Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,7
beside Hailey. “We had a lab in labor and I didn’t want to leave her.”
“Hi, Sara.”
“Oh, hey, Charli, how are you?” Sara was Niko’s nanny, so Charli knew her fairly well. “How nice you came to a game.”
“Miikka invited her,” Hailey said with a grin.
“Really?” Sara’s eyes widened. “Oh, finally! The boy has been so desperate to fall in love…and he finally chose someone normal.”
“Oh, no,” Charli said hurriedly. “I’m tutoring him in English. That’s all. We’re not dating or anything.”
“But he invited you tonight, didn’t he?” Whitney asked. “He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t like you.”
“I think he’s just being kind.”
“He’s never invited his hairdresser or the woman who cleans his house to a game,” Sara pointed out.
“He’s just being nice,” Charli repeated softly. “And anyway, it wound up being Dani who got me the ticket.” She wasn’t used to being the center of attention like this and hoped she wasn’t blushing, since she seemed to do it often.
“Miikka needs a nice girl like you,” Whitney said. “He’s dated some real crazy ones, if you know what I mean. He says he wants to settle down but then he goes after women who are the opposite of that.”
“And he’s so self-conscious about his English,” Hailey added.
“Well, that’s why he hired me,” Charli pointed out. “So I can help him speak better English.”
They all turned to look at her as if she was saying something new.
“What?” she asked after a moment.
“You’re in the perfect position to show him—” Hailey cut off mid-sentence. “Wait, you’re single, right? I mean, are we playing matchmaker for nothing?”
“I’m single, yes, but you’re still playing matchmaker for nothing. He’s not interested in me that way and I’m really not looking for a boyfriend.”
“How come?” Sara asked, raising her eyebrows. “I mean, it’s cool if you’re not into men or you don’t believe in marriage or whatever, but if you’re straight, most of us need the Big D once in a while. Right?”
“Absolutely!” Whitney agreed, grinning.
“Too bad Dani isn’t here.” Hailey giggled. “She would tell us all about Sergei’s very big D!”
“And Miikka being Miikka, my guess is a humongously big D!” Sara burst out laughing.
Charli was positive she was bright red as she shook her head, despite the laughter escaping her. “I’m straight, definitely, but it’s been a while since I’ve had any D, much less the big kind, so I’m not even sure how I’d go about that.”
They all dissolved into giggles and Charli gulped down her glass of wine. It had been years since she’d sat and talked about…penis size with a group of fun-loving women. They were obviously comfortable enough around each other to talk this way, but Charli didn’t have those kinds of girlfriends. Her two friends here in Anchorage were both teachers she worked with and while Stacy and Kendra were great, they were fairly quiet and shy, like her. They mostly talked about work or books or some new restaurant they wanted to visit, though they occasionally talked about men and dating. Stacy had recently gotten involved with someone, so they hadn’t seen her in a while.
“We all need some D now and then,” Sara said firmly. “And if it’s been a while, Miikka might be the perfect solution.”
“Not if I’m going to be his English tutor,” Charli said softly. “I could use the money, so I wouldn’t want to do anything to screw that up.”
“Well, if a roll in the sheets is off the table, we’re back to matchmaking,” Whitney said, setting them all off again.
As much as the subject matter pained her, Charli couldn’t help but warm to them. They were so friendly and easygoing; it was nice to feel like she was part of them. Part of anything that didn’t include five-year-olds and books. She’d convinced herself a long time ago that she didn’t need complications like men and girlfriends that liked to party, but that had been college. This was real life now and it seemed like it was time to have a little fun. Maybe not the kind of fun one had with a hunky, Finnish professional hockey player, but something in between nothing and Miikka.
The game was fantastic and Charli found herself swept up in the excitement of it, cheering with the WAGs and drawn to the redheaded Finn she was watching. He was breathtaking on the ice, so fast and powerful it mesmerized her for a while. Every time he had the puck, she had to force herself not to