Page 8 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
I wish I could understand what he said, because whatever it was appeases the two women. They grin and nod at each other. If I wasn’t in front of them, I expect they would be rubbing their hands in glee at their attempts at match making.
“What did you say to them?” I ask.
“That you want to have fifty kids,” he says with the same mischievous glint as before.
“Really?”
“Well, more like five.”
I’m not sure what I want to do more—laugh or glare at him. Laughter wins, mostly because of his expression.
“You think I’m funny,” he says. “Does that mean you will now go out with me?”
The laughter in me dies and I shake my head. “I don’t date. Been there. Done that. No thanks.”
Muumu speaks then gestures at him to translate what she said.
“Your grandmother believes that love makes us strong.”
Focusing on my soup, I shake my head again. “No, it doesn’t. Love makes us weak. And it makes us blind to what others see.” During the last few months of my relationship with Ian, I knew he was cheating on me. He was on the football team and I suspected he was fooling around during their away games. I had brushed it off because I’d convinced myself that he still loved me. It was only recently that I realized I’d been too scared to let him go because it meant I’d be alone. And being with him was better than being alone.
Inwardly I snort at how stupid I was for thinking that. Being alone is better than risking your heart.
Joni chuckles. “You might have a point. But I don’t think our grandmothers agree with us.”
Both our grandmothers are beaming. I get the feeling neither plan to give up on this scheme to get me together with Joni.
Ha! I’ve got news for them—it’s so not going to happen. I just have to figure a way to prove to them that my heart isn’t open for business.
Chapter Five
Kyle
I enter the sports center, my duffel strap slung over a shoulder. The pretty blond receptionist, who’s flirted with me several times, smiles at me. I nod and hand her the membership card. She waves it under the laser beam, confirming I am indeed a member. As if she didn’t know.
After I finish working out, I head for the showers. If Sofia keeps to the same schedule as Friday, I still have a little time. I came here yesterday, hoping to see her again. I even asked someone working in the fitness center if he had seen her, but he didn’t know who I was talking about. From what I could tell, the cleaning staff doesn’t socialize with the fitness staff.
As I approach the sauna, showered and fully clothed, I see the sign Nik and I missed. A sign that I’m guessing says ‘Sauna Closed for Cleaning.’ But unlike last time, it guards the door, which has been left open a crack.
“I hear American girls love sex. Lots of sex,” a male voice says. Laughter from more than one guy sets me on edge.
I reach for the door as a familiar female voice says, “Come near me and I’ll spray you in the balls.”
I open the door wider.
Three guys are standing in front of her, caging her in. They’re large and look like they’re friendly with weights—large but not as bulked up as Nik. And they’re all dressed in jeans and t-shirts, despite the intense heat of the room, which means they didn’t enter the sauna thinking it was open to the public.
“I’d listen to her if I were you,” I warn.
The guys whip around at my voice, their surprise at seeing me evident on their faces. It vanishes when they realize they outnumber me.
“This has nothing to do with you,” the guy in the center, who looks to be their ringleader, says. He’s shorter than his goons by a few inches, but he’s also the most muscular.
I clench my hands, muscles on high alert. I’d rather not fight these losers, but if it comes down to it, I will.
“Are you okay?” I ask Sofia.
She nods and a stray piece of hair flops from her ponytail. I push away the sudden need to tuck it behind her ear.
