did more than that. You totally won that game for the Comets.”
Quietly, he says, “I guess.”
I scoot closer and nudge his arm with mine. “Hey, no guessing about it, okay?”
Staying close like this, we watch more game footage.
I actually enjoy myself more than I expect too. And I pay more attention to the players’ faces, especially Lars’s.
A few days later, I ask him if we can watch more games.
“I like watching you play,” I bravely admit.
He raises a brow. “You do?”
I nod. “Yes, very much.”
He looks so pleased as we settle in on his sofa like we did the other night. “Then, sure. Let’s do it.”
He queues up a game.
And I watch and watch…
A short while later, after observing how consistently freaking amazing Lars is, I ask him, “Why don’t you play in the NFL?”
From a few feet away on the sofa, he shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess because I’m twenty-nine, and the NFL views me as a little too old to start over.”
“That’s crazy. Though…” I eye him saucily. “You are four years older than me. That kind of does make you a bit over the hill.”
Holding my gaze intently, he says silkily, “I’m hardly over the hill, babe. Though I’m sure I’m far more experienced than the guys you usually, uh, hang out with.”
Gulp.
I know exactly what he means by “far more experienced” and “hang out with.”
His deep brown eyes scorch into me, and I have to look away.
Quickly, I change the subject.
And so it goes…
When I’m over at Lars’s house, or when he’s at mine, we don’t just watch TV. Sometimes we sit and talk for hours. We’re stuck inside for now, but I tell him I can’t wait for the weather to get nice so we can hang out on my back porch.
“It’s really peaceful and quiet back there,” I explain. “That’s one advantage to living off the beaten path.”
“Indeed it is,” he agrees. “I look forward to it.”
Spring get here soon!
On the nights we’re together, once in a while we drink a couple of beers or hard seltzers. I try to keep my imbibing to a minimum, though, since it lowers my inhibitions. I find myself all too often wanting to reenact our theatre make-out session. That’s even when I’m sober. But if I’m tipsy, it’s all I can do not to jump the man.
Too bad that can never happen again.
I don’t think it will, anyway.
Lars is so well-behaved these days.
Well, for the most part.
He does sometimes say things laden with innuendo.
Still, I don’t want to be the one to blow it.
That’s why I start thinking maybe we should go out more often. Hanging around in my house and his, with our bedrooms so near, is too tempting.
At this point, for me more than for him.
Help!
We definitely need to get out more.
So when Lars comes up with a road trip idea, I’m all in.
Excitedly, I ask, “Where should we go?”
We’re in his living room, and as he leans back on the sofa next to the chair I’m seated in, he says, “I was looking online the other day and I noticed Niagara Falls isn’t all that far from here. Have you ever been there?”
I shake my head. “No, but you do realize the falls are not all that close? It takes about five hours by car to get there.”
Leveling me with a you’re-no-fun roll of his eyes, Lars says, “Isn’t that the point of a road trip? Getting there is half the fun.”
“Getting there will take up a lot of time,” I counter.
I want to go, but I just want him to realize it’s no quick trip.
Good thing he is in no way discouraged. “Ah, who cares if it takes a while? We can leave early in the morning, drive up to the area, and spend a few hours checking out the falls. It sounds like a great way to spend the day, if you ask me.”
He does kind of have a point. Plus, again, I’d like nothing more than to spend several hours seated next to Lars, driving up to Niagara Falls and back.
I nod. “Yeah, I think it’s doable. Let’s go for it.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lars exclaims.
“There is something to consider, though,” I warn.
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“It is still March. There aren’t going to be a lot of places that are open up there. And it may be kind of chilly.”
“Who cares?” Lars says. “I just want to see the falls. I don’t mind if it’s not warm. That is”—he raises a brow—“if