Page 28 of No Pucks Given
The moment I got home, I read through the directions for the two fondue pots. I decided not to heat up the chocolate pot right away. Instead, I took out all the food that was meant to be dipped in the cheese. The instructions seemed simple enough, and since it was supposed to take only fifteen minutes to cook, I went to work on the pillows.
First, I pushed all the furniture in the living room to the walls except for the coffee table. Then I set up the pink, gold, and white dog beds around the coffee table. It looked pretty cute, although it didn’t have some of the coziness that I saw in the photos. Apparently, the blanket overhang would make it super cozy, but I had no idea how to string it up.
I pulled out my phone to look at the time and realized there was a text from Siobhan.
On my way home. Be there in about twenty.
I pulled out the pink and purple flowers from the fridge and set them on the coffee table. I know the florist tried to tell me that I was friend-zoning Siobhan, but they matched the pillows and were Siobhan’s favorite flowers. I would rather give her all her favorites than red roses that she hated just because they were the symbol of love.
I went to the kitchen to prepare the fondue. It seemed pretty foolproof, and I thought it would work out pretty well. I just hoped it tasted as good as it smelled. Then I brought everything over to the coffee table.
I heard the garage door open and thought it was perfect timing. As much as I wanted to greet her, I knew security would be first, and then it would be just the two of us. So I took the extra time to fiddle with the dipping platters.
Sure enough, Lou came in first and scanned the area. When he saw my setup, he smirked and gave me one of those‘you’ve done good’ nods.
Siobhan walked in behind him in the cutest outfit that just set off her whole body. She was wearing a cropped white sweater that showed off her toned belly with black leggings that just hugged her ass. Her long blonde hair was perfectly curled, and I wanted to play with and tug on it so damn badly.
Her eyes were so bright with excitement when she saw the setup in the living room. “What’s all this?”
“Our date night in. Come sit," I told her.
If we weren’t sitting on pillows, I would have pulled out her seat like a perfect gentleman. Instead, I held my arm out for her to stabilize herself as she lowered herself down to the ground.
“This is so cute.”
But I realized I forgot one crucial thing. The pinot noir. “Stay right there. I’ll go get our drinks.”
Chapter 27
Siobhan
Icouldn’t believe how sweet Carter was. When he said he wanted to do a date night, I thought it would just be us on the sofa together watching a romantic movie. Instead, he created a fondue restaurant for a whole night, including buying new stuff just for the occasion.
Knowing how much he hated shopping, it was extra special that he made the effort to plan this all for me. If Natalie did the shopping, she would have spilled the beans, bragging about how sweet her brother was being.
The cushions were beyond comfortable and seemed to be chosen just for me, since there was no way he would have picked out pink and gold pillows for himself.
Looking at the spread in front of me, there was a little bit of everything one could imagine sticking into a pot of warm cheese. “I can’t believe you did all of this yourself.”
He came back, handed me the glass of wine, and sat down beside me. He seemed a little awkward as he tried to fold his legs under him.
“Nonsense. You deserve this and so much more.” He grabbed two of the specialty fondue forks and passed me one. “When I was ordering all of this, I discovered we can play either Game of Fondue or Bread Crimes.”
I looked at the options to see what I wanted to have first. The idea of playing games with my food sounded interesting, but I didn’t see him as one of the guys who liked to do a lot of food play, unlike some of his teammates.
“What does that entail exactly?” I asked.
I decided to go with a piece of bread first. I stabbed it with my fork and dipped it into the cheese pot. Then I scooped it up and tasted it. It was utterly divine. I loved how the cheese tasted. There was just a little hint of wine to give it a fuller taste.
“Well, both are pretty similar. You drop something into the pot, you pay the consequence. In the Game of Fondue, you will have to do a truth or dare. In Bread Crimes, you lose a piece of clothing.”
I giggled at the last one. Guys could turn almost anything into a striptease game.
Normally, I would say hell no to any sort of strip game. But with Carter, it felt different. He’d been my own personal Captain America since the day I met him. He wouldn’t take photos or take advantage of me if I were naked. Besides, he would look so damn good if he lost a few pieces of clothing.
I shrugged. “Why not? Bread Crimes, it is.”
He grinned like a maniac but didn’t say anything.
