But before West or I can come to his rescue, Simon jumps in smoothly.
“You know, Lourdes, you really look familiar,” he says, squinting a little. “I could swear I’ve met you before. Did you know anyone on the Sidewinders? Or in L.A.?” He waits patiently and I’m pretty sure the rest of us hold our collective breaths.
She blinks, her smile faltering just a tiny bit before shaking her head. “Er, no, I don’t think so…I must have one of those faces. Anyway, have a great time at the party today, and please—don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.” She winks and sashays in the opposite direction.
“Smooth,” West snorts under his breath.
“You arecrazy,” Vik murmurs.
“Ballsy, my friend.” I hold out my fist and Simon bumps his against it.
“I tried,” he says with a laugh. “But it was totally innocent, right? Besides, Viktor looked like a deer in the headlights.”
“You handled it well,” West agrees.
“Deer?” Vik asks.
“She put you on the spot,” I say quietly. “She was totally hitting on you.”
Vik shudders. “This is…” More Russian we don’t understand but get the gist of.
“I don’t think any of us should be alone today,” West says wryly. “We need to stay in pairs, so there’s always a witness.”
“We’ll have to make bathroom runs together too.”
The four of us are quiet for a beat and then burst out laughing.
“West?” A guy I don’t know approaches us with his hand outstretched. “I am Felix. Lessard. Er, I was given your name regarding you needing another roommate.”
“Oh, hey, man.” West shakes his hand and introduces the rest of us. “Coach asked me to take in one of the rookies, so I don’t know if I have a room right now.”
Felix looks disappointed but nods. “Okay, no problem. I’ll just?—”
“Hey, I’m looking to rent a house,” Simon says. “And I could use a roommate.”
“Yeah?” Felix brightens. “This would be great. I did not expect to move this year.” He pauses, a sad expression on his face. “Ilovedplaying in Fort Lauderdale.”
“Yeah, I loved Vegas,” Simon admits, “but this is a good opportunity for us. And closer to family.”
“Yes.” Felix nods. “My family is in Montreal.”
“Mine is outside of Chicago, and this is closer.”
“You know what,” West says, “let me talk to Coach. Blaze, the rookie, hasn’t been in touch so I need to know what’s what. If I can get out of taking him in, maybe you both can move in with us. I have five bedrooms. I guess if family comes to town, I’ll just put them in a hotel. I feel like we need to stick together.”
“That would be awesome,” Simon says after a moment.
“I would like this too.” Felix nods.
“Lindy, no!” someone yells. “Watch out for?—”
“Ahhh!” The child named Lindy lets out a shriek as her feet go out from under her and she starts to flail.
Instinctively, I move in her direction, anxious to keep her from going ass over tea kettle into the pool.
In my peripheral vision I see a blur of pink, and a curly ponytail swinging, just as I crash into a soft, warm body. I wrap an arm around her to steady us but the momentum is too much—and before I can correct my balance, we both go into the pool with a loud splash.
Shit.
