Underneath It All (Storm Series)

by Carr, Cassandra

  “Do I look like a deer caught in the headlights? That’s how I feel.”

  “No, not at all. But I was new here last year and remember what it felt like—a bug being examined under a magnifying glass. Thank God Rob and Sebastian and Doug were around.”

  “Okay, I have to ask. How did Rob help?” Yet another example of how Rob looks out for others. He really was a good guy.

  “Have you noticed how…what’s the word I’m looking for? Easy, I guess, he is with other people? He makes everybody around him more comfortable.”

  Alaina nodded slowly. “You know, you’re right. He sets people at ease, seemingly with little effort.”

  “Don’t tell him this, because his ego is already healthy enough, but I’m really grateful for his friendship, and even moreso, his friendship with Sebastian. That kind of loyalty is in short supply in today’s world. Some…,” Sarah swallowed hard then continued, “difficult things happened back in the spring and Rob was great throughout it all. Like a rock for Sebastian.”

  Had that been what Rob was talking about when he said his friends had been in trouble? What had happened to Sebastian? Before she could think on it further, a commotion caught their attention. Rob had stood and was in the face of a teammate.

  “What the hell?” Alaina stammered.

  Sarah cleared her throat. “Let’s go wait in the hall.”

  Sebastian had shown up as if summoned and, along with a few other guys, was working his way between Rob and the other man. As they left, the man gave her a slow perusal and Rob made an almost inhuman sound.

  After being dragged out of the room by Sarah’s firm grip on her elbow, Alaina asked, “What was that about?”

  Looking like she was debating what to say, Sarah rubbed her forehead. “That guy is a jerk. The team picked him up as a free agent over the summer. Let’s just say he’s not real popular in the locker room. He does things just to cause trouble. I have no idea what management saw in him. I mean, he’s a very good player, but a guy like that can poison an entire team.”

  “But why was Rob so mad?”

  “If I had to guess, the guy made some off-color comment about you.”

  “Me?”

  “I can’t see any other reason for Rob to get upset.” Sarah glanced back into the room.

  Alaina moved until she could see as well. His hand on Rob’s good shoulder, Sebastian was talking in low tones to Rob, whose face had gone red. The other guy was being escorted none-too-gently back in the direction of the locker room by a couple of teammates.

  Alaina bit her lip. “I don’t want to cause trouble between Rob and the other guys.”

  “Oh, hon, none of this is your fault. That man is a class-A jerk, I’m telling you. He was probably trying to get a rise out of Rob.”

  “But Rob’s injured! Why would the guy do something like that?” Alaina heard the righteous indignation in her tone then noticed her nails were biting into her palms. How dare that man go after someone who was hurt seriously? He reminded her of the schoolyard bullies she and her fellow teachers were always on the lookout for.

  Rob approached and caressed the side of her face as if he couldn’t help himself. “Are you okay?”

  “Me?” She hadn’t been the target of a bully. “I’m fine. How about you?”

  “The guys had my back. That dude is a dick. Ben’s gonna talk to Jon and Keith—the general manager—about him. He needs to be on the next plane outta here before one of us kicks his ass to another state.” He glanced at Sarah. “Thanks.”

  A look passed between the two and Alaina understood what Sarah had been talking about earlier. The three of them—Rob, Sebastian and Sarah—shared a special bond. It would’ve been hard to swallow, if it wasn’t so obvious they all loved each other so much.

  Sebastian walked out, pulling a fleece over his head and holding his jacket. “Let’s go.” He glared back at the now-emptying room, but then took a deep breath, and his usual calm, happy demeanor returned like a cloud lifting. He must’ve noticed her gaping because he smiled, giving her a quick once-over like Rob had done just a moment before. When that jerk had done a similar thing a short time ago, Alaina had felt dirty, but her reaction to Sebastian was completely different. The way he looked at her made her feel safe.

  Rob drew her to him. “Sorry about that.” He paused then said, “Yeah, I have to.” Swooping in, his lips sought hers before his tongue ran over the seam of her mouth.

  Alaina was so surprised she opened immediately. Clutching her at the small of her back, Rob pushed even closer, kissing her thoroughly. By the time he let her up for air, she was dazed. “What was that for?”

  “Wanted to. Needed to,” he said, his voice gruff.

  Sarah and Sebastian had snuck away and Alaina’s face flamed as she considered it was probably to give her and Rob some privacy.

  Rob must’ve seen the look on her face, because as they went to catch up, he leaned over and said, “You have no idea how many times I had to deal with Sarah and Seb last year. They owe me.”

  As the four of them walked back to their cars and settled on a lunch place, two things kept going through her mind. What had that man said to make Rob respond so strongly? And why had the incident upset her so much?

  Lunch was fun, but Alaina was happy to be home finally. She’d been gone much of the weekend. The time with Rob had certainly been enlightening, and she felt closer to him than ever, but by the same token, she was more confused than she could remember being about a man.

  In her mind, Alaina was aware of the dangers of falling for someone so fast. They’d only known each other a couple of months and been dating for about six weeks, but she’d already slept with the man. Despite everything her head said, her heart couldn’t let go of how right she and Rob felt. How right he felt.

  But could this be called love? As she scrubbed her kitchen, Alaina kept asking herself that question. Or was it just infatuation?

  She couldn’t tell at this point. Her heartbeat kicked up whenever she spoke with or saw him, but that could be lust. What had happened today freaked her out, though. Alaina had hated seeing Rob upset and hated that guy for being the cause. She was still surprised by how strongly she’d reacted.

  When her kitchen was frighteningly clean and she’d burned up the excess energy caused by her consternation, she sat down to go over the week’s lesson plans; but she found her attention wandering back to the events of the weekend time and time again. She hadn’t been planning to spend the night at Rob’s place, and hadn’t really considered sex with him, but when the opportunities arose, she certainly hadn’t shied away from either.

  Monday was a busy day; and though it kept her from further twisting herself in knots over the thing with Rob, Alaina was exhausted by the time the last child was out the door. She turned and surveyed the classroom, heaving a sigh. She did not want to clean up. The mess wasn’t unusual—though her kids helped tidy the room every day, there was no possible way to get the place put back to rights while they were around. And normally she didn’t mind the task, as it gave her time to reflect on the day and look forward to the next, but today, all she wanted to do was curl up on one of the brand-new rest mats piled in a corner and take a nice, long nap.

  While she was setting up for Tuesday, Rob texted, Went to doctor. Got clearance for light lower-body stuff and to start PT. Oh, joy.

  Alaina chewed her lip. Wasn’t that good news?

  She typed, So soon? Wow! When do you start? Can you drive? Then she put down her phone and went to grab a bunch of pipe cleaners she needed to twist into cat whiskers later for Tuesday’s craft. As she stuffed them in her messenger bag, her phone chirped once more.

  Rob: Yeah, just have to take things easy. Going to the arena first and then some PT place out in the suburbs.

  It must be tremendously frustrating to be an energetic guy like Rob and yet forced to severely limit or stop physical activity altogether. Alaina didn’t envy the uphill battle Rob was facing.

  Alaina
: You’ll do great. I have faith in you.

  After picking up her bag, she took one final look around the room then locked the door. She’d just gotten into her car when her phone signaled another text message.

  Rob: You have no idea what that means to me. Can I take you to dinner tonight? Strip you naked and have you for dinner? ;-)

  Not sure how to answer, she let the text go as she drove home. She really did have a lot to do this afternoon, especially since Rob had taken up a lot of her weekend; but on the other hand, Alaina had a feeling Rob needed her, and that was pretty hard to say no to. After pulling into her parking spot, she picked up the phone and responded, Okay, but I have a bunch of things to do first, including twisting twenty sets of pipe cleaners into cat whiskers for craft tomorrow.

  She picked up her mail then proceeded to her apartment. The phone beeped on her way upstairs, but she ignored it for the time being, choosing instead to get everything inside and on the couch before looking at the text.

  Rob: I’d offer to help, but I doubt that’s something you can do with only one hand.

  Alaina laughed. At least Rob hadn’t lost his sense of humor. From what she could see, the trait was a huge part of him.

  Alaina: Probably not.

  Dumping all the things she needed to take care of on the coffee table, she then brought her bag to the front door so she could easily grab it on her way out.

  Rob sent another text. I’ll leave you alone now. Call me when you’re done. If you don’t mind driving, that would be great. I’m supposed to limit mine to essential things.

  She could understand that. There was no way driving could be good for his shoulder even if he was careful. She typed, Sounds good.

  A couple of hours later, she picked up Rob and was surprised to find him in a pair of black dress pants and a button-down shirt. Opened at the neck, the shirt’s rich maroon color complimented the olive tone of his skin well.

  In contrast, she’d worn jeans and a sweater and felt severely underdressed. “Was I supposed to dress up?”

  “No, no. You’re fine,” he said as he struggled with the seat belt.

  She grabbed the unresponsive piece of equipment and belted him in. Rob took the opportunity to pull her close and plant a kiss that left her breathless.

  Releasing her, he said, “Hey, I want to show you something.”

  “What?” she asked, and he lifted his good hand to show the cuff of his shirt. “Oh my God,” she fingered the gold square with “DON” emblazoned on it, “are these the cufflinks you got for Christmas that Sarah told me about at lunch yesterday?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s hilarious.”

  “I figured I might as well use them since I won’t be dressing in suits for quite a while. They were a bitch to get on, though.”

  “You should’ve waited ‘til I picked you up. I would’ve helped.”

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  After a dubious glance, Alaina put the car in reverse to back out of the parking space then stopped. “Um, do we have any idea where we’re going?”

  “I made a reservation at Mike A’s,” he said, naming one of the most expensive and exclusive restaurants in Buffalo.

  She stared at him. “Really?” Now she felt really underdressed.

  He looked embarrassed, his smile self-deprecating. “I wanted to have a nice dinner with you.”

  “I’m sooooo not dressed for a place like that. Isn’t it super fancy?”

  “The food is fancy, and really good. But eh, don’t worry about your clothes.” He lifted his good shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure?” She chewed her lip, not wanting to embarrass him. “I could go home and change, though we’d be late for the reservation.” Though it wasn’t as if she had anything super fancy in her closet.

  “Of course I’m sure. You look hot, and as long as I think so, that’s all that matters.” He grinned. “One of the benefits of being a professional athlete is that people rarely rag on you about stuff like that.”

  “How lucky for you.” She shook her head. This world was so different from hers, but she reminded herself that didn’t mean it was bad.

  They had a great meal, but Alaina refused to go inside when she dropped Rob off afterward, despite his pleading and mock-pouting. Time had a way of slipping out of her hands when they were together, and she really needed a solid night of sleep.

  Over the next few days, as time allowed, Alaina worked with her students to make more cards for Rob. They loved impressing him, and based on their response to the cake he’d sent over after he’d received the initial batch, he was making fast friends of them all. The kids were angling for more gifts, asking what else he might like that they could concoct for him.

  She’d appreciated Rob calling her before having a metric ton of sugar delivered to the classroom, but how could she have said no to a treat like that? The cake had been huge—enough that the entire class could bring some home with them, which Alaina was sure had been by design. The frosting had elaborate swirls of color, and the cake itself had tons of little things stuck into the top, like little toy soldiers and plastic rings, which the students had also glommed onto.

  She didn’t know where he’d managed to procure a cake like that in such a short time. It was not exactly something a person picked up at the supermarket. The kids had been beyond thrilled though and as they got onto the bus, had carefully carried their pieces on the plastic plates he’d also thought to provide.

  On Thursday, after getting her little charges on the bus, Alaina opened her compact mirror to investigate the strange feeling on her tooth, only to find a piece of glitter clinging to the enamel. Closing the mirror, she sighed, but then laughed. So far that week, she had found glitter stuck to the bottom of her foot—interesting since she’d worn shoes with socks to school that day—attached to one of her breasts underneath her bra, and some loitering in even less mentionable places. Perhaps she should discourage further glitter use.

  She picked up her bag, dropped the compact inside followed by the envelope of cards, then exited the school. As she walked to her car, she passed Kyle, who was, as expected, one of the playground monitors.

  “I wanted to say again how nice it was to meet you, Alaina,” he said, and she slowed her steps. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been around to help you more. Seriously, I know they assigned me to fourth through sixth, but if you need anything—anything at all—ask.”

  “Uh, sure.” Though her fellow teachers probably wouldn’t mind if he did a few things for her, she didn’t plan to take up his time. He wasn’t at the school for her. And besides, aside from the prep work for her crafts, what would she need assistance with? The upper grades, trying to prepare their students for middle school and beyond, were struggling a lot more than she was.

  The kid certainly had enthusiasm. She thought of him as a kid, though Kyle was probably less than five years younger than her if he was completing his master’s degree. Alaina only had a bachelor’s degree; a master’s wasn’t required for teaching kindergarten. And this couldn’t be the first student teaching gig he’d had either. She’d gone to Buffalo State; both the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs required student teaching credits. Still, there was something about him that made her think he was immature.

  Cocking her head, she said, “Where do you go to school?”

  “Buff State.”

  No surprise. There were a couple of education programs in local colleges, but Buffalo State College was widely considered to be the best. “I went there too.”

  “You couldn’t be very far out of school,” he said, looking her up and down.

  A shiver crawled up her spine. Was Rob right, was Kyle interested in her? She started edging away. “I only have a bachelor’s degree.”

  “Still…”

  Before he could start a discussion, she said, “Well, I need to go. No rest for the weary teacher of little people.” I have cards to drop off.

  “See
you tomorrow. I’m looking forward to learning a lot from you.”

  She waved behind her. “Uh-huh.” He wasn’t even assigned to her, and aside from that one day he’d helped with the new stuff for the room, she hadn’t dealt with him. Alaina reminded herself what she’d told Rob—Kyle was just eager.

  After that odd exchange, Alaina drove to the arena. Rather than bringing the cards over to his house again, the plan was to leave them for Rob to get the next time he had physical therapy. He probably wasn’t in a great mood when he was rehabbing his shoulder, and hopefully the cards would brighten his day.

  She parked then went in one of the many sets of doors along the front, spying a very bored-looking security guard. The poor man was the only human she could see in the cavernous concourse. Alaina would go nuts with a mostly solitary job like that.

  “Hi. I was wondering if I could leave this for Rob D’Amico.” The security guard’s expression was wary and she hurried on, adding, “I’m his girlfriend.” Why does that sound so weird? If she didn’t believe it, would he?

  She continued, “And I’m a teacher too. My students made him cards.” When the young man still appeared unsure, she briefly opened the envelope so he could see inside. “I wanted to surprise him.”

  “Okay, I’ll call Karen. She’ll know what to do. Your name?”

  “Alaina.”

  As she waited for the call to this Karen person to be completed, she wandered around. A team store occupied one end of the street-level concourse and had a few customers and two staff members milling about. A-ha! More humans! The box office was at the other end and only one worker sat behind the window, typing away on a computer. It was sort of eerie to be here when the place was deserted. There hadn’t been many people at the practice either, but at least the team itself and its associated staff were present. It appeared almost no one was in the building right now.

  A couple of minutes later, Alaina heard the clack-clack-clack of a pair of heels approaching and turned.