Face Off

by P. J. Trebelhorn

  “Nothing,” she replied with a quick shake of her head.

  “Bullshit.” Kelly stared at her a moment. “I know you, Van, and I sure as hell know when something’s up with you. Spill.”

  “Can we talk later?” Savannah asked her, really not wanting to get into it now. They roomed together on the road, and she’d much prefer talking about this in private. Kelly was the only one who knew why things had gone to shit with Shauna, and she’d like to keep it that way.

  “Yeah,” Kelly said with a nod. “But I won’t let you get out of it, so don’t even think about it, all right?”

  Savannah knew Kelly well enough to know the truth of her statement. Once she had something in her head, she was like a dog with a bone. She wouldn’t let it go until she got the whole story.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “So, you were right,” Savannah said as they were stretched out on separate beds in their hotel room after dinner. She’d called Maddie before they went downstairs to eat and was relieved she’d only gotten her voice mail. She left a quick message and then turned her phone off. Getting Kelly’s take on the situation seemed more important at the moment than speaking with Maddie.

  “Of course I was,” Kelly said with a chuckle. “But to what are you referring?”

  “When you said you didn’t believe Maddie and I had ever slept together.”

  “I knew it.” Kelly sat up and put her feet on the floor facing Savannah’s bed. “But you did that night, didn’t you? I could tell there was something different about you the next day. Wait, so this means you weren’t really dating her, right? You lied to me?”

  “We lied to everyone.” Savannah turned her head to look at her. “It was to get Lisa to back off on the matchmaking. I wanted to tell you the truth, but I knew if I did, you’d never be able to keep it from her.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. The woman scares the hell out of me.” They both laughed and Kelly stretched out on her side, facing Savannah. “For some reason I never could lie to her.”

  “So you understand why I kept it from you.”

  “Absolutely. I would have done the same thing if I were you.” Kelly watched her for a moment, and seemed to be figuring out what might be bothering her. “So you slept with her. What’s the problem? Was she horrible in bed?”

  “You’re a dog, you know that?” Savannah laughed in spite of herself. Kelly always managed to make her laugh, no matter how bad things got in her life. She wasn’t sure she’d have gotten through the whole Shauna ordeal if it hadn’t been for Kelly there by her side the entire time, doing anything she could to make her laugh. “It’s probably why you’ve never been in a relationship that’s lasted more than a few hours.”

  “I beg to differ, my BFF,” Kelly said with a grin. “It’s because I don’t want anything that’s going to last until after the sun comes up.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Savannah said. “Even for all my bluff and blunder, I’ve always hoped there might be someone out there for me. Everybody wants something that will last.”

  “I’m not saying someday I won’t find a good woman and settle down, but right here, and right now? I’m having way too much fun to even consider it.”

  “What if you’ve already met said good woman, but you don’t realize it because you won’t even consider it?”

  “An interesting theory to ponder, I’ll admit, but it hasn’t escaped me that you haven’t yet told me why you were so bummed when you got on the bus this afternoon.”

  Savannah stared at the ceiling for a few silent moments, trying to decide how to approach the matter. She decided the best way was to not even mention Shauna, but to see if Kelly jumped to the same conclusion she had.

  “Maddie told me she wished I wasn’t going on the road for the next week.” Savannah waited, but Kelly didn’t make a sound. She turned her head and saw Kelly watching her. “She didn’t want me to go.”

  “Did she actually say she didn’t want you to go? I mean, did she really say those words?”

  “Well, no, but she did say she wished I wasn’t going, and she hated I was going to be gone so long.”

  “Okay, so you guys weren’t really dating, but then you slept together what…three weeks ago?” Kelly watched her as she waited for an answer and Savannah nodded, wondering where this was going. “I’m assuming it wasn’t just the one time.”

  “No. We’ve been together pretty much all the time since then.”

  “I don’t think it’s a big deal, Van,” Kelly said, sitting up again. “I mean, it’s all brand-spanking new for the two of you. You know, the phase where you want to touch each other all the time. Where you can’t stand to be apart for more than a few minutes. I think it’s natural for her to feel that way. Don’t start comparing her to Shauna already, okay? All you’re going to accomplish is sabotaging what you might have before it even starts.”

  “Since you have no firsthand experience, how is it you can be so sure?”

  “Just because I’ve never felt it, doesn’t mean I don’t know it exists,” Kelly said, sounding defensive. “I do read, you know.”

  “Jesus, I know,” Savannah laughed out loud. “My BFF, who is relationship-phobic, is a hopeless romantic addicted to lesbian love stories. It’s really pretty hilarious if you think about it.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m laughing so hard I’m about to pee my pants,” Kelly deadpanned accentuated with a dramatic eye roll, causing Savannah to laugh even harder. “Look, all I’m saying is you should give her the benefit of the doubt. Anyone who’s been around you guys can see how much you both care about each other. It’s sickening, really.”

  “Okay, fine,” Savannah said, feeling surprisingly better about the entire situation than she had earlier. Thanks to Kelly, of course. “I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. But right now, I’m going to sleep.”

  “The hell you are,” Kelly got to her feet and tried to force Savannah off her bed. “We’re going out tonight. There’s some unsuspecting woman out there who doesn’t even know yet she’s just waiting to meet me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere tonight, Kelly.” Savannah turned away from her and curled into the fetal position. “We have an early morning skate tomorrow. Gail will hand us our asses if we show up hung over.”

  “You’re no fun since you found a girlfriend.” Kelly sounded as if she were pouting, but Savannah could hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll stay in tonight, but tomorrow after the game, you’re going out with me, understand? And I don’t want to hear about how we have to be on the bus early in the morning, because we’ll be on the damn bus all freaking day. We can sleep it off on the way to Chicago.”

  Savannah agreed, but she didn’t really feel like going out. She just wanted Kelly to stop talking so she could go to sleep. There wasn’t a whole lot of sleeping going on when she and Maddie slept together. The thought brought a smile to her face, and she drifted off before she even had a chance to change out of her clothes.

  * * *

  “What the hell are you talking about, Dana?” Maddie asked, holding the phone tightly to her ear. This could not be happening. She’d missed Savannah’s call while she’d been waiting for her sister to finish beating around the bush and to just tell her why she was calling.

  “I’m sorry, Mads, I tried to tell her she wouldn’t be welcome here, but you know how Mary is. How the hell did you put up with her for so long? I hope to God the sex was good.”

  “Jesus, Dana, I am not talking about this with you.”

  “Since when?” Dana laughed, which only caused Maddie to get even angrier. “You used to tell me everything.”

  “Mary,” she said through clenched teeth. She was liking her decision to get a new phone and number even more now. “I’m not talking about my sex life with her because she doesn’t matter to me anymore. At all.”

  “Okay, just calm down,” Dana said, knowing as she always seemed to when Maddie was pissed off about something. “Listen, I didn’t tell her where you li
ve or anything, so there’s no way she’ll be able to find you.”

  “When is she coming?”

  “Tuesday.”

  “You do realize she knows where you live, right?”

  “Yeah, but Trent won’t put up with any of her shit, you know that. He won’t hesitate to call the cops if she shows up and refuses to go away.”

  “I’d like to see that.” Maddie smiled at the thought. Mary would freak out if he called the cops to remove her from the property, but she knew Dana was telling the truth. Trent despised drama almost as much as Maddie did.

  “Then come stay here with us for a few days. I’m sure Amy will be happy to hide you in her room and you can watch it all through the window.”

  “Don’t tempt me. What the hell is she coming here for?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me. All she said was she needed to talk to you. To try and set things right between the two of you.”

  Maddie barked out a laugh and let her head fall back against the couch. Did Mary honestly think there was any way in the world to set things right? She’d be lucky if Maddie didn’t strangle her on the spot. She’d told her when she left for Kingsville she never wanted to see her again, and Mary had assured her it wouldn’t be a problem. So what could have happened to change all of that?

  She couldn’t possibly want to get back together, could she? No, there was no way. If it hadn’t been bad enough for Maddie to have walked in on them in her own bed, Mary told her she’d never loved her. Those words had hurt far more than she ever let on to anyone, especially Mary. She would never have given her the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she’d caused.

  “Mads, you still there?” Dana asked, sounding concerned.

  “I’m here. I have to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She disconnected the call and tossed her phone onto the couch next to her. She looked down at Duke, who was lying with his head on her lap. She stroked his side gently as he snored, and she couldn’t help but smile. Yes, Mary had been the one who wanted him, but from the moment they’d brought him home, there was never any doubt he belonged to Maddie. Or rather, she belonged to him.

  She couldn’t go anywhere without him following on her heels, and if she sat down, he was right there on her lap. Until he got too big to fit comfortably on her lap, then he started lying next to her with his head on her lap, or on the floor with his chin resting on her feet. It had pissed Mary off so much.

  Shit, what if she was coming to try to get him back? She’d be in for one hell of a fight if that was her plan. There was no way Maddie would allow her to take him. It would break Duke’s heart as well as her own.

  She looked at her phone and reached for it, remembering the missed call. She listened to the message Savannah left, but it didn’t cheer her up. They hadn’t left on good terms for some reason, and Maddie didn’t want to let too much time pass before they could figure out what went wrong.

  She sighed and closed her eyes when she was sent directly to voice mail. She hesitated for a moment, not sure she wanted to leave a message, but realized it would be rude. She hated when someone called and didn’t leave a message.

  “Hey, Savannah, it’s me, Maddie.” She rolled her eyes, knowing Savannah’s phone would tell her who it was. Not to mention she hoped by now Savannah would recognize her voice. “I’m sorry I missed your call, but I was on the phone with Dana. Can you please call me when you get this? I really think we need to talk. I’m not comfortable with how we left things earlier. Anyway, I miss you, and I’ll see you Friday. Bye.”

  She tossed the phone on the coffee table this time, startling Duke. She’d wanted to end the call with I love you, but neither of them had uttered those words yet. She was apprehensive to say it first, even though there was no doubt she was feeling it. She rubbed behind Duke’s ears as he went back to sleep and she tried not to cry out in frustration. Just that morning, her life had seemed pretty perfect. Now it felt suspiciously as though everything was falling apart.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Savannah took a deep breath and readied herself for the face-off to begin overtime against the Columbus Wildcats. It had been a hard fought game, and regulation time ended in a 3-3 tie. She’d missed a few minutes late in the second period because she’d been in the locker room going through the concussion protocol. She’d taken a high-stick just after her helmet had popped off during a scrum in front of the net. The only solace she had was the puck went in off her stick to tie the game.

  There hadn’t been a penalty called even though everyone on the ice saw the woman from the Wildcats raise her stick fast and hard as she was looking right at Savannah. Well, not everyone it seemed. Otherwise the woman would have gotten a five-minute major and probably a game misconduct. Instead, she was now facing off against Savannah in overtime.

  “Switch sides with me, Van,” Kelly said as she skated over to her. She was looking at the woman as she spoke. “I’ll take care of her.”

  “You need someone else to fight your battles, Wells?” The woman—Moore, according the name on her jersey—was someone they hadn’t faced before. She laughed and shook her head.

  “No, I don’t,” Savannah replied as she gave a pointed look to Kelly. “Get back to your own wing, Rawlins.” Kelly stared at her for a few seconds, until the linesman blew the whistle to indicate he was ready to drop the puck. Savannah readied herself as Kelly went back to her position.

  “Sorry I broke your pretty face,” Moore said as she crossed her stick with Savannah’s. Savannah didn’t need to look at her to know she was smiling and didn’t mean what she said. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t camp out in front of the net.”

  Savannah said nothing while she moved the blade of her stick in front of Moore’s. She wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of engaging with her. Moore moved her stick again at the same time she bumped Savannah with her hip. The linesman blew the whistle and moved toward them as Savannah took a couple of strides away from center ice. If Moore thought she was going to get under her skin, to get her to take off her helmet to fight, she had another think coming.

  Moore followed her closely and shoved her from behind and Savannah stumbled, but stayed on her feet. She finally turned to look at Moore, and saw she’d dropped her gloves and took off her helmet. She was in a fighting stance and Savannah laughed at her as she held her arms out to the side to say you want me, come and get me. Moore took a swing but Savannah refused to duck, and her bare fist made contact with her helmet. Moore dropped to the ice holding her hand against her chest.

  “You stupid bitch,” Moore said as Kelly came and stood facing Savannah, moving her back toward the bench.

  “Are you all right?” Kelly asked. She looked back over her shoulder as the Wildcats’ trainer came out to escort Moore back to the locker room.

  “I’m fine,” Savannah said, pulling away from her.

  “Oh, hell no,” Savannah heard Gail say from the bench behind her. She looked up at the scoreboard and saw they’d both been given two minute minor penalties.

  Kelly tried to stop her, but Savannah broke away again and skated fast across the ice to confront the referee. She stopped right next to him and took her helmet off.

  “What the hell?” she asked, pointing to her cheek, which hadn’t actually been broken. Just a cut that had required stitching and she was sure there was a nice bruise by now as well. “You missed the call on the high-stick, which was blatantly obvious, and now you’re giving me a penalty? For what? She took a swing at me, and I just stood there. I did nothing.”

  “You taunted her, and you had plenty of time to get out of the way of her swing,” the ref said without looking at her. He calmly skated toward the bench to explain what was happening as a courtesy to the two coaches. Savannah tried to follow him, but one of the linesmen got in her way and turned her back toward the penalty box.

  “This is bullshit!” Savannah yelled as the linesman shoved her into the box. As the referee skated to his position, she slammed her st
ick against the plexiglass, causing the stick to break. She sat down as the ref made the motion for a ten-minute misconduct. She was livid when both linesmen came to escort her back to the bench where she’d return to the locker room. She was done for the night. She couldn’t even remember what expletives she’d spewed at the officials. It took two players to get her off the bench and down the walkway toward the locker room.

  She threw her equipment into her bag as she got undressed and grabbed a towel for her shower. She heard the crowd erupt, indicating the Warriors had lost the game. She showered quickly and was sitting in front of her locker fully dressed as the rest of the team was heading for the showers.

  “Savannah, can I have a word?” Gail asked from behind her. She was expecting this, so she stood and followed Gail to the office, closing the door behind them.

  “It was a shitty call,” Savannah said as she took a seat.

  “It was for unsportsmanlike conduct, and I have to agree with the call,” Gail said, shaking her head. She held a hand up when Savannah was about to argue. “Let me finish. I agree they blew the call earlier when you took a stick to the face. You have a really nice bruise there, by the way. But it was over and done with. You did taunt her. If you hadn’t done what you did, maybe she wouldn’t have thrown the punch.”

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it. She was itching for a fight.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Gail shrugged. “Either way, you should have just skated back to the bench and completely ignored her.”

  “She shoved me from behind, Gail,” Savannah said in an attempt to justify her actions. She was trying hard to ignore the ache high up on her cheekbone, just below her right eye. “Yes, you’re probably right, but look at what she did to me, for fuck’s sake. I had to get twelve stitches to close this. Then she just kept pushing me, and I did ignore her until she shoved me. I’m only human, Gail. Tell me you wouldn’t have reacted to it.”