Page 78 of Sven

The smells were the main draw for her. The plush carpet of his room cushioned her feet as she made her way to his bathroom. Once she made it through the dark room into the bathroom, she flicked on his lights. She may have already stolen one of his hoodies, put it on, and gone into the bathroom to find his cologne. Holding the small green glass bottle to her face, she smelled it. It smelled so cool and crisp and made her think of Sven, and she sprayed it on her hoodie because she couldn’t seem to help herself.

As she was putting the little bottle back, her phone rang. She was expecting it; he had called her before he went to sleep every night, but this time, it was a FaceTime. She was so excited to see his face she answered it without even thinking where she was... or what she was wearing.

“Hey, beautiful,” Sven said.

He was back in his hotel room, still in his game-day clothes. While his suit jacket was gone, he was in a white button-up, with the top few buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up.

Natalie wanted to eat him up.

“Hey to you, nice goal tonight.”

“Thanks. It was a tough loss, but I was glad I could at least get us one. Where are you?”

“Oh, ummm . . .” She looked around.

“Are you in my bathroom? And is that my hoodie?”

Well, there was no getting out of it. “Yeah. I may have commandeered it when I found it in the library.”

“It looks good on you,” he said with a wag of his eyebrows. “Show me.”

“What?”

“Come on, prop up the phone and do a little spin,” he said, encouraging her.

And she did. She propped the phone up on his sink and gave him a spin. Even though she was just wearing sleep shorts, his hoodie, and had her light blond hair up in a messy bun.

“Damn, I’m so ready to be home.”

She picked up the phone and started making her way through the dark room.

“Why were you in my bathroom?”

She was just going to pretend she didn’t hear that as she made her way to the guest room at the top of the stairs. Making her way into the room, she propped the phone up before sitting on the bed.

“Ignoring the question, I see,” he said, shaking his head.

“When will you be home tomorrow?”

“I should get in around one, then I’ll head home. The following day is a rest day, and I’m so ready for that.”

She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face at the thought of Sven at home for a lazy day.

“Winnie’s missed you.”

“Is Winnie the only one?”

She shook her head, even though she couldn’t bring herself to voice it.

“And don’t think I didn’t notice you dodging the question about being in my bathroom.”

She gave him a doubtful look.

“Have you been sleeping in my bed?”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You still didn’t answer the question.”

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