Page 52 of Going for Two
“I paid for a package for Charlotte Thompson,” Nolan told the woman. I watched the woman’s eyes roam over Nolan’s face and the length of his body before she went to look for the name he’d given her. She hadn’t even bothered to notice me standing next to him. My stomach twisted as I watched the woman’s eyes flick back to Nolan as if she were hoping his attention would be on her. Part of me wanted to reach out and slip my arm into his, but then I remembered that wasn’t necessarily something we’d ever talked about after I had shut down his initial advances.
“I have it here.” The woman looked up and finally noticed me standing next to Nolan. Her gaze was full of judgement as she looked me up and down. I tried to keep the heat of embarrassment from flooding my cheeks. “Is that all you needed?”
“I wanted to add a massage for myself while I wait for her,” Nolan told the woman, completely oblivious to her interest in him and clear disinterest in me.
The woman clicked on her keyboard for a few moments. “The only thing we would be able to do is switch Charlotte’s massage to a couple’s massage.”
There was a question lingering in the air from the worker as if she were waiting for Nolan to confirm if I was just his sister or if we were together.
“That’s fine.” It took everything in me to keep my eyebrows from rising in surprise at his answer. The woman pursed her lips before she clicked on her keyboard for a few more moments.
“The two of you can follow me. We can get you in for your massage first.” Any interest the woman had in Nolan had disappeared as she led us to a room with two massage beds in the center. Plush white robes were laid out on chairs next to each bed. Steam was being pumped into the room and soft music trickled in from the speakers in the ceiling.
Nolan didn’t hesitate before he began to discard his layers while I stood frozen just inside the door. When he realized I wasn’t also undressing to slip under the sheet on my massage table, he stopped. “Are you okay?”
On instinct, I nodded my head. But I knew my wide eyes and slack jaw told a different story as I watched Nolan dress down into his underwear. We’d obviously seen each other completely naked before but that had been in the confines of Nolan’s apartment where I could have convinced myself that none of it was real and we were living in our own fantasy. Standing in a room with him as the two of us were expected to undress and have an intimate couple’s massage together felt very real. Together with how thoughtful Nolan had been with arranging today for me, my feelings were a jumbled mess.
Before Nolan could realize why I was staring at him like it was the first time I’d ever laid eyes on his body, I turned around to face away from him while I stripped down to my bra andunderwear. But not before noticing the way my entire body felt drawn to him in a way that I couldn’t explain, or maybe didn’twantto explain.
“You know I’ve seen you naked before, right?” Nolan asked, sending heat through every inch of my body. I did my best to pretend like I hadn’t heard him as I quickly slid under the sheet and lay face down on my table.
“Make sure they work your upper back and neck well, that’s where you like to carry your stress,” I started to tell him.
Nolan made a noise that cut me off. “You’re not on duty today, Lottie. I can take care of myself. Just enjoy the day without having to worry about anyone other than yourself.”
I stayed quiet as I realized I didn’t know how to worry about just myself. All my life there had always been someone else that was my responsibility to care for—Olivia, my clients, or the players on the team I was working for.
As I closed my eyes once the massage began, I realized that since I wasn’t used to having my needs be met, prioritizing myself felt selfish even though it shouldn’t. And the man lying next to me right now was forcing me to see how worthy I was of these things.
“This is part two of your day,” Nolan told me once he pulled up in front of my favorite Mexican restaurant in downtown Chicago that I rarely ever had the time to go to. “Olivia and Maggie are already inside waiting for you. I’ll pick you up afterwards because the last part of your day involves me again.”
“You’re not eating with us?” I asked, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice.
Nolan shook his head. “It’s a girl’s lunch. Who would I be to intrude on that?”
The car behind us honked, stopping me from being able to convince him to come in. Nolan gave me the biggest smile, trulyhappy that he got to do something for me instead of it being the other way around.
“I’ll see you soon,” he shouted out the window after I shut the door to his car. “Have fun!”
With that, he pulled off the curb and disappeared into the Chicago traffic. I gave Olivia’s name to the hostess just inside the door and she escorted me to a table in the back that was already occupied by my two best friends.
“You look like a brand-new person!” Olivia jumped up from the table and wrapped her arms around me. “You’ve got a certain glow about you now.”
“Do we think it has anything to do with a certain quarterback?” Maggie asked as Olivia and I sat down.
I flashed her a look. “Why would you say that?”
“Oh, you know,” Maggie replied with faux innocence. “Just that he meticulously planned this entire day and sent detailed texts to both me and your sister about this. Doesn’t seem like something that would happen in a casual relationship.”
Both Maggie and Olivia were giving me knowing looks as they watched me struggle to come up with a response to tell them otherwise.
“I thought today was supposed to be all about me and what I want, so shouldn’t that include answering your interrogation questions?” I asked.
Olivia shook her head slowly. “Not so fast there, Lottie. Today is a yes day whereyoucan’t say no to anything. So, if we want you to actually have a real conversation about the guy you clearly like, then you kind of have to. It falls under the rules.”
I was saved for only a few moments by the waiter asking for our drink orders before it was time to face the music. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” I started.
“It’s a yes or no question, Lottie. Do you like Nolan Hill or not?” Olivia was direct and to the point.