Page 12 of Skating the Blue Line
Who drinks iced tea with pizza?
It’s beer or pop, nothing else.
“You’re going to have to refresh my memory. What did I say?” I ask, bunching up my eyebrows for effect.
I know what she’s talking about, I just want her to say it. A blush crept up her cheeks when the words left my mouth back at the opera house. It’s definitely something I want to see again.
Chloe gives me an eye roll and a smile starts to play on her lips as she answers my question.
“About me taking your breath away with my performance. I know you told me you weren’t lying but a part of me is having a hard time believing it.”
The little laugh she lets out at the end has me smirking at her.
“And why is that?” I ask, trying to keep the smirk contained.
“Because.” She says, giving me a shrug.
I laugh a little at the impending dance we are about to do.
“Because why?” I ask like a little kid trying to get on her nerves.
Chloe playfully rolls her eyes again before answering my question. “Because of who you are.”
A small blush starts to color her cheeks, making her look absolutely adorable.
“And who am I?” I ask, taking a bite of my slice. I’m trying my hardest not to laugh, but as I swallow down the bite of cheese and dough it’s becoming hard.
The blush on Chloe’s cheeks gets deeper and there is almost a look of embarrassment on her face.
Given what I do for a living and the fact that my face is plastered all over the city, I had a small inkling that this girl knew who I was from the start.
The blush that is coating her cheeks tells me that I was right.
Do I care that she knows who I am? Not really. There is no way for me to go incognito, even if she isn’t a hockey fan.
When someone’s face is plastered on billboards and buses, it’s a little hard to not know that person’s name.
I just have to keep my fingers crossed and hope that she’s not an overly obsessed fan or something. That wouldn’t be good.
“You know,” She says, trying to brush it off.
The laugh that I’ve been trying to hold in, slips a little but I control myself before giving her the best serious look that I can give right now.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Chloe narrows her eyes at me. “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
I give her her answer with a shrug instead of words.
She lets out what sounds like an annoyed sigh, but the smile she gives me tells me that she’s anything but. She looks like she is having as much fun with this as I am.
“Because you’re Liam Crawford,” she finally answers. “A professional athlete that has women falling at his feet. Telling a woman that her performance took more than your breath away is a sure fire way of getting a pair of panties handed to you with a promise of later.”
There is no more controlling of my emotions with that statement.
I burst out laughing and Chloe quickly joins me. If we weren’t at the back of the restaurant we for sure would be drawing attention to ourselves.
But it’s just the two of us and a half eaten pizza in between.
