Only One Chance (Only One 2)

“Oh, look at you. So fancy,” she says, laughing. “Is this to keep the harem away?”

“Something like that.” Driving in, I park the car, then turn to her. “Welcome to my home.”

“I would say thank you for having me.” She leans over to open the door. “But you sort of forced me here.”

I shrug, giving zero fucks about how she got here. I’m just fucking happy she’s here. “Bottom line is you’re here. So let’s go with you being here.”

“It’s almost like a smoke mirror,” she says as she gets out of the car. I shake my head and open my door, meeting her in front of the car. “This is nice,” she says, and I nod my head. “Very you.”

“What does that mean?” I ask her, looking back at my house. It’s a two-story house, and from the front of the house, you can’t tell how big it is because the upper balcony is covered, and you can only see one room on the side because the two-car garage is on the other side.

“It’s sleek,” she says, looking up, and she isn’t wrong. The square stairs lead up to two gray pillars that hold up the upper balcony and cover the door. “Modern.”

I grab her hand and link our fingers together, laughing. “Let me give you a tour.” This is the second time she’s let me do this. I keep expecting her to pull her hand away from mine, but she doesn’t rip it away.

Walking up the five steps to the big brown door, I open it, and we are in the foyer. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous about someone else seeing my house before. I also have never had anyone that I’m interested in over. This is my home, and I am not going to treat it like a revolving door. It is also my private space, and I’m going to share it with a one-night stand. “This is the foyer,” I say, and she looks at the pictures all along the wall. Each picture is a milestone in my life from my first time on the ice to the last season, when I scored my three hundredth point.

“It’s very GQ,” she says, pushing my shoulder with hers.

“Those stairs lead to the second floor.” I point at the staircase on the side and then walk into the great room. And it really is a great room. It’s the whole reason I bought this house to begin with. The whole back wall is windows, and to the left, I have two large white couches facing each other with a gray marble table in the middle. Four single chairs are at each end, almost like a box.

“This space is huge,” she says, walking in to stand between the couches and the dining room table. “I love how it goes from family room to dining room to massive ass kitchen,” she says, pointing toward the kitchen in the back. “Is that where you’re going to cook for me?”

“It is,” I say, walking into the kitchen and standing beside the big marble island.

“I love the high ceilings.” She points at the ceiling. “This house is so you.”

“Good,” I say, walking to the big stainless steel fridge. “What would you like to drink?” I open the fridge. “Wine, beer, mimosa?”

“Mimosa.” She answers right away as she walks over to put her purse on the dining room table. I grab the orange juice and the bottle of champagne.

“We should get a picture of this.” I look over at her. “It’s like we are christening the house with you.” I wink at her. “I mean, if it was up to me, I’d be licking the champagne off your naked body.” Her mouth hangs open. “But for now, let’s just go one step at a time.”

“Nice save,” she says and jumps when I pop the cork. “Also, why do you assume I would get naked for you?”

I shrug my shoulder as I walk to get a champagne glass and pour it, then grab the fresh orange juice I picked up this morning. “Wishful thinking,” I say and hand the glass to her.

“Are you not drinking?” she asks, holding the glass at her mouth. I nod.

“I don’t really drink,” I tell her, “especially not during the season. But having you here is a special occasion.” I open the fridge and grab a bottle of beer. “So I will bend the rules for you.” I twist open the bottle. “To the beginning of a great—”

“Day.” She finishes for me, and I just smirk. She clinks her glass to my bottle and takes a sip, then turns and looks out the window. “I will say that your backyard has to be the nicest backyard I’ve ever seen,” she says, walking to the window.

“Let me show you,” I say, putting down my bottle of beer. Walking over to the window, I slide it open. “All these windows open.” I walk out, and she follows me to the covered lanai. “There are three seating areas.” I point out as I walk down two steps toward the pool. “There is the hot tub,” I tell her. “I’ve spent many nights soaking after a game in there.”