Le Coeur Veut Ce Que Le Cœur Veut

Less than a week later, it was New Year's Eve and Pearl had just finished changing after that night's game and was gathering the last of her things at her desk when Simon appeared.

"Beau sent me to come get you."

"Why you?"

"Because if I came, you'd hurry up so you didn't have to be in the same room as me for more than a minute. Little does he know..." He trailed off with a smile.

"Shut up," she smiled, turning off the light on her desk. There was no one else on the floor and he took her hand as they walked to the elevator. He let go when the doors dinged and they rode down to the parking garage in silence.

"Whoa!" Robert shouted when she stepped off the elevator. "You look hot, Pearl."

"You clean up nice too, Borts."

"Right? I hope there's some hot girls there tonight. Gotta get my midnight kiss on."

"You're an idiot."

"Wanna be my midnight kiss?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Gross!" She laughed, shoving at him.

"What? I'm cute."

"You're like my brother."

"But if I weren't, you'd date me, right?"

"I don't know; I don't think about you like that. Ever."

"Well you should; I'm a catch."

"I'll take your word for it," she answered with a roll of her eyes. She turned to Simon. "Can I ride with you? I don't think I'll fit in Robert's car with his ego."

"Bien sûr," he replied.

"Do you see what you've forced me to do?" She said to Robert as she followed Simon. "If I die it'll all be your fault."

They pulled out a few minutes later, Simon following Robert. Pearl held his hand until they pulled into the parking lot of the hotel Tessa and Paul's wedding was being held at.

"Save me a dance," he winked just before she stepped out of the car.

"You guys didn't kill each other?" Beau started as she walked up to him. "I'm impressed."

"I just can't believe you actually rode with him," Robert mused.

"You were having an attack of ego," Pearl pointed out. "And silence with Simon was infinitely better than listening to you tell me the reasons I should date you if circumstances were different."

"He did talk about himself a lot," Beau added. "Probably could have used you to shut him down."

"Fuck you, Sunshine," Robert said, shoving at his friend.

"We need to go inside; come on," Pearl told them.

Paul and Tessa's wedding was being held in the grand ballroom at the Marriott in downtown Pittsburgh. The room was beautifully and tastefully decorated in Pearl's opinion and perfectly suited the pair. There was a dance floor on one side of the room, as well as an open bar. Tables and chairs and several long tables of food were on the other side. There was no assigned seating so the group picked a table to sit at. Pearl was seated between Beau and Robert, and Simon, Olli, and a couple other of the younger guys on the team filled out the rest of the table.

There was a simple arch that Paul and the minister stood before and the music changed. The doors opened and Tessa stepped into the room on the arm of a man Pearl did not know.

"Who is that?" Pearl asked Robert. "Tessa's never mentioned a brother."

Robert snickered. "That's not Tessa's brother; it's her ex."

"Ex boyfriend?!" She whispered.

"That's James Neal. Him and Paul used to be neighbors and Tessa lived in between them. They dated, and Tessa and Paul ended up together. Nealer is still one of their best friends. I'll explain it later."

The ceremony was short and after Tessa and Paul walked out, the hotel staff started passing out glasses of champagne to toast the quickly approaching new year. Pearl excused herself just before the countdown and went to the bathroom. When she stepped out, she found Simon leaning casually against the wall.

He stepped forward and took her hand, pulling her towards the elevators. They stepped on and he slid a key card and hit a random floor button.

"You got a room?"

"I got a room," he answered, passing her the key card. She slipped it inside her purse. "Just tell Sunshine and Borts that you're taking a cab home; they'll be too busy trying to find someone to take home to notice that you leave with me."

"Then why are we going up now?"

"We're not. I'm just riding the elevator to be alone with you. What time is it?"

She looked at her watch. "11:59 and forty five seconds."

"Count it down."

They both looked at her watch and counted down to the new year as the elevator climbed upwards. At midnight, Simon took her face in his hands. "Happy New Year, Pearl," he said before taking her breath away with his kiss.

They took separate elevators back downstairs to rejoin the party and Pearl kept watch over Beau and Robert as they showed off for the single women at the reception. At two, Tessa and Paul took their leave as the party continued. By three, Pearl was barely able to contain her yawning. She searched the room for Robert and when she spotted him, made her way towards him.

“I’m gonna get the front desk to call me a cab and go home,” she told him.

“No, I can drive you. I just gotta get Sunshine.”

“Beau is dancing with the same blonde he’s been locked onto all night and the brunette over there is eyeing me suspiciously for talking to you. Just take them both home and be done with it. I’ll see tomorrow night for dinner.”

“Are you sure? We can take you home first.”

“I’ll be fine with a cab. I have pepper spray in my purse.”

“Alright; text me that you got home though, okay?”

“I will.” She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “Have fun!” She trilled, waving at Beau as she made her way towards the doors. She pulled her phone out as she headed towards the front of the hotel, checking a text from Simon with the room number. Finding the lobby clear of any other members of the team, she pressed the up button and headed for the 7th floor. She let herself in the room, kicked her heels off, and laid face down across the king sized bed.

Ten minutes later, she heard the click of the lock and then the door open and close. She could hear Simon but didn’t have the energy to get up, although she did roll over to look at him as he set a bag down in the floor and straightened.

“Tired?” he asked as he loosened his tie.

“Very. Game days take so much out of me. There’s so much running around and press to wrangle.”

“Trying skating for two hours.”

“You were really good tonight.”

“Always room for improvement,” he replied as he started unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“Can I borrow that?”

“What? My shirt?”

“Yes. I need something to sleep in.”

“What's wrong with naked?"

"Simon!" She blushed.

"I'm just teasing you. I didn't get the room for that. I like just spending time with you. When the time is right though..."

Pearl stood up with a smile. "When the time is right," she repeated. She kissed his cheek before continuing to the bathroom. She closed the door and Simon shrugged out of the shirt, then took his pants off and folded then, leaving them on the dresser along with his socks. He dug into his bag and produced a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt.

He pulled on the shorts and knocked at the bathroom door. Pearl peeked out and Simon handed her the t-shirt. "This will be more comfortable to sleep in than my dress shirt."

She took the shirt and closed the door again. He could hear her laughing behind the door as he settled into the bed. Pearl stepped out a moment later, shirt hanging to mid thigh, and walked in, standing at the foot of the bed.

"What am I supposed to do with a shirt with your name across the back that's two sizes to big for me?"

"Wear it every night while you think about me because I'm gonna think about you in it. It looks good on you." He patted the spot beside him and she crawled up to join him. He lifted his arm and she laid beside him, resting her head on his chest.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Pearl asked quietly after several long, silent moments.

"Having regrets already?"

"No; it's just....overwhelming. Sneaking around, keeping this a secret from our friends."

"Le coeur veut ce que le cœur veut." He kissed her forehead.

"What does that mean?"

"The heart wants what the heart wants." She sighed, hugging him. "Pearl, if it's too much, we can walk away. I've enjoyed every minute with you, getting to know you, everything about you, and I want to have a relationship with you. But it is a lot; I get that. I wanted to be able to kiss you tonight when we were dancing and I couldn't. There are risks, and the biggest one is your job. Just say the word and I'll drive you home right now."

"I don't want to go home," she told him. "I want to be right here, right where my heart wants to be."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. You just might have to talk me off the ledge from time to time."

"I can do that," he smiled. "Just talk to me."