I watched them drive off before returning to the living room. Stuart was making excuses about needing to leave, too. Trinity gave him a hard time about being a fair-weather fan, but she understood his usually jam packed schedule.

After another journey to the door and fake sappy goodbyes exchanged all around, we resettled on the couch.

*83 Trinity shot a meaningful glance at her girlfriend before she cleared her throat. "You know, um, I mean, ah, you're aware..."

I turned my attention away from the game over to the usually verbose Trinity. "What?"

She looked at Kayla again before rushing to say, "You know she's family, right?"

The first time she'd used this term, I'd thought she'd been talking about a sister that she'd never mentioned. After a few stupid questions that made them both laugh, they'd offered a translation. Now, I could stay afloat in nearly every one of their conversations. "Ray?"

"Her, too, but I meant Raven."

My eyes widened at her revelation. "I'm not completely versed in etiquette, but if she'd wanted me to know that, don't you think she ought to be the one to tell me instead of you spilling her business?"

Trinity blanched at my lighthearted reprimand. The realization of her statement crashed down on her. "Oh, c.r.a.p, I'm a moron!"

"Take it easy," I let her off the hook. "I knew already, not that she told me."

"Who told you, other than moron here?" Kayla threw an arm around her girlfriend.

"Don't freak out," I started, knowing how they'd react to this story, "but a few weeks ago, someone hauled me into a dark room at work and kissed me thinking I was Raven."

"A woman someone?" Trinity couldn't hide her intense interest. "You kissed a woman?"

"More like she kissed me."

"So? How was it?" Trinity jutted her chin forward.

I laughed at their excitement and thought about my answer. "Soft ... unexpected."

"You kiss a woman for the first time and that's it?"

Kayla bemoaned. "So, it's true, you're hopelessly straight."

84*

I chuckled again at her disappointment, but something that felt like denial swam through my system. One more strange feeling that I'd experienced of late. "Honestly, the surprise at being abducted trumped any other emotions I might work through before it ended."

"Who kissed you? Was she hot?" Trinity raised her eyebrows.

"I'm not going to say, and she was pretty enough." I waved off their interest, intent on getting back to her original declaration. "What made you tell me about Raven?"

"Oh, um," Trinity hedged, shifting her green eyes from her girlfriend to me. "I thought you might need a heads up, that's all."

Now really confused, I asked, "About what? Why would it matter that she's a lesbian?"

"It doesn't, except that she has that whole please-G.o.d-don't-let-me-fall-for-a-straight-woman look of doom about her."

I stared at Trinity, not quite sure if I understood. "Are you ... do you mean ... straight woman ... me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Duh." Ah, the eloquence of youth.

"Oh, please, Trin," I brushed off her shortsightedness.

"You think every woman is gay and hot for you."

"Yeah, but I know this one is gay and she's hot for you."

"Cut it out," I disregarded her with a puff of breath.

Raven didn't act at all like a person interested in me. She acted like a woman making a new friend when making friends was no longer the easy endeavor that comes with youth. No, Trinity was reading this all wrong. But for a too brief moment, my ego inflated with the idea, however false, of someone as incredible as Raven liking me.

*85 The dogs and I started pacing as soon as I'd finished fussing with my hair. I'm not usually a hair fusser, but tonight I was making an effort. Usually on the weekends, I strap my hair into a ponytail or twist it into a bun so that I always know what it looks like. The fifteen minutes I'd scrunched, moussed, and flipped the shoulder length into a manageable wavy do obviously meant that I didn't think the ponytail would suffice tonight. Miracle upon miracles, the normally medium brown showed sun bleached highlights in all the right places and, without any rain, stayed relatively frizz free. Just before I left the bathroom, I decided that I'd spent my quota of hair fussing time for the month on one night.

Checking my watch one more time, I switched back and nearly drop kicked Alexandria. "Oh, Dria, sorry, sweets.

You guys look as anxious as I feel. C'mon, let's do something so we stop walking in circles, 'kay?"

Of course, the second we galloped into the living room, the front doorbell rang. The protectors of the bunch barked a soft warning while the others bounded to the door. Several deep breaths and calming orders were taken before I opened the door. The sight was worth all the fuss. Raven stood outside wearing cropped khaki pants and a sleeveless b.u.t.ton up shirt over a silky cami. The stylish flip of her collar length hair looked like she'd fussed over it as well, but it was her excited smile that fit her best.

"Hi there, Jos. Hey, guys." She took a knee to greet each dog. They'd dropped and rolled to present their bellies for her attention.

"It's always all about them." I joined her in the doggie rub down.

"As it should be. You look nice. I like that blouse," she complimented easily. Then with a look of panic rushed, "I thought you'd be decked out in team gear."

"I don't bother, not sitting next to Trin. Not only is she usually head to toe in Storm gear, but she's been known to 86*

paint her face for important games. She's a walking team shop. I'd only pale by comparison with any effort."

"Now, I'm really glad my one team shirt is in the pile for laundry day tomorrow." She grinned and stood up from playing with the dogs. "Ready?"

I snapped twice and pointed to get the dogs moving off to their sunroom for the night. Every time it worked, I wanted to shout my thanks to the dog trainer who'd helped me with the whistle and snap conditioning rather than the choke chain yank and praise confusion that other trainers use. "All set," I responded when I closed the door of the sunroom.

Once in her car, I continued to regale her with Trinity the Superfan anecdotes. Partly to ready her for the experience she was about to go through, but also to ease my sudden nervousness. At the Key, we bounced out of the car, her excitement as apparent as mine. On our way down to my seats, we stopped by hers to greet her friends. By the time we reached my courtside seats, Raven was practically bursting at the seams with excitement.

"Slyn," Trinity greeted barely looking away from the court. "Oh, hey, Raven, I forgot Stu c.r.a.pped out on us tonight. Glad you're here."

Raven looked too dazed by the fact that no one separated us and the players on the court to say h.e.l.lo, but she managed a quiet greeting. Her intense concentration on all the up close action made her nearly miss her seat. I had to pull her closer to get her situated over the right chair before she completed her squat. She grinned so widely she didn't need to voice her thanks.

The game pa.s.sed as if it were on fast forward all night.

Trinity's usual exuberance was rivaled by Raven's complete awe at being so close to the court. When a ball came flying our way, I didn't expect the player to follow, falling onto Raven. Once the player had righted herself, Raven found the game ball sitting in her lap.

*87 "You okay?" the player, one of the rookies on the other team, asked Raven.

"Yeah, thanks," Raven managed. She tossed the ball back to the ref to be inbounded. Turning to look at me, she wore the biggest smile I've ever seen.

"Pretty cool, huh?" I asked her.

She laughed, nodding enthusiastically. "So cool."

"Told ya you couldn't beat these seats."

"You were so right." She reined in her smile to speak her thanks for the fifth time tonight.

Teasingly, I asked, "How much are you digging me?"

"A lot."

My mouth popped ajar when I looked over at the suddenly serious face next to me. She wasn't kidding anymore, and the dip in her voice made my heart jump. She really wasn't kidding.

Trinity's elbow jutted into me, jarring my stare. "Told you," she whispered. "She's into you."

"Stop it," I automatically declined her a.s.sessment.

"Hey, just putting in my two cents."

"Keep them, please." When I turned back to Raven, her eyes were on the game. She gave a quick turn, locking eyes with me and her smile flashed brighter. After a long moment, she turned her attention back to the game. "Forget what I said," I whispered to Trinity. "I want a whole dollar's worth at the next game, okay?"

Trinity nudged my shoulder. "Should I dust off the membership application and toaster?"

"Shut up!" I said, but we both broke into giggles.

Chapter 12.

W alking down the hallway on another Wednesday, I pa.s.sed the infamous supply room and felt a lingering sensation from that day. The feeling was slightly different in my imagining this time, but before I could identify the source of the difference, a voice pierced the lunchtime silence of the deserted hallway. "...straight? Are you sure?"

Soft murmurs continued before I moved closer toward the corner office. "...boyfriend. What more proof do you need?"

"But you like her?" The man's voice was deep and sure.

No reply this time. "I'm sorry, Raven. I know how that feels."

At the mention of Raven's name, I stopped dead in the hallway. Luckily, no one was walking behind me or I would have caused a pile up. Raven's reply was too soft to hear, or maybe it was the voice screaming inside my head to keep moving that hampered my hearing abilities.

"...one time, Rave. This could turn out differently. I don't know." He sounded frustrated. "I don't want you hurt again, but d.a.m.n, Rave, you can't keep restraining your feelings because you were hurt badly once."

"There's being hurt, Dax, and being hurt by the same entirely avoidable thing." Raven's voice sounded just as frustrated.

*89 Leave, leave now! my head screamed and, thankfully, my legs responded by taking me past the office and around the corner. They probably didn't realize the door hadn't shut. I wished I hadn't overheard such a private conversation. I didn't let my mind repeat the words, nor would I allow it to think about the subject of their conversation. Trinity didn't need to be elbowing me and whispering in my ear to plant the idea that I was certainly a possibility. Please, how c.o.c.ky could I be? Trinity was wrong about her own relationships enough times. What made me think she could read Raven, a woman she barely knew?

"Oh, Joslyn, good." Kelly intercepted me on my way back to the conference room. She'd stopped blushing every time she saw me now, her mistake all but forgotten, which was a relief. "Raven was looking for you earlier. She thinks she isolated that line item you had a question about."

Her news pulled my thoughts into focus. "Great."

"She's over in Nick's office." Kelly pointed back down the hallway I'd just fled. She started us moving in that direction. I wanted to come up with some reason to delay our progress. The last thing I needed was to overhear more of that particular conversation. As we approached, a familiar looking man strode up to the office and walked inside. Kelly knocked on the now open door before pushing through. "I found her." She stepped aside to let me edge by.

Two men, the one we'd just followed inside and the other a thin reed of a man with white blond hair and light blue eyes, sat on the edge of the desk facing Raven. They were hunched over some files, but Raven straightened when I entered.

"Great, thanks, Kel." Kelly left after a quick h.e.l.lo and goodbye to the others. Raven beckoned me over. With a proud smile, she introduced me to the blond man. "Joslyn Simonini, this is my brother, Daxson Paul, and I think you've met my cousin Nick, right?"

90*

"Yes, h.e.l.lo, Nick." He gave me a wary nod, eliciting a glare from Raven. "Dr. Paul, it's a pleasure to meet you." I shook her brother's hand as surprise flared in his eyes.

"I see my sister's been bragging about her older, wiser, better looking brother again." He tried to sound bothered but wasn't pulling it off. Raven smacked him on the shoulder.

"I seem to remember her saying something about you studying to pa.s.s the South Pacific med boards while you were in prison, yeah." They laughed at my tease, exchanging a quick look.

"You don't want to know what I've heard about you, Ms. Simonini," Daxson joked back.

Raven smacked him again and shot an apologetic look my way. Nick, on the other hand, smirked satisfactorily.

"Oh, I believe I've heard every possible description, Dr.

Paul, and please call me Joslyn."

"All right, Joslyn, and I'm Dax. Give us your best." His blue eyes twinkled with amused interest, but his sister gasped at the request.

Without missing a beat, I deadpanned, "That I only recommend cutting jobs at companies to then tempt those now wandering souls with acceptance and tranquility in the cult I've created."

Three seconds pa.s.sed before the siblings burst into laughter. Nick looked on skeptically then attempted a half-hearted chuckle. "That is good. And the true calling of your cult?"

"Government overthrow, feminist upheaval, liberal occupation, abolishing reality television, you know, nothing too radical." They expected my deadpan this time, starting their laughter before I'd gotten through all of my objectives.

"I love Survivor," Nick grumbled, and I had to refrain from groaning at his choice of reality shows.

"Get a life, Nicholas, she was kidding." Daxson turned back to me with a piercing look. "Yeah, I like you." He said *91 it simply, like the way kids make honest declarations without regard for how it might be interpreted. After another long look at his sister, he said, "I'd better go see if I can coax my daughter out to the lunch she promised me.

Nice meeting you, Joslyn. Take good care with this company."

"That's why I'm here."

"I'll walk you over to IT, cuz," Nick offered, probably to flee my presence before I fired him. Not that I could, but he hadn't warmed to me any more than the rest of the Pauls outside this room.

"Did Kelly let you know about my discovery?" Raven turned my attention back from Dax being herded away by Nick.

"Yes, that's good news. Can't wait to take a look."