9. Lavinia
NINE
LAVINIA
The door slams shut behind us, and Jules and I squeal.
“Oh my god, tell me everything!” Jules says.
I haven’t felt this level of excitement in a long time. I can’t even remember if I was this excited after my first date with Josh.
“Well, we were texting, and I told him I'm on a date. Next thing I know, he’s there.”
I walk to the kitchen and remove the pastries from the bag, setting them on the counter. Then, I sit on the chair and remove my high heels, massaging the balls of my feet. Cutlery jingles and I look up to see Jules taking out two forks from the utensil’s drawer.
“Keep talking.”
“I ask him what the hell he’s doing here and he’s all like, this man is not good enough for you.”
Jules makes a face as she digs into the pistachio pastry. “He’s never even met Benjamin.”
“That’s exactly what I said! But Roman was convinced. Then he told me not to schedule a second date with him.” I pause to take a bite of the cake. “Then he tells me to stop saying Benjamin’s name because he doesn’t like it, and he only wants me to think about him.”
Jules clutches her heart. “Praise be.”
I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet. “We start walking home and my heels are killing me. Guess what he does?”
“I can’t! Omigod.” She leans over the counter, resting her chin on her upturned palm.
Getting up, I grab a glass of water and take a hearty drink, prolonging the moment.
“Vin!”
I walk over to her, resting my hands on her upper arms and looking her directly in the eyes.
“He carried me home, Jules. Four fucking blocks. And he said he will carry me anywhere I need for as long as I need.”
Hearts dance in Jules’s eyes, and I’m sure they’re reflected in mine.
I can still feel where Roman’s arms met my body, my skin still tingling from his proximity.
A part of me questions if I should be more cautious.
Then again, playing by the rules and always being cautious hasn’t gotten me anywhere.
“This man is good,” Jules says quietly.
She demands I tell her the whole incident again and we move to the couch, sitting across from each other as I tell her all about it.
It’s been a long time since we’ve had the chance to be this excited over something and an even longer time since we’ve spent the night chatting away.
When I moved back, I realized how much I missed my best friend.
Jules is my soulmate, and that’s a position no one can replace.
Friday night family dinner has been a tradition since before I can remember.
My mother has one demand and that is that each of us have to show up for family dinner if we’re not playing.
When my dad was still playing, most nights it was Mom, me, and Drew.
In high school, our threesome grew to permanently include Jules.
Now, family dinner is a large event. Sometimes, one of the Titans will join us because they miss their families, and they are in different states. Most nights, it’s the family, which includes my parents, Drew, Jules, both of my grandmothers, and our great-aunt Constance.
When my grandmothers retired, Mom and Dad decided it was better to turn the pool house into an in-law suite and move them both there. Aunt Constance, Dad’s aunt, moved in three years ago. It’s a real life Golden Girls moment.
We’re all gathered around the dinner table now, digging into the lasagna Mom and Drew prepared. I have no cooking skills because my brother got all of them in the womb, so I enjoy these family dinners and take leftovers home for Jules and me.
“Team’s looking good this year,” Dad says.
“No shop talk,” Mom chides.
Over the years, she has gotten lenient on the no shop talk rule because with three hockey players in the family, there has got to be hockey talk at the dinner table.
She’s a Physics professor at Mercer University, so she’s the odd one out in this family.
Neither of her kids were interested in science or academia.
Dad likes to joke that he had to make-up for the fact Drew and I share Mom’s features with our red hair and green eyes, so he should at least get to share our careers with us. Dad has dark hair which is mostly shot with grey now, and light brown eyes.
“That Roman Maddox is a real looker,” Aunt Constance adds.
“Constance! He’s a child.” Grandma Liz pokes her sister on the arm.
“Liz, I know he’s practically a child compared to me. What does that have to do with what he looks like? I mean, what’s the point of going to a hockey game if I can’t even appreciate the players?”
“She does have a point,” Gran says. “You were a hockey mother, it’s different for you.”
Jules giggles and lifts her wine glass to take a sip.
“Right? He’s definitely much better looking than He Whose Name We Don’t Mention,” Aunt Constance says.
That confuses me. “Do you mean Josh?”
Aunt Constance gasps. “I thought we’re not mentioning his name.”
I slice off a piece of lasagna so hard my knife scrapes against the plate. Mom winces, probably thinking about scratches on her nice china.
“You can say his name, I don’t care.”
Especially now, when I can’t stop thinking about Roman, who really is hotter than Josh. I can admit that now because I’m not getting married to Josh and he’s not around to be jealous when I say some other man is attractive.
“Well, get your entertainment now because he’s not going to be around next season,” Drew says.
The comment brings me out of my thoughts, and I look at Drew. On the other side of him, Jules looks at me, an eyebrow raised. While my brother does share Titans gossip with me, I didn’t know anything about Roman potentially being traded again.
“Fighting with the refs and other players is definitely not a good look,” Dad says.
They’re not wrong. If Roman continues like this, pretty soon he’s not even going to have a hockey career. No one wants a loose cannon on their team.
“Well, have you talked to him? You’re the team captain,” I say.
Drew spears a piece of broccoli and pops it into his mouth. That whole twin telepathy thing is a total lie because Drew and I can’t tell what the other one is thinking half the time. Except when we’re on the ice together. Our high school had a co-ed hockey team, and we were unstoppable on the ice.
“Maddox doesn’t want to listen to anyone. He wants to keep to himself and do his own thing. Even Coach has talked to him many times and it’s all led to nothing.”
“But it doesn’t help when you guys don’t even celebrate with him when he scores,” Jules defends.
She can read my mind, better than my brother or my parents. It’s why we always say we’re each other's soulmates. We know each other better than anyone else ever can. I can’t defend Roman openly without it raising questions that I don’t want to answer. Jules doesn’t have the same issue.
“He wants it that way, not us,” Drew grumps. “If he wants to be a part of the team, he should act like it.”
Jules’s laugh is sardonic. “How is it his fault when you probably welcomed him with the same warmth the iceberg had for the Titanic?”
“Says the woman who’s never been part of a team in her life,” Drew snaps back.
“Ha! Jokes on you because Vin and I are a team.”
“Yeah, we are.” We high five over the table, in front of Drew’s face. She winks at me, and I hide my smile behind my water glass. Aside from writing the best kind of fictional men, Jules’s other job is pissing off my grumpy brother.
“Do you see what happens when you let them talk about hockey?” Mom looks at Dad across the table.
“Aunt Constance said he’s pretty,” Dad flusters.
“Oh, Aiden, I think you’re above blaming things on your poor old aunt,” Aunt Constance says. “Besides, your daughter is the one who left her date to go with him.”
Drew and I choke simultaneously, him on water and me on a piece of potato. Mom hands me a glass of water and gets up to massage both our backs as we try to stop the coughing fit.
“How do you know that?” I croak out, when I can breathe again.
Aunt Constance grins slyly. “Benjamin told me a man showed up to your date and when I asked him what he looked like, he described Roman.”
Of course, I should have figured Benjamin would tattle. Not that I blame him.
“Roman Maddox?” Drew asks. “Are you serious?”
“How did this happen?” Mom asks.
“I didn’t know you two were still talking,” Dad adds.
I look at Jules for help and she shrugs. There’s nothing to do other than tell the truth and hope they don’t react badly.
“Nothing is going on between us.” Right now.
“Vinny, you’re blushing,” Gran says, her eyes dancing.
My cheeks are heated, and I sip more of my ice water to calm down. I risk a glance at my brother and find him glaring daggers at me. I wince as I look away.
“Seriously? Him?”
“Drew, isn’t it possible the person you see, and the person Lavinia knows are completely different?” Grandma Liz asks.
“No.” My brother’s tone is obstinate. “We’ll all do better without Roman. He’s not even going to be around long, anyway.”
“You don’t know that,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm. “Roman is a good player, he doesn’t believe in giving his loyalty for the sake of it. Two people have to work in a relationship, Drew, because they’re a team.”
Drew’s cheeks flush. “You’re defending him now? When all I want is for you to be safe?”
Ugh, how can I be upset with him? It’s like being upset at my shadow. Like a cupcake being upset with sprinkles. Like one pea in a pod being upset with the other pea.
“Drew, do you trust me?”
He exhales loudly. “You, yes. Him, not in this lifetime.”
I bump my shoulder against his. “Then trust me when I say I know what I’m doing.”
Drew grinds his jaw but acquiesces with a nod. I squeeze his hand in gratitude.
“Well, I’m not sure how I feel given that Roman is a Maddox, but I’m willing to be cautiously optimistic,” Dad says. “We’ll see how things turn out.”
That’s an odd way to put things. What did he mean given that Roman is a Maddox? Given that our fathers played hockey together, I’m sure Dad knows a lot about Roman’s father. Maybe even things no one else knew.
“If it makes you all feel better, it’s not like we’re dating,” I say.
“Yet,” Aunt Constance adds. “Oh, Angel Pie, a man doesn’t randomly show up when his girl is on a date with another man. Isn’t that right, Aiden?”
We all turn to look at Dad and he smirks proudly, winking at Mom across the table. “Blame your mother. She was trying to make me jealous.”
“I told you. Luke was a friend,” Mom says, with a put upon sigh.
“I thought we discussed you were never going to say his name again.”
Jules and I exchange a quick glance at that as my parents make lovey faces at each other across the table.