Page 25 of Ice Contact

And he’s still choosing to read.

“I’m sorr-” I stop mid-word, catching myself using the s-word. “It’s a bad habit. I will let you pay for things, and I will try my best to stop apologizing,” I say politely.

“Good,” he says as he sets his card in the bill -does this thing have a name?and hands it to our server walking by. “Nowthat we have that settled, what if we make things a little more interesting? Let’s make a bet.”

“A bet? A bet on what?”

He continues, his smile positively sinful, “If you can go the rest of the day without saying the s-word, I will give you a prize.”

“A prize? Are we at a 5thgrade carnival? Are you going to win a little plastic spider ring to put on my finger?” I say flashing a feisty grin.

“I mean, if that’s what you’d like your prize to be, I can arrange that,” he says with a smile. But this time, there’s a hint of deviousness in his eyes as well. Something I thought only existed in my books. “But…I have some other things in mind.”

Well, now I’m intrigued.I cock my head to the side with my eyes narrowed in on his. “And if I fail, then what?”

“Well, as most bets go, you’ll have to endure some sort of punishment,” he says.

Oh. My. God.

Heat flushes my face at the thought of winning anything from this man. Even a punishment.Why is it so hot in here? Does every establishment in Milwaukee County need their air-conditioning tuned up?

“Do I get to know what the prize or the punishment is?”

He settles back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with a smug smirk. “Nope. It’s a blind bet. Take it or leave it.”

“And what about you, Hayes? What’s your prize going to be?”

He looks at me with his smoldering brown eyes, making me press my thighs together as my breath catches.I think I’m starting to understand this smoldering word a little better now.

“I’ve already gotten my prize,” he says with a wink as the server walks back to the table with his card. “So, my little siren, are you in or out?”

With slickness between my legs and desire thrumming through my veins, I don’t hesitate. I look him straight in the eyes, matching his smirk with one of my own.

“I’m in.”

20

hayes

The next destination Olivia has me put into my GPS is a bar she tells me is in the Brady Street neighborhood. I have no clue what to expect, but she says it’ll be fun. Fuck, the way this girl makes my heart race makes it hard to keep my dick in my pants in public; she’s already got me wrapped around her damn finger. To be honest, we could go to a garbage dump right now if she wanted, and I would thank her for the adventure.

I would go anywhere with her.

We pull up in front of a grey brick building with a giant neon sign that says ‘Button Bashers.’ Walking through the giant glass doors, my eyes widen as I do a double take. In front of me is a bar fully stocked with a nice collection of liquor and quite a few brews on draft, but that’s not what stops me in my tracks. Beyond the bar, lining the walls is nearly every arcade game known to man. My fucking heart skips a beat at the symphony of electronic sounds pouring from the consoles bringing me back to my childhood. Except instead of being with my buddies, I’m standing beside this amazing woman who brought me to a fucking arcade bar. I feel like a cartoon character with little hearts in my eyes as I look back and forth between her and the video games with a giant dumbass grin on my face.

This is definitely better than a garbage dump.

“I hope you like arcade games,” she says, beaming and waiting to see how I react. “I swear they have every game ever made here. They also have skeeball, that dance game I’m horrible at, basketball, and, of course, all kinds of pinball machines.”

“Oh. My. God. Olivia, this isamazing!” I bounce in place like a kid in a candy store with a hundred-dollar bill. “What should we play first? Can we win prizes? Let’s go get some tokens!”

“Okay, don’t be mad, and I promise this isn’t me trying to pay for things,” she says timidly, “but I have some leftover tokens from the last time I was here for a friend’s thirtieth birthday. It’s not me paying! It’s us being fiscally responsible with tokens I previously acquired.”

I pause for a moment; then a roaring laugh pours out of me. “Olivia, you are adorable,” I say with a smile as I put my arm around her shoulders.God, she fits so fucking perfectly in my arms. I need to wake up like this.“We can use your tokens until we run out. And wewillrun out, then I’ll buy us more.” I glance around the bar, stuck in place with what might be the best choice known to man. “Should we hit the pinball machines first? Or would you like me to beat you at skeeball as a starter?”

Olivia laughs; the tinkling sound makes my cock twitch. “Your competitiveness is already coming out there, Larsy. You seriously thinkyoucan beatmeat skeeball? You’re on, sir,” Olivia replies with a feisty smile as she grabs my hand and drags me over to the game.Did she just call me sir? Fuck, this woman is my every dream come true.

Olivia proceeds to beat me at skeeball three times in a row, and I have discovered she is not a gracious winner. Her calling me competitive was the pot calling the kettle black. She’s ruthless as hell, jumping up and down as she celebrates and rubbing in her wins by getting all up in my face and asking me what it feels like to be a loser. I’m loving every single minute of it. Watching her be so joyful after being devastated last week makes my heart soar. If I have any say in it, she will never experience that kind of agony again.

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