Thank you to DeeMarie426 and justkimmy for reviewing :)
Roman and his team came home from their away games with wins from both games under their belt and now having an undefeated streak of 5-0 since the season started. They all went to a restaurant after getting home at eight on the dot to celebrate but the only thing on Roman's mind was Katrina. Even though they talked a bit over the weekend, Katrina barely talked much. He knew that she was still a bit upset about what had happened before he left and she had a reason to be.
"Everyone, before we order, can I please have your attention?" Asked Roman. The group quieted down and looked at their Coach who was sitting in the middle of the table with the assistant coach. "After we leave the restaurant, the bus will be taking us back to campus. From their you go home. If you know your car isn't in the school parking lot and you need somebody to go pick you up, please let them know now. If you live on campus, you know the rule for this team: 'Never walk alone'. I know that you're all adults and you can take care of yourselves, but never go back alone. On a more positive note, congratulations to each and every single one of you guys. That was a great perfomance that we put on for these two games and the undefeated streak continues. We're proud of you, keep up the good work."
The team applauded and got on their phones to take pictures and to make some calls. Roman checked his phone and sent Katrina a text before putting his phone down and giving the waitress his order. His phone vibrated when she left and he picked it up to see a message from Katrina.
Roman: We're grabbing a bite to eat before the bus takes us back to campus. We'll go home from there.
Katrina: Congratulations again on your win. I'm proud of you :)
He smiled at the text before responding again. They kept the conversation going throughout the night, though Roman noticed that she still wasn't as talkative as she was before Thursday night.
Getting back to campus, later on that night, he saw Dean there waiting to pick up his best friend. They greeted each other and Roman put his things in the back of Dean's car and got in the passanger seat. After talking a bit about their days, the car grew silent before Dean started to talk again.
"How have you and Katrina been since the day you told me about what happened?" He asked his friend.
Roman sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Katrina hasn't really been the talking type since. I know I hurt her by what I did, but was it right, the way I went about thinking and acting that night?"
Dean thought for a moment. "It's understandable why, I can't argue with that. Was it the right way to go about it...I don't know. I've never been in that situation before so I'm not sure what to tell you. The question I have is, are the consequences from how you went about dealing with it make it worth it?"
"What do you mean?" Asked Roman, confused.
"Will it negatively affect your relationship with Katrina?" Asked Dean in response. "Of course, there's a possibility that Katrina may have felt rejected and as if you don't intamitely want her, no matter how often you insist that you do. Which, now thinking about it, even though I understand why, it may not have been the best way to deal with it."
Roman closed his eyes and mentally cursed himself out, at the thought of her feeling rejected. "It's just that, I know that I'm going to be unable to keep my hands off of her and we don't know what will happen if the wrong person in school finds out."
He groaned and leaned his head back against the head rest before looking out the window again. "Why did I have to be so stupid?"
"There's no rule that says that you can't date Katrina." Dean added. "She's twenty-two years old, so by law, she's an adult and she can make her own decisions. Besides, seeing the way you look at her, I can tell that you want her just as badly as she wants you. You can't rely on the gym and football practice for every single time that you're sexually frustrated, Roman. Eventually you're going to give in. You're a guy. Seriously?"
Roman thought for a moment and wondered about what he could do. "How's my place, you did check it, right?
"It's fine. I put the key back where it belongs and everything is in it's place." Replied Dean when he stopped at a red light. "What are you thinking?"
He stayed quiet for a moment. "Can you take me to Katrina's?"
Dean smiled and nodded. "Off to Katrina's we go."
Fifteen minutes later...
They now found themselves taking Roman's bags out of Dean's car. Instead of parking the car, Dean got back in and got ready to go back home.
"You two need some privacy." Said Dean. "The two of you need to have a conversation and nobody else needs to be around and influence anything tonight. You're in enough deep shit with her. Go fix it. Have a good night."
Dean smiled and drove away, leaving Roman with his bags. He let our a deep breath and walked until he reached Katrina's condo. Knocking softly, it took a moment before someone opened the door.
When Katrina saw Roman standing on the other side of her door, she couldn't help but smile. He stood there with a sweater, two bags and his hair in a mess. Stepping aside, she let him in and closed the door behind him.
After getting settled down, he sat next to her on her bed and they both sat in silence for a few minutes. "I was wrong for how I handled the situation the other night. I shouldn't have done what I did."
Katrina stayed silent for a while before responding. "I understand why, but it hurt. It feels like you don't want me, the same way I do you."
She whispered out the last sentence and Roman's heart broke. "I do want you, baby. I'm just so scared of messing up everything between us. Please don't lea ve me."
Katrina looked at him curiously. "Roman, why would I leave you?"
He looked up at her and kissed her head. "Because in my last relationship, she always threatened to leave me whenever I did something wrong."
Katrina saw the vulnerability in his eyes and in the way he said it. "Baby, I'm not going to leave you. I love you and I'm not just going to give up on you like that."
Roman smiled and nudged at her nose. "I love you."
"That doesn't mean you're off the hook just yet." She told him and he chuckled knowing that it was true.
Later that week...
Katrina walked into the classroom that her and Derek always had lunch in when they hung out with Roman. She closed the door behind her and was met with a surprise soft and sweet kiss by Roman who rested his hands on her waist. She smiled when he pulled back and she pecked his lips before greeting Derek.
"I have some news." Said Katrina a few minutes after they began eating their pizza. "My dad and my grandparents invited me over, last minute for dinner tonight. I think my sister may be there too, if she's able to make it. They're going to ask, especially my dad, if I'm dating anybody. So I think that this would be a good time to tell them."
They all stayed silent as Derek looked back and forth in between Katrina and Roman. She sat there, eating her pizza and wondering what Roman was thinking about it.
"We're eventually have to tell our families that we're a couple." Said Roman, finally. "My concern is, what are we going to tell them when they ask how we met and whatnot and how are they going to react when they find out that you're still a student? My parents won't mind when it comes to the age difference, but they will be concerned about the whole student and me being a professor thing."
Katrina sighed and pouted slightly. "It's a long time between now and graduation to wait until then."
"I know. We should tell them today." Replied Roman. "You could tell your dad and your grandparents during dinner and I'll tell my parents when I facetime them tonight. Deal?"
She nodded and kissed his cheek. "But what are we going to tell them about how we met? My dad doesn't know about me dancing again."
They all thought for a moment before Derek spoke up. "Why not just tell them that the two of you met here in school? You have to tell them the same story."
"I'll just tell them that." Said Katrina. "Who knows what my dad is gonna say if he finds out that I'm dancing again."
After they all finished eating, Katrina sat in Roman's lap and found happiness from being cuddled up in his arms. Leaning against him when he sat back in his chair, she kissed his chin and her lips were met with his when he leaned his head down.
Later that night...
Katrina walked into her grandparents' home and smiled widely as she greeted them as well as her dad and her older sister, Anna. Katrina and her sister looked almost exactly alike and were sometimes confused for sisters even though they were two years apart and had their physical differences.
As they all sat down for dinner, Katrina realized just how much she had missed them all. With being so busy with school, she had found it hard to make time to do some things and then with Roman taking a lot of her attention, it was harder. Katrina found herself smiling at the thought of Roman and cleared her throat to get some attention away from her.
"I have something to tell everyone." She announced once dinner was over and they ate desert. They all quieted down and turned their attention to Katrina, making her nervous. She got her thoughts together, knowing that she just wanted to get everything over with. "I have a boyfriend."
Her dad's blue eyes looked at hers as he cocked his head to the side. "A guy that you're friends with or a guy that you're dating?"
"A guy that I'm dating." Katrina replied.
"That's nice, sweetheart." Said my grandmother as she and my grandfather gave me a smile. "How did you two meet?"
Katrina's heart began to pump a little faster when she was asked how they met. "We met at school, over the summer. I was helping out in the library and when I was done for the day, I went to walk around before leaving and we met."
"What's his major?" Asked my dad. "Is he in the undergraduate program or in the same program as you?"
"Um..." Her stomach was in knots and she wrapped her fingers around each other, to keep them from shaking. "That's the thing, he's not a student. He's an English professor and the football coach."
Her dad looked at her, with the most serious face that she had ever seen on him as her grandparents looked at them, though they didn't seem as surprised as her sister and her dad.
"Katrina, what the hell are you doing dating a professor?" He asked. "How is it even possible that you two can be a couple without anything bad happening?"
He had been a teacher since before she was born, so Katrina knew that her father knew of the possible consequences that could take place for a teacher dating a student.
"He's not my professor though dad." She replied. "And he'll never be. The only classes that he gets is the undergraduate classes and the students who are taking their Masters. I'll never be his student."
"That doesn't change the fact that he's still a professor, Katrina." Her dad told her. "You don't know what kind of trouble you'll get into if it gets to the wrong person and you haven't even graduated yet."
"But nobody in school knows that him and I are together." Katrina protested. "We're really careful about who we act like a couple around."
Her father scoffed and excused himself from the table but turned around before he completely walked away. "How is this guy, by the way?"
Katrina stayed quiet before answering. "He's twenty-nine."
"He's seven years older than you, too?" He asked her. "What other surprised do you have left to tell me about this? Have you had sex with him?"
"Gosh dad, no!" She exclaimed. "We haven't had sex."
"I don't want you seeing that guy anymore. Do you understand me, Katrina?" He asked.
She let out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. "Dad, I'm twenty-two years old. I can date whomever I want without your say. I'm not a child!"
"But I'm still your father!" He exclaimed.
"That's enough!" exclaimed my Grandfather. That was the first time that Katrina had ever heard him raise his voice to anyone or anything. "That is enough, you two. James, you should know better than to criticize her over this. Remember that you and her mother were in the same position as well and we weren't too crazy about it either."
Katrina and Anna looked at each other before looking back at them. "What are you talking about?" Asked Anna.
Their dad looked at his two daughters and saw the anger in his youngest. "Nothing. It's nothing."
Katrina helped clean up the table and grabbed her things to go. Her grandmother stopped her from leaving when she saw her granddaughter with tears in her eyes.
"Grandma, I'm so sorry about tonight." Katrina told her apologetically, in between sobs. "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I just thought it was the right thing to do in telling you, instead of keeping it a secret until I finished school."
They all hugged her, except for her father, who was in the backyard and still fuming about the admission that she had made to them earlier.
"It's okay, Sweetie." Said her grandfather. "You did what you thought was right."
"If it makes you feel any better, I think it's cool that we get to go on double dates now." Said her sister. "If you'd like, I mean."
Katrina smiled at her sister and calmed down a bit, but continued to cry. "I know it seems wrong to be in a reltionship with him, but when I'm with him it just feels so right."
"And you're in love." Whispered her grandmother with a smile.
She nodded. "I love him very much. I know it's hard to keep it a secret in and around school, but I want to be with him. He makes me very happy. What did you mean though when you said that he and mom were in the same position?"
"When the time comes, we'll tell you the story." Said her grandfather. "Until then, don't give up on this relationship. You'll be glad that you didn't."
Meanwhile...
"How old is she?" Asked Roman's father.
"She's twenty-two." He replied. "But she's already in her final year for her PhD. She's unbelieably smart."
Roman's parents stayed quiet for a moment before responding. "Be careful, Roman." Said his mother. "We don't want you to go through the same thing that you went through with Janelle. She's very young and you're still a professor."
He nodded. "I know, mom. I promise, everything's going to be okay."
They talked for a while longer before he took a shower and watched television. He heard a soft knock on the door and turned the volume down a bit to go answer it. Roman smiled when he saw Katrina but it quickly faded when he noticed that it looked as though she had been crying. Closing the door behind her, he took Katrina into his arms and soothed her while she calmed down and sniffled.
"My dad made a big deal out of it." She finally told him, not letting go of the grip that she had on his shirt. "He got upset and it's like he didn't care to listen to anything else I had to say."
Roman kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her, even after she stopped crying. "What do your grandparents and sister think?"
"They're worried we may get in trouble if it gets out in school." Katrina replied. "But other than that, they had nothing negative to say. They do want to meet you though and they wanted to know if you could come over for dinner on Sunday. I doubt my dad will be there."
He thought for a moment. "I'll go to dinner with them, I don't mind. We have a game that day with Jacksonville but it starts at noon."
Roman took Katrina's things and took it upstairs to his room. She went to take a shower and came back out about forty-five minutes later. Sitting next to him on the couch, Katrina ended up cuddling up to him as they watched television together.
"I don't remember if I told you, but we have a game on Friday with Alabama and another game on Saturday with South Carolina. We'll have to leave tomorrow, right after the team's last class. Are you gonna be okay while I'm gone?"
Katrina nodded. "I'll be okay. I'll hang out with Derek and pamper myself."
Roman smiled and cupped her chin so that she could look up at him. "When I come back, I'm going to make love to you. I promise."
She looked up at him, in wonder. "How do I know you won't do the same thing that you did the last time? Besides, you said that you'll be more protective and that you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off of me if we do."
"I can't help the whole being protective of you part of it." Roman replied. "I'm protective of you now. But I'll try to control my urges and I'll try to keep my hands to myself. But to answer your question, I keep my promise."
Katrina looked down and smiled before looking back up at him. "We'll see. Just come back home to me first."
Roman nodded and leaned his head down to kiss her. "I love you."
"I love you, too." She responded and shared another kiss with him.
A/N: What do you think Katrina's father is hiding from her and her sister?