Page 45 of Seventeen Years Ago

“What are we playing for?”

Kisses!

Any other woman, and I’d have no issue with putting that option on the table. But I wasn’t going to push my luck with Aiza. Not with our past.

“How about dinner,” I said.

“Dinner?”

“Yes. If I win, you cook me dinner. If you win, I will take you out to dinner,” I grinned.

She crossed her arms. “Sounds like you win either way.”

“So do you. You get to eat,” I replied.

“And cook,” she said.

I laughed. “Oh, you picked up on that, did you?” She nodded. “What card game do you want to play? Poker?” I suggested.

She took the deck from me and shuffled the cards. “Highest cardbuysdinner.”

“What happened to cooking?” I questioned.

“I changed it. You really didn’t think that I was going to let you make all the decisions, did you?”

I laughed. “Okay. Maybe we compromise.”

She asked, “On what this time?”

“Whoever draws the lowest card cooks for the other,” I said.

“You’re going to cook for me?” she asked.

“If you win. Otherwise, I’m going to sit back and enjoy some homemade Tabiqian cuisine. Which by the way, I believe you owe me a dinner at your cottage anyway. Unless you have forgotten.”

“I haven’t, but I believe you changed the plans and we had dinner on the beach instead. Have you forgotten?”

That night haunts me almost as much as the first night we met. I fucked up royally both times. Don’t want to fuck up with you anymore.

She sprawled the cards out on the table and picked one. She didn’t show it to me but grinned. “Oh, I can’t wait to see what you’re going to be cooking for me.”

“That confident, are you?” If she knew how lucky I was in cards, she wouldn’t be.

“You can call my bluff. Want to up the stakes?” she grinned.

There was a twinkle in her eyes that I loved looking at. But it was the challenging, playful grin that had me willing to agree to anything. “I never took you for a gambler,” I said.

“I’m not. I’m a winner,” she teased.

Yes you are.

“What’s the new bet?”

She said, “Not only will you have to cook dinner, but also give the person a back massage.”

Oh fuck. I’ll lose if it means running my hands on her.

I couldn’t believe that Aiza was the one suggesting this prize. She was full of surprises, and I was not sure if I was ready for whatever she came up with next.

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