Page 60 of Matched with Her Athlete Boss

“Okay, do you want to order the Chinese?” she asks. “I can get started on some of the things I’ve been meaning to get to since the last time I was here.”

“Chinese should be here soon. I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll come help?” Why it’s a question, I don’t know. Maybe I need to knock my head into the wall or something to get out of this weird state I’m in.

Kenzie nods. “Awesome.”

I head into the shower, grateful for the spray of the water to keep me focused. The surge of feelings for Kenzie is making me wonder if we’ve spent too much time together or if there is something there that I’ve been missing.But how do I navigate testing the waters when we have to go on three more dates with other people?

27

KENZIE

The first thing I tackle while he’s gone is the TV. I’m not sure it’s completely normal for a guy not to have that set up as the first thing once he moves in. I had to do this in the Spice House when I first moved in. And just about everywhere else I’ve lived.

I’ve got it placed up on the cabinet set he’s got in the front room and all the channels are working. It will be better on the wall, but there are only so many things I can do by myself safely.

“Wow, you got it to work?” Trey asks, pulling a t-shirt down over his oh-so-gorgeous chest and it takes me a few extra seconds to answer.

“Yeah, it’s not that hard.” I gesture for him to move closer and give him the rundown on the controller buttons. “You should be good now. I mean, you’ve got the local stations anyway.”

He frowns. “Is there a way you can connect to some of the streaming services?”

“Trey Hatch, do you not know how to do that? Sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that,” I say when I see him frown.

“No, you’re okay. And no, I’m not sure how to do that. Any help you can give would be great.” He sits down on the couch, and I sit close enough to show him what we need to do to download the apps on his smart TV and then get set up on the logins.

He lets out a small snort and says, “I bet Wart Vader would know how to do all this.”

I turn to see he’s picking at something on his shorts, kind of like he’s embarrassed.

“Probably, but why does that matter?” I ask, surprised to see the fantasy guy I’ve liked for so long has real insecurities. I could be the poster girl for those after all the changes I’ve made, and I still wonder sometimes if it could all turn out to be a dream.

“Guys are supposed to know that kind of stuff, inherently.”

I laugh, trying to decide what to say. “Trey, I’ve met plenty of people who don’t know how to set up a TV. That doesn’t make them any less of a person. I will say, though, you can find any tutorial you need on YouTube these days. When in doubt, that’s where I look to figure things out.”

“Thanks,” he says, looking a little more cheerful.“Nice rhyme.”

The doorbell rings and the smell of Chinese wafts in when Trey opens the door. “Sorry, I didn’t really ask what you like. I’m a fan of the sweet and sour chicken and broccoli beef.”

“If you got chow mien noodles, you’ll have picked the perfect meal.” I walk over to the cabinet and neither of the two plates are in the cupboard. “Did you break your last two plates?”

“No,” Trey says, unpacking the plastic bag the food came in. “They’re in the dishwasher.”

I lean my hip against the counter, trying to get him to look me in the eye. We haven’t been this close in all of a couple hours and I’m okay with the lack of distance. “You don’t have to speed clean when I’m around, you know.”

He gives me the cutest side-eye slight grin I’ve ever seen and says, “I didn’t speed clean, it was more of a competition with myself to see how much I could get done before you got out of the shower.”

I roll my eyes and open the dishwasher to see that there are still dribbles of water on the plates. I grab the one dish towel from where I’d placed it in the drawer while unpacking the kitchen a few days before.

Once the plates are wiped dry, I place them across the counter to where the bar stools sit. I get out the forks and Trey already has his mismatched cups filled with ice and water. As I look at the scene before me, this isn’t a fancy dinner, but the way we work together to prepare all the things makes it feel like we’re in a relationship.

Or a friendlyship.

I’d prefer to think of it as the first one even though that’s not good for my mental health.

The ambience is quiet but comfortable as we both pile food onto our plates. At one point, Trey grins, looking down at my portions.

“What? Have you never seen a woman eat before?” I say dryly.

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