Romance Reflections on Ice

Hello all, and thank you for reading. Even though it may ruffle some feathers, I've got to add a disclaimer: For those of you who have enjoyed the story, and are looking forward to the conclusion, read on. If you so far haven't enjoyed it, hate the characters, and think they're stupid, then stop reading now. I guarantee you won't like the ending. I do, but I'm sort of biased.
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After she cried herself to sleep, Cassia woke sometime in the middle of the night, a loud voice echoing down the hall outside the room. She sat up, looking around her. The curtain was still open and the glow from outside illuminated most of the room. Cassia looked at the end of the bed, at the spot where Dylan had stood, and broken her heart.

She flopped back on the pillows, before scowling and rising to wrestle her way out of the damn bridesmaid dress. Then she walked to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth a couple of times and splashed some cold water on her face. After that, she got back into bed and stared out the window until her eyes burned.

In her mind, she relived the argument over and over, wondering where they'd gone wrong. She heard again the way Dylan had accused her of wanting to hook up with Alex. How he'd refused to listen to anything she said, and how he hadn't denied her doubts about their compatibility.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, tears trickling out of her eyes, dripping into her hair.

It wasn't like she'd been kind though. She didn't even know what had made her snap back at him. It had all turned into a horrible mess.

Maybe she'd been kidding herself, thinking there could ever be anything more than an act between them. She'd fooled herself for a couple weeks there, thinking they'd turned it into something real. It hadn't been real enough.

Then again, the ache in her chest told her it had all been too real.

In the morning, she woke, feeling worse than before and reached for her phone. She wasn't about to slink out of the hotel in that stupid dress and those shoes. She called Kyle and hoped he wasn't working. He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Cass. What's up?"

"Where are you?"

"At home, why? Where are you?"

Cassia let out a breath. "I need a ride, and some clothes. Can you come get me?"

"What happened? I thought you went to the wedding with Dylan?"

"I don't really want to get into on the phone. Can you come get me or not?"

There was a pause and some rustling, like he was throwing back his bedsheets. "Yeah, fine. I can come. Where are you?"

She gave him the hotel name and address. "I'm in room 436."

"OK. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Thanks." She breathed a sigh of relief as she ended the call.

It felt like an eternity but Kyle's knock on the door came barely thirty minutes after they'd hung up. She'd just climbed out of the shower, and wrapped herself in one of the hotel robes before answering the door.

"Hey." He handed her a bundle of clothes.

"Thanks." She took it with a grateful smile. "Give me a few minutes."

She went back into the bathroom to finish drying and getting dressed. When she walked out, Kyle was reclined on the bed, watching TV, remote control in his hand. He glanced at her before tossing the remote aside. He grabbed her dress shoes and she picked up the wrinkled dress, and they left.

In the car, Kyle kept quiet for a good ten minutes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Cassia sighed and rubbed her eyes, striving to keep more tears at bay. "I don't know."

"Did Dylan do something? Should I be heading to his place to fuck him up?"

At that, Cassia laughed. "No. That's all right." She let out a breath, her smile fading fast. "This time, I think I fucked up. Bad."

After a moment of silence, Kyle reached over and patted her leg. "I'm sorry, Cass. Can I do anything?"

She shook her head and then stared hard out the passenger window, willing herself to keep it together until she could get to the privacy of her own bedroom.

Kyle didn't say or ask anything else for the rest of the drive, or even the rest of the day. He knocked on her bedroom door around dinner time and that was when Cassia smelled something cooking.

Our of sheer curiosity, she dragged her ass out of bed, wiped her tear-stained face and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

"You cooked?"

"No. Tyler did." Kyle shifted out of the way, and Cassia smiled at Tyler, who looked up from his chopping.

"Hey, Cass." Tyler set the knife down and wiped his hands on a towel. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better." She leaned against the counter. "You didn't have to cook."

"If I hadn't, you'd have gotten tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches."

Kyle scoffed as he turned to the fridge and poured Cassia a cup of juice.

"I like grilled cheese." Cassia took the drink with a smile.

"Told you." Kyle turned a triumphant smile on his boyfriend.

Tyler rolled his eyes and tossed the contents of his chopping board into the pot on the stove. "It'll be another twenty minutes or so."

"Sounds good."

Cassia backed out of the kitchen, leaving them to it. A half hour later, they sat around her little table and ate a delicious meal of spaghetti and meatballs.

"That was really good, thank you, Tyler."

He grinned at her. "I'm glad you liked it."

"I'm just glad you ate." Kyle shot her a pointed look. "Have you eaten anything else today?"

She returned his look. "I didn't have much of an appetite."

Both younger men stared at her, clearly waiting for more of a response.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe you need to." Kyle lifted his glass to his lips. "Maybe you need to get it all off your chest."

She shook her head. She wasn't a fool. She knew exactly what she'd done wrong. What she needed was a way to make Dylan forgive her but knew she couldn't even blame him if he never spoke to her again.

Kyle reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "Are you sure you're OK?"

She met his eyes, hers filling with tears. "No." Her voice cracked and she sucked back a sob. "No, I'm not OK. I messed up, big time, Kyle."

"We've all messed up from time-to-time."

Cassia looked over at Tyler, sniffling. "You think?"

Tyler nodded and pointed at Kyle. "Look at how bad Kyle messes up. Like, all the time."

Kyle gaped at him. Tyler grinned back. "And I forgive him every time."

Cassia laughed and covered her face in her hands. She drew in several stuttering breaths until she had control of herself again. "Thanks, you guys."

Kyle stopped her from retreating to her room for a second. "My offer to fuck him up still stands."

Cassia patted his hand on her shoulder. "I know, and thanks. If I can manage to get him back, I want to keep him just as he is."

Kyle nodded and let her go.

Alone in her room, Cassia sprawled in the middle of her bed, on her back, staring at the ceiling. The light of day faded and still, she stared at nothing.

She turned her head to one side and spotted the tickets Dylan had left on her dresser. He'd left her tickets for a few of the remaining homes games, and she'd been considering taking her mom to one, or seeing if Janis would be up for it. She had no way of knowing if Dylan would even see her there, or if he'd care. For all she knew, he could have the tickets canceled and she'd be denied entry to the arena, not that she'd blame him.

Feeling lost, lonely and still a little hurt by everything he'd said to her in turn, Cassia rolled the other way, closed her eyes and counted sheep until she fell asleep.

Several days after the wedding, Cassia was at work when her phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, her other hand still holding the part she'd needed from the storage room. Janis' name and number flashed on the display and she answered.

"Hey, Janis. What's up?"

"Are you at work?"

"Yeah." Cassia continued to walk back to the Camry she'd been working on. Fernando was there, working just under the front end. She nudged him with a foot, handed over the part, and turned away. "Why?"

"When are you off?"

"The usual time."

"You and I are going somewhere."

Cassia sighed and rubbed her cheek with one grubby hand. "I don't feel like going anywhere tonight, Janis. Can I get a rain check?"

"No, it's not tonight. It's... like, now."

"What?"

"Can you get away early?"

"Janis, what's going on?"

"Come on, just go ask your dad. We need a spontaneous adventure."

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what this is all about."

Janis sighed. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do. Now tell me why you want me to ditch work and leave with you."

"There's a thing we need to go to."

"A thing?" Cassia frowned. "What thing?"

Janis hesitated before answering and Cassia shook her head. "If this is something to do with Dylan, the answer is no."

"You don't know what it is!"

Cassia recalled now that there was a team event today, something to do with a charitable kid's organization. Dylan had mentioned it before the wedding, and it made sense it would be this week, as it was spring break. She also knew she didn't want to go.

"Janis, I didn't tell you about me and Dylan so you could conspire to get us back together."

"Don't you want to be with him?"

More than anything. Cassia shook her head again, walking out the front doors to pace around the driveway. "It's not that simple. I can't just show up at an event and expect to be able to fix everything, with a thousand people hanging around."

"There won't be a thousand people."

"Janis..."

"Cassia, you told me yourself that you love him." Janis' voice was taking on a stubborn note. "And that you wish you had handled things at the wedding better."

That was all true. She'd gone for dinner with Janis a few days after the incident and spilled her guts about everything. The arrangement, the way they'd connected and how Cassia had fallen hard for him. Janis had been sympathetic to it all, never once judging, or making fun of Cassia. It was why they were such good friends.

"You need to at least try to talk to him."

"I have tried. I called him."

"And he didn't answer. That doesn't count as trying."

"It means he didn't want to talk to me. Why would it suddenly be different if I showed up at the event later?"

"He'll talk to you, Cass. Trust me."

Cassia stared across the street, seeing nothing but the hurt look on Dylan's face after they'd argued at the hotel. "I don't know."

"You have to try."

Cassia didn't know about that. If she didn't try, she wouldn't find out for certain that he didn't want anything to do with her. She could pretend a little longer that he'd just been busy when she called, and hadn't actively ignored her.

Instead, she heard herself agreeing to Janis' plan. Janis told her she'd come pick her up at her apartment in an hour. Cassia nodded and got off the phone before going to tell her dad she was taking off early.

He nodded and waved her off after securing her promise to come to Sunday dinner. She nodded and stripped her coveralls off. She grabbed her things from the office, clocked out, and hurried home.

As promised, Janis arrived an hour later, and they headed out in Janis' car.

"Have you talked to Carol since the wedding?"

Cassia scowled and shook her head. "No."

"Me either. I don't even think Olivia has. She's kind of disappeared."

"Maybe that's for the best." Cassia didn't want to say anything too rude about Carol, but she knew, after what had happened at the wedding, that she'd be fine if she never saw Carol again.

"I don't know what got into her."

"She was hurt, lonely and jealous."

"I guess. I've felt those things from time-to-time too, but I'd never hook up with a guy like Alex." Janis shuddered. "I mean, ew!"

Cassia laughed. "You don't have to tell me that. I sometimes can't believe that I fell for that guy."

"Did you?"

"What?"

"Did you actually fall for Alex?"

Cassia considered before answering. "I don't know. I thought he was a great guy and we had a lot of fun together."

"But did you love him?"

The word love only called one face to mind for Cassia, and it wasn't Alex. "No. I liked him, but I never loved him."

"So Carol is welcome to him."

Cassia snorted. "Yeah. She can have him."

They didn't say much for the rest of the drive. Janis told her the name of the location, and Cassia navigated while her friend drove through the less-than-familiar neighborhood, growing more and more nervous, the closer they got to the place.

She didn't even know what she'd say, beyond 'hello', and she didn't know if Dylan would even acknowledge her long enough to say anything more. She hoped so, but couldn't say she'd blame him if he walked away and never spoke to her again. But maybe she was being overly dramatic. They'd only been together for a few weeks. Sure, she'd fallen head over heels for him, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he didn't feel the same. She hoped, but she was a realist, after all.

"Is this it?" Janis leaned forward, eyeing the building to their right, with the multitude of cars coming and going.

"Probably. Look at all the people."

Janis nodded and looked for somewhere to park, while Cassia viewed the venue from her window. It was a neighborhood sports center, the kind with an ice arena, a basketball court, gym, and an outdoor football field, track, and tennis courts. There was a huge banner stretched across the main entrance, announcing the presence of the Dallas Stars, balloons all around.

Janis parked the car, and they headed into the building. The crowds weren't huge, but the event was on until the evening, so perhaps more people would arrive after the dinner hour.

Cassia stopped just inside the lobby at her first sight of a player in a jersey. She recognized Paul Scott and wondered briefly if he'd remember meeting her. Then she saw another player, and another, her heart stopping each time until she realized none of them were Dylan. She was a wreck.

"I don't think I can do this, Janis."

Her friend moved close to her side and linked their arms. "Come on. I'm here."

Cassia shot her a look before nodding. They started to walk through the crowds.

Past the entryway, they were directed towards the indoor arena, where several tables and booths were set up all over. Some for face painting, others with players seated at tables, signing autographs, and others serving snacks and drinks. Further in, there was a hockey skills training area and several carnival-type games, like ring toss and balloon popping.

"Holy cow."

Cassia turned at Janis' exclamation. "What?"

"Look at that. The back entrance is opened up too, and there's more outside."

Cassia nodded. It was an extensive set-up. She saw activities going on outside, and noticed as they got closer to the doors that there were several local youth activity groups helping as well, not just the Stars. People with name tags bustled around, handing out balloons, stickers and showing people where to go for certain activities.

"This is incredible." Janis squeezed her arm. "I love seeing the communities get together for this sort of thing. The kids must be having a ball."

"Yeah." Cassia looked around, hearing nothing but raised voices and laughter all around. The kids she saw were all smiling and having fun, and she felt like a wet sock. "I don't see Dylan."

"Well, he's got to be around here somewhere. Should we go check outside?"

Cassia shrugged. "I don't know."

Then someone called her name and they both turned to look. Jake Brown came up to them, a wide grin on his face.

"Hey, Cass. Dylan didn't mention you were coming."

Cassia managed a smile. "I wasn't sure if I could make it." It was clear that Dylan hadn't advertised their break-up. "Jake, this is my friend, Janis. Janis, Jake Brown."

They shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Janis."

"And you, Jake." Janis smiled at him. "Are you a hockey player, too?"

Cassia snorted with laughter. "He's the captain of the team, Janis."

Janis flushed but still smiled. "I'm more of a football fan, myself."

Jake laughed. "Not surprising. It's great that you were able to come."

"Yeah." Cassia swallowed, her gaze darting around the crowded venue. "I don't see Dylan."

Jake twisted around, looking with her. "Last I saw, he was with the kids at the skills corral."

"Corral?" Janis laughed. "Are they cattle?"

"Sometimes it does feel like herding cattle, when it comes to kids." Jake turned back with a grin. Someone waved for Jake's attention from a nearby game booth, and he took a step in that direction. "If I see Dylan, I'll tell him you're here."

Cassia nodded. "Thanks. Good to see you, Jake."

"You too." He winked and hurried off to see to his duties.

"He's nice." Janis watched him go.

Cassia squeezed her arm. "You're nearly married, girl."

"Doesn't mean I can't appreciate fine things." Janis tilted her head to one side. "Like that backside. Damn."

Cassia burst out laughing and steered her friend away from the games and Jake Brown. "Come on. The skills corral was back here."

They walked that way, the butterflies going mad inside Cassia's stomach. Then she saw him. He straightened, stick in hand, and watched a kid take a shot, the puck sailing into the net on the other end of the little space. Excited, the kid spin around and high-fived Dylan, who laughed and cheered him on.

Cassia froze, pulling Janis to a stop beside her. Janis looked at her, a frown knitting her forehead.

"Cassia?"

"I can't do this."

"We're already here." Janis patted her hand and looked over at Dylan as he started talking to the next kid in line. "Just go say 'hi.'"

Cassia shook her head. "This was a mistake. He's not going to want to talk to me."

"Of course he is. No man agrees to go along with a pretend dating scenario unless he likes the woman."

Cassia blinked and turned to her friend. "What?"

"Oh, come on, Cass." Janis was grinning. "I know you think he did it just because he's a nice guy, which he is, a really great guy, actually. But there's no way he agreed out of the kindness of his heart."

It had never occurred to her that he'd gone along with her plan for any other reason than that. She shook her head. "What?"

Janis laughed. "I'm telling you, he's liked you from the start, and he'd never snub you if that's the case."

Cassia's mind spun at Janis' words. "I don't know."

"I do." Janis let go of her arm and started walking closer to the skills area. Cassia gasped and hurried to catch her friend, but not before Janis lifted a hand in a wave. "Hi, Dylan."

Dylan looked up, a grin on his face from the antics of the last kid he'd been helping, and spotted the two of them. His smile slipped when he saw Cassia and she felt her heart leap, lodging somewhere in her throat.

That's when she spotted Tristen, who'd been helping him, and Tristen lifted his hand in a friendly wave.

"Hey, Cass. What a surprise."

Janis reached back and grabbed Cassia's hand, hauling her closer so they wouldn't be shouting across the last several yards.

"I'm Janis, Cassia's friend." Janis shook Tristen's hand. "And you are?"

"Tristen Sturgess." He grinned and reached over to pull Cassia close with one arm. Turning with her, he faced Dylan. "Why didn't you tell me she was coming?"

Dylan stared at Cassia, his smile still there, but no longer in his eyes. "I didn't know."

For a second, no one spoke and Cassia could feel her cheeks going pink. She looked down, unable to meet Dylan's eyes any longer.

"Why don't you take a break, Dylan." Tristen dropped his arm from Cassia's shoulders. "Go get a drink with Cassia. I think we were about to rotate stations soon anyway."

Dylan glanced at his teammate with a slight nod. Cassia looked at Janis, who nodded.

"Go on." Janis squeezed her hand. "I'll hang out here until you're ready to go."

Cassia didn't say anything but let go of Janis' hand and followed as Dylan turned towards the main concourse. A few people stopped Dylan to get a picture or just to shake hands, but they were out by the concession stand in mere minutes.

"Would you like anything?" Dylan gestured at the snacks and drinks.

Cassia shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks."

They walked on, circling a corner and finding themselves in a quieter hallway, only a few people milling around. Dylan faced Cassia, his face revealing nothing of what he was thinking, and Cassia crossed her arms over her chest, feeling like she needed to protect herself. For a long minute, neither of them spoke.

"Looks like a successful event."

Dylan nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I think it is."

Another long silence stretched out. Cassia's skin prickled all over and she wanted to run away. This had been a mistake. She looked up at Dylan, then away, opening her mouth to say she was sorry for bothering him.

"I'm surprised to see you here."

Cassia's eyes swung back to his face. "Yeah. Well, it was Janis' idea."

Dylan's brows drew together. "Oh."

"I mean, I would have liked to have come anyway, but she suggested it earlier. I was at work, and she called, but I was able to finish up early. Then she came over and we looked the place up and all." Cassia knew she was rambling a bit but didn't know what else to say. She'd never had a problem talking to Dylan. Even when they'd been spewing angry things at each other in the hotel room, she'd never been as hesitant as now. "And I thought it would be a good idea too, so here we are."

"Here you are." Dylan's expression didn't change.

Cassia stared at him, willing him to say something else, even if it was that he didn't want to see her, here or ever.

"Did you come to talk to me?"

"I'd hoped to." She swallowed hard. "You didn't return my calls."

He shrugged. "You didn't leave any messages."

"I didn't know what to say."

"And now?"

"Now..." She sighed and looked away. "Now, I'm thinking you didn't want to to talk to me after all."

"Why?"

She shot him a look. "Because you're not."

Dylan's face broke in a tiny smile and he looked down. "I don't know what to say."

Cassia hated that she'd done that. From the very beginning, he'd always been able to talk to her. "I'm sorry, Dylan."

His eyes came back to hers. "For what?"

Tears stung her eyes. "For everything. I was a total jerk."

He didn't say anything, but his eyes widened a degree.

"Even if it was true at the time, I should never have said anything to Carol about us. That wasn't fair to you." She hugged herself tighter. "No matter what the circumstances might have been, it would have been embarrassing all around if she'd something. And it was."

Still, Dylan remained silent.

Cassia stared into his face, trying to figure out even a sliver of what he was feeling. "And I definitely shouldn't have accused you of not wanting to be with me because of the whole college thing. It was stupid and I was letting what other people said about it get to me. I started to believe everyone when they said I'd missed out and that I wasn't good enough without a college degree or something."

Dylan's eyes narrowed at that and he shifted on his feet.

Cassia barreled on. Now that she'd started, she needed to lay it all out for him, and then she'd hear what he thought.

"You were never one of those people. You never made me feel inadequate, or that you thought something was missing. I loved that about you. You're a good person, Dylan, a great person, really, and when I let my doubts get the better of me, and I was so afraid of losing you, because..." Her breath caught in her throat and it took her a second to push on. "Because I fell in love with you."

Dylan's eyes widened. Yup. She'd shocked him with that one.

"After the way we started, with the fake dating and all, I didn't know, not for sure, if you'd really want to be with me, for real."

"Cassia-"

"I'm not trying to force your hand, Dylan. I didn't come here expecting you to forgive me just like that." She snapped her fingers. "I should never have said what I did at the hotel, and I shouldn't have said anything about you to Carol or Alex. I'm so sorry, Dylan."

Her voice cracked on his name and she looked away. Dylan wasn't saying anything, and he made no move to reach for her. She'd done it, said everything she'd been thinking and feeling, and even if she hadn't been poetic about it, at least he knew now. And still, he remained silent. The moments dragged on and Cassia hugged her middle, as if she could keep herself from falling apart.

If she didn't get out of there fast, she was going to lose it and didn't really want to go through a crying fit in a public place. "I should go."

He reached for her as she turned to walk away. "Cassia, wait."

"Dylan, it's all right." She shrugged his hand off. "I shouldn't have come here. You're busy, and I should leave you alone."

He opened his mouth, then closed it. She let herself have one more good, long look in those blue eyes she loved. But he said nothing, and that was enough for her.

"Good-bye, Dylan."

She walked away without looking back. If she did, she might just throw herself at his feet, begging for another chance. She had some pride left. If Dylan wanted to talk to her again, he had her number, knew where she lived and worked. Right now, she needed to get the hell out of there.

She rounded the corner, almost running into Tristen and Janis. "Oh, hey. We're on our way out."

Janis blinked. "We are?"

Cassia nodded and took a step towards the main doors.

"Hey, Cass. Hold up." Tristen's tone wasn't the usual teasing tone he had, which drew Cassia's attention, even as she fought to keep her emotions in check. "Are you all right?"

He was far more observant than she gave him credit for. She started to nod, and say she was all right, but she couldn't. She shook her head.

Tristen glanced over his shoulder in Dylan's direction, though his teammate wasn't in sight. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Tristen." Cassia tried to keep her tone light but she had a lump the size of Texas in her throat.

"Look, Dylan doesn't always say what he's thinking." Tristen waved a hand in the air. "He's kind of an introvert, not like me."

Cassia almost smiled. "You don't say."

Tristen's trademark grin returned. "But he's a good guy. You should give him another chance."

"I'd give him all the chances he wanted." Cassia surprised herself with her confession. She sucked in a breath and glanced over his shoulder where Dylan had appeared around the corner. "But that's not the problem."

Tristen's smile dimmed but he nodded, as if he understood something. "Here." He pulled a felt pen out of his pocket, probably used for autographs. He grabbed her arm and started writing on the back of her hand. "Don't tell him I gave you this."

Cassia stared at his bowed head as he scrawled on her hand. Was he seriously hitting on her right now? "Are you kidding me?"

He chuckled. "It's not what you think." He dropped her hand and snapped the lid back on the felt. "Trust me."

She shook her head and reached for Janis, not even bothering to look at her hand. She didn't know what that was all about. "Sure, Tristen. Thanks." She shot one more look in Dylan's direction as he started to walk towards them, a scowl on his face. "Bye."

Janis went with her as Cassia pulled her to the doors. They hurried outside and across the parking lot to Janis' car. Once inside, Cassia put her head against the seat.

"What happened?"

Cassia summarized and then lifted her hand to glare at Tristen's writing on her hand. "I can't believe him."

Janis let out a light laugh. "Some guys just don't know when to give up."

"It's not his phone number."

"What?"

Cassia turned her hand to Janis. "It's an address."

"What? Whose?"

Cassia didn't know how she knew. "It's Dylan's."

"Why would he give you Dylan's address? Wouldn't you already have that?"

"No." Cassia shook her head, her eyes glued to the address. "We never went to his place."

"Why not?"

"Never had a chance, I guess." She put her hand down and met her friend's bewildered look. "Tristen is his roommate, or was. Dylan told me at the wedding that he'd told Tristen to move out."

Janis' eyes widened in understanding. "He's moved out and gave you the address for Dylan's place so you can go surprise him there."

"I guess." Cassia glanced at her hand. "I don't know. Tristen doesn't strike me as the romantic gesture type."

Janis smiled. "I used to think that way about Matt."

Cassia nodded, recalling the early days of Janis and Matt's courtship. There had been a lot of pool playing, football games, and beer. But there had also been flowers, bubble baths and even poetry. Matt didn't show his softer side to the world at large, but Janis had told Cassia a lot about his romantic gestures over the years, including his proposal on a beach at sunset.

"Either Tristen is being a slimeball, giving me his address for a hook-up..."

"Or he's trying to be a good friend, and get you two back together." Janis stuck her key in the ignition and started the engine. "I only talked to him for a few minutes, but he didn't seem that slimy. Alex, on the other hand, he would be the jerk."

"Totally." Cassia laughed and looked at her hand.

"So where are we going?"

Cassia glanced over to see her friend eyeing the address on her hand. "Well, Dylan won't be done with the event for a few more hours at least." She couldn't believe she'd even consider seeing him at his place, uninvited.

Janis looked surprised as well, but smiled instead of asking her about it. "Dinner?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's do that." Cassia nodded and buckled up before Janis pulled out of the parking lot. She could spend the next little while deciding if she wanted to accost Dylan at his apartment. She didn't know why Tristen would have given her Dylan's address unless he knew Dylan would be OK with it. Just because Dylan might be all right with it, didn't mean Cassia had the courage to face him again, not when he'd shut her out mere minutes before.

With a sigh, she turned her hand over and stared out the windshield. Janis started listing some restaurant and dinner options, and Cassia tried to focus on that instead of her renewed nerves.

As Dylan walked up to Tristen, he didn't know if he'd hit him. When he'd seen his teammate holding Cassia's hand and writing something on it, it had been his primary urge. Then he'd seen the look Cassia gave Tristen and how she'd bolted after, and the immediate urge for violence faded. Tristen turned to him with that usual cocky grin on his face, and Dylan thought he might still do it.

"What was that?"

"What?" Tristen blinked, giving him an innocent look.

"That." Dylan pointed over Tristen's shoulder where Cassia and Janis were disappearing out the main doors. "What did you say to her?"

Tristen shrugged. "Nothing, really. She looked upset so I asked what was wrong."

Dylan's eyes narrowed. "And?"

Tristen returned Dylan's look in full. "You probably know better than me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know what happened between you two, but you've been a dick to everyone for over a week."

"Says who?"

"Says me." Tristen rolled his eyes and turned away, heading for the concession.

Dylan scowled at his back, glanced at the main doors, and then followed Tristen. They both got a water and headed back for the arena, and their duties.

Dylan couldn't let it drop. "So because you think Cassia and I broke up, you can ask her out?"

"What?" Tristen looked genuinely surprised at the suggestion. "No. I may get around but I wouldn't do that."

"Then what did you write on her hand?"

"Nothing." Dylan gave him a pointed look. Tristen sighed. "An autograph. That's all."

Dylan wasn't sure if he believed him, but his friend was right. He was a bit of a player, on and off the ice, but he wasn't a total jerk.

He faced the crowd from the corner they'd stopped in, and wondered how many hours he had left. He'd been doing all right, choosing to focus on practice, games, and the event today, but the sight of Cassia had brought everything right back to the forefront of his mind. The last thing he'd expected was her showing up to apologize to him.

After the wedding, he'd convinced himself that he'd messed up royally and she'd never speak to him again. She'd called twice, but hadn't left messages and he'd been too chicken to return the calls. He felt like the last several months hadn't even happened, that he was right back to where he'd started, with the crippling inability to say anything of meaning to a woman. Not just any woman, either. Cassia, who he'd always been able to talk to, joke with, and who he'd never been shy around.

Tristen hadn't been lying. He knew he'd been a bit of a bear around the guys, which had probably spurred on Tristen's exit from their apartment. Not that Dylan could complain about that. It was nice to not have to worry about tripping over a strange woman's underthings in the morning. It wasn't like Dylan could talk to anyone about his issues either. He'd considered confessing his problems to his mother or one of his sisters, if only to get their opinion, but he'd been too embarrassed.

"Come on." Tristen punched him in the arm. "Let's head outside. I think we're supposed to be helping with the ball hockey games for the next shift."

Dylan nodded and followed his teammate through the crowd.

It was a warm day, cooling as the sun started to sink on the horizon. As it grew darker, the activities outside wrapped up and the team spent the rest of their time signing more autographs and taking pictures with the guests who remained at the athletic center.
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