“I’ll get out and give her a shake,” Nils says. He’s laughing to himself. He cuts the engine and walks around his SUV to the passenger side of the backseat. He opens the door. “The air should get her up.”
I can’t help but realize all the trouble he’s going through to get Mata home. He seems like a good friend to Oli and Sloane. The guy I remember had lots of friends, but none of them seemed close to him.
“Mata. Wake up,” he says, and his voice is strong and bold. I jolt from the unexpected firmness.
“Huh, what?” She lifts her head. “Oh, where am I?” She looks to Nils and then to me in the front seat. She sits up and her eyes dart left right left right .
“I gave you a ride to your hotel,” Nils explains.
Her eyes drop to his crotch. “Right, you’re the friend with the big package.”
Adrenaline spikes in my veins as I prepare for impending danger. She will blurt something about me. I just know it. “You can get out here. This is where you’re staying. Have a good night,” I say slowly, hoping she says goodbye and leaves.
“I don’t remember my room number. And where did I put my key?” She sifts through her purse. A minute passes and she looks up to Nils. “Be a doll and come inside with me? I need a new key.”
Why on earth does she need his help?
She begins to slowly shift off the seat. Her movements are stilted and off-balance. “Sierra, why don’t you come here and give me a hand?” Nils says through gritted teeth and wide eyes. Shit. Fuck. Shit. This night is going down the shitter real fast.
“Okay.” I practically screech. My tone is so high-pitched. I leave the car and give Mata a hand. Nils takes her purse and I offer her my arm for support.
“I’m sorry. That last glass of wine did me in. Weed and wine don’t mix well for me,” she says. “It fucks me up really badly.”
Then, why did you drink it? I scream in my head.
I snort. Oops.
Nils gives me a look of warning. I press my lips together, hard.
“No worries,” I finally say.
“Shit, does she have weed in here?” Nils asks, looking at Mata’s purse which he’s holding. He drops it on the ground as if it’s on fire. “I can’t get into any more trouble.”
I pick up the purse.
“I’ll go to jail for you.” I wink. Then I look to make sure there are no cops around.
We walk to the front desk. Mata mumbles her information and is given a key. I want to say bye to her—NOW. But I get the feeling she needs help to her room.
“Relax, would you?” Nils says to me quietly behind her back.
“Easy for you to say. You clearly aren’t fazed by the fact that the whole city of Chicago has seen your private parts,” I chide.
He laughs and covers his mouth with his hand. “I can’t believe you just said private parts. What, are you in kindergarten?”
I glare at him.
“Ready.” Mata waves her key card.
“Did you need us to take you to the elevator?” I ask sweetly.
“No.” She pauses, and I let out a breath. “I need you to take me to my room. I’ll get lost in this big hotel. I just know it,” she says.
How on earth does this woman give lectures all over the world but she can’t even make it to her room?
I’m holding my breath again. I want to laugh and cry and run for dear life. A quick glance at Nils and I see his eyes are round saucers.
The elevator door pings, and we enter with her. I hope she is on one of the lower floors. I don’t know how much more of her I can take.
“Eleven, please. Or was it thirteen?” she asks, swaying.
“Eleven,” Nils clarifies.
I press the button, willing the powers that be to keep this woman’s mouth shut.
Nils leans into me and whispers. “ Would you relax?” He winks.
Right. Yeah. Relax. Okay.
We make it to the door, and she presses the card against the key car lock. Okay. This is almost over, and I've survived.
“Thanks, kids. You two have a good night.” She waves like the queen, just like she did at the rehearsal dinner. She walks through the door and . . . please shut the damn door. She pauses and presses a finger to her lips. FUUUCK.
“You, with the big cock, should help her.” She points to me and I shut my eyes. Yup, I’m going down—timber. “I don’t mean with your big stick; I mean with your hands and mouth. Take it slow and steady. She’s never had an orgasm,” she says, and my world comes crashing down.
I don’t know what is happening. Hands on each of my shoulders grounds me.
“Open your eyes,” Nils says, his voice soft and tender.
Why? Why me?
“I can’t,” I whine. “Is she gone?”
“Yes,” he answers.
I open my eyes, pull out of his grasp, and charge down the hallway back to the elevator. He catches up to me.
“Can you wipe your ears clean? I mean, like, erase whatever it is she just said,” I plead.
“Okay.” He shrugs just like that. No dickish comments. Nothing.
He presses the call button for the elevator, and we stand in silence.
“Don’t take her seriously,” Nils says. “If I took everything people said about me seriously, I’d probably have to be committed.” He laughs. The elevator door opens and we step inside.
“Thanks. I appreciate you saying that,” I say. When did he stop being a jerk?
“Sure.” We step off the elevator and walk through the lobby. I just want this night to end.
“Oh! Don’t you look like a lovely couple,” says a man standing behind a table in the hotel lobby with a wide smile. He’s standing beside a table littered with brochures.
“Thank you,” Nils answers.
I turn and give him a WTF look. He smiles at me and puts his finger on my nose like I’m adorable.
“Are you married?” the man asks him.
“Yes, two years, going strong,” Nils answers, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
“Great. Would you be interested in time-sharing? We’re affiliated with many hotel destinations around the world. We have both couple and family resorts. We are now offering a free evening dinner cruise on Lake Michigan. You get a free dinner and all you have to do is listen to a small seminar that will be given on the boat,” he says.
“Cool. Sign us up,” Nils says.
Did Nils smoke some of Mata’s weed? He must be high.
I raise my hand. “Uh . . . I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on, honey. It’ll be fun,” Nils says, with a smile resembling the Cheshire cat’s.
“Great. There is a cruise tomorrow night. Would that work?” the man asks.
“No, sorry. Our good friends are getting married this weekend,” I say curtly. Then I give Nils a look to make sure he doesn’t say another word. He covers his mouth with his hand, but I can still see his lips tugging up at the corners.
“Okay, I can book you in for next Sunday then,” the man suggests.
“Perfect,” Nils says.
“No. Not perfect,” I protest.
“The cruise is a lot of fun. It’s mostly couples your age and older. Oops. I forgot to ask about your annual income. Does your combined annual income exceed eighty thousand dollars? I’m sorry for asking, but it’s one of the criteria required.”
“Sorry. We are poor.” I link my arm with Nils. “Okay. Let’s go home, honey.” I emphasize the honey. I figure it’s the only way of getting Nils out of here and ending this crazy night.
“Very funny.” He shakes his head at me. “I’m Nils Karlsson. I play for the Blackhawks,” he says to the sales rep.
The guy winces. “Sorry, my apology. I don’t have time to watch hockey but of course I’ve heard of the team.”
“No worries.” Nils nods.
I’m never getting home.
“So, I’ll sign you two up for next Sunday. It’s really a nice time. You’ll love it,” the man says.
He asks Nils to fill out some paperwork and tells us to enjoy our night.
I stalk off to the exit. Nils catches up to me quickly.
“You know you may have started a rumor that we are married now?” I snap.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I don’t know where that lie came from. Maybe people will talk about my possible marriage instead of my dick. It would be an improvement,” he smirks devilishly.
“Not cool. I signed up to be a fake girlfriend not a fake wife,” I cross my arms over my chest.
He places his palm over his heart. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. It just came flying out of my mouth. Consider it one of our three dates for the week. Doesn’t it seem like something a couple would love to do?” He’s freaking serious.
I don’t even know what to say.
“Whatever. If it’s considered one of our dates, then fine,” I snap. I can’t remember my schedule off-hand, but I hope I don’t have any assignments due that Monday.
“Cool.” He presses his key fob to unlock his car and we get in.
He pulls into traffic. A few minutes later and we are in front of my apartment. “Thanks for the ride,” I say.
“Wait. Can we take another pic? I should post something about tonight,” he says.
“Yeah.” I lean in so that I’m close to him. He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and my skin burns where his lips touch me. A flash goes off. I want to complain about the kiss, but I agreed to it. I suddenly begin to think I’m in way over my head. I’m attracted to Nils.
He posts the picture.
“Holy crap, our last pic has thousands of likes,” he says. He starts to read off some comments, most of them saying what a lucky girl I am. Then he says, “Stupid bitch doesn’t deserve you.” He pauses to look at me. “Don’t worry. There will always be haters.”
“I guess,” I say. I really didn’t think this whole thing through. A job at a coffee shop would have given me a third of the salary but it would have been less of a headache.
“See you tomorrow night,” he says, and I could swear his eyes drop to my lips. “Do you need a ride to the wedding?”
“Uh . . . yeah, sure. Thanks. I won’t be getting my car back until Monday,” I explain. “Wait, actually . . . Sloane asked if I can get there early for family pictures.”
“Yeah, me too,” he says. “So, I’ll get you around two, yeah?”
“Perfect. Thanks.” My hand lingers on the door handle a minute. I take him in. He has the brooding bad boy look down to a T, and I find it so hot. He isn’t my typical type, yet looking at him sets my blood on fire. “Have a good night, Nils.”
Our eyes lock, something in his eyes is too intense, too . . . emotional?
“You have a good night, too,” he says with a raspy voice and a killer smile.
I may be attracted to him but that’s all it is, attraction, not feelings. Old habits die hard and if there’s one thing I consider myself it’s a fast learner. I’ve been burned once. There’s no way I’m going down that road again.
Twelve
Past
We walk into the frat house, holding hands. Some of Nils’s friends who live here throw a party every other day. Nils doesn’t like to party often, since he has to work hard physically for the hockey team, but he needs to make an appearance once in a while to please his fans.
His eyes roll down my body. I wasn’t sure what to wear tonight but his mom took me shopping and bought me this black Bodycon dress. She’s been much better to me now than she was my freshman year of high school. Her and Dad were all touchy-feely back then. Now, their love affair has simmered down, and she’s been acting a lot nicer to me. I don’t usually wear such tight clothing, but she assured me it was the right thing to wear. She’s a beautiful, well-dressed woman, so I figure she knows what she’s talking about. I also kind of liked getting her opinion; she’s the only mother figure I have. Aunt Becca was great to live with, but going clothes shopping wasn’t her thing.
“This dress is different,” Nils finally says.
“Different good or different bad?” I ask.
He adjusts his crotch. He does that on occasion.
“Just different,” he says blandly. It doesn’t help my self-esteem, which is severely lacking. “Come.” He nods for me to follow and I do.
Nils stops and turns to look at me. I walk with my arms crossed over my torso, my shoulders hunched, and my head down.
“Don’t do that,” he says, taking my hand.
I’m forced to release the little fortress I had covering my body. “Don’t what?”
“Cover yourself up. You’re beautiful. Own it.” He winks. His words cause this weird fluttering thing to happen in my stomach. Wait a minute. I stop walking and push my glasses up my nose. Did he just call me beautiful? OMG! He did. He totally did.
He’s staring at me and I have a stupid smile on my face. I wipe it away. “Sorry.”
This is the fifth party I am attending as his fake girlfriend. I’ve met a few guys from the team, and some girls who are kind of like groupies who like to hang out around them.
“Nils, Sierra. What’s up?” A guy named Tobin walks up to us and gives Nils a fist pump. Then he checks me out. He nods, bobbing his head appreciatively.
“Looking good, woman.”
“Fuck off,” Nils berates him with that heavy accent of his. Where I am all awkward, shaking limbs, Nils is brooding confidence.
Nils leans close to my ear, his lips grazing my skin. Goose bumps erupt down the back of my neck. “This is the fifth party we’ve been to. I’ll need to kiss you in front of everyone or no one’s going to buy into our little game here.”
The thought of kissing Nils makes my lips tingle.
“Okay.” I nod, my cheeks must be the same color as my red-rimmed glasses. I’ve been tutoring him for weeks now and staring at his kissable lips. He’s got the angry, bad boy vibe going on but he’s harmless.
He pulls me farther into the house and grabs a beer that’s sitting in a bowl of ice on the table. He’s already figured out I don’t drink. He doesn’t offer me one.
“Man, come do shots with us,” a guy I haven’t seen before calls him over. Still holding my hand, Nils guides us to him.
“What are you drinking?” Nils asks.
“Vodka, man. The cheap kind. What else?” The guy bursts into laughter. He’s clearly drunk already.
Nils looks down to me and cocks a brow. He takes a seat on the couch and I move to sit beside him, but he loops his hands around my waist and pulls me on top of him. Butterflies dance in my belly.
I sit ramrod straight. “Relax. Trust me,” he whispers. His hot breath brushing my ear causes goosebumps to trail down my spine.
“What’s your friend’s name?” the guy who invited us over asks.
“Sierra,” Nils says. “Sierra, this is Trina, Jodi, Ruby, Kit, Deacon, and Larik.” I remember that Deacon and Larik are his teammates.
The girls all mutter something along the lines of “nice to meet you,” while the guys nod and smile.
“What should we play?” I think it’s Ruby who asks. She is a pretty redhead. She’s sitting on the floor, on the other side of the coffee table.
“Truth or dare?” Deacon suggests.
“No. Let’s do something else for once. How about we spell our names backward, or something messed up, and whoever can’t do it, drinks.” I think it’s Jodi who suggests that one. I can’t believe that this is what college kids do. They play games like children—only with alcohol involved.
“Fuck this shit. That’s lame,” Larik scoffs. “We’re playing blow and suck, and whoever fucks up, drinks.”
“Yeah,” Deacon cheers.
I look at Nils, not knowing what the hell they are talking about. I’m too embarrassed to say the first thing that comes to mind at the words blow and suck.
“It’s no big deal. Watch,” he assures me.
Deacon takes a piece of paper out of his back pocket and sticks it to his lips. Trina leans
forward and sucks the paper from his mouth. She turns to Jodi and they do the same, only when it's Larik’s turn, the paper falls and everyone chimes, “Drink, drink, drink.”
He picks up the bottle of vodka and takes a very long pull. When he’s done, he puts the paper to his lips and looks at me.
Oh. Right.
I lean forward and suck the paper from his lips. I’m pretty sure I hear Nils hiss behind me. He’s putting on a good show about being my boyfriend. I turn to Nils and the paper falls, but our lips collide and hot electricity zaps through me. I’ve never been kissed. This is the closest I’ve ever come, and Nils lips are full, warm and inviting.
I blink and realize everyone in the group is shouting drink, drink. Again. But Nils doesn’t pull away. Instead, he whispers he’s going to kiss me and he does just that. His lips press softly against mine. It takes me a moment to snap out of my daze and realize what’s happening, and when I do, my lips move with his. I don’t know what I’m doing but whatever it is, it feels good. His tongue enters my mouth and warm tingles shoot south between my thighs. Our tongues tangle, wet and messy. I don’t want this feeling to end.
Nils breaks the kiss, leaving me entranced. I adjust my glasses and stare at him, a little in awe. I lick my swollen lips. Deacon passes him the vodka bottle. Nils downs quite a few gulps then passes it to me. I take it from him, here goes nothing. I take a large gulp and the burn of the alcohol makes me cough. Some members of the group break out in laughter.
“One sec.” I lift my pointer finger. “I can do better.”
This time, I bring the bottle to my lips, expecting the burn. I gulp it down like the rest of them did.
“Whoa.” I use the back of my hand to wipe my lips, which isn’t very ladylike, but I’m feeling tingly and loose all over after that hot kiss.
“Let’s play a new game,” Jodi says.
“Yeah,” Trina agrees. “Truth or dare.”
Shit.
“Okay.” Deacon rubs his hands together. “Trina, truth or dare?”
“Dare.” She grins and rolls her eyes, as if it’s obvious. They have clearly been drinking for a while because Trina is having trouble sitting upright and she’s slurring her words.
Dirty Swedish Player: A Big Stick Novel Page 10
