Face Off

by PJ Trebelhorn

  “Yeah, right,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “You don’t have to have your arms around someone to teach them how to skate.”

  “You do if you’re trying to keep them from falling on their ass.”

  “Then it’s too bad she wasn’t there to save you.” Kelly smirked and started to pull away from her, but Savannah sped up to catch her, knowing she needed to tell her about dating Maddie. This was the one conversation she wasn’t looking forward to. She grabbed Kelly by the arm and led her off the ice. “What the hell, Van?”

  “I need to talk to you for a minute.” They stood off to the side in case anyone else wanted off—or on—the ice, and Savannah raked a hand through her hair.

  “Are you going to talk, or are you just going to stand there?”

  “Maddie and I are dating.” There. She said it. And now Kelly was just staring at her, a look of disbelief on her face. “Say something.”

  “What do you want me to say? On the Fourth, she told me she wasn’t interested in dating because she’d just broken up with her girlfriend.” Kelly was obviously a bit miffed, but whether it was directed at her or Maddie, Savannah couldn’t tell. “I guess it was just me she wasn’t interested in dating.”

  “You don’t date,” Savannah said, pointing out the obvious.

  “No shit. Neither do you.”

  Savannah looked down at her feet. Maybe it was a mistake to try to fool Kelly. She’d never lied to her before, about anything. She was trying to convince herself of the reasons it would be bad to come clean when Kelly saved her the trouble.

  “She must be pretty special,” Kelly said with a glance over at Maddie and Lana. “I guess I always knew we’d have to grow up and stop living like tomcats, but I just never thought it would happen this soon.”

  Kelly put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Savannah looked at her and was surprised to see a smile on Kelly’s face.

  “If you’re happy, then I’m happy for you, Van. But you better ask me to stand up for you at your wedding.”

  “Pretty sure that won’t be happening anytime soon.” Savannah chuckled and looked over at Maddie and Lana laughing. For just a moment, she wondered what it would be like to really be dating Maddie.

  * * *

  “Have you told her about Mary?” Lana asked as they sat watching the people skate.

  “I just said she cheated on me and I needed to get away from her.” Maddie sighed. Getting to know Savannah had been a nice distraction, but the worry about Mary showing up someday lingered in the back of her mind ever since Dana had asked if it was a possibility. “I didn’t see any reason to tell her my ex is a psycho.”

  “Aren’t you worried she might show up and cause problems?” Lana looked at her with obvious concern. “She could hurt someone.”

  “She was obsessive and verbally abusive. I doubt she’d actually physically hurt anyone.”

  “But you don’t really know that for sure.” Lana glanced out at the ice for a moment. “Escalation isn’t out of the question for people like her.”

  “She knows Dana lives here, but I think I was pretty convincing when I told her we didn’t get along. I doubt she’ll think I moved here.” Maddie wasn’t entirely sure who she was trying to convince. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t considered the things Lana was saying. “And if she does show up and finds out I’m dating someone, maybe she’ll give up.”

  “Yeah, right,” Lana said sarcastically. “I think you should warn Savannah at the very least. I think she really likes you.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maddie said with a quick shake of her head. “It’s fake. It’s just to convince her mom to stop setting her up on blind dates.”

  “Yeah, I know what you guys told us the other night, but Court says there’s something different about Savannah when she talks about you. When she’s with you.” Lana nodded at the same time Maddie was shaking her head. “Court knows her better than either one of us, and I believe her.”

  “She’s perpetually single. Her words, not mine.” Maddie risked a glance toward Savannah and Kelly who were talking just off the ice. Kelly put a hand on Savannah’s shoulder and said something that caused Savannah to smile just before she looked in their direction. Maddie laughed and turned her attention back to Lana. “It’s a pleasant thought, but it’s never going to turn into something more than it is.”

  “And I thought when I went back to Chicago I’d never see Court again,” Lana said. “Yet look where we are now.”

  Maddie didn’t know what to say. She’d read romance novels before about people in fake relationships, and they pretty much always ended up falling in love with each other by the end of the book. Was it possible it could happen to them? No, she thought as she shook her head. Those stories were fiction, and this was real life. It was more likely they’d end up at each other’s throats if Savannah was really determined to stay single.

  Still, it was an intriguing thought.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The look on Lisa’s face when she walked in with Maddie and Amy for brunch the next day was priceless. She didn’t even give them a chance to say a word before she clapped and laughed with unbridled joy. Savannah laughed as Lisa called out for Faith.

  “Faith, honey,” Lisa said, off to find her. “We have a wedding to plan.”

  “Christ,” Savannah said under her breath. She gave an apologetic look to Maddie and started to walk away to put an end to the wedding plans when she felt Maddie grab her hand. “She’s going a little overboard.”

  “Let her,” Maddie said with a smile. “She’s happy, so just give her a moment.”

  Savannah was a little shocked when Maddie leaned closer and kissed her on the lips. In an instant, everyone else in the house ceased to exist, even Amy, who was standing right next to them, watching. Maddie put a hand on Savannah’s chest above her breasts and pushed gently when Savannah tried to capture her lips again.

  “Later,” she said with a tilt of her head toward Amy, and toward Lisa and Faith as well, who were standing a few feet away beaming. Savannah cleared her throat.

  “No wedding plans,” she said, glaring at both of them.

  “Yet,” Amy said with a grin, causing both Savannah and Maddie to look at her in shock. “But they’re so cute together, aren’t they?”

  “More than cute,” Lisa said, looking at Savannah. “I knew I could set you up with the perfect woman.”

  “Wait, what?” Faith asked. “You set them up?”

  “I convinced Madison to ask her out, and now look!” Lisa clapped her hands together again.

  “Sometimes I think you’re still a teenager, Lisa,” Faith said, laughing.

  “Just young at heart,” Lisa said with a playful shove.

  “Okay, let’s eat,” Savannah said, wondering if this had been such a good idea after all. She hadn’t really expected Lisa to start in on wedding talk right away. She walked past everyone into the kitchen but stopped when she realized the table wasn’t even set yet. “What’s going on, Lisa, are you slacking?”

  “Just sit down and tell us all about what’s been going on between the two of you,” Lisa said, bustling past Savannah to pull an egg and ham casserole out of the oven. When she looked back at them, no one had moved. “Sit! Faith, set the table for me, please.”

  “I’m sorry about this,” Savannah said, leaning close to Maddie after they’d taken their seats.

  “For what?” Maddie looked to be genuinely perplexed.

  “Um, the wedding comment?” Savannah laughed and shook her head. “I didn’t expect her to run with that quite so fast.”

  “So?” Lisa said once they were all seated at the table. She put food on her plate and passed the dish to Maddie. “Tell us everything.”

  “I really don’t like to kiss and tell,” Maddie said with a grin and a wink directed toward Savannah. Savannah shook her head, impressed with her effort of trying to derail Lisa’s line of questioning, but she knew Lisa wouldn’t let it
go.

  “It’s okay, dear, you don’t have to,” Faith said. “Vanna tells us everything.”

  “Vanna?” Maddie asked, looking at Savannah.

  “Faith, I would kick you under the table if I wasn’t worried I’d miss and hit someone else,” Savannah said, giving her a warning glare. Of course, Faith simply laughed at her.

  “I only call her that because she hates it,” Faith said to Maddie. “I’ve always loved to push her buttons.”

  “So, training camp opens up in about a month,” Savannah said, handing the dish off to Amy. She didn’t think the subject change would work, but she could hope.

  “Hey, since you two are dating, does that mean I get free tickets to the games?” Amy asked, a hopeful grin on her face.

  “Amy,” Maddie said, her tone a definite warning.

  “What?” she asked, all innocence. “You’ll never get what you want if you don’t ask for it.”

  “She’s got a point,” Lisa said.

  “I think we could probably arrange something for you,” Savannah said to Amy.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Maddie said.

  “It’s not a big deal,” Savannah said with a shrug. “They allot each player two tickets per game, and while I usually give mine to Faith and Lisa, Kelly gives hers away to any player who needs extras. So, I may not be able to get you tickets to every game, but I probably could for a lot of them.”

  “Cool,” Amy said before shoving a bite of food into her mouth.

  “Why doesn’t Kelly use hers?” Maddie asked, and Savannah realized she’d never told her Kelly’s story.

  “Kelly’s parents were killed in a car accident when she was fifteen,” Faith said with a sigh. “There was a lot of red tape to go through, but she eventually ended up living here with us until she and Savannah went off to college. She has no other family to speak of.”

  “Wow, so she’s like part of the family.” Maddie put her hand over Savannah’s which was resting on the table.

  “I’ve always thought of her as a sister as well as my best friend,” Savannah said with a nod. She looked down at their hands and wondered at the warm feeling she got in the pit of her stomach from the simple gesture.

  “So, about those wedding plans,” Lisa said after a moment.

  Savannah knew the subject change was too good to be true.

  * * *

  Luckily, they managed to leave not long after they finished eating, using the excuse of needing to get Amy home. Savannah was able to somehow sidetrack Lisa every time she tried to get them to talk about them.

  They were on their way back home after dropping Amy off when Savannah’s phone began to ring. She was surprised to see it was Gail calling. Why would she be calling during the off-season, she wondered. Luckily, Maddie was driving, so she didn’t hesitate to answer.

  “What’s up, Coach?”

  “I’m sorry to call you out of the blue like this, Wells,” Gail said, not surprisingly using her last name as she would during the season. It wasn’t like they were friends away from the game. “I need to go out of town, and I won’t be back before next weekend. My sister is having a baby.”

  “Okay,” Savannah said, not quite understanding. “Congratulations. Are you sure it’s me you meant to call?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Gail said with a chuckle. “Court’s wedding is Tuesday. I won’t be able to be there.”

  “Oh, shit,” Savannah said with a quick glance at Maddie. “No, you can’t do this to me.”

  Savannah had completely forgotten Court set up a contingency plan. If, for some reason, Gail couldn’t be at the wedding, Savannah was supposed to take over and stand up with Court. This was definitely not something she was expecting to happen, but obviously Court knew it had been a possibility.

  “Technically, it’s my sister who’s doing it to you, not me. She went into labor this morning, two weeks early, I might add, and I need to fly down to Georgia. My plane leaves in an hour.”

  “Does Court know?”

  “I was hoping you could tell her. I really won’t have time to call her until after I land, but I wanted to make sure I gave you a heads-up. She knew this could happen, so I’m sure she won’t be completely shocked.”

  “That makes one of us then.” Savannah closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest. “Have a safe flight. I’ll let Court know.”

  “Thanks, Wells.”

  Savannah sat there staring at her phone after they disconnected. She didn’t want to be part of the wedding. She just wanted to go and watch, and have a good time at the reception. Now she actually had to work. And give a speech. Fuck.

  “Is everything okay?” Maddie asked after a moment.

  “No.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “That was Gail Crawford. The woman who sold you the house. She’s also the head coach of the Warriors, and Court’s best friend.” Savannah shoved the phone back in her pocket and sighed loudly. “She was supposed to stand with Court at the wedding, but her sister has shit timing and decided to have her baby two weeks early. So now it falls on me to be at Court’s side when she marries Lana.”

  “And that’s a problem why, exactly?”

  “I really don’t like crowds.”

  “Seriously?” Maddie laughed but sobered quickly when she glared at her. “You perform in front of crowds all the time.”

  “Yeah, playing a game I’ve been playing all my life,” Savannah said. “Which is a lot different from standing in front of people and giving a speech.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

  “Right.” Savannah snorted. “Okay, change of plans. I need you to take me to Court’s sister’s house so I can tell her what’s going on.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You look more nervous than I feel,” Court said as they were getting ready in the spare bedroom of Lana’s parents’ house. The wedding was going to start in less than an hour.

  “You could call it off and spare me,” Savannah said, only half joking. Her stomach was strangely queasy.

  “Not a chance.” Court laughed and clapped her on the back. “I was lucky enough to find the love of my life, and I am not letting her get away.”

  “Some friend you are.” Savannah looked at herself in the mirror once Court finished helping her with her tie. The tux had been tailored to fit her perfectly, and she had to admit she looked pretty damn good. A knock on the door caused them both to jump before Court went and pulled it open.

  “I wanted to get a few pictures of you outside before the ceremony,” Maddie said as she fiddled with the camera. When she looked up and saw Savannah, her eyes went wide. Savannah walked over to them and couldn’t help but smile. “Wow. You look…I mean, you both look amazing.”

  “We’ll be down in just a minute,” Court said, but Maddie seemed to be rooted to her spot, her eyes roaming Savannah’s body. Court cleared her throat and waved a hand in front of Maddie’s face. “Hello? We’ll be right down.”

  “Oh, yeah, okay,” Maddie said, taking a step backward before turning and walking quickly down the stairs. Court shut the door and faced Savannah, a smirk on her face.

  “What?” Savannah asked. “I can’t help it if a woman finds me attractive.”

  “Attractive?” Court asked. “She was about five seconds away from ripping your clothes off, my friend.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Maybe not, but I do know you.” Court grabbed a rose to put in her lapel and then did the same for Savannah. “And you were about three seconds away from letting her.”

  Savannah wanted to argue. She really did. But she couldn’t. Court knew her too well. She’d spent a lot of time with Maddie over the past few days, and she was confused by the thoughts and feelings she was experiencing. She’d lived the past ten years happy with her decision of never dating anyone seriously, but then along came Maddie who, in the span of just about three weeks, was seriously testing the theor
y.

  “It’s okay, Van,” Court said, her hands on Savannah’s shoulders. “You know you don’t have to spend the rest of your life alone. I see the way the two of you look at each other. Maybe it’s just lust, or maybe it’s something more, but I think you might owe it to her, and yourself, to find out. You might just realize being with someone is so much better than being alone.”

  * * *

  Maddie somehow managed to take the photos of Court and Savannah without drooling all over herself. The ones she took of just Court went much smoother. She couldn’t take her eyes off Savannah in the black tux that fit her perfectly. She’d already taken the photos of Lana readying for her big day, and once the ceremony was over she’d take a few shots of the brides with their families.

  “You look amazing today.”

  Maddie was setting up the tripod she would use to capture some key moments from the ceremony itself and hadn’t noticed Savannah approaching. She stood up straight and looked down at the white slacks and blue blouse she was wearing. She’d considered buying a dress for the occasion, but she never felt comfortable in dresses or skirts.

  “You clean up amazingly well yourself.” Maddie reached out and brushed at Savannah’s lapels, not able to help herself. She pretended to smooth out some nonexistent wrinkles just so she could keep touching her.

  “This old thing?” Savannah laughed. “It’s just something I threw on.”

  “Modest as well as devastatingly handsome,” Maddie said with a nod of approval. “You’re the whole package.”

  “So, do you have to work the entire day, or will you be able to kick your shoes off and celebrate with everyone later?” It was obvious Maddie’s comment had embarrassed her by the slight reddening of her cheeks. Maddie found it adorable.

  “I’ll have to take a few photos at the reception, but I should be able to have some time to enjoy myself.” Maddie looked around at the people in the yard, most of whom were sitting since the ceremony was set to take place in about five minutes. “Shouldn’t you be up there with Court?”