Team Niklas (The Saints Team #3) (3 page)

Chapter 3

I walked into my apartment, closed the door and
breathed out. Coming home was my favorite part of the day—my pad was on the top
floor of a four story block and I guess it was more like an attic with four
large triangle shaped windows running from the floor to ceiling and looking
skyward. It was my escape, my hideaway; I got it for a bargain given Dad was in
property development and when I bought it, it was just a big open plan room.
I’ve designed it with a catwalk right down the middle of the room, made of
timber and about two feet off the ground. My brother Jason made it for me. When
I’m doing fittings, most of the girls love it when I get them to do a run of the
catwalk to see how their outfit falls as they walk. For the brides, it’s like
walking down the aisle. Some nights I put on the music and just dance along it
for a workout and it’s been a while since gymnastics but I can do four front flips
in quick succession allowing enough room so I don’t fall off the end.

 I also have a formal platform for
brides and girls getting formal dresses to stand on when I’m fitting. It is a
perfect timber square and about a foot off the ground. It shows the fall of the
dress and with all the fabric and often petticoats of tulle, it lets me check
every layer is where it should be. One wall is also all mirrors for clients to
see their outfits and for me when I’m doing my gym workout. I push myself harder
if I can see the muscles working. The mirrors also reflect the trees outside
and as luck would have it, I had a great view of Nik’s back, shoulders and butt
reflected in the mirror while I was fitting his front. Yep, when it comes to
room design, I’m not just a pretty face!

Along the windows I have three
antique mannequins that look super cool, a row of vintage hat boxes and hat
stands, and two small two-seater white leather sofas facing each other but
separated by a glass coffee table. A big screen television hangs on the wall
and that’s my living area.

My bedroom’s on a timber suspended
floor that juts out from the wall, supported by poles and reachable by a spiral
staircase. There was no way Nik was going to get up there in his state last
night. Underneath it was my private bathroom with a big bath and frosted glass
shower doors that led to some great shadows if you wanted a peek show. On the
other side of the room was the guest room and en-suite with the Nik-christened-sofa—he
was the first Saints’ player ever to lie there and, I hoped, the last. Plus, I
had a special cat run near the large triangle windows for Prada. He loves to look
outside and watch the birds in the branches of the trees and on the eaves.
Mom’s worried that at twenty-three I’m too young to live alone, but I love my
space and my place. I’m surrounded by people all day and here I can just let my
imagination wander, play my music and create.

I gave Prada a hug, asked him
about his day as I prepared his dinner and then changed into some jeans and a
black hoodie. I heard my phone ping with a text. That would be Saffron my
sister—twin sister—late as usual. She was coming over to discuss her wedding
dress for the big day in ten months’ time—a big church wedding with one hundred
and thirty guests, so far—and she was trusting me to make her dress. We were
going to buy the four bridesmaids’ dresses, thank fuck for that, and of course
the theme color was purple, the color of the saffron flower.

I was kind of envious, not of Saffron
or of her getting married, nope all good with that, but she was marrying a guy
whose surname was Flowers. So envious—she’ll go through life now as Saffron
Flowers... I wish. My sister was a primary school teacher—she loved children
and so did her fiancé who was also a teacher. They intended to have hundreds of
kids which I was very pleased about—if they could just replace themselves and
me in the world, that would take a lot of pressure off me.

I grabbed my phone but the text
wasn’t from Saff, it was from Nik. I glanced to the clock; he must have just
finished training.

NIK: So, Sasha, R we on 4 Friday?
Would luv 2 show U a good time

Big head! Prada brushed against me
and then leaped to his favorite position near the window where he could look
down on the world.

“I know he’s gorgeous,” I told
Prada, as I paced the room, “and I’d love to see him naked but this is not
going to go anywhere good.” I looked to Prada again and he was listening
attentively—he’s a great listener. I continued to tell Prada about Nik. “He’s a
player, on-and-off the field, Puss, most of the team is like that, that’s the
life they lead. He has a two-year contract and then he might go home to Berlin
or somewhere.”

Me, well I didn’t tell Prada, but
eventually I want to travel the world too. Absorb inspiration and design, write
about the experience, live for months on end in Paris, London, New York,
Melbourne, Amsterdam… Nik, well he’s a speed bump. I drew a deep breath and typed
a message.

ME: Hey Nik, going 2 pull the pin,
dressmaking speak. Hey thx tho.

There was a knock at the door and
I sent the text, dropped the phone back on the kitchen bench and went to let
Saffy in.

“Sash,” she squealed two decibels
higher than the average ear can bear and embraced me in an all-encompassing
hug. “I’ve got it—the fabric and the perfect pattern.”

“I never doubted that for a
minute,” I teased her.

She rushed in and I closed the
door behind her. Her long brunette hair was tied up in a ponytail and she wore
fitted gym wear. We couldn’t be more different: Saffron was full-figured, I was
a stick; Saffy was a few inches shorter than me and she was tanned while I was
lean and as white as milk, usually—Saffy had been trying spray tans for her
wedding which means I was trying spray tans with her… does kind of make you
wonder what I’m doing living near the beach.

 “Hello Prada, you handsome puss,”
she greeted my black cat as he leapt down and came over to welcome her. I
watched Saffron patting him; she caught me staring and smiled.

“Are you okay, Sash?” she asked.

 “I’m great. Coffee, drink, are
you hungry?”

“No thanks, I’ve got to be at
Daniel’s place in an hour. We’re looking at invitations tonight, so exciting.
But you go ahead,” she said, with just a hint of hope that I didn’t.

“Nope, let’s get right to it,” I
said, and watched her brighten.

“I love your place,” she looked
around. “We’re going to move into Daniel’s apartment when we get married, but
we’re saving for something with a yard. Dad’s on the lookout for us.”

“You’ll need a yard for all those
kids,” I said, and rolled my eyes.

Saffron saw my expression and
laughed. “You’ll love being Aunty Sasha, I know it.”

“You know more than me,” I told
her. “Hand it over.”

She reached into the shopping bag
she was carrying and pulled out the pattern.

“Ta da!” she announced and I
looked at her and smiled, before I looked at the pattern. I slowly looked down
and she laughed.

“Oh
Saff, it’s gorgeous.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew she was a
traditionalist but this was perfect and would suit her—an elegant sweetheart
neckline and an A-line dress with a flared skirt. “It’s you, you’ll look
breathtaking.”

I
looked up as she blinked tears from her eyes and I squeezed her hand.

“Right,
let’s check your measurements.” I took a new set of her measurements and took a
peek at the beautiful fabric she had selected. “Perfect.” I put it back in the
bag. “Okay, Friday night I’m cutting,” I warned her.

“You’re
not going out?” she asked.

“What?
No, Prada and I are staying in, two pussies in the house! So if you change your
mind about the pattern and the fabric, you have until then, right? Because
after that, snip, snip,” I said, and imitated the scissors cutting.

“Right,”
she agreed. She grabbed her purse to depart, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I
walked her to the door.

“Say
hi to Daniel for me,” I told her. “Tell him I’m happy to do his mom’s dress and
thanks for asking.” I opened the door and nearly got tapped on my forehead—raising
his hand to knock was Nik. He looked from Saffron to me and back.

“Hi
Sah-sha,” he started. He looked hot, unbelievably hot, but he didn’t
look happy at all. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were glaring at me with a
look that said
please explain.

“Nik!
What are you doing here?” I asked, swallowing. I knew exactly what he was doing
here. He wasn’t happy at my date turndown by text.

“Hello.”
Saffron brightened, and turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “You sure you’re
cutting Friday night?”

“Um
Niklas this is Saffron, Saffy meet Nik,” I introduced them.

“Hi
Nik, good to meet you. Got to run,” Saffron said, and with that she was out in
the hallway. I saw her look back to admire him and she gave me a thumbs up.
Then she was gone and I was alone with Nik, again. I looked down the hallway
but couldn’t follow her, bummer, there was no escape.

Chapter 4

We stood at the door staring
at each other. I didn’t want to invite him in because I had a fair idea where
that would lead. I tried really hard not to admire how good he looked in the
team track pants, a fitted long-sleeved t-shirt and his runners… hot as hell.
His hair was still damp from the club’s showers, his shoulders were so broad
and his body tapered to lean hips and… focus.

“Did
you get my text?” I asked him.

“Yes,
Sah-sha,
that’s why I’m here. I don’t
understand it.” He met my eyes with a cool blue gaze and blinked, waiting to be
enlightened.

“But,
it was simple English, oh hang on, pull the pin, didn’t make sense, sorry.”

“I
understood the term.” His eyes flashed. “I don’t understand why.” His voice had
turned to ice, which instead of chilling me, made me super cranky. Why the hell
did I have to explain anything to him?

“So,
you can’t take no for an answer?” I frowned at him.

 “Apparently
not.” He cleared his throat. “If you are saying no to the date because you think
we’re jinxed, then I’m going to prove that’s not true,” he said. “But, if you
are saying no to the date because you can’t see how manly, handsome and
adorable I am
Sah-sha,
well we have a
problem.” He had just the hint of a smile as he crossed his arms and leaned
against the door frame.

I
tried not to smile but it didn’t work. I stood aside and he came in. He pulled
his phone, wallet and keys from different pockets and put them down on my
entrance table. I stayed near the kitchen open plan bench and watched as he wandered
around the room, glanced up to my bedroom loft and traced the stairs from the
top down until he landed his gaze back on me. I could smell his freshness—soap,
shampoo, deodorant, cologne, so manly. His presence in the house was
distracting.

“Was
that one of your friends or a client?” Nik asked after my sister.

“Why?
Want to ask her out?” I asked.

The
man just shook his head. “No,
Sah-sha, I want to ask you out but I’m not
having much luck.” He continued his tour of my place which he didn’t cover in
as much depth last night and looked out the windows.

“She’s
my twin sister,” I said.

Nik
spun around to look at me. His hand went to his heart. “No, there’s two of
you?”

I
gave him a wry look. “Yes, but we’re very different, not identical.”

“I
got that,” he said, and lowered himself to sit on the windowsill stretching one
long leg out in front of him. He added a nice touch to that corner, and I
wondered if I could talk him into staying there. I moved to lean on a stool in
the living room where I could keep him in sight, just in case.

“There’s
actually five of us,” I said, “I have three brothers as well… triplets.”

“Fuck,
really? Are your parents rabbits?” Nik asked with a serious face. I grinned at
the thought.

“Yes,
they are, Mr. and Mrs. Bunny.” I rolled my eyes at him and he gave me a winning
smile. That man belonged on the catwalk, preferably my catwalk.

“Mom
and Dad couldn’t have kids so they did IVF,” I explained. “When Mom got
pregnant she found out she was having triplets. She says it was a wonderful
blessing—you can decide if you ever meet my brothers,” I said.

“I’m
bound to meet them at all the family dinners we’ll be having,
Sah-sha,”
he teased me. “So how did you and your twin come on the scene?”

“Mom and Dad decided they wanted
to try for a girl. They did another few cycles of IVF and then presto, but only
two this time.”

“So Sarf-fron and Sah-sha. Is
there an ‘s’ theme happening with your big brothers?” he asked.

“Nope, nothing like that—Jason,
Ethan and Sam. Jason is a carpenter. He built my catwalk and bridal stage;
Ethan is a counselor; and, Sam is a mechanic.”

“Ah, so that’s how you can afford
to have an Alpha Spider… always in the garage getting fixed.” Nik shook his
head.

“Yes, how did you know I had a
Spider?”

“I saw you leaving work when I was
training. It suits you.”

“Mm, thanks. She’s gorgeous, a
series three. I wanted one for a long time and Sam kept an eye out, eventually
finding one for me that I could afford. I pay him in kind—I dress him, he
services the car.”

“No other men in your life?” he
asked.

“Well, Mr. Direct, there’s my best
friend Max, and his partner Ren.”

“Ren is male or female?” Nik
asked.

“Male. You got a problem with
that?” I narrowed my eyes.

“What? With you having a best
friend or him being gay? Why would I care?” Nik shrugged.

Good answer. I might have been a
bit defensive then. We sat in silence for a few moments. God, even indifference
looked sexy on him.
Nik eventually broke it.

“I
love your place, it’s very cool and…” he looked at the catwalk, “… interesting.
Do you model?”

I
laughed but he said it in all seriousness.

“Uh
no, it’s for my clients and my workout,” I said.

“Yeah.”
He grinned. “How? Do you run up and down it?”

“No
I dance on it or I do my handstands and flips.” I wish I hadn’t said that
because I knew straight away what was coming

“Great!”
His face lit up. “Show me Sah-sha.”

“I’m
not dressed for it,” I said, looking down at my jeans, sneakers and hoodie.

“I’ll
spot you, come on,” he said, humor in his voice as though he didn’t expect me
to do it. Therefore, I had to do it.

“Fine,
but I need to warm up,” I said. I stood up and removed my hoodie, revealing a
light gray fitted cotton t-shirt underneath overhanging my jeans. Unfortunately
the t-shirt read “Journalists do it on the front”, but hey, I wasn’t expecting
to be flashing it to Nik.

Nik
laughed reading it. “Can I help?” he asked, seductively. I’ve not doubt he could
help me get to orgasm in under a minute but when it came to flips, I had them
covered.

“I’m
good,” I said. I walked to the catwalk and tucking just the front of my t-shirt
into my hip-cut jeans so I didn’t flash too much, I did a handstand, followed by
a walk over front and back to warm up. Then I started down the end where Nik
was sitting, took a deep breath and flipped down my catwalk, counting four and
stopping with a final leap, back down and feet together.

Nik
burst out in applause. “Fantastic. Do it again,” he said.

“No,
your turn,” I said, eyes narrowing on him. “Show us your tricks.”

Nik
grinned and stood up. “I can’t do that,” he said. “I could probably pull off a
handstand or two.” He reached for my hoodie and brought it over to where I stood
on the catwalk. He held it out so I could slide my arms in, then he trapped me.
He flipped me around pulling the front tightly around me, my face was level
with his as I stood on the catwalk. He looked directly into my eyes, then to my
lips and back to my eyes again. My breathing hitched.

“Why
won’t you go out with me, Sah-sha?” he asked in soft voice. “Is there someone
else?”

“No.
Is there someone else in your life, or lots of someone elses?” I returned the
question.

His
eyes narrowed. “Of course not. Why would I ask you out if there was someone
else?” He continued to stare at me, keeping me pressed right against him at eye
level.

“I’m
not ready, I’m liking the space I’m in and…” My voice trailed off.

He
didn’t look convinced, not one bit.

“You’ve
been hurt,” he said, directly. I spluttered trying to come up with some form of
denial and he released me from his grip. “We can take this very slowly,
Sah-sha, I have all the time in the world,” he said.

His
words calmed me and freaked me out in equal measure. All the time he watched me
saying nothing.

“Everyone’s
been hurt,” I finally spluttered out, “I’m just having time out to focus on
work and my designing.”

“Right,”
he said, again not looking at all convinced. “Are you going to offer me a drink
because I’d love a coffee, white with none.”

“Nik,
would you like a coffee?” I asked.

“Thanks
Sah-sha, that would be great,” he said, with a smile. He picked me up at
the hips and lifted me down from the catwalk. So sexy, for fuck’s sake.

I cleared my throat. “Have you
eaten?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t have since he probably came straight over from
training.

“No, I’m fading away, but I’ll
last until you send me home.”

“Hell no. You got a nose bleed on
me last time. I’m not calling Doc to say this time you’ve collapsed from lack
of carbohydrates.” I waved a menu at him. “There’s a really good noodle place
around the corner that delivers; what do you think?”

He grinned. “You want me to stay?
That’s sweet Sah-sha. I trust you to order.”

I gave him a look that said
don’t
make a habit of this buddy
. He probably misread it to mean
I can’t wait
to feed you noodles
—we weren’t really good with the comprehension. I
flicked the kettle on and dialed the noodle bar whose number was in my phone.

“Anything you don’t eat?” I asked.

“I’ll taste anything,” he said,
rising to join me in the kitchen. Again with the sexual reference, and now all
I could think about was his tongue. When I pulled my gaze away from his mouth,
I pointed to the cupboard and he found two coffee mugs. I waited on hold, and
directed him to a Lady Grey tea bag for me and the coffee for him. I wondered
if he knew that what he was saying was suggestive… the noodle bar answered
their telephone.

“Hi Yuki, yeah it’s me. Yes the
usual please plus I’ve got a friend here so can I also get the Teriyaki Chicken
with thick egg noodles, and the Mongolian Beef with the same and a serve of steamed
dim sims and the dumplings, plus two house salads with low fat dressing,
thanks. Yeah… he’s very hungry. No, he’s not fat, yet. Thanks Yuki.” I hung up.

“You’ve got a friend here, huh?” Nik
pulled the tea bag out. “You hurt me Sah-sha.”

“Boo hoo, you,” I said, and thanking
him took my tea.

He stood about an inch from me.
“Sah-sha.” He said my name followed by a noise of sheer exasperation. I thought
he was about to put me over his knee next and smack me for being naughty. He
took a deep breath, getting his frustration under control, finished stirring milk
in his coffee and moved back to the window. I joined him, taking the sofa while
he took the windowsill. Prada watched, perched above.

“Now you know my family structure,
tell me about yours,” I prodded.

I hit a nerve; Nik stiffened and I
saw walls shutting down all around him. I could almost hear them clanking and
locking in place.

“Nothing to tell, Sah-sha, no
brothers or sisters. Speaking of which,
you’re
clearly not identical to your twin sister,” he said. Interesting segue. I
wondered what the story was there. He wouldn’t get away with that though,
research is my middle name. Actually it’s Elizabeth, but you get my drift.

I
thought about my sister and me, and how we were anything but identical. “No, my
sister is like that
Carpenters
song, you know where the angels get
together to make a dream come true?”

“No,”
he said, flatly.

“Right,
well just follow along,” I suggested. “So the angels rock up and they decide to
make this beautiful soul, who is pretty, gentle and affectionate. They sprinkled
moon dust in her hair or something similar… whatever… anyway when they finish
they put her in the womb to be born. But while they were doing that, one of
them said ‘hold up, crap, there’s two eggs here’. Following me so far?”

Nik
smiled and nodded. “Is that part about the two eggs in the song?”

“No,
from now on the rest of the story is all mine.”

“Go
on,” he encouraged me.

“So
these angels thought since they had perfection going on with the first one, they’d
have to fish around for leftovers. Then one of them says, ‘ah, I’ve got this
changeling’… you know the folklore…”

“I
know about changelings,” Nik said, listening attentively as though he enjoyed
fairytales.

“So
they agree, that’s a perfect solution—they drop this skinny, blonde, white, reclusive
changeling in next to perfection and the changeling falls madly in love with the
perfect offspring and they live happily ever after,” I said, and sipped my tea.

Nik
studied me, not smiling, not speaking. He sipped his coffee.

“Your
sister seems very lovely, but you
Sah-sha, you’re…”

The doorbell rang and I rose
quickly, trying not to spill my tea. “That will be the noodles.”

“I’ve got this,” Nik said, putting
his coffee down and with his long legs he got to the door before me, grabbing
his wallet off the table on the way. He greeted the small Asian delivery guy
who had to look up a foot or more to see him. Nik whipped out some notes to
cover it and thanked the driver with a good tip.

“I’ll give you half,” I said,
pulling the dollars from my purse.

“No you won’t,” he said. “Plates?”

I gave him a frustrated look.

“I’ve got this Sah-sha, I’ll eat
most of it anyway,” he said.