed west out of Cleveland and made it as far as Fort Wayne, Indiana before I decided to stop. A classic rock station was playing the perfect song for my mood when all of a sudden the music stopped and some guy said, “Hey, did you press that button? Shit. We’re live. No, don’t!”

The station cut straight to an advertisement from a sponsor. I glanced at the radio and chuckled. Did that really just happen? As had happened in Ohio, I decided to stop and investigate. Two weeks later, I’d secured a job at the WLKY FM radio station by making up some shit about working for a magazine in Cleveland.

After a few days on the job, I found out the guy whose voice I’d heard on the radio was Thurston Goode, the IT manager for the radio station. They were one of the last places in the country to switch over to digital and it wasn’t going too well for them. Well, until Thurston arrived. He was a hero in the halls of the small building located just outside of the city.

Fort Wayne, Indiana wasn’t as bad as I’d feared at first. It was a moderately sized city. They were in the top ten for cities in the United States who ran their government in a sane matter. Basically, it meant they didn’t spend a ton of money but still had good roads, decent schools, and other public services. As had miraculously happened in Cleveland, California faded from my mind. I settled in.

Thurston had a lot to do with my decision. As soon as I’d heard his voice break into the song on the radio while driving west, I had to meet him. And once I’d met him, I had to know more about him. We’d become very close over the last month and a half. My twenty second birthday was coming up in a week. It was the perfect way to take my relationship with him to the next level.

Steven the billionaire back in Maine still popped into my thoughts occasionally, but the more time that passed, the easier it was to not be caught up in useless drama about what-if situations with him. My life was moving forward, and even if I wasn’t happy all the time, I was content. As I grew older, it dawned on me that contentedness was truly more valuable as happiness was usually so short lived.

When my lunch break finally rolled around, I headed to Thurston’s office instead of the cafeteria. It had taken me over an hour to get ready earlier that morning. I hoped all the effort was worth it as I knocked on his open door and walked in. He looked up from his computer screen to me and smiled. You can do this. I confidently walked over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down.

“How’s it going, Thurston?” I asked, instantly regretting my choice of opening remark.

“Not bad, Nikki. You?”

“Good.” I pushed the fake, black rimmed glasses up my nose. “It’s my birthday this weekend, actually.”

“Really? Cool. Happy early birthday.”

“Well, that’s the thing. I was wondering if you might want to go get dinner with me. Maybe some drinks?”

He studied my face. I could see his big brain firing on all cylinders by his intent stare. I loved how he actually thought a little bit before just blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Yeah, I’d like that, actually,” he said finally, allowing me to breathe again. “But…”

“That’s okay. I understand.”

“Hold on. I was just going to say we could save some money and have dinner at my house.”

“Ooh. Sounds even better. Are you a good cook?”

“Meh. Maybe. You’ll see this weekend, I guess. Saturday?”

“That would be great. Can you text me your address?”

“I don’t have your phone number.”

“Some master hacker you are,” I said then smirked.

“I’d never use my powers for the dark side.” He paused and looked out his office door. “Unless we had a safe word, of course.”

“Ohhhh, I see.” Is he flirting with me? I thought I was running game on him!

“I’m not really into BDSM. I was just trying to be funny.”

“Bummer.”

“Oh, you’re into it?”

“No taking back your answer,” I teased. “But no, not really. I read 50 Shades of Gray, but I hated it.”

“Me too. It was missing something.”

“Like a soul and a better editor?”

He laughed, then said, “Funny.”

“I try to be.”

“Sexy too.”

Damn, there he goes again. He’s a hot geek! They’re so rare!

I made eye contact with him, not saying a word, making him wonder if he went too far.

“Well, I have to get some work done if I’m going to be taking off a Saturday evening.”

“Sounds good.” I stood up and walked toward the door.

“Oh, wait,” he said. “I don’t have your number.”

After I gave him my digits, I headed to the cafeteria for a quick coffee and granola bar. My mind played with a million or more possibilities on how the birthday dinner might go down. He’s definitely been flirting with me – finally. Whether I’d passed some test of his or he’d just finally realized I was hot for him, we would be able to take our relationship to the next level.

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Thurston’s apartment looked fabulous. After he invited me in, I glanced around. Everything was neat and tidy, but he also had a sense of style. I couldn’t place my finger on it at first because it was so unique and original. My tight, white top and short skirt was the opposite of what I usually wore to work. I’d decided, after much internal debate, not to wear my fake glasses.

“Glad you found it okay,” he said. “Do you want a glass of wine or something?”

“No, I’m okay. I’ve been not drinking for a while.”

“Cool,” he said. “I don’t drink a lot, but I thought you might want some.”

“I look like a lush, huh? Nice.” I said sarcastically.

“No, I was just…”

“I’m just messing with you. It means I like you.”

“Like a girl on the playground, huh?”

I grinned. “Exactly. Actually, I was a bit of a lush and pot head and day tripper for a while. I’ve been trying to just stay sober for a while.”

“I can respect that.” He motioned for me to follow him with a nod of his head. “I’ve never really been big on drugs or alcohol, really.”

I followed him into his humungous kitchen.

“Interesting. I thought all you hacker types were on pot or Adderall.”

“No, they drug test at the station, and I like my job.”

“I can respect that.”

“Dinner is just about done. I stuck with pasta. It’s my own sauce.”

“Can I taste?”

“Sure.”

He walked over to the stove and stuck a spoon into the red sauce. As he held it for me, with a hand underneath it, I leaned forward and blew on it. We made eye contact for a moment. He looked away as I tasted. It was tasty.

“Mmm. Good.”

“If you want to have a seat at the table, I’ll get everything ready.”

I sat down at the small, circular table for two against the wall opposite the stove and counter. Plates were laid out with napkins, silverware, and two candles in the center. Damn. I’m impressed. He brought the food over to the table then took off his apron. His clothes were conservative, but he wasn’t a slob like Xander had been. Another point for you, Thurston.

After dinner, which was filled with light conversation and laughter, he brought out a cake he’d baked himself. It only had one candle in the center. I wonder how old he is… The subject had never come up in any of our many conversations before as we’d gotten to know each other at the radio station. I decided to find out.

“I can’t believe I’m twenty-two,” I said.

“I was going to ask, but I wanted to be polite.”

“Aww, how sweet.” I hope you’re not that sweet later when we’re making out! “How old are you?”

“Twenty four next month. An old man.”

“Dirty old man?” I teased.

He cut us both a small piece of the cake and placed them on clean desert plates. It wasn’t the best cake I’d ever had before, but it wasn’t too bad. I ate slow, trying to come up with a game plan on how to make a move on him. I was pretty certain he wouldn’t make one on me on our first date. Does he even think of this as a date? I pushed my doubts to the back of my mind.

“Thanks again for dinner and the cake,” I said.

“Are you leaving?”

“No, why?”

“Oh, it sounded like you were getting ready to say goodbye.”

“I hope the night’s not ending this early. It’s my first birthday sober in a long time.”

“We’re just going to have to find something else to do,” he said.

“Like what?” I placed the last piece of my slice of cake into my mouth.

“Oh, I don’t know. Our hobbies probably don’t match up very well.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re a very beautiful woman who is probably out all the time with one guy or another.”

I laughed. “What kind of woman do you think I am?”

“A desirable one.”

“Yeah, but maybe I don’t like most of the men who desire me.”

“Do you want to go into the living room and relax?” he asked.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

We walked into the living room. His suede couch was one of the most comfortable I’d ever sit on in my life – and I’d been a babysitter for a billionaire for two years!

“This couch is so comfortable,” I said, leaning back. “I could stay here all night.”

“Feel free,” he said, sitting down on the opposite end.

The cushion between us became a sort of no man’s land. Is he ready for a sexual battle?

“Don’t tempt me.” I sat up a little. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you do to relax if you don’t drink or smoke pot or anything? Are you like a health nut or something?”

“I like to have sex,” he said casually without any hesitation.

I nodded my head like an idiot as I tried to digest the information he’d just shared with me.

“So you’re one of those geek freaks in the sheets?” I asked, waiting for him to laugh and say he was just joking around with me.

“I guess so. Lately I’ve been too busy to really be with anyone.”

“Yeah, me too. I mean, I don’t sleep around a lot, but…” I let my voice trail off.

“Same here. I had a few people who were casual partners, but they’re both with someone else now.”

My heart beat faster as I tried to maintain a calm and cool exterior.

“Right on. I was in Cleveland a while before I moved to Fort Wayne.”

“A Cleveland girl, huh?”

“Oh, hell no,” I said, a little too quickly.

“Well, I’m glad you made it to Fort Wayne.”

“Me too.” I paused a moment. “Hey, since we’re being honest and open with each other, which I like by the way, I want to tell you something.”

“Shoot.”

“You’re actually the reason I stopped in Fort Wayne. I was on my way to California, and I heard your voice interrupt a song on the radio.”

His eyes widened. “You heard that!”

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it was hilarious. I said to myself, ‘Self, you gotta meet that guy.’”

“You’re different, Nikki. I like you.”

“I like you too.”

My eyes glanced down at the cushion between us then back to his face. His emotions, as usual, were hidden quite well. I wanted to break down his walls and see what was behind them. As we stared at each other, a mischievous grin spread over his face.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re twenty-two.”

“Right. And?”

“Well, in my family, we have a tradition. It usually ends on the twenty-first birthday, but since I didn’t know you last year, I think I should be able to share the tradition with you?”