“Yeah, pizza’s great.” I smirk. “It’s my second favorite thing to eat.”
He tilts his head and then scoffs, fighting a grin. “Behave yourself. I actually want to leave the house on this date.”
“Yeah, I’m only messing around,” I say. “Just don’t take your jacket off or unbutton anything if you want me to stay calm.”
“Is that so?” Erik cocks his head and gives me a questioning smile.
And then the asshole undoes another button on his shirt. I put my slice of pizza down, becausefuck, that chest deserves my full concentration.
Shy Erik is cute, confident Erik is sexy as hell, and the combination of both is lethal. Call me the world’s most willing victim—he can switch up the vibe on me whenever he wants.
I force my brain to focus on the task at hand, which is finishing my dinner so that I can spend more time having fun with Erik. Actual fun, not the other kind. That comes later.
The two of us are ravenous, so we demolish our food in record time. After I clear the dishes, Erik ducks into my bedroom to change, and I hang back on the couch. I might be ridiculously into him, but I can still be respectful. When the door clicks open, I glance up, and while he’s a full course meal in his blue sweater and black jeans, I can’t help but be a tiny bit disappointed that he didn’t forget a shirt. Or pants. Or clean underwear.
“I’m good to head out,” I say, and Erik follows me to the door.
The night is cold, almost bitingly so, but the walk to the arcade bar takes all of five minutes. We pay cover and head in, taking our jackets off and heading to order drinks at the back.
“What game do you want to try first?” Erik asks.
“Not sure, I haven’t been here in ages.” I manage to flag the bartender over. “Maybe that karate game?”
Erik agrees as I get us two beers, and then we head over to the Karate Champ cabinet.
“Prepare for annihilation,” Erik says.
I scoff. “Bring it on, Norsy.”
Erik annihilates me. Big time. I don’t win a single game of Karate Champ, and by the time we finish our tenth round, he calls it quits.
“You know, you get tired of winning after a while. It gets boring when it’s soeasy.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’re good at this game.”
Erik wraps me in a joking, patronizing hug, but it’s warmth, not condescension that floods my body. “Maybe we can play something where we can be on the same team.”
I snort. “What, so you can carry me?”
Releasing me, Erik offers another one of his charming smiles. “No, because I think we’d work better together.”
“Damn right we do.” I already want to date Erik. Him saying that made me want to date him even more.
We refill our drinks and wander around the bar, searching for a team game, and we eventually settle on Sunset Riders. That’s more up our alley, and when I check my phone for the time after what seems like a few games, it’s almost eleven.
“Shit, it’s getting late,” I say. “Don’t you have a morning practice tomorrow?”
He scratches his neck. “Yeah, I hate to end the night so early, but I should head out soon.”
“Nah, don’t apologize. I had a ton of fun.” I pause, trying to figure out if I should push things. “Besides, we’ll do something like this again soon. I’d like that.”
Erik’s face brightens. “Absolutely. We have to go out again.”
I’m so glad we’re both in agreement on this.
It’s colder outside now, and Erik latches onto me on the way home, sapping my body heat and making me laugh.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a tough, cold-hardened Viking?” I chirp.
