Tyler stared at his phone. Savannah had last texted him nearly twenty minutes ago saying she would be there soon. He had told her that he was surrounded by girls and needed her help. He hadn't been lying. He loved his fans, but these girls weren't true hockey fans. They just wanted to get some pictures with him or to go home with him. He didn't want either right now.

"Excuse me," he heard a voice say as he looked up to see Savannah maneuvering her way through the crowd to get to his table. "Shit, can I just get through?"

Tyler stood up. "Let's get a different table," he suggested.

"You made me go through that shit storm and now you're making me move?" she questioned him as she could hear women all around her bad mouthing her. She didn't care, though. People had said worse things about her.

Tyler chuckled. "We'll get you a drink on the way," he promised, and he grabbed her hand as he guided her through the crowd. He hadn't done it to make a move on her, but he had to admit, he liked the way her hand felt in his. He reluctantly let go when they reached the bar and he flagged down the bartender, ordering their two drinks. He grabbed them both and then nodded to the back corner to try to get a seat.

She led the way this time, and he couldn't help but take a look at her ass. She was wearing a pair of tight fitting jeans that definitely hugged her in just the right way. She was sitting down too soon, though, as she found a two seater table that people were just leaving. "Perfect timing," she said as she sat on the one stool.

Tyler handed her the Jack and Diet Coke he had ordered her and she took a big gulp. "Fuck, this is strong," she muttered.

"Can't handle your liquor?" he joked.

She shook her head. "I'm gonna need another one," she told him. "And some food," she added, remembering she hadn't eaten lunch that day.

"Tough day?" he asked. She had texted him that it'd been a long day, but he didn't know what all had gone one.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, just a lot of work. Tomorrow will be interesting."

"More interesting than day one where you get shot at?" Tyler laughed.

Savannah smiled at him. "Might get shot at again tomorrow," she said, knowing it probably wasn't going to happen tomorrow, but the end of the week was another story. Her gaze went to a woman at the table next to them who kept looking over at Tyler, clearly trying to get him to notice her. "I think you've got a fan over there," Savannah lowered her voice.

Tyler glanced to his left. "She'll live without me just fine," he responded, surprising Savannah. "What's going on tomorrow?"

"Just preparing to go after those guys again."

"You're going after them again? Don't you think you should send someone else in instead?" his protectiveness was showing, and Savannah was having none of it.

"You think I'm incapable of doing this job myself?" she asked defensively.

"That's not what I'm saying," Tyler shook his head. "It's just, you got shot at once. What makes you think they won't go after you again? I mean they have to know what you look like now," he told her.

"And, this is my job, and I'm damn good at it. I'm sorry, but you can't tell me what I should and shouldn't do."

Tyler could tell he hit a nerve. "Hey, I'm not doing that at all! I just don't want to see anything happen to you," he said sincerely.

"Well don't worry, I can take care of myself just fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, you've said that more than once," he muttered.

Savannah backed down, knowing she was blowing this out of proportion. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just don't like people telling me I'm not good enough."

Tyler smiled at her. "I get it. I hated people doubting me when I was coming up, thinking I was too small or t0o slow to ever make it to the NHL. I promise, I'm not doubting you." His eyes connected with hers so she knew he was telling the truth, and it appeared she believed him and was easing up.

"Sorry, I get defensive like that sometimes," she shrugged her shoulders. She suddenly took her phone out of her bag and looked at it. "Jeez," she mumbled.

"Hmm?" Tyler asked, taking a swig of his beer.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Alex and Shea bailed on me tonight because they both had dates, but now they're both texting me."

She showed him the texts and he started laughing.

Shea: Bad day at work? Like getting shot at work?

Alex: I thought you were doing paperwork today?

Shea: OMG. ARE YOU FUCKING SEGS???

Alex: What the hell, Shea?

Shea: *are you fucking WITH segs??

Shea: I just got a text from Kari asking if I was with Segs. I'm not, so I'm assuming it's Van.

Shea: Van, what the hell is going on??

Alex: Savannah, what is going on?

"What are you going to say?" Tyler asked her after he finished reading the texts.

"The truth. I'm going to say that I'm with you but not fucking you," she laughed at Shea's obvious typo.

"Too bad," he said with a wink.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "There's like fifty girls here that all want to go home with you. Take your pick," she said before sending the girls a quick text, saying exactly what she had just told Tyler she was going to say.

Tyler did a quick scan around the bar before his eyes landed back on Savannah. "I'm here with you. Didn't you ask me for a drink?"

Savannah laughed. "I did," she nodded her head before her phone went off with a reply from Shea. Let him down easy, Van.

She showed the text to Tyler who shook his head. He surprised her when he grabbed her phone and started typing. "Hey! Don't do that!" she cried, but it was too late. He hit send and then handed it back to her.

Too late. Headed back to his place.

"You fucker," she told him, but she couldn't help the smile on her face.

"Well you told them you're coming back to my place, you shouldn't lie to them!"

"One, I haven't even finished my drink. And two, I'm not going back to your place." It was as if she had a microphone and the whole bar heard what she said because a split second later there were a number of girls over at their table, all hitting on Tyler, wanting to go back to his place with him. His eyes locked with hers, shooting her a look of help.

"Let's go," she said suddenly, standing up. Tyler followed her lead, but they were still separated by a flock of drunk girls. "Oh for fuck's sake," she muttered pushing through the girls and grabbing Tyler's hand and pulling him through the crowd and out the door of the bar.

"It's not very often a girl has to save me," Tyler chuckled when they got outside. "Usually it's the other way around."

She let the comment slide. "Okay, which way to your place?" she asked him.

Tyler's eyes widened. "You're going back to my place?" He hadn't thought she'd actually go back to his place with him when he had mentioned it earlier. He'd been so used to having Shea turn him down constantly, he'd expected the same with Savannah based on their first few interactions together.

"You better have Jack and Diet Coke," she said seriously.

"I'll drive," he said, and was surprised when she didn't argue with him there. She obviously liked being in charge, and he had expected her to say she'd drive instead. But, she didn't put up a fight. She must have really just wanted her drink.

She followed him around the corner to where he had parked his truck. "You would drive a truck," she said when he unlocked the doors and the lights to a big black truck lit up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tyler questioned as he got inside and started it up.

"Nothing, just that it doesn't surprise me," she shrugged her shoulders. "So how many girls have you fucked in here?" she asked, looking around.

Tyler started laughing. She really was straight forward with her questions. He guessed that came with being a cop and learning how to interrogate people. "I can honestly say none," he told her. She looked over at him, obviously not believing him. "Got it a few months ago," he added with a wink. He couldn't have said the same thing with his previous truck. Not that he was fucking every girl in there. He'd only had sex in a car once in his life. "So do you make it a habit of pushing a guy away and then going back to his place with him?" Tyler asked. He said it lightly, but part of him wanted to know the true answer from her.

"I don't really think I pushed you away," she avoided his actual question. "How far away do you live?" she changed subjects. Something told Tyler she didn't want to talk about past guys in her life, and he was okay with that. If she didn’t ask him how many girls he'd slept with, he wouldn't ask her how many guys she'd been with. It was always better that way.

"Not far, about two more minutes," he told her. He lived right outside of Dallas. Close enough that he could still get to practice on time even when he was running late, but outside of the downtown bar area. He pulled into the driveway of his house, and her eyes widened.

"Damn, nice place," she whispered.

Tyler chuckled. "Thanks, I got it last year," he told her. She climbed out of the truck and followed him inside, not surprised to see the bachelor pad-esque look of the place. "Jack and Diet Coke?" he asked her, and she nodded her head.

Her eyes followed him as he walked over to what appeared to be a fully stocked bar. People always joked about why he needed to go out when he had a stock of alcohol at home, but he liked being around people, and nothing beat having a beer handed to him.

He pushed his sleeves up above the elbow as he grabbed a glass and put some ice in it before making her drink. She was still looking around when he walked over to her. "You're judging me right now, aren't you?" he asked, and she spun around.

She didn't look a bit embarrassed by being caught. "Damn right I am," she said with a curt nod. "You are such a bachelor," she commented as she grabbed the drink out of his hand.
He shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't deny it. "I was half expecting to find girls bras or something lying around here."

"Only if you go to the bedroom," he replied as he sat down on the couch.

She started to cough, and he assumed it was at his comment until he looked over at her, seeing her holding the glass far away from her face. "What the hell? Did you put anything besides whiskey in here?" she said between coughs.

"Thought you were a drinker," Tyler commented. He wasn't about to tell her that the guys on his team usually made fun of him when he tried to play bartender. There was a reason he was a hockey player and didn't work at the bar for a living. He'd be getting everyone drunk off one drink and not making any money.

"Shit, I am, when the drinks are made right," she told him. She walked over to his bar, grabbing the can of diet coke, finding it almost nearly full. He really hadn't put much pop in the drink. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get me drunk."

Tyler laughed. "Trust me, I don't need a girl drunk to get her in my bed." The look on her face showed she didn't find it amusing.

"And yet, all the alcohol in the world and you can't get Shea in your bed."

"She's different," he stated. It wasn't fair to lump her in with all the other girls. She was into girls herself, so Tyler never had a chance.

"You're just mad that she won't cave in and fall at your feet for you," Savannah said, and Tyler just shook his head. He'd given up on Shea a long time ago, even if he still did think she was hot.

"Do you always think you know everything about everything?" he retorted.

"You just hate that you're so easy to read," she replied. "How many tattoos do you have?" she changed subjects, her gaze going towards his bare arms, tattoos covering them.

"Too many to count," he chuckled. Savannah walked closer to him, grabbing his arm and twisting it so she could see them from all angles. "What do you think?" he asked. Girls tended to either love them or hate them, there was never anything in between.

"I like them," she answered, and he smiled. Good, he didn't need another obstacle to cross to get her to go for him. "You must have sat in a chair forever," she commented, moving to his other arm, pulling his sleeve up higher to see them better.

"Want me to just take my shirt off?" he asked. He meant it in a harmless manner, but it came out sexier than anticipated. He caught the quick look of surprise on her face before it was gone. "It took a while," he said, going back to what they were talking about. "I did it over a long time, not all at once. Same guy did them all, though."

She nodded her head. "Very cool," she commented before finishing off her drink.

"Feel free to get yourself another one," he told her, motioning towards the alcohol behind her. She took him up on the offer, making a new one for herself. Tyler watched as she easily made the drink, she must have done it a lot on her own. Tyler wondered how many nights she sat at home with a drink in her hand. He wouldn't mind keeping her company on those nights. He shook his head, cursing at himself for thinking that. He needed to keep his head right tonight. She had asked him to get a drink because she'd had a bad day at work. If he wasn't careful, she'd never invite him out for another one again.

Notes