17. Roman
SEVENTEEN
ROMAN
I’m getting weird looks from the team. I’m getting murderous looks from Drew. For the first time, it doesn’t have anything to do with my performance on the ice. Even Coach Cross doesn’t say anything about what happened.
He does chew Ford out for missing a pass that almost cost us the game.
There’s no way to explain what happened without having the guys hate me more. I saw Lavinia, she was wearing a jersey, I saw Kai’s name and number on the back, I fucking lost it.
I’ve never been jealous in my life, except when it comes to Lavinia. She has all these people who know her, or want her, or want to know her. For the record, I’m not jealous of her. I don’t want their attention. I’m jealous of them because they have her attention.
And I want that.
It’s not Kai’s fault, or even Lavinia’s.
It’s almost entirely my own mental and emotional state of being.
When you’re constantly alone with no one to talk to, you get really good at listening to yourself.
And I preferred this life I chose, until I played with the Titans, and had Lavinia’s attention.
Shouts ring out around me as Kai enters the VIP room in the club where the Titans are gathered to celebrate tonight’s win.
We were losing miserably and the only reason we won is because he stopped each one of the opposition's shots. Even in the dim lighting, it’s hard not to miss the bashful look on his face or the way he ducks away from the entrance to disappear in the sea of Titans.
Suddenly, he’s next to me at the bar with Drew’s arm around his neck.
“We’ll take the bottle of Dom,” Drew says, and side-eyes me. “And one more of whatever Maddox is drinking to drown his sorrows.”
“Fuck off, Callahan,” I mutter.
It’s too bad he has the same copper hair and green eyes as Lavinia because he has none of her personality. Where she draws in a crowd, he repels them.
“I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but leave Lavinia out of it. Stay away from her. She doesn’t need another asshole in her life when she just got rid of the last one.”
I turn in my seat to face him fully. “That’s something you and I agree on. Josh is an asshole.”
“He was your team’s captain.”
I shrug. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Drew, but I’ve had a lot of teams and a lot of captains. Just because I play for them, doesn’t mean I’m loyal to them.”
He crosses his arms, taking my measure. “You’re not loyal to me, then.”
“Loyalty has to be earned, Callahan. It’s not a participation trophy. You don’t trust me because I’m playing for the Titans, do you?”
Drew tilts his head in thought. “That makes some kind of sense.”
“Of course, it does. I’m very insightful.”
“And full of yourself,” a voice says behind me.
I turn and find Lavinia, a wry smile tilting up the corners of her red mouth. She’s changed into a silver dress that clings to her body almost indecently. I can’t take my eyes away from her, the way the dress wraps around her curves, short enough to expose the thighs I want to live between.
Her eyes shift beyond me and her brother, and her smile grows wider.
“Kai!” Vin rushes towards the goalie and wraps her arms around his neck, his arms go around her waist. They hug each other like long lost loves.
I pick up my whiskey and swallow it. It’s bitter as it goes down.
“You were brilliant,” Vin gushes, pulling away from Kai.
Drew is right there beside his sister, handing her a lavender drink in a tall glass.
“Thanks, Vin. It really wasn’t much. I was doing my job.”
“Take the win, Kai. You stopped every single one of their shots and therefore this win belongs entirely to you, as far as I’m concerned.”
Lavinia squeezes his arm, and Kai gets this glow about him like he’s gone celestial. He hasn’t. It’s the Lavinia Callahan effect.
“Oh my god, Kai!” Jules is here, giving Kai a side hug. “Way to go! Even I was on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't care less about hockey.”
“Your best friend is a hockey player,” Drew reminds her.
“Vin loves me despite my flaws,” Jules quips. “Unlike you, who notices nothing but my flaws.”
I motion to the bartender to bring me another drink. It’s my third and I really shouldn’t order it. Despite the fact that we have two days off, I don’t drink more than a drink or two during the season.
I can definitely use another, though.
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate the support, but I was literally doing my job,” Kai says bashfully.
“Kai, if you continue being a humble king, you’re not going to get very far among these attention whores.” Jules hooks her arm through his and turns him away. “Let’s go find some people we can flirt with.”
Drew follows them as if he’s afraid of what kind of trouble those two will get into. Lavinia climbs onto the stool beside me.
“You’re not going?”
“To find people to flirt with? That’s what I have you for. Besides, I’m worried if I start flirting, you’re going to show up to drag me away again.”
Lifting the straw of her drink to her lips, she gently sucks, her lips forming a perfect pout.
My groin tightens thinking about her perfect lips around my cock, and I pick up my glass again, taking a large gulp of the whiskey.
Lavinia’s eyes sparkle flirtatiously, as if she knows exactly where my mind went.
I clear my throat. “I’m flattered you chose me. And if you’re talking about Dr. Plaque, he deserved to get left behind.”
Lavinia sips on her drink slowly. “You should be flattered, after that appalling display tonight.”
“Okay, admittedly, elbowing Ryker was not necessary, but he was getting in my face and your brother had to score. I did it for the team.”
Lavinia arches an eyebrow, her mouth turning into a straight line, though her lips are too pouty to ever be straight. She lightly taps her sandal against mine in what I think is censure.
“I meant, you telling me to take my clothes off.”
“I showed up on your date with another man, what did you expect was going to happen?” I lean forward, close enough to whisper in her ear, to breathe in the scent of her perfume.
Her breath stutters as she shifts. “Don’t pretend you didn’t wear Kai’s jersey because you knew exactly how I was going to react. ”
“Contrary to what you believe, my thoughts don’t revolve around you,” Vin says lightly. “Maybe I wore Kai’s jersey because I wanted to support the best player on the team.”
I laugh quietly, pushing away the whiskey glass. I don’t need alcohol when I can get drunk on Lavinia. “You’re such a pretty little liar, you can make the Devil believe he’s mistaken about his life choices.”
“Please, the devil will be so lucky to have my attention.” Lavinia tosses her hair over her shoulder, and in her eyes, I see the shimmer of confidence that had been lacking months earlier.
“You’re the only person I know who can challenge the devil,” I say. “Maybe next time you can wear my jersey to a game.”
“Jersey privileges have to be earned,” Lavinia says.
I finger a curl of her hair that’s resting on her neck, and Lavinia shivers.
There’s something about having her full attention on me that’s entirely too intoxicating.
No, that’s not it, exactly. Intoxicating has such negative connotations and nothing about those gorgeous green eyes on me feels negative.
When Lavinia looks at me, I feel like I’m tethered to earth by the strongest pull of gravity.
“You’re making this awfully hard.”
Her eyes hold a challenge as they meet mine. “Did you think this was going to be easy?”
My hand is so close to her pretty throat, and I have this possessive urge to wrap it around her neck and pull her mouth to mine. Lavinia turns, resting one foot on the rung of my stool, her legs trapped between both of mine.
“I don’t mind as long as I know what the benefits will be,” I say.
“What makes you think you’re going to survive the game long enough to even know the benefits?”
I smirk. “I never play a game I can’t win, Vinny girl.”
“And I play to win, so I guess we’re at an impasse.”
Drew is suddenly looming behind Lavinia, his glare trained at me. “Vin, come see to your best friend. Pretty sure she’s trying to convince Reese to quit hockey.”
“Although how is anyone supposed to win if your brother is glaring at them?” I mumble.
Lavinia sets down her drink, turning to face her brother. “Drew, stop glaring at Roman. You’re making him nervous, and he can’t perform.”
I choke on my tongue and Lavinia laughs, walking to where Jules is surrounded by my other teammates. Drew is still standing in front of me, his arms crossed, his perpetual frown marring his face.
“You’re not the Callahan I want to spend time with,” I remind him.
“Stay away from my sister,” he grinds through clenched teeth.
“That didn’t work when we were sixteen and it’s definitely not going to work now, Drew.”
Lavinia announces that she and Jules are going down to dance and my eyes follow her as she walks out of the VIP room. Before she leaves, she turns to look over her shoulder, her eyes connecting with mine. When she sees me watching, her mouth tilts up into a smile, an eyebrow raised in challenge.
If the good girl wants to play, who am I to deny her?