"And what makes you think I won't be able to bounce back?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face. "You know what I think? I think you're concerned about my well-being. I think you, Katella Hanson, actually like me. And when you saw me get into a fight, there was a small part of you that was concerned about me."
Katella's lips curled up but she didn't respond. She switched her hands in order to give her right arm a break since Negan made no move to hold the ice pack up to his eye himself.
Bastard.
"What was your fight about anyway?" she asked. She always wondered what caused fights during hockey games. Matt had never gotten into it and she had never wanted to push.
"Nothing, really," he replied, shrugging his shoulder.
She rolled her eyes. Typical answer. She wasn't going to fight him on it, either.
"He said something about you."
Katella's eyes cut over to Negan's, a question in her green irises. "What?" she asked slowly. She always thought girlfriends and significant others were off limits. Not that she was Negan's girlfriend or significant other, but...
"My past isn't exactly a secret," Negan told her. "Neither is yours. This is the first official game with Peters playing. It isn't unusual for a fourth line goon to want to get me off the ice by chirping about how I probably fucked you while you were with Peters."
Katella felt her insides get warm. "Things never get to you," she murmured. "You get to other people, not the other way around."
"There are exceptions to everything, I suppose," he said.
Katella hadn't realized how close the two were, which was silly because she was literally on her knees in front of him, holding a dripping ice pack to his eye. She set it down on the floor next to her but she didn't pull away.
"You didn't need to do that," Katella murmured, her throat suddenly dry. Why was her throat dry? This made no sense.
"I did." His eyes were serious and dark. She could get lost in those eyes. "People need to learn they can't talk to me about you in that way."
Katella had the sudden urge to kiss him. She had been addicted to his lips but thought she needed to quit him cold turkey because if she didn't, it would be dangerous because there was a pull toward him she couldn't fight. Like a moth to a flame.
She needed to get out of here, away from him. Now. Even though that was the last thing she wanted.
Katella stood up so fast, she stumbled backward. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She turned and headed for the door but decided that would be weird if she just left.
She glanced over her shoulder and called, "Good game" before slipping outside and shaking her head the entire way to her car. Her skin finally returned to its normal color after she had fallen asleep.
Chapter 12
The Hanson sisters started getting ready at five pm the evening of the AllStar Auction. Since neither had really learned the intricacies of doing makeup and hair, Seraphina hired pros to do it for them. It took them three hours to get ready, and considering the hotel was ten minutes away, the sisters arrived at the luxury hotel, The Newport, twenty minutes after the event began.
Katella had no idea why her heart was racing in her chest. She had organized and attended tons of these events, including the NHL Awards in Vegas back when she was with Matt and he was presenting an award. Never had she felt this nervous before, however.
Katella pushed her side-swept bangs over her forehead, making sure they were out of her eyes and curled behind her ear as the sleek, black Mercedes town car pulled into the long valet line in front of the hotel. Seraphina grabbed her sister’s hand and interlaced her fingers with Katella’s.
“You look beautiful,” Seraphina said.
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” she replied, but Seraphina continued.
“You look beautiful,” she repeated. “And he will be in complete awe of you.”
Katella pressed her lips together and nodded her head. How did Seraphina know exactly how she was feeling? She glanced down at her outfit one last time. She needed to be reminded that she was beautiful and that she had put a lot of time and effort into her appearance. Regardless of what Negan, or anyone, for that matter, thought of her, she felt beautiful.
Her hair was swept to the side in a sleek bun, her bangs pinned just behind her hair with metallic four-leaf clover pins. She wore an ivory beaded V-neck dress that dipped just below her breasts. A beaded belt wrapped around her ribs and outlined the tank-top sleeves. The ivory dress went past her feet and would have dragged on the floor had it not been for the simple black heels with red souls. Her makeup was light, for the most part – simple coral lipstick, subtle blush on her cheekbones, and mascara on her eyelashes. She knew many girls lived by fake eyelashes but she and her sister weren’t part of that group. The only thing that stood out was the sleek black eyeliner that caused her green eyes to pop.
Katella wore minimal jewelry – circle white earrings and a simple silver ring on her left pinky finger. She didn’t like too many distractions, too many accessories, preferring to be simple and chic with a slight edge.
Her eyes turned to her sister. Seraphina looked just as gorgeous, if not more so, in a conservative red gown, her blonde hair pulled over the left side of her shoulder. If Katella didn’t know better, she would have thought Seraphina was trying to emphasize one side of her face and add a little mystery to her look. In reality, Katella knew her sister was trying to hide herself from the hundreds of eyes that would be on her this evening, ready and waiting for her to fail in some way.
It wasn’t fair.
Katella had no idea how Seraphina dealt with that pressure. No wonder she refrained from doing anything about her feelings for Brandon Thorpe. They would skin her alive, and the fact that she had dated a couple of the Gulls wouldn’t help matters. She bit her bottom lip in realization. She had really fucked this up for Seraphina, hadn’t she?
Not that Seraphina blamed her. Katella was young when she met Matt – twenty-three and freshly out of grad school with a Master’s in business from the University of California, Irvine. Katella thought Matt was The One. She didn’t think he’d break up with her and she didn’t think she’d rebound when she found out he was back after a year in order to train with the team.
Still.
She should have been stronger than to let him get to her that way.
By the time they reached the front of the line, Katella was ready to make her entrance and throw herself into work. She had been there around four, just before she returned home to get ready. Madison and Amanda had been there since three, coordinating everything with The Newport’s own event planner. In fact, the decorating had nearly been finished when Katella walked in to check on everything. To say she was both relieved and proud of the two Girls she put in charge of this was an understatement.
Walking into the lobby, there was a black and white sign with fancy lettering that stated the AllStar Auction was down the West Hall in the Balboa Ballroom. Katella and Seraphina walked in together. They didn’t need to check in at all nor did they need a wristband. They already knew their assigned table, so they headed there first.
Katella took a moment to look at the room. There was a chandelier hanging above them – a grand chandelier that took up the majority of the ceiling – and each candle on it was lit. There was no actual electricity lighting up the room, it was all candles. It was romantic and unique and didn’t deter anyone’s visage. There were fifteen large round tables with pristine white tablecloths and navy blue cloth napkins folded elaborately into a pyramid on every place setting. The centerpiece on each table was a glass trophy listing Zachary Ryan and Kyle Underwood as the two AllStar Participants, a token piece that could be bid on by members of the table in a silent auction that would close at the end of the event.
The main stage was lit up with bulbs like a runway in a fashion show. There was a podium set off to the side, out of the spotlight, where the MC would stand and announce each player, his age and position, and a
couple of personal pieces of information that would fill a dating website quite beautifully.
She smiled at the volunteers, dressed beautifully, at the small check-in table just before the ballroom entrance, and as she walked through the doors, she was bombarded with people saying hello and wanting to shake her hand. Seraphina was way better at handling the public than Katella was, so it was easy for her to slip through the crowd and find Madison and Amanda, who were going around to different tables, asking if anyone wanted to participate in a silent drawing. They weren’t allowed to dress up; they still had to be in uniform. They wore their latex crop tops, which dipped like half a diamond to reveal a tasteful amount of cleavage. The sleeves were three-quarters, revealing their forearms. Their pants were low cut and black, hugging their skin like they were painted on. They both had cute black tennis shoes on their feet. There was no hair requirement for the Girls just as long as it looked nice and everyone was uniformed. In other words, everyone wore their hair up or everyone wore their hair down. There was no in between. Since tonight was a little fancier than most nights, their hair was pulled into high ponytails, with the ends curled and bangs left in their faces.
Katella gave them both a smile and hoped that they could see how appreciative she was for all the hard work they put into the decorations. She couldn’t go over and tell them that herself just because they were speaking to guests and she didn’t want to interrupt. She let herself get swept up in conversation. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Gulls start to make their appearances, all dressed to the nines in their fitted tuxedos.
Katella didn’t want to admit it, but she was looking for Negan. She didn’t know why but she felt as though she wanted to see him. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her stomach felt light and airy. She kept searching the crowd, going over the tall men in tuxedos, trying to make out Negan.
And then, she saw him.
He looked like Prince Charming’s scruffy younger brother. Everything on him was in place, his body looked wonderful in his tux, and even his hair was shorter. Her lips curled up into a small grin; he had gotten a haircut. She knew that it probably had nothing to do with her but there was a small part of her that thought maybe, just maybe, it did. A small part, maybe, but a part.
And for some reason, that meant something to her.
At that moment, a woman, probably a couple of years older than she was, intercepted him. Katella couldn’t actually see her, but she wore a pretty black dress and her dark brown hair was curled and pinned up to her head. She held a silver glittery clutch in her hand, which was currently placed on her jutted hip. Her body language indicated she wasn’t happy.
She furrowed her brow as she watched the pair. Negan didn't look all that happy, either. He seemed surprised to see her there, and then he looked around to see if anyone else had noticed her. He was suddenly stiff, regardless of his casual air of indifference that surrounded him wherever he went. His brown eyes were hard and narrowed, his lips pressed into a thin white line as he listened to whatever it was she needed to say.
They had to know each other in some way. How, Katella didn't know. But there was a familial relationship between them and the unsettled feeling that crept up in the pit of her stomach indicated that she didn't like to see some random woman talking to him in such an intimate way.
Jealousy.
This was what jealousy felt like.
Katella clenched her teeth together and looked away. She wasn't familiar with the concept of jealousy but she knew that she was experiencing it now.
She wasn't in denial that she liked Negan. She liked when he teased her, she liked when he looked at her with that sparkle in his eye and that smile on his face - a look, she felt, no one understood but the two of them. It was like they had inside jokes when they really didn't. Or maybe they did. These feelings were confusing and hard to decipher. All she really knew was that this feeling wasn't going to go away anytime soon so she had better get a handle on it before the other emotions that came with it - like jealousy - got at her too much.
"Sera," she whispered to her sister when they were finally alone, heading to their designated table. "Who is that talking to Negan? I don't recognize her."
Seraphina looked toward where Katella nodded and murmured, "That's Edina Negan, Negan's ex-wife."
"That's his ex?" she asked with disbelief, which didn't make sense considering Edina was pretty. Perhaps Katella was just surprised she was down here. "Isn't she supposed to be up in New York?"
Seraphina shrugged. "You're asking the wrong question, Kat," she said.
"Oh, yeah?" Katella responded, quirking a skeptical brow. She still didn't take her eyes off of Negan and his ex. "And what's the right one?"
Seraphina smirked. "Why this bothers you so much," she said and then sauntered off to their table, leaving Katella to ponder that very problem.
Chapter 13
Katella and Seraphina made sure to have plates at the wives/girlfriend table. They wanted to get to know the significant others of their players in hopes to really build the bridge between personal and professional lives. Actually, that was Seraphina’s goal. Katella used to make friends with these women because she used to be one of them. At least, she thought she had been one of them.
Now, she wasn’t sure.
At least the majority of the girlfriends and wives were nice and open to being around her and her sister. She had encountered women that were threatened by both her and Seraphina. If it was because of their looks, their power, their education, or their name, Katella didn’t particularly care. She still read fan fics late at night and peed in the shower just like everyone else. Truth be told, she didn’t have time to deal with women who didn’t want to get to know her better and she didn’t have time to deal with men who were intimidated by her. She knew life couldn’t be easy and she knew Seraphina was all about coming together and trying to understand each other, but Katella didn’t particularly like to socialize with strangers.
Luckily, not all of them were strangers. Harper Crawford sat on Katella’s right, looking gorgeous as she always did. Her long dark blonde hair was left down, sleek and combed but not styled in any particular way except a thorough conditioning. She wore a strapless lavender gown with a sweetheart cut, emphasizing a tasteful display of cleavage. There was a metallic gold belt wrapped just underneath her breasts, highlighting her slender waist. The dress was loose in the skirt, but was still flattering on her. She was laughing with Emma Winsor, sitting on Harper’s right.
Emma looked cute in a blue dress. It was similar in style to Katella’s own dress, where it dipped between her breasts and met a darker blue silk belt tied under her breasts, save for the fact that Emma’s went to her knees while Katella’s went all the way to the floor. The skirt was loose but the material still clung to her body, revealing an enviable pair of calves Katella knew Emma worked her perfect ass off for, considering she recently opened her own dance company.
“So,” Harper said, tilting her head to turn to Katella. “How are you doing? Zach’s been telling me you and Negan get into it every time you step into the same room. He thinks you guys have the hots for each other – and before you ask, yes, he actually used those exact words.”
Katella groaned. “Ugh,” she said, grabbing her glass of sparkling white wine. “Yeah, he’s an ass.”
“Maybe it’s like high school,” Emma pointed out. “You know, when a guy likes you, he picks on you?”
“I’m too old for that,” Katella said, rolling her eyes. “Negan just likes to be an ass. There’s no reason for it.”
“There’s a reason for everything,” Harper said. “Men have no idea what they want.”
“Oh, right,” Seraphina said, rolling her eyes. “Zach knew he wanted you practically the moment he saw you. He did not make that a secret. He came to my office to tell me about you two, and after everything that happened to the poor guy, he was still more concerned about you.”
Harper blushed.
Emma grin
ned. “Well, Kyle only realized he wanted to be with me when I took my cousin to a game,” she said. “A cousin he thought was a date. So Kyle didn’t realize what he wanted until a decision was made for him.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar young woman walked up to the table with her arm looped through Matt’s. Unlike the majority of the women seated at this table, she couldn’t be considered beautiful, but she was cute and probably had a wonderful personality. She had dark hair cut short, just underneath her chin, and hazel eyes. Her face was sharp and angled, like a diamond, and she wore thin-rimmed glasses that Katella didn’t think were for aesthetics. She wore a simple off-white dress with a rope-styled belt tied at her waist, giving the dress curves. It reached her knees and she had flip flops on her feet. She was carrying a red clutch to her chest, the color matching her lipstick – the only makeup she wore.
Matt looked hesitant to leave her at the table in the first place, and every few seconds, he would shoot Katella looks when he thought she wasn’t looking, as though he expected her to react inappropriately to this girl’s presence.
Katella clenched her jaw to keep from reacting at all. She hated that people just assumed she couldn’t handle herself when she was the sister known for keeping her emotions in check. The problem was, Matt seemed to think she still had feelings for him, which made no sense whatsoever because she hadn’t thought she had given him any indication otherwise.
At that moment, Katella promised herself that she would do exactly opposite of what Matt expected from her. She had no idea what he told his girlfriend about her, if he had mentioned Katella at all, but there was some hesitancy in her posture at even sitting down with this group, though that could be a result of shyness or the fact that she was in a completely new setting.
Black Eyes & Blue Lines: A Slapshot Novel (Slapshot Series Book 2) Page 8
