Page 303 of Well Played

He saw her raise her hand in a little wave. Waving back, he put the car in gear and drove off.

8

The limo pulledup in front of Lila’s complex a few minutes before six. Climbing out of the car, Nando checked his cufflinks then checked his reflection in the window. Brushing his hand over his hair, he nodded to the driver before heading up to her door. Nerves that he thought only came out before the games started his shoulders tensing up. He flexed his hands before pressing the bell.

“Nando?” The voice came over the small speaker.

“Yeah, babe. It’s me.”

“Come on in.” He heard the lock click and he let himself inside.

“I’ll be out in a second!”

Nando raised his hand to his lips to check his breath. Hearing the footsteps from the hallway, he turned to smile and was suddenly struck speechless.

Red silk clung lovingly to the curves of her breasts, cinching tightly to her waist before falling in graceful folds over her hips. Crystals and sequins decorated the bodice, sparkling in the light. A tiny string of clear crystals hung from her ears, the matching necklace with its large red pendant drawing his gaze to her shadowed decolletage. Her hair, which he’d only seen in eithera messy bun or up in a clip, tumbled over one shoulder in curls that brushed the top of her bodice. She smiled up at him, eyes sparkling, filled with mirth.

“Lila, you look…” he swallowed hard. “Wow, you look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Her voice was soft and throaty. “You’re looking pretty amazing yourself.”

“The limo is outside if you’re ready to go.” He checked his watch nervously.

“Just let me get my purse.” Lila went to the dining table and picked up a matching red purse and a red silk wrap. “I have to take real pictures tonight. When I told my cousin where I was going tonight, she said ‘Pics or it didn’t happen’.”

His hand settled on her lower back as he guided her out the door, securing it behind them. “There’ll be plenty of photographers there tonight, and once we get in, everyone takes pictures for the socials and for PR, so I hope you don’t mind smiling for everyone.”

“Photographers? Like paparazzi?” she half-squeaked. “Why?”

“Because it’s the team, and the guys are celebrities.”

She gave a nervous giggle. “Does that mean I’m gonna be in the newspaper?”

He nodded. “And on tv probably.”

“Well, shit.” She started laughing.

“What’s wrong?” Nando asked, a puzzled smile on his lips.

“That bitch is gonna want ice cream.”

“What?”

“Jo and I have this deal. Whenever either of us is on tv or in the news, we owe the other person ice cream. I get on the news sometimes because of the blood drive, but she was on the news all the time when she came back from deployment, when she was interviewed by the Navy Times, even when she wasgraduating early. And I always demanded gelato from her.” At his grin, she continued, “And now she’s gonna demand some fucking ice cream.”

Their laughter followed them into the car.

Photographers werenothing new for Nando. When he was in college, he was one of their poster boys and ended up on several of the athletic recruiting brochures. Once he was drafted, the photographers followed him like any of the other prospects. The PR folks liked him because he took direction well. He ended up on the posters and banners for the team, making him one of the more popular players. Luckily, he had the skills to keep his popularity.

To keep Lila from being overwhelmed, Nando kept his hand on her waist, turning with her, nodding to the photographers and smiling with her. Being one of the new guys, he wasn’t asked very many questions, but was polite and personable when responding to the reporters. Overall, it was pretty painless for both of them.

Once inside, Nando introduced her to his teammates. Lila smiled and shook hands with the gentlemen, traded air kisses with the ladies, and chit-chatted with everyone as they made the rounds. Finally, they took their seats and dinner was served.

Around them, the conversation was mostly about what everyone planned on doing during the off season. This was when Lila found out Nando was heading back to Arizona to be with his family for the holidays.

“When are you leaving?”

Nando shrugged. “I haven’t bought my tickets yet, but I was planning for in a week or two.”

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