Olli was feeling pretty bad about how things had turned out with Hannah and ignored her text. He was so sure she liked him and that she would say yes that he hadn't even considered what would happen if she said no. Except she hadn't exactly said no.

Hannah texted Brandon the next day to tell him what had happened. At first he laughed, but apologized.

*I'm sorry, that really sucks. It is kind of funny though

*I know, but it's sad too : (

*You don't want me to talk to him or something, right?

*No, that would probably make it worse. I'm hoping he'll calm down and we can work things out

*So you would have said yes?

Hannah thought about it for a minute before responding:

*Yeah, I guess I would have. But don't tell anyone, especially not him

*My lips are sealed

*They'd better be or I'll have to demonstrate those kickboxing skills I mentioned earlier

*I think you're lying about that

*Brandon!

*Sorry

*Can I ask you something? Like for real?

*Okay

*that rash from my face cream has spread a bit and now it's really obvious that it's a rash and not a hickey, do you think I should take a picture and show him?

*Take a picture, but don't send it to him, not yet. I think he needs to cool off for a while. He had some pretty angry looking slap shots at practice this morning.

* : (

That made Hannah sadder than she expected. It had been over a day since it happened, they'd had their first game, which they won, but he was still mad. Hannah took a picture of her neck. As much as she wanted this rash to go away, she kind of wanted Olli to see it in person just so he would believe her.

'Just two more days and he'll be back' she said to herself as she curled up on the couch to watch their second game.

By the last night of the road trip, Olli was really starting to wonder if he'd made a mistake. A couple of times he thought of asking Brandon about it, but didn't want it to get 'confrontational' or anything.

He finally read her text, and that's when he realized what she'd meant by 'we're just friends.'

Hannah meant she and Brandon were just friends, not she and Olli.

"Oh my God," he muttered to himself in Finnish, forgetting his Finnish teammate was sitting across the aisle from him on the plane.

"What's wrong?" Jussi asked him (in Finnish of course, they always conversed in their native language, sometimes just to bother their teammates).

Olli told him what was going on with Hannah, hoping Jussi could give him some advice. Jussi had helped him with a lot of things since Olli came to Pittsburgh, so maybe he could help him with girl problems.

"I think you should just apologize to her, and hope she isn't too mad at you," Jussi replied.

"Should I call her now?" Olli asked, taking his phone out.

"No, we're on a plane you can't do that, and by the time we land it'll be like 2:00am, so just talk to her tomorrow. You should talk to her in person anyway."

"Should I get her flowers?" Olli asked.

"No," Jussi shook his head. "Unless you really want to, but it's kind of cliché. And is Hannah really the kind of girl who would like flowers?"

They both laughed; no, Hannah probably was not.

-

Hannah made no attempt to cover up what was left of the rash on her neck the next day as she dressed for work. She still hadn't heard anything from Olli and didn't know what to expect.

Hannah was in the film editing office, editing film, when someone knocked on the door.

She knew it was Olli, it had to be, so she carefully opened the door.

They both stared at each other for a moment, not sure what to say.

Suddenly Olli leaned in and put his hand on the side of her face and kissed her on the lips.

It was everything he'd imagined it would be, and he had definitely thought about that a lot. Their height difference was not as much of a problem as he thought it would be, though she was up on her toes. He pulled back and looked at her, trying to figure out her reaction. (He was also slightly worried she might punch him.)

Hannah was shocked; that was the last thing she had been expecting from him, but she smiled.

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk, I don't know what I was thinking," he replied, unable to keep from smiling. "Your neck looks better though."

"It's okay, I understand why you got mad," Hannah was still trying to get over the fact that he had just kissed her. "And I stopped using that stupid face cream my sister sent me since I'm obviously allergic to it."

"So, do you want to pretend none of that happened and we'll go back to the part where I was asking you to be my girlfriend?" Olli asked nervously.

Hannah nodded, "That's probably a good idea. And, I was going to say this four days ago, but yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

Olli smiled and drew her into a hug. The fact that they hadn't really talked for four days made it more emotional. If Hannah was the kind of girl who cried, she probably would have.

Hannah pulled away and looked up at him. "Can we keep this between us for now? I just need to clear it with my boss that I'm allowed to date players."

"Of course," Ollie complied. The last thing he wanted was for her to lose her job because of their relationship, but it was going to be hard for him not to tell anyone. (Maybe he could tell Jussi, he wasn't the type to gossip).

He left to change for practice and Hannah waited in the film office for her boss. She had no idea how she was going to tell him, and worried that she could get fired for even asking.

"Hey Hannah, what's up?" Mike asked as he sat down at his desk. "Did you finish editing episode two of 'In the Room'?"

"I did, but I have to ask you something," she sat down across from him, and he waited patiently for her to continue. "What is the policy on dating the players?"

Mike laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Is this about Maatta?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Hannah, everyone knows he asked you out. But as long as it doesn't interfere with your work, or his playing, then it's okay."

"Really?" Hannah smiled.

"You still have to talk to HR, as you would in any 'office romance' but as far as I know it's fine."

Did he just say office romance? Hannah frowned at the thought, but nodded. "Thanks."

"Now get out there and try to get some good footage of them practicing, and not just Olli," Mike teased her as she left.

After practice Olli and Hannah headed to the human resources department, something nobody liked to do. The older lady filling out their forms kept giving Hannah disapproving looks and several times stated that it was not normal for a player to date an employee of the team, but it was allowed with the approval of their supervisors. Hannah already had Mike's approval and Olli's supervisor was coach Dan, who arrived a few minutes late to the meeting.

"Can I talk to you in private?" The HR lady (Grace) asked Dan, so Olli and Hannah waited in the hallway. They were quiet, not really sure what to say to each other, so instead they listened to the heated conversation between Dan and Grace.

"I don't see why this is a problem, they have followed all of the appropriate procedures," Dan said exasperatedly.

"First, he's foreign, that's an issue. Secondly, do you know how young he is? How do you know she isn't taking advantage of him and his money?" Grace replied.

"Yes, he's from Finland, and yes I know he's 19 but he is mature and can take care of himself. Why does this need to be so difficult?"

"I'm sorry, but given her record we need to bring Mario into this," Grace said, and Olli and Hannah both looked at each other.

"I've never met Mario," Hannah sounded a little scared. Mario Lemieux, owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and one of the greatest hockey players of all time; he had always seemed friendly, but he looked like he could be intimidating if he needed to be.

"He'll probably agree with Dan, he's a reasonable guy," Olli tried to reassure her and reached over to take her hand. Like always, it was cold, and felt tiny in his hand.

Grace called them back into her office and explained the situation to them. They would meet with Mario the next day if he was available.

"And if I were you, I would think this over to make sure it's worth it," she said, mostly to Olli.

By the time they left Hannah was ready to punch her.

"I understand why she's concerned because you are young and living in a foreign country and I could easily be taking advantage of your vulnerability, but it's not like I'm trying to take all your money or anything," Hannah vented to Olli as he drove her home.

"Wow," Olli laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing, I've just never seen you mad before," He smiled and glanced at her.

"Oh, sorry," Hannah was a little embarrassed. "I'll try to be more calm, or something."

"No, it's fine, I kind of like it," Olli smiled at her as he pulled into her apartment complex.

"I'd invite you in, but we can't officially date until Mario approves it," Hannah rolled her eyes and got out of the car. "But I'll see you tomorrow."

She smiled and closed the door, and watched him drive away before going inside.

Hannah and Olli spent the rest of the night texting and they both went to bed feeling happy for the first time in a few days.

Olli was confident Mario would approve and wasn't too concerned with that. The whole thing had gone better than he expected, so he wasn't that upset that an administrative issue delayed them.

Hannah, however, was concerned. Grace had said something like 'given her record...' and she knew exactly what that meant. She had been arrested for drinking in public, as well as public indecency. That's not the kind of person you want dating your young rookie. Hannah didn't know Mario very well, or at all really, so she was genuinely concerned it could end badly. Not only could she and Olli not be able to date, but she could lose her job, and ruin her already not great reputation. Mario probably wouldn't hesitate to get rid of her if he thought she was a threat to Olli or anyone else on the team.

The one thought that kept coming back to her as she tried to fall asleep was not something she was proud of:

Was Olli worth it?

A/N: Want to keep reading? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z7DW6JS?*Version*=1&*entries*=0 

P.S. Don't forget to vote if you like the story! (And it might remind me to update more often! Sorry I keep forgetting to do it everyday)