Roman (Cold Fury Hockey 7)

"Roman?" she asks with surprise. "I thought he had a game tonight."

She knows this because I had talked to her this morning, calling her as soon as I had woken up in Roman's guest room, all snuggled under a thick, warm comforter and with a smile on my face over how interesting my time with this man had been up to that point. I was actually sort of riding high on his gallantry in not making a move on me when we arrived at his house in the early morning hours. Not because I wasn't interested in him in that way--I totally was--but because I get the distinct impression that he's treating me a bit differently from other women. That definitely caught my attention; his elusiveness and unpredictability has me off-kilter in a very good way. Usually the men I've been with have been totally transparent and two dimensional, but Roman has piqued my interest on a variety of levels.

I had told Georgia this morning about the power outage and that Roman had brought me back to his house, securing me in a guest room. I had also told her that he had a game that night, and I just assumed I'd be back at my little garage apartment and would be seeing Georgia when she got back into town. So the fact I'm on a "date" right now is surprising to her.

"He talked me into coming to the game tonight," I tell her, not able to contain my excitement. She knows how badly I've wanted to see my dad's team in action.

"And after the game?" she asks me slyly.

"Well," I say playfully. "He's made it clear he wants me to come back to his house."

"Of course he has," she says dryly.

"No, it's not like that," I tell her quickly. "I mean...it is like that, but not like that. We've got this really heavy flirting going on, and plenty of innuendo, but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing happens tonight. You know?"

"Honey, no, I don't know," she says. "I haven't been on a date or laid in years. I'm not sure how these things work nowadays, but all I know is that sex is a fine way to spend time with someone you like, so go for it if you want."

"Georgia," I exclaim in surprise, because while she is super cool for her age and one of the most open and liberated women I know, she's also become like a surrogate mom to me over these last several months, and the one thing I never talked about with my mom was sex.

She laughs into the phone and chides me, "I'm still a very capable woman in the sack, Lexi. You don't stop having or thinking about sex after a certain age."

"I know that," I say apologetically. "It's just...we've never talked about that before."

"Well, that's because you've not been in the position since I've known you to talk about it."

That's true. I've been here seven months, but I've only casually dated a few guys, and not one of them had me interested enough to jump in the sack with them.

"If you're interested in my opinion, I'll give it to you," she offers.

"I'll keep that in mind," I say with a laugh, still not sure I want to have that conversation with her, but more because I sort of like not knowing what's going on. It's part of the adventure of being with a man like Roman, and I don't want to make a decision on what to do until I'm faced with it.

As of now, I'm enjoying flying by the seat of my pants.

"Okay," Georgia says with obvious affection in her voice. "I'll see you at the shop tomorrow."

"Sounds great," I say softly. "See you then."

She disconnects and I tap the edge of my phone against my chin reflectively. Georgia has been a godsend to me since I moved here. It was by sheer luck I answered her ad for a barista, and even better luck that she was so freaking awesome. When I moved into the apartment vacated by her son, I found a woman who was slightly grieving that her only child was gone, even though I know she was also relieved in some part because of her frustrations with him. I was lonely because my mom had died, and she was lonely because Craig had left, and we found an easy friendship that developed quickly. We spent many nights eating dinner together in her house, having discussions about life, love, death, and perseverance. Georgia is nothing like my mother, who was quiet, calm, and sedate. She was reliable and comforting. Georgia is wild, uninhibited, and effervescent. She radiates energy, and just being in her presence makes you feel good.

I've come to love her and respect her just as much, and perhaps I will have a talk with her about Roman and get her take. I've definitely never had any experience with someone like him before, so her opinion certainly can't hurt.

"Lexi?" I hear from my left, and my body tenses even at the same time a tingle of excitement runs through me.

I turn my head and see my father walking toward me down the hall, a surprised but very pleased look on his face. Walking beside him is Gray, and while she too looks surprised, I also see a tinge of suspicion on her face to find me here in the family area of the arena.

Since dinner at her house that night, I had not seen either one of them, as Gray was traveling with the team and Brian had been busy. The difference is that Brian kept in frequent contact with me by phone, calling me each day to check in or texting me. Gray had been incommunicado, except for the day after dinner when I had sent her a text--Brian had given me her cell phone number--and told her how much I had enjoyed our time together. She responded quickly that she had enjoyed it too and that we should plan on getting together again. This had heartened me and I wrote back immediately to ask when, and I heard nothing further.

I tried not to let that hurt me, reasoning that Gray was still a little gun-shy around me, and that I had nothing but time to try to develop something with her. Besides that, I was bolstered by Brian's attention and figured it would all work out in the end.

"Hey," I say with a smile as I turn to them.

"What are you doing here?" Brian asks in delight as he reaches me, immediately wrapping me up in a quick hug.

So this is a little awkward, but I put a brave face on, square my shoulders, and say, "I was invited by Roman."

"Roman?" Gray asks in disbelief.

"Yes," I say as I turn to face her, my chin tilted a little higher. "We're, um...sort of seeing each other."

"Since when?" she asks.

"Since last night," I say with a level stare at her. "I mentioned to you at dinner on Saturday I had a date planned."

"You had a date during the ice storm?" she challenges, and for the life of me I can't figure out why she's clearly bent out of shape about this.

"Yes, we did," I tell her without elaborating on the fact I spent the night at his house. Something tells me she would not even bother to try to understand the circumstances.

"Well, I'm just glad you get to see your first game," Brian says enthusiastically, either completely oblivious to the tension Gray just created or choosing to divert us from it. "But you have to come sit in the owner's box with us."

I expect Gray to lodge an objection to this, as she was clearly against any type of participation within the family business before the DNA results came in, but she surprises me when she looks at me with a moment of calculation and says, "Yes...that would be a great idea."

Brian looks more than pleased with Gray's agreement and says, "Splendid. Maybe we can all go out for a drink with each other, but I'll leave Gray to make the arrangements. I'm going to step into the locker room just a moment to wish the team good luck."

And with that, Brian gives me a quick squeeze to my shoulder and moves down the hallway and away from us.

Turning to Gray, I tell her, "I appreciate the offer to sit in the box, but I can't do drinks. I have plans with Roman after."

Gray studies me a moment, her green eyes appraising me thoroughly. Finally, she takes my arm and leads me a few feet away from the doorway of the family lounge. When she releases me, she leans in to me and says, "Lexi...I don't think it's a good idea for you to get mixed up with Roman Sykora."

"Why not?" I ask, my head tilted to the side, although my stomach starts to tighten over the flat tone of her words.

"Well, he's a troublemaker," she says bluntly. "He's got a bad reputation and you don't want to get mixed up with someone like him

."

The disdain in her voice for Roman is heavy and it surprises me. I know he has a reputation, and hell, it's part of the reason I'm attracted to him. But I just assumed that no matter what Roman has done in the past, he'd still have full support from the management. He is, after all, a phenomenal first-line player and a tremendous asset to the team. But the dislike she has for him goes beyond mere frustration over his antics. It's a clear dislike of him as a person.

I clear my throat and ask her, "I'm curious, Gray. Are you warning me off as a sister or as the general manager of this team?"

"What's the difference?" she asks, leaning back from me in surprise.

"Well, the first means you have concern for me as a family member, and the second means it's just business," I explain to her. "I'm trying to figure out your motive when deciding what to do with your suggestion."