Breakaway

Chapter Seven

All through dinner Wednesday evening, all Remi could think about was going back to his place and having hot sex with him.

She clenched her thighs together as she ate, drank three glasses of wine to wet her dry mouth and pushed her food around on her plate—fabulous shrimp, but who cared—trying to keep her mind off Jason’s body. Naked. Over her. Under her. Inside her. Her womb clenched hard at that thought and she trembled.

They emerged from the restaurant on Michigan Avenue, a trendy upscale place that apparently wasn’t far from Jason’s apartment. Jason put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, then bent to kiss her cheek. His mouth felt warm in the cool night.

Then a blinding flash exploded in front of Remi’s eyes. She made a small sound and put a hand up. “What was that?”

“Shit.”

“Hey, Jase!” a voice called. Remi couldn’t even see who was talking to him, blinking at the spots in front of her eyes. “Is this your new girlfriend?”

She shook her head and looked up at Jason. He didn’t answer, just smiled grimly and took her arm, hustling her up the sidewalk.

“What’s her name?” the voice called from behind them.

“Who is that?” she huffed.

“Reporters.”

“Huh?”

“News reporters. Sorry about that, Remi. I had no idea they were out there.”

“Uh…” She sucked in oxygen as she practically ran to keep up with his long-legged stride. “What did they want?”

“Pictures. A story.”

“About you?”

“Yeah.” He laughed and slowed his stride. “I know it’s crazy, but sometimes they follow me around.”

Holy crap. She hung on to his arm as they walked around the corner and then into the entrance of the high-rise that housed his apartment.

“Stop.”

In the elegant lobby, all marble and glass and brass, she planted her feet in her high-heeled boots and didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?”

She threw out a hand. “This. This is what’s wrong. Look at this place. There are reporters following you around. Paparazzi, for god’s sake.”

“Uh…”

With his lips parted, thick brows drawn down and that butterfly bandage still on his forehead, he looked adorably confused.

“This is just one more reason why I should not be doing this.”

“What is? Why? What are you talking about?”

“Your life. It’s…crazy. It’s…I don’t even know. This is just so not me, Jason.”

He put his hands on her shoulders, heavy and warm even through her coat. “Remi. It’s not that big a deal. I just rent this apartment. It’s close to the arena.”

“Phhhhht.” She couldn’t even guess how much an apartment like this cost, but it was probably close to her whole month’s paycheck.

“And the reporters…well…you get used to it. It’s kinda cool. They don’t stalk me like I’m Britney Spears or anything. Just once in a while.”

She shook her head. Once in a while! She couldn’t even imagine that.

“Come on, Remi. Lighten up. It’s fun. Right?”

The curve of his lips, the appeal in his dark chocolate eyes, made her soften inside.

“Fun.”

“Yeah.” He stroked her cheek. “We’re just having fun. So some reporters want to take our picture? Why not? You’re gorgeous.”

“No, I’m not.” Not like a model. Those must have been some good shots when he’d been dating Brianne. She pictured the two of them stopping and posing for photographers. She sighed. That was so not her. Her stomach quivered inside. Oh hell.

“You are.” He touched her hair. “It’s not a big deal, sweetheart. We just ignore them.”

“I just feel…like I’m way out of my depth here.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re so short.” He grinned and swung her up in his arms. She squealed and grabbed for him. “Even in those hawt do-me boots with killer heels.”

He carried her across the floor to the elevators.

“Put me down!” she hissed, her words and Jason’s footsteps echoing in the lobby. “Seriously, Jason!”

His smile faded when he saw the look on her face and he halted and let her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor.

“I can’t do this,” she said, pushing away from him. She took a couple of steps back, clutched her purse to her chest. “Paparazzi, for god’s sake.” She shook her head, her chest tight with disappointment. This was insane. She could not go around having photographers stalking her and taking her picture. She peeked up at Jason through her eyelashes, her eyes prickling a little. “Could you take me home?”

He stood there gazing at her. “I don’t want to.” He shoved a hand into his hair.

And she didn’t want to go. They’d been having so much fun and she’d been all warm and tingly and looking forward to…oh, hell. She turned away from the look in his eyes. This was so not her world. Her lips wanted to pout with regret and she dragged in a long shaky breath. She waited.

Finally, with a noise of frustration, he stabbed the button of the elevator. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll drive you home.” With hunched shoulders, he stood there, waiting for the elevator car to arrive. Then they got in, the doors slid closed and dense silence surrounded them. Her eyes burning even more, her throat tight, Remi looked down at the pointy toes of her boots and licked her lips.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out when the doors opened onto the parking garage.

He gave a jerky nod and strode toward his vehicle, his long legs leaving her behind. She hurried after him, her high-heeled boots clicking on the concrete floor.

“So,” he said after they’d climbed in and he’d started the vehicle. He clenched the steering wheel. “What does this mean?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“‘Cause I can’t control the media,” he said, staring straight ahead. “We can try to avoid them, but they’re always going to be there.”

“I know.”

“They’re really not that bad, Remi. If we hadn’t won the Stanley Cup two years ago, most people in this city wouldn’t even know who I am.”

She nodded and, with a sigh, he put the Jeep in gear and backed out of the parking spot. He drove through the cavernous concrete parking structure, used a card to exit and pulled out onto the street.

She didn’t know what to say. Her stomach felt all tight and achy. The drive to her place was silent.

He walked her to her door and paused. “I’m gone for the next five days,” he said gruffly. “Road trip.”

She nodded.

“I’ll call you when I’m back.”

She watched him walk back to his Jeep through a blur of tears.

“Is this you?”

Jennifer walked into Remi’s classroom during lunch period the next day, holding the newspaper.

Remi looked up from her sandwich and the spelling tests she was marking. “Is what me?”

“This.” Jennifer held out the newspaper and showed Remi the photograph.

Remi’s heart lurched. “Oh. My. God.”

The photograph was of her and Jason leaving the restaurant, Jason’s arm slung around her shoulders pulling her in for a hug, both of them smiling at each other. The caption read “Is one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors off the market already?”

Remi stared at the photo, her breath stuck in her throat, the sandwich in her hand forgotten.

“Are you dating Jason Heller?” Jennifer asked.

“Um…” Jennifer was her boss. Was this going to cause a problem?

“Not really. We’ve gone out a couple of times.” Was she supposed to tell Jennifer they were just having fun? Hot, sexy, no strings-attached fun?

“Well.” Jennifer grinned. “It’s a nice picture.”

Remi grimaced. Actually, it was a good picture. She looked kind of pretty, cheeks flushed, smiling at Jason, and of course Jason always looked good. Except the looks on their faces had an air of…intimacy. Like they were in love or something.

Ha. In lust was more like it.

She had to read the article, which to her dismay talked a lot about Jason and Brianne and how’d they only recently broke up—how recently?—and how they’d been such a stunning, elite Chicago couple, rich, beautiful, talented. Although what kind of talent did it take to be a model? Then Remi frowned at her own snarky thoughts.

She buried her face in her hands. Once again, this was just another sign that she was in a world she had no business being in. She might as well have landed on another planet and started hanging out with space aliens for all the familiarity she had with paparazzi, publicity, money and models.

Only every other teacher on staff at Abraham Lincoln Middle School saw the newspaper that day and remarked on the photograph to Remi. By the end of the day she was shaking her head. What the hell had she’d gotten herself into by hooking up with a famous superstar hockey player?

Then came the phone calls from not only Jasmine, who’d moved back in with Ethan, demanding to know what on earth Remi was doing with one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors, but from Kyle, good lord, away at Illinois State, who’d somehow come across the photo on the internet.

“Don’t worry,” she assured each of them in turn. “I’ve only seen him a few times, it’s not serious.”

And then came the calls from Emily, Sarah and Delise. They arranged to all get together for pizza at Remi’s place on Saturday night. “I’ll tell you all about it then,” she said with a sigh.

Jason’s cell phone rang with the Sexy Chick ring tone that—dammit—he’d forgotten again to change. Brianne. Shit. He tossed down the clothes he was packing for the road trip.

He debated ignoring it, but then flipped open the phone to talk.

“Who’s the girl, Jase?” Brianne demanded immediately.

“What girl?”

“Didn’t you see the paper today?”

“Uh…no.”

“Nice picture of you two. Didn’t take you long to find someone else. I guess it was me, huh?” She reminded him of his lame line when he’d broken up with her, telling her it wasn’t her, it was him.

There must be a picture of him and Remi taken last night. “Brianne.” He closed his eyes. He so did not want to have this conversation. “I told you the truth. I met her after we broke up and it’s…it’s nothing serious. We’re just going out, having fun.”

“Right. You bastard.” And she hung up on him.

Shit. He tipped his head back and gazed up at the ceiling of his apartment.

Then he called Remi. “Hi, Remi.”

“Now what?”

He frowned at the exasperated greeting.

“I gather you saw the paper today?”

“Oh, hell yeah.”

Her tone told him that nothing about that made her happy.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she replied and he heard a sigh. “You are who you are.”

“Is it at least a good picture?” He smiled hopefully.

“Actually it is. But I’m not used to having my picture all over the newspaper. Thank god they don’t know my name.”

“That won’t take them long.”

He heard her groan. “I think I heard from everyone I know in Chicago about the picture. And some people not even in Chicago.”

“Ah. I’m sorry if it put you in a bad spot. But it’s really no big deal.”

“Again, not to you.” She sighed.

“I gotta go,” he said regretfully. “I have to finish packing and get to the airport. I’ll talk to you next week, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Oh Remi, he’s so hot!” Emily said, looking at the newspaper photo.

“He is,” Sarah said, looking over Emily’s shoulder. “Very hot. Very…big.”

“And don’t tell me he’s just being nice to you because of the reading program,” Delise said in a dry tone. “With that look on his face, he’s not just being nice to you.”

To her surprise, Delise seemed rather intrigued by the paparazzi story. “Like, how many paparazzi were there?” she asked.

“I don’t know how many there were. It felt like a hundred.”

“Really. Wow.”

“I thought you didn’t want me to go out with him,” Remi grumbled.

“She’s just jealous,” Sarah said with a mischievous look at Delise.

“No I’m not!” Delise paused with a piece of pizza halfway to her mouth. “I guess I didn’t realize how famous he is. But I still don’t think pro athletes are really upstanding guys.”

“How can you say that!” Remi shook her head, thinking of the work Jason had done with the kids at school. Oh hell. She was defending him.

“Well, a lot of them don’t exactly have good track records. Wives beating them with golf clubs for cheating on them. Getting accused of rape. Taking performance enhancing drugs. Or other illicit drugs.”

Remi sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “Yeah. Uh…well, that’s true. But they can’t all be like that. Anyway, it wasn’t cool. It was scary.” She thought back. It really had frightened her. She couldn’t imagine that happening if she’d been out alone. Not that it would, since she was nobody, but at least with Jason there she’d felt somewhat protected. “It felt like a…a violation.”

“Oh.” Delise regarded her with sympathy. “That’s not good.”

“No.” She shook her head. “So I don’t think I’ll be seeing him again.”

“That’s good.” Delise nodded approvingly. “So what should we do? Hit a club tonight?”

Remembering the last time she’d done that and had met Jason didn’t make Remi feel much like hitting a club, but she went along with her friends, mostly to keep busy and to keep from thinking about Jason.

After the five day, three game, road trip, Jason wanted to go home and crash. But he had business stuff to attend to, laundry to do and oh, yeah, call Remi.

He wasn’t sure if he was angry or disappointed about what had happened last week after those damn photographers had descended on them. Sure he was disappointed, because he and Remi had been on their way up to his apartment for what he was sure was going to be some really hot sex. But he was angry too, angry at the paps for screwing up his night, but also annoyed at Remi for letting it get to her. It really wasn’t that big a deal, especially if you compared him to big movie stars. Half the time they’d followed him, he’d been pretty sure they were more interested in pictures of Brianne than of him.

Which reminded him—she’d left another message on his voice mail. Why, when she knew he was seeing someone else, he had no goddamn clue. He really needed to call her and have a little chat.

He sat on his couch and held his cell phone in his hand. Jesus. He had to call two women and there was nothing good about either of those calls. He hated having to tell Brianne to get lost, but really, she needed to get over it and get on with her life. And he was afraid to call Remi because he had a rock-like feeling in his gut that she was going to tell him to get lost.

Which kinda didn’t make sense, given the reason he’d broken up with Brianne was because she was getting way too serious. And here he was all freaked out because Remi didn’t want anything to do with him.

Get it over with, dude.

So he called Brianne first. Amazingly, he got through to her. He’d thought maybe she’d be on a photo shoot or something.

“Jase!” she answered breathlessly. “Hi!”

She sounded so damn happy to hear from him. He closed his eyes.

“Hey,” he said. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. I’m so glad you called!”

“Uh, yeah. Listen. You gotta stop calling me, Brianne.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“I miss you so much.” Shit. She sounded like she was going to cry. “Please, Jase. Can’t we just sit down and talk?”

“We did that already,” he reminded her. And hadn’t that been fun. “I’m sorry, Brianne.”

“I don’t understand! How could you find someone else already? You were seeing her before you broke up with me, weren’t you?”

“No! Christ, no.” But it was true that it hadn’t taken him long to meet someone. He’d never intended for that to happen, he’d been looking forward to being single and free, and he still wasn’t sure why he was so interested in Remi.

“Never mind,” she snapped. “Damn you, Jase.”

And she hung up.

He slowly closed up his phone. Yeah, that had gone well.

On to the next call. Of course Remi was at school. He glanced at his watch. It should be her lunch time, so he might catch her. And he did.

“Hi,” she said, not sounding nearly as enthused to hear from him as Brianne had. Dammit.

They made the usual small talk and then he said, “Can I see you tonight?”

She sighed. “I don’t think so, Jason. This isn’t really going to work.”

Well, he’d seen that coming. He leaned back into his couch. He wasn’t going to be like Brianne, all heartbroken and chasing after her. He had some pride. With his insides burning, eyes closed, he said, “I figured you’d say that. Okay.” He paused, not sure what else to day. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. At school.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Bye, Remi.”

And again he closed up his phone. Then he threw it, hard, across the room.

It wasn’t that easy. Despite her conviction that they were from different worlds and her resolve that they shouldn’t see each other again, when he showed up at school on Wednesday, looking all big and handsome and—dammit—a little sad, she went all soft and warm and shaky inside. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he worked with the kids, and more than once their glances collided, then skittered away.

When most of the kids had left and Ryan as usual hung back to talk about hockey, Jason quietly said, “Here.” And he slipped Ryan an envelope. Remi frowned.

Ryan opened it and peered inside, then looked up at Jason open-mouthed. “Are these tickets to one of your games?”

“Yeah. There’s three. For your mom and your brother too.”

A huge smile broke out on Ryan’s face. “Holy…I mean, wow. Thank you! I can’t believe this! I’ve never been to a real, live hockey game!”

Jason grinned and Ryan dashed out, no doubt excited to get home and share the news.

Remi’s heart tilted and warmth curled inside her. She smiled, but shook her head as their eyes met, alone now in the classroom. “All the other kids are going to be upset that they didn’t get tickets.”

His eyebrows drew down. “Damn. I didn’t think of that. I just thought…he’s been doing so well and when he said they couldn’t afford to go to a game…” He shook his head. “Shit. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”

Her throat got a little tight.

“Remi.”

He walked toward her, then stood there, gazing at her.

“The paparazzi are really not that big a deal,” he said.

“It scared me,” she said. Although now that she’d had some time to digest it and put in perspective, it actually didn’t seem so bad.

He went to a crouch in front of her where she sat, frowning, and took her hands. “Scared you?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “I’m just not used to that.”

“They wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Remember Princess Diana?”

His eyebrows flew up. “Jesus. I’m hardly in the same class as Princess Diana. They don’t chase me around like that.”

She blew out a breath. “I know.” She paused. “Once again, Jason, that just showed that I’m not the right kind of girl for you. I don’t live in that kind of world.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He stared at her. “That doesn’t matter. You’re smart and beautiful. I’m the one scared spitless of you. Your brains and education.”

Her heart tightened painfully. “What?” Was that true? She gazed back at him searchingly.

He dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Never mind.”

She touched her hand to his cheek, rough with beard stubble. “Oh, Jason.”

He looked at her hopefully. “So can we go out again?”

She surrendered to it. To the feelings swelling inside her, big and soft and warm. To him and his boyish charm.

“Saturday. We’ll go do something fun.” His mouth curved appealingly. “Just fun. Right?”

She sighed. “Okay.”

“Dress warm.” Jason had just arrived at her place Saturday afternoon for their date.

“Where are we going?”

“Navy Pier.”

“Navy Pier! I haven’t been there in years!”

“I’ve only been there once. It was fun.”

“Okay. Sounds crazy, but okay.”

“You should know by now, I am crazy. It’s all about fun, baby, right?”

She laughed. “Right. Let me go put on another sweater.”

She returned to her bedroom and exchanged the long-sleeved baby doll top she wore for a black turtleneck sweater. She eyed Jason when she returned to the living room. Instead of his usual leather jacket, he wore a ski jacket with a fleece lining, so she chose her black puffer jacket and looped a long black and gray scarf around her neck. She pushed aside her black high-heeled boots and pulled out her sheepskin-lined Ugg boots. Then she peered into her purse to make sure she had gloves.

“It’s going to be freezing there,” she warned him as she locked the door behind them.

“Bah. It’s April.”

“It’s fifty-seven degrees!”

“That’s balmy! Wait ‘til you come to Winnipeg in January.”

Like that was going to happen. Her heart beat a little faster. Intense curiosity to see where Jason had grown up flickered inside her.

They wandered around Navy Pier, surprisingly busy. It was a relatively mild April day. Probably lots of tourists were out. Jason bought her popcorn and they looked in the little shops at jewelry and souvenirs. Then he spotted the shop where you could build your own bear. “Hey,” he said, dragging her inside. “I want to build a bear for you.”

Okay, he was crazy. Laughing, Remi followed him into the store, full of little girls and their mothers. All eyes landed on Jason, big, tall, gorgeous and decidedly out of place. Warmth seeped through Remi and heated her cheeks, but she had to smile.

She selected a furry brown bear, then they had to record a message.

“Remi is ‘beary’ beautiful,” Jason said into the small device, looking at her. She laughed again. The recording was tucked inside. They stuffed the bear, fluffed the bear and then had to dress the bear.

“Oh, no question,” Jason said, surveying the choices. He reached for a tiny Chicago Wolves uniform. “Has to be this.”

Smiling, touched and charmed, Remi nodded. “Of course.” And her bear was dressed in the hockey uniform including a tiny stick.

She hugged the bear to her as Jason paid for it and they wandered back outside.

“I know,” Jason said. “We have to ride the Ferris wheel.”

It was late afternoon by this point.

Remi eyed the huge structure with its gazillion spokes and lights. “I don’t know…”

“Come on, Remi.” Once again he gripped her hand and tugged her along. She had to almost run to keep up with his long strides toward the Ferris wheel.

They had a gondola all to themselves. Remi gripped the side tightly, closing her eyes as they began to ascend, Navy Pier dropping away beneath them.

“Hey,” Jason said softly. “Open your eyes. The view is awesome.”

She pressed her lips together, her skin crawling, stomach jumping, but she opened her eyes.

“Are you afraid?” Jason asked, shifting closer to her.

“Um…yes. A little.”

He put his arm around her and tucked her close to him.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

She made a little choked noise. “Oh, no, not at all. We’re just…how far off the ground?”

“About a hundred and fifty feet, I think,” he said calmly, gazing around. “Look! Doesn’t the skyline look amazing?”

The sun was low in the sky and the buildings of downtown Chicago all gleamed like tall, slender, silver cubes and cylinders.

“Yes,” she said softly. “It is beautiful.” She snuggled into his warmth. The wind up here carried a crisp bite and her cheeks and nose began to sting a bit.

She looked at Jason, his handsome cheekbones reddened from the cold, eyes taking in the view, smiling. She clutched her bear in his Wolves uniform to her and suddenly her throat tightened. God, she liked this guy. So much.

He turned to look down at her, snuggled under his arm, and his smile deepened. “See? It’s fine.”

They swung over the top and began to descend and her tummy flipped over. “Mmm. Fine.”

He laughed. The yellow, red and blue canopy of the merry-go-round grew larger as they lowered, and then they were swinging back up again. She took in a deep breath.

“What’s that?” Jason pointed. She identified various landmarks to him and by the time they slowed and stopped, she’d almost forgotten she was nervous. At the very top, the gondola swaying gently, Jason tipped her chin up with one gloved hand and kissed her.

His nose was cold brushing her cheek, but his mouth was warm on hers, delicious and ardent. He drew back, rested his gloved hand on her cheek and their eyes met and held, the world spread below them, and time came to a halt. His dark eyes flashed, his lids lowered and they kissed again and she pressed closer to him. He hauled her closer, up onto his lap and the gondola swayed. Remi let out a little shriek, her stomach clutched and she dug her fingers into his jacket. Jason laughed softly and they started moving again and Remi grabbed tighter with a start, making him laugh again.

“Let’s go find some dinner,” he said after they’d disembarked from the Ferris wheel. She wanted to fall to her knees and kiss the ground, but instead held her bear tightly. “How about that Billy Goat Tavern?”

She smiled. “Touristy, but okay.”

“Come on, I’m new in town.”

They walked into the lively restaurant.

“What’s the biggest burger you have?” Jason asked the server.

“That would be the triple hamburger.”

“Okay, I’ll have that.”

Remi grinned behind her menu. He could probably eat two, the size he was. She ordered a hamburger. Jason sat her bear on the table, propping him up against the wall, making her laugh again. God, she hadn’t laughed so much in…okay, ever.

They’d just finished a dinner full of talk and laughter, teasing and flirting, when three women appeared beside their table. “Jase Heller!” one of them said with a big smile. “Can we get your autograph?”

“Uh…” Hell, he did not want to do this, but he was never rude to the fans. “Sure.” He cast an apologetic glance across the table at Remi.

“Here.” The woman dug in her purse and pulled out a pen. “I don’t have anything for you to sign, so you can do it right here.” And she pulled down her low-cut top so Jason could sign her chest, just above her left breast.

He gulped and tightened his jaw as he tried to sign without really touching her. It probably was no accident when she moved and her breast brushed against his arm.

“I saw you play against the Bruins last week,” one of the other women said, stepping up for her autograph. In the same place. “You got two goals.”

“Um, yeah.” He signed again and turned to the third woman, and when he’d finished signing her chest, she took the pen from him, took his hand, turned it palm up and wrote a phone number on it. Jesus.

“I love watching you play,” she purred, making intense eye contact, making her words sound dirty.

Jason swallowed, forced a smile and shot Remi a look. She sat there, stone-faced, mouth tight, hands clasped around her drink. She lifted one eyebrow at him.

The three women seemed in no hurry to leave and kept chatting until he finally said, “Sorry, ladies, but my girlfriend and I are just finishing dinner.”

The three women shot baleful looks at Remi, as if they hadn’t even noticed her sitting there until that moment, and finally left.

“Sorry,” he muttered, reaching across the table for her hand. “That never happens.”

“Really.”

She didn’t sound convinced.

“Well, it happens sometimes. I’m sorry, Remi.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.” But she looked pissed. “And I’m not your girlfriend.”

“I had to get rid of them somehow. Let’s go,” he said, getting up from the table and holding out a hand to help her up. They emerged from the restaurant to a flash bursting in front of their eyes.

Oh, no. Not again.