Face Off

by P. J. Trebelhorn

  How the hell had she even found out it was Savannah she was seeing? As soon as she’d asked herself the question she knew the answer though. Amy had given her all the information she’d needed to figure it out.

  The game’s on at eight tonight because the Warriors are in Chicago. Oh, and Aunt Maddie’s girlfriend did not get suspended.

  Christ, just a couple minutes on Google with that information and she would have easily come to the conclusion Savannah Wells was her girlfriend. Maddie couldn’t believe she’d been so naïve to think Mary would have left town.

  “It’s all lies, Kelly,” Maddie said, praying she’d believe her. But then again, it wasn’t Kelly she needed to convince. “I did see her this week, and she said she wanted me back, but she doesn’t really. She wants Duke. And she hates to lose. At anything.”

  “Then you aren’t going to go back to her?” Kelly was still staring at the road ahead of her, and her jaw was twitching again.

  “No, I already told you I wasn’t.” Maddie couldn’t help but let the anger seep into her voice, and Kelly finally glanced at her.

  “You can’t get mad at Van when she asks you that, and you know she will.”

  “I’m sorry, and I know. I won’t get mad at her.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “I…” Maddie started to say she cared for her, but she thought about it for a moment. Why should she lie to Kelly? She knew she was falling for Savannah the night she paid the hockey rink owner to close the place to the public so Amy could skate with the Warriors. And every moment they spent together since, she fell even more for her. Yes, she loved Savannah, and although she knew Savannah should be the first one to hear those words, she also knew she needed to persuade Kelly too. “I do love her.”

  Kelly nodded, and Maddie thought she saw the hint of a smile on her lips.

  “Good. Because I’m pretty sure she feels the same way.” Kelly turned into Maddie’s driveway but didn’t cut the engine. She looked at Maddie. “But I still think you should give her some time. God, she’s going to kill me when she finds out I told you all of this.”

  Maddie undid her seat belt and leaned over to kiss Kelly on the cheek. Kelly turned her head, but Maddie saw the blush on her cheeks.

  “What was that for?” Kelly asked.

  “Because you’re a good friend,” Maddie answered. She opened the door, but hesitated before getting out. “Thank you for telling me. And I promise, I won’t let her kill you.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Savannah pulled the curtains open just enough to peek through and saw Kelly driving away. Movement caught her eye, and she saw Maddie walking to her own front door with Duke in tow. Her heart ached with the possibility she might never get to hold her in her arms again. To kiss her, to make love to her. All because of her own stupidity. She wouldn’t be surprised if Maddie was pissed at her for her insecurities.

  She groaned. Torturing herself wasn’t getting her anywhere. This was exactly why getting involved with a neighbor wasn’t a good idea. She let the curtains close and turned to find Leo sitting on the arm of the couch watching her intently. She scratched his chin as she walked by him.

  “Don’t judge me, little man,” she said. “I’m an idiot, and I know it. It should have never gone beyond the fake dating.”

  She flopped down on the couch so Leo was now looking down at her. She covered her eyes with her arm and sighed. How had Maddie gotten past her walls? An even better question was why had she allowed Maddie to get past her walls? She’d known letting someone in again would only lead to heartbreak, yet with Maddie it hadn’t seemed to matter. Now she was paying for her lapse in judgment.

  Savannah opened her eyes when she heard a car outside and was surprised to see she’d slept for the past two hours. She pushed Leo off her chest and stood to look out the window. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Mary getting out of a car in Maddie’s driveway. She looked around the neighborhood briefly before walking to Maddie’s front door.

  Was it true then, the things Mary had told her? How else to explain Mary knowing where Maddie lived? She let the curtains fall closed and stalked to the kitchen to grab a beer. Now she was pissed as well as annoyed with herself. She’d almost convinced herself Mary had been lying to her, but it seemed now that perhaps she hadn’t been.

  * * *

  Maddie’s heart jumped into her throat when she heard her doorbell ring. She was sure it had to be Savannah, and Duke thought so too. He followed her to the door, whining and wagging his tail the entire way. As soon as she opened the door though, his demeanor completely changed, as did hers. Duke took a step back and his hackles went up as he bared his teeth and let out a low growl. He never took his eyes off Mary. Maddie knew exactly how he felt.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, making no move to let her enter the house. An even better question came to mind though. “How did you find out where I live?”

  “It wasn’t hard.” Mary said with a shrug. “I waited at your sister’s this morning and followed you home when that woman came to pick you up.”

  “You have a lot of nerve,” Maddie said, her voice low. Duke obviously picked up on her mood, because his growling got louder and he stepped up to stand next to her. She looked down at him and wanted to praise him for his defense of her. She’d never seen him act this way before, and she was surprised at how intimidating he was. She placed a hand on top of his head and she felt him relax under her touch.

  “Are you sleeping with that one too?” Mary asked, completely ignoring Duke.

  “Who I may or may not be sleeping with is none of your business, Mary.”

  “Can I come in? It’s cold out here.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said, glancing down at Duke. “We don’t want you here.”

  “Hi, Duke,” Mary said, finally looking at him. He snarled, and for a moment, Maddie feared he might lunge at Mary. She curled her fingers around his collar to hold him back. “How’s my sweet boy? Do you want to come home with Mommy?”

  “Are you insane? Do you see the way he’s acting with you?” Maddie was incredulous. “Maybe you never truly noticed, but he obviously doesn’t like you. Which is why I brought him here with me.”

  “Well, he’s coming home with me.” Mary looked her in the eye, and Maddie almost laughed out loud.

  “You do realize he would probably attack you if I let go of him, right?”

  “He would never attack me.”

  “Are you sure? Because right now, I’m not. He’s never acted like this with anyone before. You really need to leave before I decide to release him if for no other reason than you deserve it for the lies you told Savannah.”

  “Oh, she told you?” Mary smiled sweetly, but Maddie knew she was angry. “I didn’t lie to her. I want you to come back to Chicago with me. I thought if I told her you were, she’d make the decision easier for you.”

  “There’s no decision to be made about it. Go home, Mary,” Maddie said with a shake of her head. “Neither one of us is going anywhere with you. Ever. You left me, remember? I’ve moved on, and I suggest you do the same.”

  Maddie slammed the door in her face and took a deep breath. Mary knocked for a few minutes and pleaded with Maddie to let her in, but she didn’t say a word. Mary eventually gave up, but Maddie didn’t fully relax until she’d heard the car start and drive away. Duke was sitting in front her, staring up and panting. She dropped to her knees and held the sides of his head as she kissed him on the snout.

  “You are such a good boy, Duke,” she said, and he wagged his tail and licked her face happily. “Yes, you are.”

  * * *

  Savannah had no idea how long she stood there in the kitchen, but when her doorbell rang, she jumped. She set her beer down before heading to answer it. Her mistake was not looking to see who it was before opening the door.

  “I need to talk to you,” Maddie said as she walked past her, not even pretending to wait for an i
nvitation. She took off her coat and faced Savannah, and that was when her face fell. She took a step toward Savannah and started to reach out to touch her cheek but pulled her hand back at the last second. “Oh my God, Savannah, your beautiful face.”

  “It looks worse than it is,” Savannah said as she shut the door and led her into the living room. She didn’t want Maddie here, but she wasn’t one for throwing people out of her house. She stayed on her feet and watched Maddie as she sat on the couch. Leo, of course, climbed right onto her lap and curled up, staring at Savannah. Traitor. “Does Mary know you’re here? She warned me to keep my distance.”

  “Will you please sit down. I don’t want to have to crane my neck to speak to you.” Maddie met her eyes and held her gaze, not backing down an inch. Savannah finally sat, but at the other end of the couch, as far away from Maddie as she could get. “So, you were spying on me?”

  “I heard a car and thought it might have been in my driveway,” Savannah said with a shrug. “I saw it was her and stopped looking.”

  “Well, if you’d kept watching, you would have seen she left only a few minutes later, and I never let her in the house.”

  “Really?” Savannah felt hope, but then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Maddie raised her voice, causing Leo to jump off her lap. “Everything she told you was a lie, Savannah. I would never go back to her. I don’t have it in me to cheat on anyone, especially since I’ve been cheated on. I know how much it hurts, and I would never do that to anyone. I would never do it to you.”

  Savannah just looked at her in silence. Her pulse quickened as her mind began to ponder the impossible. Her heart stopped her train of thought though. She swallowed hard and forced herself not to look away from her.

  “You didn’t want me to go on this road trip.”

  “What?” Maddie looked truly puzzled by the statement.

  “You said you wished I wasn’t going.”

  “Because everything was so new between us. All I wanted was to spend every minute of every day in bed with you,” Maddie said, softening her tone. “I’m not Shauna, Savannah. I know you’re a hockey player, and I know you’re a veterinarian. I would never hold either of those two things against you. Both of them are a huge part of you, and I love you because of them.”

  “Wait…what?” Savannah wasn’t sure she heard her correctly. She was hoping she did, but she really needed to hear it again.

  “Which part?” Maddie asked. The smile she gave was shy, yet seductive at the same time, and Savannah felt the warmth of it everywhere on her body.

  “The last part.” Savannah sat completely still as she waited, wanting to make sure she heard it right this time. Maddie nodded and moved closer to her as she reached for her hand.

  “I love you.” Maddie looked down at their hands in Savannah’s lap. “I know it isn’t what was supposed to happen, but it did. So, if you don’t want to see me anymore, make it because of that instead of the lies Mary told you.”

  “I love you, too.” Savannah smiled when Maddie’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. “If I’m being honest, I knew it when you walked out of my bathroom wearing my jersey the first night we met. You rocked it so much better than I ever could.”

  “I knew it when you had the Warriors and Court Abbott skate with Amy.” Maddie caressed her uninjured cheek. “You didn’t have to do it, but it meant so much to Amy. To me, too.”

  “Do you think we have a chance to make this work?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m more than willing to give it a go if you are.”

  Savannah stood and held a hand out to her. Her arms slipped around Maddie’s waist as she pulled their bodies flush. She kissed Maddie just below the ear then bit her earlobe lightly.

  “I’ve missed you this past week,” she murmured.

  “Not nearly as much as I missed you,” Maddie said. Savannah pulled back and looked into her eyes.

  “Show me.”

  Maddie didn’t wait for her to ask again. She pulled her down the hall into Savannah’s bedroom and shut the door so Leo couldn’t bother them.

  “I intend to show you all night long,” Maddie said, pulling Savannah’s shirt over her head and tossing it to the side.

  Savannah had always thought letting love into her heart again would be terrifying, but this felt more exhilarating than it did scary. She felt safe, and she felt loved. And she knew it had everything to do with the woman standing in front of her.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Maddie opened her eyes and squinted at the sun shining in through the window before her. She tried to turn onto her back, but the warm body behind her prevented the move. Savannah’s hand moved up her side and covered her breast. Maddie sighed and closed her eyes again.

  “Good morning,” Savannah said as she pressed her body firmly against hers and squeezed her breast gently.

  “Good morning,” Maddie replied. She pushed her ass back into Savannah and they both moaned quietly. “How long have you been awake?”

  “Just a few minutes.”

  “You could have woken me up.”

  “I thought maybe I’d done that too many times through the night. I wanted to let you sleep.”

  “I don’t remember complaining.”

  “Hmm,” Savannah said as if she were contemplating. “No, I guess you didn’t, did you?”

  “I never would,” Maddie said, turning onto her back and looking up at Savannah who was propping herself up on one elbow. She pressed a palm to Savannah’s cheek. “I would never complain about you wanting to touch me.”

  “Good to know,” Savannah said with a wink that threatened to melt Maddie’s insides. Maddie sighed when Savannah looked down at her chest and began running her fingertips lightly over her stomach. “You are so beautiful. I can’t imagine ever not wanting to touch you.”

  “Less talking, please,” Maddie said, placing her hand on Savannah’s hip and urging her on top of her. She spread her legs to give Savannah more room.

  “I like the way you think,” Savannah said with a wink before she closed her mouth around a nipple and sucked on it. Maddie’s body surged and she was surprised to find she was ready to go again. She’d have thought after the night before she’d be well sated. It seemed she couldn’t get enough of Savannah.

  She placed her hands on Savannah’s shoulders and urged her lower, which Savannah did without much prodding. Maddie moaned her pleasure when Savannah flicked her tongue across her clit, causing her body to jerk. Savannah’s hands went to the insides of her thighs and spread her open farther before sliding two fingers inside her.

  “More,” Maddie said, a hint of desperation in her voice she hadn’t heard before. “Jesus, Van, you feel so good.”

  Savannah readjusted and added a third finger before she took Maddie’s clit between her lips and sucked as she thrust into her. Maddie felt herself tightening around her fingers just before the world exploded behind her eyes. She screamed her pleasure and arched her back off the bed as her body jerked.

  “Stop, please,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. Savannah chuckled as she slowly removed her fingers and then kissed her way back up Maddie’s body, stopping when their lips met and she was fully on top of her, her hips nestled between Maddie’s legs.

  “Usually you aren’t begging me to stop,” she said into Maddie’s ear.

  “Usually you aren’t stretching the capabilities of my body,” Maddie answered with a sigh. “I think you’ve ruined me for other women.”

  “Good, because I don’t like to share,” Savannah said as she slid off her body and stretched out alongside her, one leg draped over Maddie’s thighs.

  “Why Savannah Wells, are you asking me to go steady?” Maddie joked.

  “Yeah, I guess I am,” Savannah said thoughtfully. “Too soon?”

  “Not at all. I don’t like to share either.”

  “Good.” She grinned when she remembered what Maddie had called her
a few moments earlier.

  “What?” Maddie asked, looking into her eyes.

  “You called me Van.”

  “Did I?” Maddie looked surprised but then smiled. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. Just don’t call me Vanna.”

  * * *

  Savannah felt lighter than she had in what seemed like forever when she took the ice for their first game of a crucial home stand a couple of days later. Things were awesome with Maddie, and Mary had returned to Chicago, hopefully to leave them alone for good.

  “When’s the wedding?” Kelly asked when they were standing at center ice waiting for the national anthem to start.

  “Wedding?” Savannah asked with a laugh. “Don’t rush me.”

  “Why not? First Court, and now you.” Kelly shrugged. “Seems like everybody around me is coupling up. A wedding seems the next logical step, doesn’t it?”

  “You sound upset,” Savannah said when the anthem was done and they were at the bench waiting to get ready for the opening face-off.

  “Nah,” Kelly said with a light whack of her stick to her shins. “I’m happy for you. Maybe someday I’ll find a good woman to settle down with.”

  “I hope you do,” Savannah said with a nod. They skated to center ice and Alex got ready for the puck to drop. Savannah glanced up at the seats behind their bench and saw Maddie smiling at her. She couldn’t help but smile back.

  They won the game 8-2, and Savannah had three goals and four assists, the best offensive game of her career. She was so happy she didn’t even let Hilton’s jabs get to her. That didn’t mean Hilton didn’t try though.

  “You could have let the rest of us get some points tonight, you know,” Hilton said as she passed her on the way to her locker.

  “Nobody stopped the rest of you from joining in,” Savannah said with a chuckle. “Well, except for the other team.”