Romance Melting the Ice

Looking into his face, she tried to discern if there was any mockery in his expression, any indication that he was merely toying with her. No, he looked sincere and even curious about her hesitation. Flushing, she looked down at her fingers clenched together and tried to decide what this meant.

"I don't mean to push, Natalie."

Her eyes lifted to his face again and she felt terrible for the wounded look that now crossed his face. He was still smiling but his eyes were no longer twinkling at her and she realized then that he truly meant it.

She put her hands on his chest. "You're not."

Lifting onto her toes, she pressed a kiss to his lips and suppressed the shiver when his arm went around her waist to pull her closer.

"Does that mean you'll give me your number?"

"Yes."

Hayden let her go and hurried away. He reappeared in a few seconds, carrying his cell phone. Natalie grinned as she recited her dorm number and her own cell phone number. She'd forgotten to put it in her purse before going out the night before, otherwise she'd have suggested getting his number as well.

No, she thought. It's better this way. I won't be tempted to phone-stalk him and if he calls me, I'll know he really wants to see me again.

"There." He grinned as he finished entering her name and numbers. "Now I can call you anytime I want."

She laughed and shook her head. "I might have to give you a copy of my schedule. You can't call while I'm in class."

"Oh, right. OK, I'll call you at night."

Natalie laughed again, pleased with his apparent eagerness. She kissed him and reached for the door before she was further tempted to shove her hands down his sweatpants.

"Have a good practice," she said as she opened the door and stepped out.

"Thank you." He leaned one hand on the doorframe over her head. "Will you tell your friends what I nice guy I was?"

Natalie grinned, feeling playful again. "I would, except you weren't always nice."

His eyes darkened and his grin turned positively wicked. He leaned over her, bringing his face closer to hers. "I know."

Natalie bit her lip and stepped back. She was seconds away from jumping him yet again. "Uh... I... I'll talk to you later?" She was only a little embarrassed when her voice came out as a mere squeak.

"Yes, you will," he agreed with a wink.

Stifling a groan, Natalie lifted her hand in a weak wave and hurried down the hall, desperate to escape him. She glanced over her shoulder before she rounded the corner towards the elevators. Hayden was leaning out of his doorway and he waved one hand when she looked back. Giddy, Natalie all but skipped down the hall to the elevators.

Hayden should have known he'd have to face all sorts of questions and teasing from his teammates when he arrived at practice a little while later. Last night when he'd pulled Natalie away from the group, it hadn't occurred to him that four of his fellow Rangers had been watching him do it. By the time Hayden reached the locker room, the entire team knew about it and he was subjected to all manner of good-natured ribbing.

"I'd have never pegged you as that type of guy," Sidney commented with a sly smile as they geared up for practice.

"What type?" Hayden gave him a patient smile.

"The guy who takes a girl home after he's just met her."

Hayden looked over at the other man with raised eyebrows. Sidney had that same knowing expression on his face and Hayden sighed. "Maybe not but I like Natalie. We got along."

"I think it's great," Craig chimed in from Hayden's other side. "You haven't dated anyone since you first started playing here."

Hayden nodded, recalling the relationship that had ended not long after he'd started playing for the Rangers. She'd tried living with him in New York but found she missed their hometown in Sweden too much. They'd parted on friendly terms and the last he'd heard, she'd married the previous summer.

"Dated?" Sidney repeated. "Who said anything about dating? You took her home for the one night, didn't you?"

Hayden laughed and shook his head. "If that's what you want to believe, Sid."

"Lindy, I was talking to her friend, Louisa, last night and she was telling me about Natalie," Sidney said, turning to face Hayden as he spoke.

"So?" Hayden asked with a frown. He liked Sidney, as he was constantly reminding himself, but sometimes his teammate could be as subtle as a raging bull.

Sidney shrugged carelessly, as if he wasn't interfering where it wasn't wanted. "Louisa said Natalie does this a lot."

"Does what?" Now Hayden was starting to get ticked off. He was vaguely aware that Craig was moving closer on his other side, as if he was going to be needed to break up a fight.

"She's had a few one-night stands," Sidney told him.

Hayden stared at him, trying to process his words. Should he care? He hadn't exactly been an innocent before meeting Natalie and taking her home last night. He glared at Sidney. "So what? So have I."

Craig snorted and Hayden whipped his head around to glare at his captain.

"What? I have!"

"This isn't a competition, Hayden," Craig replied, holding his hands up in placation.

"No, it isn't. Thanks for your concern, Sid, but you don't need to worry."

It was ridiculous to worry anyway, since Natalie had willingly given him her number. She wouldn't have done that if she'd intended on it being just a one time deal. It occurred to him then that she hadn't asked for his, or even offered her own, but he tried to push the thought away.

We like each other, he reminded himself. They had connected last night, in more ways than one. In between enjoying each other's bodies, they'd talked and laughed and eventually slept. He wasn't so jaded that he couldn't see the potential for something more there.

Practice started in a few more minutes and Hayden pushed it out of his mind. He skated out for warm-ups and focused on everything the coaches went over. He smiled and nodded at more teasing from his teammates and all but ignored Sidney, who seemed put out by Hayden's attitude.

Well, he shouldn't be sticking his nose in where it's not wanted, Hayden thought as Sidney slapped a puck at him and skated away.

He'd call Natalie later when he was home and they'd go out on a proper date. There was no reason to give another thought to Sidney's warnings. He was a grown man. He could deal with Natalie in his own way, even if it meant she didn't want to see him again.

Later, after he'd showered and done his best to forget about what Sidney had said, and what he'd implied, Hayden picked up his phone. He dialed Natalie's cell phone and waited patiently until she picked up.

"Hello?" She sounded breathless.

"Natalie?"

"Yes? Who's this?"

"Hayden."

There was a pause before she responded and Hayden felt his palms begin to sweat, which was ridiculous since there'd been no nervousness last night.

"Hayden. I didn't think you'd call me today."

He laughed at her surprised tone. "I said I would."

"Yeah, but not many guys do," she replied with a laugh.

"I don't know about other guys but I wanted to talk to you. So I called."

"I'm glad you called."

There, he thought triumphantly. Would she say that if she'd only wanted me for one night? "What have you been doing today?"

"Well, after Madison grilled me about last night, I had a nap," she said with another laugh.

"Madison is your roommate?" Hayden remembered meeting both women but other than feeling Natalie's warmth at his side, he hadn't paid much attention to anything else.

"She's the one with short blond hair."

"I remember. She grilled you?"

Again, Natalie laughed, a light-hearted sound that slid through Hayden and made his groin tingle. "Yeah, she wouldn't let me sleep until I'd told her everything."

"Everything?"

"Well, not everything," Natalie conceded. "Enough to get her to leave me alone."

"That's good." Hayden wasn't shy. As a goalie, he tended to keep more to himself than he shared with others but the idea of Natalie bragging to her friends about last night didn't fill him with happiness.

"You didn't tell your teammates about us, did you?"

"Hell, no!" Hayden exclaimed with a laugh. "They teased me because I wouldn't tell them anything."

"Oh. That's good."

Hayden agreed. He didn't want to share anything about Natalie with the guys on his team, not until he knew more about her himself. "Are you busy right now?"

"Uh, no, not really. I was... um, I was just trying to get to the library before it closed for the day. I need a book that I didn't have time to pick up yesterday."

"OK. Are you busy tonight?"

"Tonight? No, why?"

Hayden chuckled. She sounded truly confused about why he was asking. "I want to take you out to dinner."

There was another pause before she responded and Hayden felt his nerves kick in again. There'd been no hesitation last night. Sidney's doubting words crept into his mind and Hayden tried to push them away.

"Really? You want to see me again?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," she mumbled and blew out her breath. "I just thought..." her voice trailed off and he thought he heard someone speaking in the background. "Never mind."

"OK. So can I take you to dinner?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess that'd be all right."

Hayden sighed. Her answer was entirely lacking in enthusiasm. This was doing nothing for his ego. Again, he heard Sidney's voice in his head: "Natalie does this a lot."

"If you're busy tonight, that's all right."

"No, I'm not busy," she replied and paused. "Do you... not want to? Tonight, I mean? I... we can go out some other time, if you want."

No! Hayden almost shouted the immediate response at her but didn't want to sound too desperate, especially when she was so underwhelmed to be hearing from him. His doubt was growing with each passing second and he hated himself for it. "I'd like to go out tonight."

"Well, OK then."

Hayden nodded. Once he saw her again, had her in his arms, he'd make her sound less uncertain. They arranged to meet at a restaurant not too far from NYU, to make it easier for her to get there. When they hung up, Hayden stared at his phone for a long moment. Sidney's few words ran through his mind, along with Natalie's flat voice over the phone. He told himself not to worry, that they were just getting to know each other and there were bound to be awkward moments.

There were no awkward moments last night, he thought and scrubbed a hand down his face to dispel the doubts.

He tossed his phone on the kitchen counter and strode away, determined to forget about it and focus on the thought of seeing Natalie again that night.

Across the city, in her dorm room, Natalie closed her cell phone and raised apprehensive eyes to her two friends sitting with her. Madison was on her own bed and Louisa was sitting at the head of Natalie's bed, her feet stretched out towards Natalie.

"I can't believe you agreed to see him again," Louisa said and shook her head.

"Why shouldn't she?" Madison replied before Natalie could formulate a response. "He asked for her number."

"Only because that's what guys are supposed to do," Louisa scoffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

Natalie rolled her eyes at that and Madison replied for her again.

"Then why would he call her? Today, even?"

Louisa frowned and opened her mouth to respond but no words came out.

It was almost the same argument they'd been having since Natalie had woken from her midmorning nap. It had been a short nap and Natalie covered her mouth as another yawn escaped her. After she'd crept back to her room that morning, Madison had pelted her with questions until she was satisfied Natalie hadn't been hurt. Madison had let her sleep but Louisa had appeared before noon and they'd all gone to lunch together. After lunch, they'd come back to Natalie and Madison's room, where the other two women were still analyzing her night with Hayden.

For her part, every time Natalie thought about Hayden, pictured his blue eyes and wide grin, she had to force her body to calm the hell down. Even with Louisa and Madison chattering back and forth about the possibilities, she'd only had to think of one of his kisses and she'd disappear into her memories.

Alas, her friends wouldn't let her sink into the memories for long.

Before Hayden's call, Louisa had been emphatically supporting the idea of never seeing him again. Madison couldn't understand why and Natalie was torn between both points of view.

On the one hand, she'd given Hayden her number because it hadn't seemed like he was going to let her go without it. Of course, she'd been pleased that he'd even asked, no matter how much she doubted that he'd call. She hadn't gone home with him expecting anything other than sex.

Mind blowing, life changing, physically satisfying sex. She couldn't suppress the shiver as she recalled the scrape of his beard against her breasts.

It was her phone ringing that had startled her out of that particular fantasy.

Now, her friends were debating whether she should even see him.

"I've already agreed to go out," she broke into their rather heated debate. "So why don't we stop arguing about it and you can help me find something to wear."

Louisa stared at her, her chin set at a stubborn angle while Madison jumped up to scour both their closets. Natalie met Louisa's gaze and frowned.

"Why are you so worked up over this?" Natalie asked, no longer able to keep her frustration in check.

She loved her friends dearly, loved the way they argued and laughed together. Sometimes Louisa could be snobby and aloof and today was one of those times.

"I'm not worked," Louisa tried to protest but Natalie crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow at her. "All right, I guess I'm a little worked up. It's just that you don't know anything about this guy, Nat."

"Of course not," Madison spoke from where she was hidden behind the closet door. "They just met last night. That's why they're going out again; to get to know each other."

Natalie nodded and smiled in agreement. That made more sense, even though she was wondering if they'd have the same chemistry in bed a second night. Louisa didn't look convinced.

"Come on, Louisa," Natalie probed with a light laugh. "Are you jealous or something?"

Louisa's frown deepened and she stood up. "I'm going."

"What? Why?"

"You guys have obviously made up your mind about this and I don't want to stay," she said as she stalked to the door.

"Louisa, come on. Don't be like that. I don't want you to go."

Louisa paused at the door and looked back at her friend. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Nat."

"Why would I be hurt?" Natalie couldn't help but ask. Something about Louisa's expression and tone tugged at Natalie and she felt her doubts about Hayden rising up. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Did Sidney say something to you about Hayden last night?"

To her surprise, Louisa blushed, something she rarely did.

"Louisa, what's going on?" Madison demanded.

Louisa looked down at her feet and sighed. "It wasn't something Sidney said."

"Then what?" Natalie was torn between concern for her friend and hurt that she wasn't opening up.

Louisa lifted her head and offered a weak smile. "I went home with Sidney last night."

Natalie's eyes widened and she gaped. "Why didn't you say anything? I've been going on and on about Hayden. You should have stopped me."

With a shrug, Louisa crossed back to the bed and sat down. "I didn't want to say anything, especially when Hayden called you."

Natalie sat down beside her and reached out to touch her hand. "Why?"

"Sidney didn't ask for my number. He didn't even seem to care when I left."

"Oh, Louisa," Madison said as she walked over to join them on the bed. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was embarrassed. I couldn't bring myself to say anything." Louisa lifted glassy eyes to Natalie and laughed. "I guess I was trying to make you feel the same so I wouldn't feel so alone in this."

"You're never alone, Louisa," Natalie assured her as she put her arms around the redhead for a firm squeeze. "Maybe I should stay in tonight. We can all hang out, eat junk food and talk about how stupid guys are."

Louisa laughed as Madison gasped in shock.

"No freaking way, Nat," Madison said and wagged a finger at Natalie. "You're going on this date."

"But Louisa needs us," Natalie protested.

This time, Louisa supported Madison. "I was being stupid, Nat. You should go out with Hayden. He wouldn't have called if he didn't want to see you."

Natalie studied her for a second. "All right. If you're sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," Louisa said and hugged her back. "Besides, Madison can stay with me and we'll stay up late eating junk food no matter what."

Madison nodded. "You have to go out. We'll live vicariously through you, Nat."

Natalie laughed but relented. She wanted to go out with Hayden and find out where this attraction might take them.

Several hours later, she was nervously walking along the sidewalk towards the restaurant. Da Andrea was an Italian restaurant that Natalie had eaten at once before. It was a few blocks from the University but she'd splurged on a cab ride.

After much deliberation, Madison and Louisa had helped her settle on what to wear. She had on a dark denim skirt and a sapphire blouse with black pinstripes. It was comfortable and not too fancy. Natalie knew the restaurant wasn't formal so she wasn't worried about meeting the dress code.

The moment she walked into the restaurant and spotted Hayden, standing several inches taller than those around him, she felt nervous. He looked amazing and Natalie had never felt so frumpy in her life.

Hayden turned and saw her, a wide grin splitting his handsome face. He brushed a strand of his dark hair off his forehead as he walked towards her. Natalie took in his appearance and felt her knees weaken as he approached.

He was wearing a dark navy suit, with the jacket casually unbuttoned. His shirt under the jacket was crisp and white, with the top few buttons undone, revealing smooth skin beneath. With no tie, it made him look less formal but Natalie still felt inadequate next to him. He looked like he'd stepped right off the pages of GQ and she was a young, inexperienced university student wearing borrowed clothes.

"Hello, Natalie," he greeted her warmly and bent to kiss her cheek.

"Hi," she replied, her face - indeed, her entire body - warming under his touch. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"Not at all. They're just getting our table ready."

"Excuse me, sir?" the hostess spoke up from just behind him. "Your table is ready. If you'll follow me."

Hayden smiled and nodded. As he turned, he slipped an arm behind Natalie and pressed his hand to the small of her back, urging her ahead of him.

"Ladies first," he murmured, his low voice sending a frisson of desire up Natalie's spine.

Somehow she managed to follow the waitress to a secluded corner of the restaurant. She smiled as Hayden gallantly pulled her chair out for her and the hostess left them with an assurance that their server would be around soon. Left alone together, Natalie smiled shyly at Hayden across the table.

"I'm so glad you came." He was the first to speak and his words surprised Natalie.

"You thought I might not?"

He shrugged, fiddling with his utensils. "I wasn't sure." He stopped and shook his head. "I'm sorry. Just ignore me."

A laugh slipped out before Natalie could stop it. "I couldn't ignore you if I tried."

That grin spread across his face and Natalie was transfixed. "I'm so glad to hear you say that."

Natalie cocked her head to one side. Had she not been the only one with doubts? "You really were afraid I might not show up? Why?"

He shrugged, looking self-conscious for the first time since she'd met him. "It's stupid. One of the guys said something to me at practice and I should have just ignored him."

Natalie's thoughts turned to Louisa and she recalled Sidney, the player who had apparently seduced her friend with ease last night. "I'm almost afraid to ask what he said."

Hayden eyed her silently for a long moment. "Do you want to know?"

Natalie hesitated before she nodded.

"He said I should be careful with you," Hayden confessed after another moment's hesitation.

Natalie laughed. "With me? Why?"

"He said Louisa talked about you a bit last night."

Natalie's smile froze in place and she felt her mouth go dry. A million thoughts raced through her head, making her feel dizzy. There were any number of things Louisa could have said. Given how Louisa had describe her night with Sidney, she might have been feeling spiteful when she said it.

"Did they?" Natalie managed to say out loud.

"Yeah. He said that I should be careful because you'd done this before."

Natalie's eyebrows shot up and she smiled nervously. "What? Dated a goalie?"

Hayden's chuckle relaxed her somewhat but then his next words left her feeling like he'd just sucker punched her.

"No, slept with men you'd just met."

Natalie stared at him, feeling tears prick the backs of her eyelids. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times but she couldn't get any words out past the thickness in her throat. Hayden watched her, his smile fading and a frown knitting his forehead. Natalie shook her head, trying to clear it but all she kept hearing his words echoing in her head.

Here she was, all dressed up and she'd been practically giddy at the prospect of a real date with a man she found undeniably attractive. And all along, he'd thought she was just a girl who slept around.

Their server took that moment to appear at their table and he introduced himself. He rattled off the specials before he'd noticed anything was amiss and curiously looked back and forth between Hayden and Natalie.

"Uh, I could come back if you need a minute to decide on drinks?" The server offered.

"Could you, please?" Hayden replied.

The waiter nodded and hurried away. Natalie watched him go before looking down at her hands folded tensely in her lap.

"Natalie, I'm so sorry."

She shrugged. "It's fine."

"No, it's not. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine," she repeated but she wasn't even convincing herself.

She wasn't sure what bothered her more, that Louisa had said something even close to that about her, or that Hayden might have believed it. Maybe Natalie had been mistaken about his reasons for wanting to see her tonight.

"I think I want to go."

Hayden gaped and jumped to his feet as Natalie pushed her chair back. "Please, Natalie. I'm so sorry. Don't go."

"This..." she started and shook her head, blinking away more tears of frustration. "It was very nice meeting you, Hayden, but this just isn't going to work between us."

"No, please don't go, Natalie," he pleaded, looking truly chagrined.

"I have to," she replied and smiled at him before leaving him alone in the restaurant.
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