Page 55 of Rebound
When she hears this, Blue Tint girl smiles slowly. “We didn’t want to deceive you. We were trying to play it cool. I’m Casey. This is Ellie,” she points at the girl with the short dark hair, “and that’s Elle,” she points at the girl with the long dark hair, “andthat’s Rochelle,” she points at the blonde girl who hasn’t said a word. “We’re D1 hockey players.”
“And your biggest fans,” Ellie adds.
“You’re, like, totally our role model,” Elle says.
Warmth spreads from my stomach upwards and I’m not sure what to say. I always get a little uncomfortable when someone tells me they’re a fan because I immediately think I haven’t done enough to deserve a fandom. Somehow, winning three Olympic medals isn’t enough. I despise how inadequate the world makes us feel of our achievements.
“Thank you,” I say. “I really appreciate that.”
“We didn’t like Josh Whitmore,” Rochelle says. “His vibe totally didn’t match yours.”
“Rochelle!” Ellie hisses.
“What? It’s not like she’s still with him.”
They must be at least ten years younger than me and even they could tell that Josh wasn’t the one for me? Maybe Jules is right, and I really do have a knack for picking douchebags. Am I blind to people’s flaws or am I too nice that I can’t see when someone is taking advantage of me?
Is Roman taking advantage of me? What if I’m a game to him? He said that he doesn’t like Josh and he’s not exactly a fan of Drew’s, and I’m the perfect way to get back at them both.
I step out of the restroom, the girls following right behind me, and I come to a stop as soon as I see Roman.
He’s leaning against a wall, his eyes trained on the restroom door, his thumb brushing against his bottom lip. He doesn’t even care that at least three girls are glaring at him, and one is in the middle of telling him that she’s going to call security if he doesn’t leave.
Roman straightens as soon as I come out, his mouth tugging up into a beautiful smile. My stomach swoops with delight. It’s so hard to believe this man has any malicious intentions towardsme. I’ve known Roman since we were babies and yeah, he liked to push the limit, break the rules, but he was never malicious. He never hurt someone on purpose.
“I thought I would need to send a search party to find you,” he says.
“You gave me a hickey,” I accuse quietly.
“What part of unhinged, obsessive stalker behaviour made you think there’ll be no marks involved?”
The girls giggle behind me and Roman’s eyes shift to them momentarily before moving back to me. “Fans of yours?”
“Literally.”
Roman takes my hand as we leave the hallway. Under the dancing club lights, I take plenty of photos with the girls. They each ask me for a hug, and I oblige. As Rochelle leans in, she whispers, “For the record, his vibe totally matches yours.”
I wave at them as they disappear into the crowd.
“Do you want to go back up to the VIP room?” Roman asks.
I lean against him as I gently sway to the music. Waving down the bartender, I order two shots and down them both in quick succession. I don’t want to go back to the VIP room where my brother will be keeping watch over me. I order two more shots and pass one to Roman.
“We should get tattoos,” I say.
“We will not be getting tattoos,” Roman replies. We clink our glasses together and shoot them back.
“Come on.” I wave at the tattoos on his arm. He seriously can’t object to this idea.
Roman rests a hand on my hip, the touch possessive. “These are works of art. I find the most talented tattoo artists and go on wait lists. None of my tattoos are drunken decisions made in Vegas.”
I trace the compass on his arm and the dragonfly tattooed below it. Roman makes a sound in the back of his throat and Ilook up at him through my lashes, admiring the poutiness of his lips, the sharpness of his jaw, his straight nose.
“Do you know, the most reckless things I’ve ever done in my life have been with you?”
“I’m honored you trust me like that, Blossom.” His hand flexes on my waist and he pulls me closer against him.
“I don’t trust you, not entirely. I’m not sure what you want from me.”
