Reflections on Ice Ch. 01

"How did you hear about it?"

"My friend, Janis, told me. She works at the gallery across the street. I guess she'd seen the signs." Cassia sipped her coffee and squinted at him. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I found it on-line."

"Did you actually search 'speed dating'?"

Dylan responded with a smile at her tone. "No, I tried 'how to meet women' first." He leaned close, glancing over his shoulder before going on. "That was an eye-opening search."

Cassia laughed, startling them both. She hadn't expected that kind of response from him, not with his behavior since they'd met, but he appeared to be relaxing. "I can only imagine."

"It was even more embarrassing because my roommate was looking over my shoulder at the time." Dylan sipped his coffee and grimaced, reaching for the sugar.

"Roommate?" Cassia knew he was dodging her original query but couldn't help her curiosity. "Who's your roommate? And why do you need one?"

"Tristen Sturgess."

Cassia's eyes widened. "You're kidding." Then she shook her head, feeling foolish. "Of course. It's not so weird to be roommates with another player from the team."

Dylan nodded. "And it's not that we need to share a place. I think we're both too lazy to move elsewhere."

Cassia smiled. Lazy hockey players, that was a new one.

"OK, so I've answered about half a dozen questions. It's your turn." Cassia watched him nod, his brief moment of mirth gone already. "Why did you try speed dating?"

She watched the tips of his ears turn pink and wondered if his embarrassment was genuine. It was probably an act. It was an uncharitable thought, since he'd done nothing to give that impression. Except for lying about his name.

"Promise not to laugh?"

Cassia shook her head.

He glared but after a moment, he shrugged, as if he'd come to a decision. He sighed. "I have trouble meeting women, and figured I had nothing to lose."

Cassia narrowed her eyes. "You're telling me you couldn't have met a woman any other way?"

He looked away, the pink in his ears spreading.

"You're a hockey player. I'm sure there are women hovering around you guys all the time."

He let out a dry laugh. "They sure do. But when the only things that come out of my mouth around them are 'yes' or 'no' answers, they lose interest fast."

"You're saying more than that to me, right now."

He eyed her, his smile crooked. "I am. Must be the eight beers I had at Tapley's."

Cassia grinned. "Maybe that's it."

They sipped their coffee, the silence between them feeling less awkward.

"I still don't know why you lied about who you are." Cassia set her mug down. "You could have lied about your work, but I'd guess that most of those women wouldn't have known you by name."

"You did."

She nodded. "That's true, but I was raised on hockey. My mom is from Michigan, so I'd watch games with her, while my dad and brothers spent all their time on football."

"They like football? In Texas?" His tone was dry and she laughed again.

"Come on. Why did you lie about your identity?"

He shrugged. "I was afraid someone might go home and search my name."

"Ah. Yes. Women do Google potential dates."

"Yeah. And I didn't want it getting out that I was speed-dating. Not that I think everyone would care so much, but still."

"You couldn't have kept up the fake identity forever."

"No, I know." He tapped a finger on the rim of his mug. "I figured after the first date, if there was one, and if it went well, I'd confess."

Cassia nodded. "And that might have worked. Until I outed you."

Dylan shook his head. "You didn't out me. I don't think anyone overheard us."

"I hope not." Cassia felt bad now for having put him on the spot like she had. She'd been so wound up and irritated by the whole experience at Tapley's, and she'd taken out her frustrations on Dylan Samuels. It had been such a surprise to see him sit down across from her. It was still a touch surreal, if she was being honest with herself.

"And anyway, there was a good chance no one was going to ask for my number."

"I don't know." Cassia searched for something kind to say. "That blond beside me had looked interested."

He scoffed and looked down, tapping his finger on the mug in his hands again. Sally came along and refilled their coffee, with a smile and a wink.

"Anyway..." Cassia started again, after Sally walked away. "You would probably do better with on-line dating."

But he was already shaking his head. "No. Tried it. Hardly got any responses."

"Did you lie on the profiles too?"

His expression turned sheepish and Cassia couldn't help but smile.

"Dylan, you'd get a thousand replies if you put your real identity out there."

"And it would be a thousand women only replying because I'm a professional athlete."

Cassia blinked, taken aback by his response. It made sense, what he was saying, but she had never heard of an athlete being hamstrung by his career when it came to women.

At her silence, he met her eyes and shrugged. "Besides, I'm no better at emails or texting than I am speaking with someone in person."

She wanted to point out again that they were having no trouble talking right now, but she figured he'd remind her of all the beer he'd had.

"You could always get someone else to write your emails for you." At his narrow look, she laughed. "I didn't think you'd go for that."

"I don't know. Maybe I should give it a try, especially considering how well tonight went."

Cassia made a face. "Tell me about it. Dating is so horrible these days. There are nothing but bars full of creeps, or dating websites full of perverts, or speed dating, full of..." she paused, meeting Dylan's gaze again.

"Hockey players?" he offered in a helpful tone.

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "So many professional athletes frequent the speed dating scene, let me tell you. It's almost embarrassing."

Dylan grinned and lifted his mug in a mock salute.

Cassia smiled in spite of herself. Her first impression of Dylan hadn't been great, but he'd turned it around, with his pink ears and endearingly pathetic story of his inability to meet women.

When Sally approached in another minute, brandishing the coffee pot, Cassia shook her head.

"Thanks, Sall, but I'm beat. I'm going to hit the road."

"Sure thing, darlin'. I'll see you soon."

Cassia nodded and stood up. She dug in her pocket for a few bills to pay for her coffee and pie. Beside her, Dylan did the same.

"Thank you for the pie, ma'am. It was delicious."

"You're welcome, sugar. Come back any time."

Dylan's eyes darted to Cassia's face for a second before he smiled at Sally. "I might take you up on that."

Sally smiled and waved them off as they headed for the door. Once again, Dylan held the door for her and out on the sidewalk, Cassia paused and turned to face him.

"It was nice to meet you, Samuels."

His smile was crooked, and Cassia's heart skipped a beat. It was probably the coffee.

"It was nice to meet you, Cassia. Thanks for letting me tag along."

She shrugged. "No problem."

They faced each other in silence for a moment, neither turning to leave. Cassia finally took a step back and lifted a hand in a lame wave.

"See ya."

He echoed her words and Cassia turned all the way, lengthening her stride until she was well away from the Lone Star Diner and Dylan Samuels. She fought the urge to turn and look. Dylan was a grown man. He could find his own way home from the diner.

Cassia zipped her jacket. The night was still mild, but she was feeling chilled. The whole night had been a mistake. Her roommate and brother, Kyle, had warned her against going but she hadn't listened. She rarely listened to any of her brothers.

She shoved her hands in her pockets and tucked her chin down as she walked the rest of the way home. It wasn't far and she was letting herself into her second-floor apartment over the strip mall, that included a donut shop, in fifteen minutes.

As she walked in, the tinny sound of explosions, gunfire, and men shouting reached her ears. She paused in the doorway, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Please just let him be wearing pants this time

Opening her eyes, she closed and locked the door. She kicked her shoes off and walked down the hall. Her brother, Kyle, was sprawled on her couch, playing some loud shoot-em-up video game. Shirtless, but mercifully wearing sweatpants.

At her appearance, he looked up. "Hey, Cass."

"Thanks for keeping your pants on this time." She swatted his feet until he moved them. She sank onto the couch and closed her eyes.

"Yeah. Didn't want you screaming the place down again. Last time you made my ears bleed."

"No one needs to see those pink polka dot boxers."

He shot her a dirty look and spread out again, flopping his feet on her lap. She scowled and shoved them off.

"Jeez, I can tell your night didn't go well."

Cassia opened her eyes to glare at her brother. "What makes you say that?"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "That pissy look on your face, for starters."

She groaned and rested her head on the back of the couch. "Whatever."

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of digital mayhem. Cassia might have been lulled into sleep if her brother didn't choose that moment to shout at the television screen.

"Oh my God. It's just a game, you loser."

"I've been trying to get past this stage for days."

Now it was Cassia's turn to roll her eyes. "Maybe you should be spending your time doing something more useful. Like, oh, I don't know... looking for a job?"

Kyle gave her a narrow look before turning his attention back to the game. "I have a job."

"A better job than twenty hours a week at the donut shop downstairs."

"Yeah, because there are so many opportunities for college dropouts."

Cassia glanced at her brother and sighed. "You're not even trying to look. There are plenty of jobs out there where college degrees don't matter. Look at me."

"Yeah, sorry if I'm not jumping at the chance to work in a fucking garage with Dad and the twin brickheads."

"Oh please. You worked there all through high school. Don't act like you're too good for it now."

"I never said I was." Kyle paused his game and scrubbed a hand over his face. "But there's no way I could spend every day with them and not punch someone. Every day."

Cassia smirked. She loved her family, every bull-headed male, but even she had to fight the urge to punch one of them at least once every day. So she supposed she could understand Kyle's point of view, especially considering the foul tempers they all sported.

"Fine. Don't work in the garage with us. But you have enough experience you could get on somewhere else." Cassia sat up. "I could ask around, see if anyone is looking."

"You really think Dad would be OK with me working at a competitor?"

Cassia shrugged. "If you don't tell him, I won't."

Kyle blinked. "You'd lie?"

She waved a hand in the air. "It wouldn't be a lie. I just wouldn't bring it up."

"Like you didn't bring up me living here?" His eyebrows rose.

"And I never did." Cassia frowned. "It's not my fault that the twins dropped by without calling first and let themselves in."

Kyle nodded. He wasn't upset. At least, not anymore. At the time, he'd been furious, thinking Cassia had ratted him out. He'd been living with her for a month at that point, having given up his time at the University of Texas. They both knew the family would be angry at him for dropping out, so Cassia had agreed to keep his secret for a while.

Kyle lifted his eyes to hers and gave her a weak smile. "All right. You might as well see if there's anything out there for me. At least I'd be making more doing oil changes and tire rotations than pouring coffee and boxing pastries."

"You're right about that." Cassia patted his shoulder and stood up. "Keep it down. I'm going to bed."

As she walked away, the game started up again and a moment later, the volume dropped way down. Cassia smiled as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

She didn't mind having her brother around, not really. He was clean and quiet, for the most part, but she did worry about him. He'd never come out and told her what had led to his return home and she hadn't pried. Having more than one overbearing sibling could be frustrating at times, and they all seemed to think it was OK to pry into their family's lives. Never mind that Cassia was twenty-seven and had been living on her own for over five years and didn't need their input on the daily aspects of her life. But they did all have one thing in common. They loved each other, and come hell or high water, would always be there for each other, which was why Cassia hadn't hesitated to let Kyle stay with her while he figured out what to do with the rest of his life.

She and Kyle had always been closer than they were with their older twin brothers. Kyle was the youngest and the older two had made it their personal mission growing up to make his life miserable. Cassia might not have been much in the way of a bodyguard, but she'd definitely taken his side in everything, and he'd done the same for her.

Cassia turned on the water in the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. She stared at herself in the mirror as she brushed. She didn't know if she was the right person to be guiding Kyle anyway. What did she have? A two-bedroom walk-up over a donut shop, within walking distance of the garage and the house they'd grown up in. She sometimes considered saving up to start her own garage but the thought of all that extra responsibility was enough to turn her off the idea. At least at Morgan & Sons, she could go to work every day, do what she loved, and then go home, no worries.

No life either. And that was why she'd been desperate enough to try speed dating tonight.

Cassia scowled at her reflection before bending over the sink to rinse. She shouldn't say she had no life. She met up with her girlfriends every couple of weeks or so. They'd have dinner or a movie night at someone's house, while catching up. Last Saturday had been Olivia's house, and they'd been obsessed with talking about the details for Vivian's wedding. Vivian's wedding that was little more than two months away and Cassia had no hope of a date at this point.

With a sigh, she shut the light off and crossed the hall to her bedroom. Not bothering with the light, she undressed and climbed into bed.

The one bright point in the entire night had been meeting Dylan Samuels. She hadn't exactly been nice to him, but she could almost blame that on her history with the opposite sex. Still, it had been a bit of a thrill to meet someone she'd only ever seen on TV.

Rolling over, Cassia pressed her face to the cool pillow and stared at the outline of her window, the light from the street below creating a glow behind the blinds.

Dylan Samuels.

She almost wished she had given him her number. Though, he'd seemed so nervous and unsure of himself that she guessed he'd have never called her. She fell asleep a short while later, the memory of his crooked smile staying with her into her dreams.

****

Before the puck dropped, Dylan circled his small section of the ice, stick pressed to his thighs. He was breathing hard and hating icing calls with a passion. Then everyone moved into formation, the official dropped the puck, and Dylan got to work.

His teammate, Jake Brown, won the face-off, and the puck went to their linesman, Seth Jordan. Keeping an eye on the opponents, Dylan rushed after his teammates as they made for the neutral zone. Once there, they dumped the puck in the other team's zone and made for the bench, as their teammates jumped the boards to join the fray.

On the bench, Dylan's shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath. That had been a long shift on the ice. Lifting his water bottle, he looked up at the scoreboard and cursed to himself. They had less than three minutes in the third period and the score was tied. He really didn't want this to go into overtime. Their record in overtime wasn't the greatest and they needed this win, but the Buffalo Sabres weren't just going to hand it over.

Someone nudged his shoulder and he shifted his eyes to his teammate, and roommate, Tristen. Tristen grinned. "You ready to get mean out there?"

Dylan laughed. "Mean? You should be talking to someone bigger."

Tristen joined in his laughter. There weren't many players on the team bigger than Dylan.

Out on the ice, action stopped as the whistle blew. Players headed for the benches and fresh players swept over the boards. Dylan watched Tristen skate over to the blue dot just inside the Sabres' zone. He swallowed more water as the puck dropped. He shot to his feet as Tristen made some quick move and stole the puck. A second later, Tristen took the shot and the lamp lit up.

"Yeah!" Dylan pumped his fist in the air and turned to exchange high fives with his teammates as the crowd around them erupted in cheers.

Tristen skated by the bench, all grins, as he received his accolades from his teammates.

When Dylan next looked up at the big screen, he was relieved to see the winning numbers on their side. Even if it did mean his roommate would be insufferable for the rest of the night. He didn't care. A win was a win, and this season, for the Dallas Stars, they weren't all that common.

In the locker room, after showering, Dylan sat on the bench, lacing his shoes as Tristen sat down next to him.

"You want to go out?"

Dylan lifted his brows as he faced his teammates. "Out? Out where?"

Tristen shrugged, rubbing his towel over his head. "I don't know. A club or something. We should celebrate. It's our first win in five."

Dylan wasn't sure if he felt like Tristen's kind of celebrating. Then again, they had a victory for a change, so maybe they should. "All right. Let's go out."

"We're going out?" Jake leaned over. "Where?"

Jake's brother, John, punched the captain in the arm. "You can't go out. You're too young."

Jake punched him back. "Blow me."

"OK, OK, it's not that kind of party!" Tristen laughed and threw his towel at Jake, who yelped and tossed it to the floor.

The four of them laughed and tossed insults back and forth while they finished getting changed. Then they walked together towards the parking structure.

"So where are we going?" Jake asked as he checked his phone.

"Don't ask me." John pushed his hands into his pockets. "I'm so out of touch with the party scene."

"You were never in touch, grandpa."

They all laughed and a moment later, two more teammates caught up to them, wanting to join in the celebration, Seth Jordan, and Larse Koskinen.

"I know a place," Seth said. "It's a bit of a drive but it's fun."

"How much fun is it going to be on a Wednesday night?" Dylan couldn't keep the skepticism out of his tone.

Tristen shoved him. "As fun as we want, Sams. Let's go!"

They made their way to their vehicles, and Seth led the way in his car, honking the whole way. Everyone followed and twenty minutes later, they were pulling into a busy parking lot near a brightly lit building, with thumping music pouring out of the open front doors. As Dylan circled to find a parking spot, he could feel the bass through the truck.

The men found each other in the lot as they walked towards the front doors. No one ID'd them, even when John said Jake was trying to sneak in. Inside the club, Dylan blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted to the flashing lights.

"Ah, yeah, this is what I'm talking about." Tristen clasped a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get a drink and hit the dance floor!"

Dylan burst out laughing. If his friend thought he was going to join that knot of twisting and writhing bodies in the middle of the club floor, he was crazy.