Page 24 of Coast to Coast

“And what about a night out with couples?” she asked. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, my brain, and my body finally on the same page, encouraging me to lean in and suck that plump bottom lip into my mouth. Would she yield to me, or would she match my desire? I shook away that urge. How the fuck did I expect to convince her to fake date me and then lean in for a very real kiss.

“Again, you’re the boss. I won’t do anything that you say is off-limits. No one will expect PDA.”

Her eyes flashed with something when I suggested she be the boss. Was that a flash of interest? Desire? Lust? Did she like to take control? Blood rushed to my groin with the image of her restraining me and doing whatever her heart desired. Stop it, Tom; crossing the line mentally was just as bad as crossing the line physically.

“OK.”

“OK?” I asked.

“Yeah, I think we can make it work. But I’ll only do it if we can keep Monica out of it. I don’t want her risking her job,” she said. “You also mentioned that a couple of your teammates already know I’m your nanny, so I’m assuming we won’t need to pretend around them?”

“Correct. Bendik and Amari. Also known as Gumby and D-Bag.”

“What’s with the nicknames?” she asked.

“We all have one or two,” I answered.

“What’s yours?”

“Soupy or Thor.”

She burst out laughing. “Thor?”

“Yeah, because I put the hammer down.”

“Whelp, I guess we have Norse mythology and Greek mythology covered. And by hammer, does this mean I’ll be chatting with Crew about how he can’t go around hitting people while we’re watching your games?”

I swallowed hard, “I’d prefer if you told him that, yes.” At the end of the season, Crew barely watched the game, and it was unlikely that he would catch a hit, but he was paying more attention now, and fist fights and penalties would call for a conversation after the game. “Let him know it’s only allowed on the ice.”

“MmHmm, don’t worry. I think we’ll figure out a way for you to take your punishment at home. I don’t want him to think you get away with that.”

Oh fuck, why did my mind go immediately to an image of her spanking me? And why did that turn me on? From the fire in her eyes, I don’t think her thoughts were that far from mine.

“Whelp, I should probably get going. I have an entire apartment to pack up, and it has me reassessing how badly I want to keep everything I own.”

“I know you heard Denver is cold all winter, but there are occasionally some springlike days in the dead of winter. So, unfortunately, you need to be prepared for all weather. And sunscreen, too; the sun is much stronger than in Boston.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” she said as she gathered her purse to leave. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Yeah,” I swallowed hard. Was it normal to have such easy conversations with your son’s nanny? Our conversations flowed easily from one subject to the next without any hint of awkward silence.

Me to Amari and Bendik: Heads up, only you two know Calliope is the nanny. We’re telling everyone else we’re dating.

Amari: Oh boy, let the fireworks begin

Bendik: LOL

Me: Come on, it’s the only way I can get everyone’s hands off

Amari: And your hands on…

Me: It’s not like that.

Bendik: Yet. She’s hot, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t give a shit.

Fuck.

Me: Yeah…

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