Face Off

by PJ Trebelhorn

  “Awesome. I don’t know her very well, but she’s one of Court’s best friends, so she must be a good person.”

  Maddie nodded before continuing her trek to the bathroom. She needed a moment to compose herself and to reconcile the fact she and Savannah would never be more than fake girlfriends to each other.

  * * *

  “Don’t play with her,” Lana said when Maddie was out of earshot. Savannah just looked at her in surprise. She didn’t know Lana very well, but it was obvious she was serious. She knew instinctively it would be a bad idea to cross Lana Caruso. “I mean it, Savannah, she’s been through a lot in the past six months or so.”

  “I would never hurt her,” Savannah said, meaning every word.

  “Is there any chance this could turn into something?” Lana asked.

  Savannah wanted to say no, but she wasn’t sure. Not one hundred percent, anyway. She looked at Court, pleading with her eyes for Court to help her out here. Court just shook her head and looked away. Obviously, she was on her own. She met Lana’s gaze.

  “I guess there’s always a possibility, isn’t there? I’m not so sure she wants it to turn into something though.”

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t count on it,” Lana said with a shake of her head. “As long as you both know what you’re getting yourselves into, I should just back off. You’re both adults, right?”

  Lana got to her feet and went to the kitchen without another word. Court chuckled, causing Savannah to redirect her attention.

  “Lana doesn’t like games,” Court said, shaking her head. “This seems like a game to her.”

  “But it’s a game we’re playing together, not against each other,” Savannah said. “Trust me, I don’t like games either. We’ve talked about this quite a bit, and we do know what we’re doing.”

  “I believe you, Van.” Court stood when Lana’s mother announced dinner was ready. “Like Lana said, you’re both adults. I just hope neither one of you gets hurt in the process.”

  “Me too.” Savannah sighed, wondering if she should tell Court about the reservations she had concerning getting involved with someone. What would be the point though, really? It wasn’t like they were on the verge of being any more than friends. Maybe if it looked as if they were going to move in another direction she’d call Court and seek her advice. Until then, she needed to concentrate on making sure she remembered they were only friends. But damn it, she wanted more, and the realization scared her half to death.

  Dinner was filled with talk of the weather and where Court and Lana were going on their honeymoon. Hawaii sounded really nice to Savannah, and apparently to Maddie too, who was asking all kinds of questions about where they were staying, what they were planning to do, and how long they’d be there. Savannah thought her excitement was pretty cute and she couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm.

  Maddie invited her in after they got home, and although Savannah worried she was getting dangerously closer to crossing a line in their fake relationship, she accepted. They made themselves comfortable on the couch after Maddie took care of Duke and brought them both a bottle of water.

  “I’m confused about something,” Maddie said after a moment of silence. Savannah noticed she avoided meeting her gaze as she spoke.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Court made mention of you picking up women. It sounded like it was probably a regular occurrence, but I haven’t noticed you going out since I moved in here. It’s not a bad thing, mind you, I used to live that life myself. I’m just wondering why you haven’t been out with Kelly since we met.”

  Because it’s you I want.

  Those were the words on the tip of Savannah’s tongue, but she somehow resisted blurting them out. She decided to downplay it, hoping she wouldn’t alienate Maddie.

  “I’ve been really busy,” she said, and Maddie finally looked at her. She shrugged. “Between the vet’s office and spending time with you, there just isn’t any time. Or desire to, if I’m being honest.”

  Shit, shit, shit. No doubt Maddie would want an explanation of the last part of her statement. Savannah tried really hard to not react to the words slipping out without much thought and mentally crossed her fingers for Maddie to let it go.

  “Oh. So you’ve been too tired?”

  “Yeah,” Savannah said, feeling as though she may have dodged a bullet. “Yeah, too tired. The closest bar to meet other lesbians is almost an hour away.”

  “You know you can though, right?” Maddie asked. “You don’t have to change your life just because we’re fake dating.”

  “Court was right,” Savannah said, shaking her head. “Kelly would never believe we’re dating if I went out with her and had some other woman coming on to me. She knows how I feel about cheating. She knows I’d never do it.”

  “Well, if you want to go out, you know, to dance or just to hang out with Kelly, maybe I could tag along. You know, so she wouldn’t question our status.”

  Savannah nodded slowly, not sure she really liked the idea much. But, strangely, the more she mulled it over in her mind, the more it made sense. As long as they didn’t dance to any slow songs, it would probably go a long way to convincing Kelly they were really together.

  “Yeah, that might be a good idea.”

  Or it could end up being a really bad idea. Savannah prayed it wouldn’t go horribly wrong.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maddie opened the door to Savannah on Friday evening only a few minutes before Dana was due to arrive with Amy. She was going to tell Dana tonight, because Savannah had invited her and Amy to have brunch with Lisa and Faith the next morning. It wouldn’t be good for her niece to find out she was dating Savannah before her own sister did.

  Why had she agreed to let Amy spend the night tonight? Court and Lana’s wedding was only four days away, and she was still stressing about the fear of screwing the whole day up for them by taking bad pictures. Of course deep down she knew she wouldn’t, but because it was her first wedding shoot, the worry was unrelenting.

  “I hope you didn’t make solid plans for what to do with Amy this evening,” Savannah said as she walked in. When Maddie turned around after shutting the door, she found herself incredibly close to her. Savannah had a huge grin on her face.

  “You seem to be in a good mood,” Maddie said. Savannah took her by the hand and led her into the living room. Once they were seated, Maddie decided she couldn’t wait any longer. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

  “Well, Amy is a big Warriors fan, right?”

  “The biggest.”

  “Yeah, so I’ve arranged for a few members of the team, and Court and Eric too, to meet us at the arena tonight for a skating session.”

  “A what?” Maddie felt the color drain from her face. She’d never learned how to skate, and the thought of making a fool of herself in front of Savannah’s friends and teammates held zero appeal to her. “I can’t skate.”

  “What?” Savannah appeared genuinely surprised. “Who doesn’t know how to skate?”

  “I’d be willing to bet there are a hell of a lot of people who don’t know how to skate,” Maddie said. She shook her head, knowing this was an amazingly thoughtful thing for Savannah to do for Amy. “I’ll be happy to sit in the stands and watch. Amy will love it.”

  “Oh, no,” Savannah lifted Maddie’s hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles, causing a flutter in Maddie’s chest which only intensified when Savannah winked at her. “You’re going to learn how to skate tonight.”

  “No.” Maddie shook her head emphatically. “Just…no.”

  “The place is closed to the public tonight, so it’s only going to be a few people,” Savannah said, and much to her surprise, Maddie was beginning to warm up to the idea. “I promise I won’t let you fall.”

  “Did you arrange to have it closed for tonight?”

  “I did. People tend to get a little crazy when we show up somewhere in a group.” Savannah sat back and released her hand, and Maddie want
ed to snatch it back. “And with Court there, and a newly drafted future NHL star, closing the place seemed to be a logical decision.”

  “It must have cost you a fortune. Especially for a Friday night.”

  “Nah, it was nothing. It’s not like there’s a ton of people going ice skating in the middle of summer anyway.” Savannah was smiling, and she sat up straight as she reached for Maddie’s hand again. “A real girlfriend would want to do something like this, wouldn’t she?”

  “Yes.” Maddie just looked at her, not knowing what else to say. If she wasn’t careful, she might start to think of Savannah as a real girlfriend, and she had the feeling that would be a bad idea. Luckily, the doorbell rang then, and she didn’t have to think of anything else to say. It was time to start convincing people they were dating. “That’ll be Dana and Amy.”

  Savannah looked nervous, but she was obviously trying to cover it up by smiling a little too much. It was adorable. Maddie went to the door while Savannah stayed on the couch, trying to look casual and relaxed. Maddie chuckled to herself before letting her sister in.

  “Are you sure you’re all right with her staying the night?” Dana asked as they entered the house. “She can be a bit of a handful sometimes.”

  “Of course. Actually, Savannah’s here, and she has a bit of a surprise for Amy.”

  “No way,” Amy said as she leaned to the right to peer past Maddie into the living room. She dropped her overnight bag at her feet and started heading in Savannah’s direction.

  “Shoes, Amy,” Dana said.

  “It’s all right,” Maddie assured her. Dana was one of those people, but Maddie definitely wasn’t. “Come say hi.”

  “You seem different,” Dana said as they walked. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m better than okay,” Maddie said, sounding more confident than she felt. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Are you sick?” Dana could be such a drama queen sometimes.

  “No.” Maddie shook her head and rolled her eyes. She sat next to Savannah and reached for her hand. When she looked at her sister, she saw Dana’s gaze was on their hands and there was a smirk on her face. “Savannah and I are dating.”

  “Each other?” Amy asked.

  “Duh,” Dana said, causing them all to laugh. She looked at Maddie and smiled. “When did this start?”

  Maddie was relieved they’d ironed this detail out. She hadn’t really expected the question to be the first one someone would ask, but evidently she was wrong. She met Savannah’s eyes for a fraction of a second before Savannah decided to answer the question herself.

  “She asked me to have dinner with her the night after the Fourth.” Savannah squeezed her hand before holding it up in the air. “And we’ve been together ever since. I have to admit I’m glad I said yes to the date.”

  Maddie knew the smile on her face was a bit goofy, but she couldn’t help it. Even the scowl on Dana’s face couldn’t erase it.

  “You’ve been dating for almost three weeks and haven’t told me?” Dana asked. Maddie knew she wasn’t really mad, but she probably was a little hurt. “We tell each other everything, Mads.”

  “It was my fault,” Savannah said, and Maddie felt incredibly happy to learn she was willing to protect her. “I wanted to wait to tell people. In Maddie’s defense, she wanted to tell you right away, but I begged her not to. I didn’t want to jinx it.”

  “Oh my,” Dana said, placing a hand over her heart and tilting her head a bit. “Maddie, she’s a keeper. Don’t let her go.”

  “I’m not planning on it.” Maddie hoped she sounded convincing enough, but not so much as to send Savannah running for the hills.

  “So was this my surprise?” Amy asked, sounding a bit let down.

  Maddie sighed. Amy was definitely a material girl, so she knew Amy had been expecting something she could hold in her hands. Maddie knew she could blame her sister and brother-in-law for that. They gave her pretty much everything she wanted. They hadn’t grown up with much, so she had a feeling Dana was trying to make up for the way they were raised.

  “No, it isn’t,” Maddie said. She looked at Savannah, wanting to give her the opportunity to become even more impressive in Amy’s eyes.

  “Do you ice skate?” Savannah asked, and Amy nodded a little too enthusiastically. “How would you like to go skating with some of the Warriors players tonight?”

  “Seriously?” Amy asked, her eyes wide.

  “Yep,” Savannah said, looking rather pleased with herself. “Oh, and Courtney Abbott will be there too, along with her soon to be stepson, Eric Caruso.”

  “No way!” Amy got up and started jumping up and down in her excitement. “Eric is soooo dreamy.”

  “He’s also too old for you,” Dana said. “I think her crush on him has overtaken the one she has on you, Savannah.”

  “I’m devastated,” Savannah said with a wink.

  “Wait a minute,” Dana said, a hand on Maddie’s leg. “You don’t know how to skate.”

  “Thanks for that,” Maddie answered with another roll of her eyes. “I’m just going to watch.”

  “Think again,” Savannah said.

  “Okay, before you two get into a lovers’ quarrel, I’m going to go home.” Dana stood and hugged Amy good-bye. She then looked at Maddie and Savannah and shook her head. “I’m really happy for you guys. You’re so cute together.”

  “All right, let’s eat some dinner before we go,” Maddie said after Dana was gone. “I have a feeling I’m going to need some fuel for this evening.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Maddie hadn’t been exaggerating—she really didn’t know how to ice skate. As soon as her blade hit the ice for the first time, her arms started to windmill, and Savannah had to react quickly in order to stop her from falling on her ass. Somehow she managed not to laugh, which she was sure would have been a bad thing to do. Maddie was nervous enough about this without her feeling as though Savannah was making fun of her.

  “Nice save, Wells,” Charlotte Greene, their goaltender said as she skated past. “Are you looking to take my job?”

  “Damn right I am,” Savannah yelled after her. She placed an arm around Maddie’s waist to help steady her, but Maddie reached out for the boards surrounding the rink. “You’re doing fine.”

  “The hell I am,” Maddie said, still reaching. “Get me over there or I’m taking you down with me.”

  Savannah got her close enough so she could grab onto the board, but once she had hold of it, Maddie visibly relaxed before her legs started sliding in different directions. Savannah grabbed her by placing her hands on Maddie’s hips in order to keep her upright.

  “This is stupid,” Maddie said, leaning back slightly so their bodies were touching. “Just let me sit down and watch.”

  “Nobody would believe I’d date someone who wouldn’t at least try to learn how to skate,” Savannah said, her mouth just inches from Maddie’s ear. She closed her eyes momentarily and breathed in the scent of her coconut shampoo. She managed to stop herself just before her lips touched Maddie’s neck. She took a step back but let her hands stay on Maddie’s hips until she was sure she wasn’t going to fall if she let go.

  “Then go skate,” Maddie said, sounding seriously exasperated. “Let me just hang on and I’ll work my way around the rink. Maybe I’ll make it back here before everyone is ready to leave.”

  “You’re kind of cute when you’re mad,” Savannah said with a chuckle.

  “Oh great, so now you’ll want to keep me mad all the time.” Maddie had a death grip on the boards, and Savannah saw her knuckles were going white. She stepped closer again for just a moment.

  “No, I won’t,” she said. “Because you’re beautiful when you’re happy.”

  Savannah quickly skated away, because she couldn’t believe she’d just said those words out loud. What the hell was she thinking? She glanced back at Maddie and saw she was watching her with a perplexed look on her face. Just as she was turning her
head back, she ran right into Eric and fell hard on her ass. He laughed as he reached a hand out to help her up. God, how freaking embarrassing.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, obviously struggling to keep the grin off his face. She glared at him as she regained her feet.

  “Laugh it up,” she said, nodding her head. She gave him a playful shove.

  “Careful, you might fall again,” he said, a hand on her elbow. “I could teach you how to skate if you need a few pointers.”

  “You’re a jerk.” Savannah wanted to be mad at him for teasing her, but she had to admit it was pretty funny. She was supposed to keep Maddie from falling, and then she went and did it on her own. “You think anybody caught that on video?”

  “Oh yeah.” He nodded and pointed at Lana, who was sitting in the stands with her cell phone pointing right at them. “My guess is it’ll be viral within the next twenty minutes.”

  “Great.” Savannah rolled her eyes and took off in Lana’s direction. She stopped in the perfect spot to send ice in her direction. “You put that on the internet and I’ll make sure you never make it to your honeymoon.”

  “I wasn’t really recording.” Lana laughed and put the phone in her pocket. “I only wanted to mess with you.”

  “Well, if anybody,” she said, spreading her arms out to encompass the entire building, “puts it on the internet, my threat still stands.”

  “I’ll make sure Court threatens everyone,” Lana said with a wink. Savannah laughed, knowing there wasn’t anyone there who would be afraid of Court. “Go tell your girlfriend to come over here. I want to talk to her about the wedding.”

  Savannah helped Maddie off the ice and could tell she was instantly in a better mood. She wasn’t doing much better walking with her skates on than she was actually skating, and Savannah took off on the ice as soon as she sat down to remove them.

  “You two looked pretty cozy there,” Kelly said as she bumped Savannah’s shoulder. Savannah hadn’t even noticed her approaching.

  “Just trying to teach her how to skate,” Savannah said with a shrug.