I pulled my thoughts away from Fern and back onto myself and the fact I was sitting in a dimly-lit room staring at her like a lunatic. I was in too deep. So much so, I may have just bought a home in Stalkerville.
Three hours later, we landed and were back in St. Paul.
“We’re going to get dropped off at my place, and I’ll take you home.”
“You have practice. I’ll just catch an Uber.” Her fingers tickled the inside of my arm as the driver pulled onto the freeway.
“No way in hell I’m letting you get into a car with a stranger.”
She nudged me with her shoulder. “Look at you, all jealous of an Uber driver we haven’t even met yet.”
I wanted to laugh it off but couldn’t. “Stop. I just wouldn’t like you with a man I don’t know.”
“So a man you did know would be okay?” She wore a teasing grin.
“I will call the Uber, size him up, and determine if it’s in your best interest to travel across town in that vehicle.”
She kissed my cheek. “Aw.”
We hopped out of the car, and she looked up at my building.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
The door opened, and we were in the lobby. It was large and had a high-end hotel flair to it. I enjoyed every amenity from the restaurant that would send up hot wings at two in the morning to the state of the art gym and hot tub that came in handy after games.
“Gabe, how are you?” Josh, the doorman, gave me a wave. He was a good guy who had helped me to my door too many times to mention. I made sure to get him a little envelope of cash from time to time because he was discrete when I drank too much and would keep out unwanted people during playoffs when my building address got out on social media.
“Good morning, Josh. How’s Taylor, Penny, and baby Jameson?”
I had Fern’s hand in mine as we stopped in front of the counter.
“Family is doing great,” he answered with a laugh.
“Glad to hear it. This is Fern Novotny by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Fern.”
She nodded. “You too.”
“Josh here owns two haunted houses that are pretty epic. Hillside House of Hell and Bloodrush in Elkhorn.”
“What? I’ve seen you all over social media!”
“Thanks.”
I slapped my hand on the counter. “Please make a note somewhere that Fern Ethel Novotny is allowed up to my place anytime.”
“Got it.” Josh typed into his computer. “Anything else?”
“Nope. Thank you.”
When we arrived at my penthouse door, I pointed to the key code. “Now, if you ever want to stop by the code is 1213.”
“That seems like a code any crook could easily crack. You should change it.”
I shook my head. “But it’s easy to remember. It’s my birthday.”
Gasp. “They say you should never use your birthday for passwords of any kind. Totally unsafe.”
