Romance Reflections on Ice

When at last it was only the organizers and players left, Dylan found himself sitting on one of the team benches, staring across the arena but seeing nothing. He kept replaying everything Cassia had said to him earlier, his mind catching on the most important thing. She loved him. And he'd been too much of an ass to say it back, to hold her, and say he didn't want to spend another moment without her.

"Hey, Sams."

Dylan looked up as Jake slid onto the bench beside him. "Hey, Jake. What's up?"

"Where's Cassia?"

"What? Did you see her?"

Jake blinked, surprised. "Uh, yeah. A while ago, she was with a friend."

Dylan jerked his chin in a nod. That must have been before he'd seen her.

"What's wrong? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

Dylan slanted him a look and Jake laughed.

"Hey, I know I'm no psychiatrist, but I can listen, if you wanted to talk about it."

"I really don't."

"Fine. Then you can listen. Whatever you did, you need to make it right."

Dylan glared at him. "What makes you think it's something I did?" Cassia had certainly seemed to think she was to blame, going by her heartfelt apology. But Dylan knew he wasn't innocent of all that had gone wrong.

"Whatever. Your fault, hers. You just need to figure it out."

"Why?"

Jake gave him a considering look. "Look, I've known you for a while now, and I know you don't have the best of luck with women."

Dylan snorted. "No shit."

"Then you met Cassia, and against all the odds, you figured out a way to talk to her." Jake leaned forward, pressing his elbows on the boards. "And she's great, Sams. Funny, gorgeous, a hockey fan, and a shark at the poker table."

Dylan had to laugh at that. The charity casino had been one of his favorite nights ever.

"If you don't give whatever this is between you another chance, you'll be kicking yourself forever."

"You're probably right."

Jake nodded, his expression sober. "You should listen to your captain."

Dylan chuckled and nodded. "Aye, captain."

They sat in silence for a little while longer. Then Tristen and few of the other guys came over and someone suggested they go for a late dinner. Dylan went along with them, but excused himself early.

It had been weeks since he'd had a good slice of pie. Cassia had said she was in love with him. Maybe a second chance wasn't too far-fetched, and if he'd been able to talk to her before, he'd find a way to do it again. After all, he was in love with her, too.

As he walked into the Lone Star Diner, he looked around but there was no sign of Cassia. His heart sank and he wondered if she'd been avoiding the diner and any chance of running into him.

"Hey, sugar." Sally spotted him and greeted him with a broad smile. "What brings you in tonight?"

Dylan smiled back and moved to take a seat at the counter. "The usual, ma'am."

Sally poured him a cup of coffee and hurried off to get him a slice of pie. "Chocolate cream, tonight."

Dylan's mouth started watering at the sight of the dark chocolate cream, topped with meringue. "Thanks, Sally." He couldn't bring himself to eat it. He glanced around him, and back at Sally who had stayed near, putting some cutlery away under the counter.

"Has Cassia been in recently?"

Sally's responding look was curious but she shook her head. "Haven't seen Cass in a couple weeks now."

Dylan nodded, his mood sinking further. This was Cassia's favorite place. The only reason she wouldn't have been here in weeks was because of him. Maybe he'd been wrong about her willing to give things another shot.

He picked up the fork and poked at the pie.

"Is chocolate cream not your thing?" Sally moved closer. "I think I've got an apple pie in the chiller. I was saving it for tomorrow, but I could make an exception."

"Oh, no, I'm sure it's delicious." Dylan sighed and set the fork down. "It's just not the same without Cassia." Nothing was.

Sally gave him a sympathetic smile and reached under the counter, coming up with a to-go box. She scooped the pie into it and folded the lid down. "Here you go. Why don't you save it for when you see her?"

"I don't know when I'll see her. If I'll see her." Dylan touched the box and looked up. "I thought I'd see her here for sure."

"She doesn't live too far from here. Why don't you surprise her?"

Dylan shook his head. The empty stool at the end of the counter had been enough of a sign. Maybe he'd find the courage another night. He reached into his pocket for money and stood up. "Thanks anyway, Sally."

Sally nodded. "Sure thing, sugar. Have a good night."

Dylan picked up his pie and left, the bell ringing over his head. Outside, he looked in the direction of Cassia's apartment but turned towards his truck.

The drive to his place seemed to take no time at all, his mind filled with thoughts of everything Cassia had said to him, and everything he should have said in return. Damnit, why had he let his old insecurities get the better of him?

At his building, he carried his pie in and up to his floor, staring at the keys in his hand as he walked down the hall to his door. He didn't look up and almost tripped over Cassia when he got to his apartment.

"Cassia!"

She looked up at him, drawing her legs in and standing. "Hi, Dylan."

They stared at each other, Dylan in shock, Cassia with a shy smile on her face.

Dylan looked down the hall, and back the other way, before turning back to Cassia. "How did you get in here?"

"Uh, actually, Tristen let me in, just a little while ago."

"Tristen?" Dylan shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Well, I was outside, waiting at the curb in Janis' car, and I kept buzzing your apartment, and ran into Tristen on my way back out after the last try. Someone had dropped him off out front, I guess."

Dylan figured he must have caught a ride with one of the other guys. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Cassia was here, in front of him. "You came here to see me?"

"Who else?"

Dylan stared at her, loving every freckle on her nose and fighting the urge to kiss every one of them, while they stood in the hall. He cleared his throat. "Would you like to come in?"

She nodded and stood aside so he could unlock the door. They walked in and Dylan led the way, turning on lights and showing her the kitchen and living room.

"This is a really nice place, Dylan."

Dylan shrugged as he put the pie in the fridge. It was the only place he'd lived in since coming to Dallas, and it served its purpose.

"Is this your family?" She pointed at the pictures on the fireplace mantle.

Dylan came up to her side to look at the picture. "Yeah. Mom, Dad, and my sisters, Zoe and Breanna."

"And you." She gave him a smile and shifted her finger to his face in the middle of the shot.

"That was taken right before I left for college."

"You look so young."

Dylan smiled and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I guess so. Bit more grey now."

Cassia followed the movement of his hand and nodded. He met her gaze and realized how close together they were standing. God, she smelled so good. He'd noticed at the arena earlier but hadn't been sure if she'd want him to touch her or not.

"Why are you here?"

Her eyes dropped and she folded her hands in front of her. He saw her shoulders lift as she took a breath before meeting his gaze again. "It occurred to me, after I said my piece at the arena, that you sometimes have trouble saying what's on your mind." A smile spread across her face as she spoke. "And instead of giving you a minute to recover, I just ran away. That wasn't fair."

Dylan shrugged. "It's OK."

"It's not. Not really." Cassia sighed and moved away, pacing around his living room. "Dylan, over the past few months, I've got to know who you are, and you've told me things about yourself, including your issues with talking to women."

"I've never had trouble talking to you." So often, she'd been the one to remind him of that fact, and it felt a little odd to be the one pointing it out now.

Her smile widened and she stopped in the center of the room. "Exactly, and instead of giving you a few minutes to process what I'd said, I assumed you had nothing to say to me. So I bolted."

Her words made him realize something. Was it possible that every other woman he'd struggled to connect with had assumed the same thing? That his lengthy silences meant he wasn't interested?

"So I told myself I needed to see you again, to find out if you had figured out what you wanted to say." She took a step towards him. "Because I don't think anyone else has ever given you the same chance."

Dylan shook his head, smiling himself. "You're probably right, but it's not all their fault. Uncomfortable silences don't make things easy."

"No. You're right about that."

They faced each other, smiling, and Dylan's chest started to loosen up. He moved a step closer to her.

"So you decided I had something to say and came here?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Tristen gave me your address earlier." She let out a little laugh and lifted her hand to show him. "I thought he was giving me his number and almost kicked him in the balls."

Dylan barked out a laugh. "Me too. I wanted to punch him."

Her eyes widened. "You didn't, did you?"

"No." Dylan took another few steps, closing the distance between them, and reached for her hand. He rubbed his thumb over the writing and could feel her trembling. "Permanent ink. What a dumbass."

Cassia laughed. "It's fine. I get worse on my hands daily at the garage. There'll be something there I can wash it off with."

Dylan squeezed her fingers and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry for ever making you think I was disappointed in you, or in what you do."

"Dylan-"

"No, you said your piece, now let me." He smiled to take the edge off his words. "It's why you're here, right?"

She smiled and nodded, remaining silent. He pulled her closer, loving the way her cheeks colored. How novel, to be the one not blushing.

"I think you're amazing, I always have." He wrapped an arm around her waist and brushed her hair over her shoulder with his other hand. "I told you ages ago that you intimidate me, and I meant it, and that has nothing to do with college or a ritzy address or your job."

Her eyes dropped and he touched her chin until she looked up at him. "You're smart, honest, kind and funny. None of that would be enhanced or diminished by a college education. That's just who you are and I've always known that."

Her face broke out in the most incredible smile. "Oh, Dylan. I'm so sorry for assuming you ever thought that. It was all my own doubts, not you. Not ever."

He couldn't hold off any longer. He kissed her. She pressed against his chest for a second, as if she wanted to say more, but he didn't let her go. He angled his head and took the kiss deeper, tasting her, and drinking in the little sound she made at the back of her throat. God, why had he gone so long without this?

When she bowed against him, letting his hold tighten around her, he eased back, letting them both catch their breath.

"You're done apologizing."

She opened her mouth but he kissed her again. "No more. It's my turn."

"Dylan, you have nothing to be sorry about."

He blew out a breath and touched his forehead to hers. "Yes, I do. I should never have listened in to your conversation with Alex and Carol."

Her head drew back, her brow creased in a frown. "Dylan-"

"I never meant to." He huffed out a laugh, feeling his ears turning pink. "I saw you go in and thought I'd join you. I thought we could have a little fun in there."

"Oh God." She closed her eyes for a second. "Instead, I found Alex and Carol going at it. And then you overheard everything after."

Dylan chuckled, because he could laugh about it now. "I can't even imagine what that was like for you to find them."

She wrinkled her nose. "It wasn't pleasant. I was worried for Carol and disgusted by Alex. And then I was just pissed at them both and only wanted to get to you."

Dylan groaned. "And then I snapped at you and accused you of using me for the wedding. Cassia, I'm so sorry. That was such a boneheaded move."

"I can't blame you for that. It was how we got started, after all."

"But everything changed after your birthday, and we both know it." Dylan squeezed her around her middle. "I wasn't pretending anymore, and I knew you weren't. I'm sorry I ever said you were."

"I know, Dylan." She kissed him and he let himself sink into it for several long moments.

"And I'm so sorry I walked out on you that night."

She let out a light laugh. "OK, if I'm done apologizing, then so are you."

He shook his head and buried a hand in her hair, holding her head as he looked into her eyes. "I mean it. I can't believe I did that. It was so rude, and I was so stupid. I mean, you were in that dress, and looked so fucking good."

Her eyes popped open wide. "Dylan. You just said the f-word."

He nodded. "Because I mean it." He moved his head, putting his lips close to her ear, grinning when she shivered as his mouth brushed the skin there. "You looked fucking delicious, Cassia."

She shuddered and tipped her head back, baring her throat to him. Dylan swallowed, unsure of what had made him say what he had, but who cared. He was hard as a rock and Cassia was so warm in his arms. And they had so much lost time to make up for.

For a while, Dylan held Cassia in his arms as he ran light kisses up and down her throat, teasing her with his tongue here and there. She jerked in his arms when he closed his lips around her ear lobe and sucked. Her fingers were in his hair, clenching tight and holding him there.

"Oh, man, that feels so good, Dylan."

Dylan smiled against her skin, pressed a kiss there and then pulled back so he could look into her eyes. "You taste fucking good."

She started to laugh. "I don't know if I can get used to you swearing so much, Dylan Samuels."

He laughed with her. "Me either. I just want you to understand how easy it is for me to say anything to you."

Her expression softened and she slid one hand to his cheek, holding her palm there. He turned his face, keeping his eyes on hers as he pressed a kiss to her wrist.

"Mmm. Anything?" Her voice was husky.

He nodded. "Anything. Such as... I love you, too."

She blinked, clearly not expecting that response. Then her eyes turned watery and she buried her face against his neck. He held her, stroking a hand over her hair, offering comfort even as his heart thundered in his chest. He'd never said those words to a woman before. Turning his face, he pressed his lips to her hair and whispered it again and again, until she lifted her head.

Tears lined her cheeks but she was smiling. "I love you, Dylan. So much."

He let out a sigh. "I know. You told me."

Her cheeks turned pink but she didn't look away from his eyes. She pulled him close, kissing him once, twice, and a third time before pulling out of his arms.

"Hey, where you going?"

She looked over her shoulder as she pulled her jacket off and her shirt, almost in one motion. Dylan gaped at her. She paused near the hall to the bedrooms, her hands on the waist of her pants. She undid the button and pushed them over her hips, leaving her standing there in her underwear, a stroke-inducing set of black lace panties and bra.

"Shit, Cassia." Dylan couldn't move his feet. He was afraid he might melt on the spot. But what a way to go. "What are you trying to do to me?"

She cocked her head to one side, her arms snaking behind her. The bra came off and Dylan's heart stopped for a full second.

She held the bra before her and dropped it to the floor with the rest of her clothes. "I'm trying to get you in bed, Dylan Samuels. Do you have a problem with that?"

He moved then, crossing the room and hauling her nearly naked body up against his chest, his mouth coming down on hers. "Fuck, no."

She giggled, for a second only, before it turned to a groan as Dylan all but dragged her down the hall to his room. There, he pushed away and started to strip out of his own clothes. She sat on the bed, lifting one foot and then the other, tugging her socks off.

"Now, that." He pointed when she stopped moving, panties still in place.

She grinned, her eyes dancing. "What happened to all your pretty words, Samuels?"

"I dropped them in the front room with your clothes." Dylan yanked his pants and socks off and crawled over her, his knees on either side of her legs. "I'm done talking."

She nodded, her expression turning hungry. Their hands collided as they reached for her panties. They were gone in another second and Dylan slid his hand up her thigh. The heat of her nearly had him seeing stars.

"Jesus, you're so hot." Dylan dragged his tongue up her neck and across her chin to her lips. "And so wet."

She shuddered. "I thought you were done talking."

He nipped her lower lip and she gasped. "Just one more thing."

Then he brought their mouths together, trapping her next gasp and loving the way her tongue slipped over and around his. Dylan moved his hand between her legs, swallowing every one of the hot little noises she made. She writhed against him, her fingers digging into his shoulders and he reveled in it. He wanted everything she could give him, and he'd take it, again and again.

When he drew back so they could both catch their breath, Dylan had moved over her, every hard inch of his arousal pressing against her inner thigh. He could feel her there, so slick and hot, while his blood pounded through his veins, all sensation centralized in one spot.

She lifted her chin, pressing little nibbling kisses to his jaw and throat, one hand sliding through his hair, her nails scraping on his scalp. He shivered and thrust his hips, hitting her in exactly the right spot, so she jack-knifed off the bed with a cry.

"Dylan!"

He looked down at her and did it again, giving her a wicked grin when she looked up at him, her eyes wide. Yes, he was surprising himself. He wasn't usually the take-charge guy, the one issuing orders or pinning the woman down in bed. But with Cassia, he was. He was the nice guy, who could pick her up when she'd had too much to drink, and the guy who could bring her to the brink and then tease her until her begging pleas filled the air.

"Please, Dylan. I need you."

And he could deny her nothing. She was his everything, and he'd spend the rest of his waking hours making sure she knew.

So he brought them together, almost blacking out at the searing pleasure of sliding inside her body. She let out a cry and wrapped everything around him, arms holding his chest to hers and her legs drawing him deeper.

He huffed out a breath and let them both simply feel how good it felt. After a moment or two, some sense returned and he lifted his head, kissing her good and hard as he pulled his hips back, before thrusting again. Something about the angle was apparently good for her because in another few strokes, she tightened all around him, her nails scoring his shoulders. He had the fleeting thought that the guys might notice next time he saw them in the locker room, but she squeezed around him and all sensible thought fled.

All he knew then was heat, soft, gliding heat, and the wild, wonderful taste of her as she kissed him. She whimpered as he continued to move, her mouth open on his neck as he shifted over her, bracing himself on the bed and thrusting deeper, and harder. His breath caught and an immense wave of sensation tightened his spine. He groaned, dropping his head to her shoulder, and rode the wave.

Later, Dylan thought he'd never be as comfortable and as sated as he was in that moment. Cassia was warm, her body soft under his arm and every inch of her smelled like paradise.

"What was the one more thing?"

He opened his eyes to see her face turned to his on the pillow they shared. "What?"

She grinned, her hands stroking up and down his arm across her middle. "Before, I said I thought you were done talking, and you said, 'just one more thing'."

He frowned as he tried to recall. "I did?"

Her laugh had no business getting him all worked up again so soon, but it did. She rolled her entire body towards him and his eyes strolled across every bare inch of her. "You really don't remember what you were going to say?"

"No. I guess I had other things on my mind."

Her mouth quirked, an adorable smile that he needed to kiss. So he did. It turned into another, and another until she was melting under him again. Not that he minded. He could handle it. He was in pretty good shape and he loved her, so he'd do it all, anything she wanted, as often as she wanted it.

Cassia didn't care who knew it. She loved watching Dylan play hockey. She was going to attend every damn home game next season, no matter what. The thought only gave her a second's pause and then she was on her feet with everyone else as Dylan stole the puck in the neutral zone, and headed into the attack zone. He caught the Avalanche on a change, throwing everyone off, and zipped forward. Ice scraped, the goalie dropped a pad, his glove went up, but Dylan angled the shot over his other shoulder and the net shook with the goal.

"Yeah!" Cassia screamed, clapping her hands and high-fiving the fans nearest her.

Beside her, Janis rose as well, clapping in a more sedate manner, her brow furrowed. Cassia laughed at her friend's lost expression.

"Are you having fun?" Cassia leaned close after some of the furor over Dylan's goal subsided.

Janis shrugged and smiled at her. "I know you are."

Cassia grinned, turning to seek Dylan on the bench. He was grinning from ear-to-ear, and she practically vibrated with the need to kiss him in congratulations. As a defenseman, he didn't score often, and tonight, when it mattered, it made it all that much sweeter.

It was the last game of the season, and even though the Stars had been out of the playoff race for a few weeks, she knew they wanted to go out with a bang. They'd been trailing the Avs through the last period, but now they were tied, thanks to Dylan's goal.

In the end, it went to a shootout, and Cassia was on her feet the whole time, her heart in her throat as each player took their shots. Tristen Sturgess was the hero, with the only goal in the entire shootout.

The crowd was jubilant, in spite of it being the end of the season. They cheered the team while they celebrated the win on the ice and then turned to the crowd, sticks raised in the air, as a final salute to their fans.

Cassia and Janis walked back to Janis' car, and Janis peppered Cassia with questions on the drive back to Cassia's neighborhood.

"I just don't get the rules." Janis sighed. "It's so complicated."

Cassia laughed. "You're smart, you can figure it out. With my help."

Janis slanted a look at her. "I suppose there'll be more games in the winter that you'll drag me to?"

"Oh yeah." Cassia grinned, unable to contain her happiness. She didn't care, and she knew Janis was happy for her, even if she didn't relish the opportunity for more live hockey.

"Can you drop me off at the diner?"

Janis nodded as she turned the corner onto the main road. "Sure. Is Dylan meeting you later?"

"Yeah."

A few minutes later, Janis parked along the curb out front of the Lone Star Diner. Cassia turned and gave her friend a hug.

"Thanks for coming tonight. It was fun."

"It was." Janis hugged her back. "What are you doing next weekend?"

"No plans so far. Why?"

"Well, we decided to get married in Vegas, so you and Dylan should come."

For a second, Cassia thought she'd misheard. "Did you say married?"

Janis grinned and nodded. "I'm taking your advice. I still need a maid of honor, but you won't have to wear a dress."

"Oh my God." Cassia leaned close to hug her again. "I can't believe it."

"Will you come?"

"Yes, of course I will!"

Janis laughed and pushed her off. "Awesome. I'll text you the details later."

Twenty minutes later, she still couldn't believe it. The bell rang and she turned to see Dylan hurrying up to her. He bent to kiss her, and she murmured happy sounds as he did.

"Hey." He released her, his eyes sparkling. "Did you enjoy the game?"

"It was great. You were amazing."

Dylan grinned as he took his jacket off and slid onto the stool beside her. Sally appeared a second later with coffee and two slices of pie.

"Aw, did you wait for me?" Dylan glanced at Cassia's plate as they picked up their forks.

"Yup." She clinked her fork against his. "Cheers!"

With a laugh, he dug in.

"Mmm. Good old sweet potato pie."

Dylan glanced over as she scraped the last bite off her plate and licked the fork clean. "Is it your favorite?"

"Hard to pick just one favorite." Cassia pushed the plate and fork away and reached for her coffee. "But it would be up there, for sure."

Dylan nodded in agreement as he finished his.

"Oh, I have to tell you what Janis just told me. You won't believe it."

Dylan whistled in surprise when she finished explaining. "That's exciting. Next weekend?"

Cassia nodded. "So you want to go?"

"Sure. I don't have any plans." He let out a light laugh. "Not now that the season's done."

"Aw." Cassia touched his hand. "I'm sorry you didn't make it to the playoffs, Dylan. There's always next year."

He nodded. "Yeah. We'll recover in the off-season and get together a game plan. It'll be great."

"There you go."

Cassia kept her hand on his and he turned his over to capture her fingers, which he brought to his lips for a sweet kiss.

"Have you got any other plans for the summer?"

Cassia shook her head. "No. What did you have in mind?"

He shrugged, his ears turning pink and Cassia leaned close to peck his cheek. He turned that sexy crooked smile on her and she melted.

"I was thinking I'd love for you to meet my family, and see where I grew up."

Cassia's mind flashed back to that dinner with her friends, when they'd made all the suggestions about camping out and star-gazing in the Alberta countryside. "I'd love that, Dylan."

"Yeah? Great. I'll check out the flights and we'll see what works best."

"I like it." Cassia kissed him. "I actually had been thinking about making some changes this summer."

"What kind of changes?" Dylan reached for the sugar and stirred some into his coffee.

"Work."

Dylan looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. Cassia looked down, feeling nervous for some reason. She'd only just started to consider a change in her career, and wasn't sure what he would think.

"Well, I love what I do, but I've been wondering more and more if I think I'll really be happy being a mechanic for the rest of my life."

Dylan's brows drew together. "This isn't anything to do with..."

"No." Cassia touched his hand and shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I've just been thinking and wondering, for myself. I can't imagine doing anything but working on cars, but what I really love, what I don't ever get to do, is rebuild cars."

Dylan's eyes widened. "Really? That's what you're thinking?"

"Yeah." Cassia grinned and started to explain. "A customer brought in this banged up old Pontiac a couple weeks ago and when we told him what needed work, he basically said, fuck it, and how much would we give him for the parts."

"Wow. That bad?"

She shrugged. "To him, maybe, but this car, it's got great bones, Dylan. I started thinking right away about how I could fix this or that, what it would look like with the interior gutted and redone, and the improvements I could make to the engine. I mentioned it to Kyle one night, and he started talking about fabrics and what materials I could use, and how they'd go together."

"Kyle?" Dylan blinked. "He's into design?"

"Yeah. That's the other thing. He finally told me why he'd left Austin." A frown drew her brows together as she recalled her brother's late night confession. "Apparently the guys on the swim team were giving him a hard time about Tyler and all, so that was a big part of it."

"Idiots."

"Tell me about it." Cassia shook her head. "But he said it was mostly that he didn't want to keep studying architecture and didn't know if he could do what he really wanted there."

"Which was?"

"Design. Not clothing necessarily, but interior and all that. Some of his classes dealt with design and he was way more interested in that than the other aspects of architecture."

"So he could help you with interiors, and colors and all." Dylan started to nod. "That's a great idea."

Cassia pressed against Dylan's side, wanting to hug him forever. He was so incredible, how he knew her thoughts before she even voiced them all. "Exactly! I'll be the mechanic and he'll be the designer. It'll be fantastic. I already talked to Dad and he was willing to let me use a bay for now, so I wouldn't even have to rent another space."

"That's great, Cassia." He bent close and kissed her, his expression excited.

"Even Tyler is interested." Cassia leaned her cheek on Dylan's shoulder, so thrilled to be able to share this with Dylan. Three months ago, she'd have been talking to herself in the mirror. Now, she felt like she had a whole team on her side, for everything.

"Tyler?"

"Yeah, he's finishing up his business degree. So he can totally help with that angle and everything."

"That's awesome. It seems like it's all meant to be."

Cassia looked up into his eyes. "Do you think so?"

"I really do." He kissed her again, lingering a little this time, kicking Cassia's heart rate into high with no effort. "I think you should do it."

"I think I'm going to." She let out a laugh and squeezed his arm and sat back. "It's terrifying, but exciting all at once."

"I know how you feel. It's how I felt after I was drafted, and before I started playing. Nerve-wracking." He turned a grin on her. "But you'll do great, I know it."

She grinned back. "I was thinking of brainstorming some more this week, really get into some details, but maybe I'll wait until after Vegas now."

Dylan nodded. "Good idea. It's a lot to plan in a week. Plane, hotel. Where do you want to stay?"

"I don't know. I've never been. Have you?"

"Only once, when I turned twenty-one." He pulled his phone out and pulled up a list of hotels. "There's the Luxor, Paris, the Bellagio..."

Cassia looked over his shoulder. "I don't really care. It's only for the weekend, and once Janis tells me where they're getting hitched, we'll pick whatever is closest."

"Sounds like a plan." Dylan tucked his phone away and gave her a look.

"What?"

His eyes narrowed. "You're not thinking of doing anything crazy while we're there, are you?"

"Crazy?" She laughed. "Like what, getting married ourselves?" At Dylan's shocked look she laughed harder. "No, Dylan. We're nowhere near ready for that."

Dylan let out a breath. "Jesus, I was talking about gambling." After another few seconds, he joined in her laughter. Yet another thing she loved about Dylan, that they could joke and laugh about something like that.

"You know what I should do, is get you to a poker table and be your arm candy one night while you wipe the table with the other players."

She laughed. "Oh God, I don't know about that. It's one thing to get lucky at a charity casino with toy chips. Vegas is a whole other ball game."

"Ball game?" Dylan arched his brows, making her laugh again.

"OK, a whole other hockey game?" She shook her head along with Dylan. "Yeah, doesn't roll off the tongue quite the same, does it?"

He leaned close, putting his lips close to her ear, which she loved. "I think we could both figure out better things to do with our tongues anyway."

She nodded and turned her head to kiss him. "Your place or mine?"

"Well, there are a few spots at my place that I've been wanting to test out."

Cassia laughed and jumped up. "Let's go!"

"God, I do love you, Cassia." He dropped a few bills on the counter and stood up.

"And I know you do."

She turned her face up for his kiss as they exited the diner. She wasn't sure how long they stood on the street corner, making out, or how many times he pulled the truck over so he could kiss her again and again on the way back to his place, but she was sure she loved every one of them.​