A few days later, Brody huffed out a breath as he dropped onto the bench in the dressing room. He grabbed some Gatorade and gulped it down, exchanging high-fives with his teammates as they filed past. "Good job." Chuck Baxter clapped him on the shoulder as he dropped to the bench next to him. "Now we just have to do it all again next game." "No problem." Brody grinned. "Give me ten minutes." Baxter laughed and started unl...

© 2011 All Rights Reserved A week later, Ryan was pleased to be in a soft cast. Her ankle hurt far less and she was off her crutches, but she couldn't wait to be done with the whole damn thing. At least, she thought as she came in from work, she wasn't thinking about how it had happened every time she walked more than a block. Just a few more days, she reminded herself as she stared at the contents of the fridge. She frow...

Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch 04 © 2011 All rights reserved Brody stared at the screen. " This is what you watch when you're upset?" "I warned you." Ryan reached into the bag of chips. "You're the one who wanted to make the bet." "You are . . . different," Brody said. "I mean, most girls I know, they'd be sniffling through The Notebook or something. Eating a gallon of ice cream and watching Titanic. When you said dark, I fi...

Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch 03 © 2011 All rights reserved "Hi, Mom," Ryan said. "Hi, sweetie. How are you? I've been worried about you. Maybe you should come home while you heal up." "I'm fine, Mom. Really, I'm fine. I promise." Ryan stared at the ceiling. "The insurance is covering it. I can come off the crutches this week, and they'll give me a soft cast for a week or so." "I called you last night but you didn't answer....

Rhythm and the Blue Line Ch 02 © 2011 All rights reserved "So, Mark, what's the story with Ryan?" Brody asked a couple of days later. They sat in the dressing room, lacing up their skates before practice. "What?" Mark looked up. "What story?" Brody shrugged. "She seeing anybody?" Mark narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Why?" "Just curious." "I don't think she's your type." "My type?" Brody raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" Mar...

© 2011 All rights reserved "I gotta go, man," said Mark. "I told Hilary I'd meet her." "Right." Brody grinned. "You're just mad because I was kicking your ass at Madden." Mark rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's it. I'm so pissed about losing that I'm using my girlfriend as an excuse. Jesus, Brody." Brody snickered. "You have been whipped since she moved in with you." "Just get out." Mark glared at him. "Man, I never thought I...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 13 © 2009 All rights reserved I will not cry, Lani told herself. I will not. She wiped at any tears that dared escape her eyes. So Dom blamed her, just like Jason did. Well, she'd had it. Let them blame her. It wasn't her fault the defense had faltered tonight and allowed a season-high number of shots, any more than it was her fault that Jason had been hit with an errant stick during the scrum in...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 12 © 2009 All rights reserved "Hey." Lani looked up from her laptop, blinking as her eyes adjusted from the LCD display to the real world. She focused on Dom standing in front of her. "Hi." Her mouth went suddenly dry. "Mind if I sit?" Dom gestured at the empty chair. She shook her head. Dom sat and studied her. She was still beautiful, but she looked tired and a bit stressed. He didn’t know why—h...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 11 © 2009 All rights reserved "So how was it?" Dee asked. Lani sighed. "Great, so long as Jason and I weren’t in the same room." "Are you serious?" Dee asked. She shook her head as she cut up some cheese. The game would start soon, and she and Lani were prepping their snacks. The ice cream would stay in the freezer until it was necessary. Somehow, it was always necessary. "It's been how many years...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 10 © 2009 All Rights Reserved Lani curled up on the couch as she waited for Dom to come back with the wine. It was five days before Christmas, and the team's schedule was going to get hectic. Lani was flying back to Hawaii the next day, and so they had decided to have a small Christmas celebration early. It was a good idea, Lani decided. By trading gifts early, it felt like so much of the pressure...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 09 © 2009 All rights reserved "Lani, it wasn't your fault," Dee told her. They were in the makeshift break room at the office. Their non-profit was doing well, but hadn't risen to the level of organizations like the Make a Wish foundation, so the break room had been carved out from a former storage area. "I know, Dee," Lani said as she sipped her water. "I just don't know what to do." "Not you," D...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 08 © 2009 All rights reserved Lani sat at her desk, eyes half-glazed as she scrolled through the table on the monitor. The numbers were stupor-inducing and she thought how handy an intravenous caffeine drip would be. As the numbers moved up and off the screen, her thoughts wandered to Dom. Why hasn't he called? she wondered, then chided herself, Why haven't you called him? For all kinds of dumb re...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 07 © 2009 All Rights Reserved "Oh, wow," said Dee, throwing her head back on the sofa. "That was great. I'm so glad they won." Lani grinned. It was Monday night and Dee had invited her over to watch the first game of the road trip. They'd won, four to two. Even over the television, they could see Dom's frustration. He had been screened on the first goal, but the second had been a bit soft. Lani ho...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 06 © 2009 All Rights Reserved Lani woke up and blinked. It was so quiet. That was a blessing; Cherie must have either worn herself out or gone somewhere else. It took a minute to realize it was quiet because she wasn't in her bedroom. She turned her head at the sound of rustling sheets and smiled when she saw Dom still sleeping. He looked a little younger, she thought. Or perhaps it was just that...

Nothing Gets Through Ch. 05 © 2010 All rights reserved Dom had a quiet, neat apartment. There was very little decoration, and a bare minimum of furniture. That was all Lani got to observe before Dom took her coat, removed his own, and then pulled her into another searing kiss. He couldn’t remember at what point on the ride to his place he'd discovered he'd wanted her so much. After she had given up on going to a hotel, th...