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"Yeah?"
She glanced at Russ. "You have to tell us why you call Russ 'Buffy.'"
"Done!" Frank looked at Russ. "Don't worry, I won't make you look too big an idiot. Just moderately big."
"Hey, thanks," Russ said dryly.
"It was during his first year playing here at Aurora," Frank explained. "He wasn't used to this crap rink and got his stick jammed between the boards. The stick stopped and he kept going. Nearly impaled himself on it, like a suicidal vampire. Broke-what?-three ribs, was it, Buffy?"
"One."
"Let's call it two. So some smartass called him Buffy, like that vampire slayer chick."
" You called me it," Russ said.
Frank sighed fondly. "My kids used to love that show."
As people started heading for the exit, Russ grabbed his gear and walked with Emma and Daphne, pushing open the door into the cool night air and holding it for them. They waited while he loaded his stuff into his car; then the three of them walked through the amber-lit parking lot and over toward Harold's. Daphne drifted ahead a few steps.
"If you don't want me to go to Harold's, I won't," Emma said quietly.
"It's too late to change your mind. It would be worse if you left now."
"Do women usually come to Harold's?"
"Rarely. But don't let the guys intimidate you. They're mostly a good bunch, and the invitation is sincere. While they wouldn't want wives and girlfriends to show up all the time, they do enjoy a periodic appearance."
They were quiet for a few steps; then Emma gathered the courage to ask, "Are you angry with me?"
She saw him glance ahead at Daphne, who surely was listening with an eager ear. "Now is hardly the time to discuss it."
"I only meant to-"
"Hey, wait up!" someone called from behind them.
Damn.
She had the feeling this was going to be a very long evening.
Russ stood with his back against the bar and watched Emma and her friend at the table, surrounded by admirers. Daphne didn't seem to be having any problem with an evening at Harold's. She was three seats away from Emma, talking to the only guy as young as Russ. Bob also happened to be single, and Russ dreaded that no matter what happened between him and Emma, Daphne might worm her way into the haven of his hockey family.
Emma had been the one to insist the nature of their relationship be kept strictly confidential. Had she broken that vow with her friend? The possibility sent an angry unease through him. It would be disastrous if Daphne knew and leaked that piece of gossip to Bob, and thus to everyone in the league.
There was solidarity among the hockey players, and a general live-and-let-live philosophy, but the line was drawn at lousy treatment of women. One guy who had cheated on his wife and brought his girlfriend to an out-of-town tournament had never been invited again, and had been frankly told not to bring his piece to Harold's. He didn't get invited to barbecues and picnics; no one wanted him and his mistress at their Christmas party or housewarming.
Russ had never thought that he might set himself up for that same ostracism.
Emma sucked the last of her diet Pepsi from the big plastic cup, the gurgling suction of her straw in the dregs all but lost beneath the noise of the bar. She glanced up, meeting his eyes. She looked childlike in that moment, big-eyed over her empty soda, surrounded by men larger and older than herself. Was she feeling uncomfortable under her facade of ease?
Next to her, Greg finished sketching his master suite on a napkin and pushed it toward her, drawing her attention.
"So this is what my wife wants to do. She wants to move this wall here, bump out the outer wall, and get both a walk-in closet and a 'spa bathroom' out of it, whatever that is. I keep telling her it won't work, that the spaces will be too tight and it'll be too expensive."
Emma bit her upper lip and stared at the crude drawing. From listening to her talk about design, Russ knew that she was forming the three-dimensional space in her mind, imagining it from different angles, putting herself inside it in the artificial reality of her imagination. He knew it was a mental exercise that took a unique, complex gift of intelligence, and when she concentrated like that, her gaze turned inward to the creative visions in her head, he found himself intensely attracted to her.
She was dressed more casually tonight than he was now used to seeing her. She was in jeans and hooded sweatshirt, her dark silky hair loose, nothing about her garb deliberately provocative, although he found the sight of her ass in jeans to be plenty of provocation. It occurred to him that this visit might have been an impulse on her part. Maybe she'd been in the neighborhood with her friend, and dropped into the rink on the chance that he might be playing.
It was disconcerting to see her outside her apartment, with a friend. Of course he knew that she had a life beyond her time with him; he just hadn't seen any of it.
"Here, show your wife this," Emma said, grabbing another napkin and Greg's pen. She quickly sketched out her idea, explaining the details as she went. "It's a more efficient use of space and should be less expensive to build, yet it should give a greater feeling of ope
Greg raised his brows, looking over the finished product. "Damn. I didn't want you to show me a way it would be possible; I wanted you to tell me I should spend my money on a boat instead."
She shrugged. "Sorry."
Greg turned around and waved the napkin at him. "Did you see her draw this? We can't let her and Tina get together. I'll be living in a remodel for the next ten years if they do."
Emma gri
Greg turned to Russ and said in a stage whisper, "Keep those two apart. Far, far apart!"
He intended to, for completely different reasons. "Emma, would you like another soda?" he asked.
She looked at her watch, stifling a yawn. "No, it's past midnight. We ought to get going." She pushed back from the table and stood.
He stepped closer to her. "I'll follow you back to your place."
"I have to drive Daphne to her car. I won't be home until nearly one o'clock, I'm sure."
"I don't care if you're not home until five. I'm coming over."
She looked at him wide-eyed and he knew she was expecting an ugly scene. He didn't know how to reassure her with words, not when he didn't know how he felt, and not when there were half a dozen of his fellow players within earshot. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed her hand and, out of sight of the others, squeezed it firmly. "I'll see you both to your car. It's not the type of neighborhood you should be walking around in on your own."
Emma nodded and pried Daphne away from her prey.
Greg got up at the same time. "I should have been home an hour ago," he said. "Tina will have my hide. I'll walk with you."
When Emma and Daphne were safely away in Emma's car, Greg put his arm over Russ's shoulder. "Now that, my fellow, was a sweet girl. Smart, too. You know I'm going to have to hurt you if you treat her badly."
"Does that mean I should keep seeing her, or break it off?" Russ replied.
Greg shoved the back of his head and headed for his own car. "She's a keeper, if you ask me. And I saw the way she looked at you."
"How did she look at me?"
"How do you think, you idiot?" Greg got in his car, slamming the door and leaving Russ to figure it out for himself.