Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Jordan

Back in Calgary the next week, Jordan opened the door to his apartment. His internal organs playing musical chairs. Rhonda wore an oversized sweater and jeans. Her hips looked so damn good in jeans.

“Hey.” He stepped out into the hall and let the door swing closed behind him.

Rhonda smirked up at him. “I thought I was coming in there.”

“You will.” He ran his hands up her arms. Her sweater felt like velvet, but her skin was better. He planted his hands in the hollow of her neck. “I made you a promise.”

Rhonda let out a breath, but he didn’t give her a chance to speak. He lowered his head, and she tipped her chin to meet him. He didn’t waste time warming her up, just kissed her until she had to suck in a ragged breath.

Jordan pulled back, his lips humming. “Glad you could make it.” He turned and pulled her into the apartment before he could press her against the wall and spend the rest of the night in the hallway.

Chubs was still in the middle of telling a story about a particularly bad date, complete with hand gestures that, with zero context, looked like he was miming a porno. Ellie, his love interest from the gym whose biceps that could rival his, rolled her eyes and dealt out the cards.

Jordan introduced her to everyone. Chubs, Cam, and Patrick were the only members of Pucks Deep there. Well, Patrick was starting in January. He liked to get the new guys plugged in as soon as possible.

But this was a risk. Patrick had communicated with Sean and the Snowballs when he first planned to relocate. He talked with most teams in the area. Not that he had a relationship, but he didn’t understand the way Elite League worked yet.

Jordan had made them all promise they wouldn’t say anything about Rhonda even though he knew Chubs and Cam were good. Rhonda hadn’t said anything explicitly but every time the Snowballs came up, she turtled. If anyone was going to break her cover, it wasn’t going to be him or his teammates.

Rhonda slid into the seat next to Jordan, and even after the poker game started, he had to work to focus on anything besides her. Every time he saw her, there was something new to discover. The lines next to her nose when she frowned, studying her cards. The way her fingers tapped on her thigh, or how she let out a little breath before she laughed at a joke.

"So what’s Jordan’s tell?” Rhonda asked.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "Good luck. They don’t know it.”

Chubs laughed. “He gets more confident.”

“That’s not a tell, that’s my homeostasis.” Jordan put a few chips in, waiting for the flop.

Cam shook his head. “He changes it. He’s pulling psychological BS on us, messing with our heads.”

Rhonda's eyes sparkled. “Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?” Jordan watched the cards, the feeling of her eyes on him making his blood rush.

Rhonda laughed, then put in her chips to match. “What happens when I run out? Do we barter? Strip?”

Chubs nodded solemnly. “Strip. Absolutely.”

Ellie gave him a look. “Did you wear clean boxers?”

Chubs looked down and pretended to pull at the waistband of his pants before Ellie smacked his hand away. Oh, Jordan liked her.

The game continued, and Rhonda fit in seamlessly. She laughed at Chubs' jokes, joined forces with Ellie to heckle Cam, and ended up calling his bluff to win all her chips back and then some.

When the rounds finally ended, Rhonda stood and stretched, her sweater riding up just enough to show a sliver of skin. She glanced down, the sparkle in her eyes telling him she knew exactly what she was doing.

Chubs and Ellie left first, then Cam and his roommate. Rhonda walked into the kitchen with him, watching as he loaded the glasses into the dishwasher.

"Thanks for letting me crash." Rhonda said, her voice breathy. "I should probably get going."

Jordan set the last glass on the top rack and turned to dry his hands. He walked with her to the front door. Rhonda put on her shoes, then turned and paused.

He stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug. “That was fun.”

“It was.” Her voice was muffled against his shoulder, her breath warming the fabric of his shirt.

She pulled back and dropped her hands from around his waist, then fidgeted with the hem of her sweater. “So. See you soon.”

“I’ll text you.”

Her mouth quirked. “Okay.” She walked out of the apartment, and Jordan had the urge to walk with her down to the lot. To make sure she got into her car okay. But he knew she wouldn’t want that. Or at least, didn’t know how to handle it.

He had to take things slow. Jordan adjusted himself and went back to the kitchen. Not rushing ahead was for both their good. But it still sucked balls.

_____

For the next three weeks, they saw each other as much as possible, which amounted to four face-to-face interactions. Rhonda travelled twice, once to Sylvan Lake and once to Grande Prairie. He joked that she was visiting his hometown, and she almost appreciated it.

She met him once for lunch between shifts, and he met her for a late dinner on the weekend after giving face time with the team after a win against C-Biscuit.

Rhonda told him more about her dad, and he made a point to give up time with her when she needed to see her friends. The last thing he wanted was for her to see any of her old man in him. Since Jordan loved grand gestures, that was already a potential strike against him.

Now it was two and a half weeks before Christmas, and they sat next to each other at intermission for the Nutcracker in the Jubilee Auditorium.

Jordan ran his thumb over the inside of her palm. “What do you know about Curtis and his wife?”

“Snowballs’ Curtis?” she asked. Jordan nodded. Rhonda thought for a moment. “He’s a family guy. They have four kids. Why?”

Jordan brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I coach his oldest son. He and this other kid aren’t sympatico at the moment.”

“Ah. Hoping not to tattle?”

He grinned. “No, I love tattling. I just need to know how best to do it.”

“Maximize the trouble this kid will get in.”

Jordan laughed. “Exactly. See? You get it.”

The lights dimmed, and he settled back in his seat. Rhonda leaned over. “I’ll call Curtis’s wife. I’ll let you know if I hear anything that could help.”

It was only two days later when he and Rhonda sat in the hospital coffee shop that she followed up. Rhonda had just finished a meeting with Dr. Mallory. She said she’d sweat through her shirt, but he couldn’t tell.

Rhonda wrapped her hands around the warm ceramic mug. It was already getting dark at four in the afternoon, the sky outside the coffee shop a deep indigo. He still had three hours on his shift. He’d been storing up time for a couple of times over the holidays where he was going to need to take time off.

“I think I might be a genius at this now.” She took a sip of coffee.

Jordan laughed. “What now?”

Rhonda gave him a look. “Just, being open. Telling people the truth.” She set her mug down. “I talked with Sasha.”

“Jace’s mom.”

She nodded. “I told her about how I don’t talk with my sister, just put it right out there, and she said that’s her biggest fear for her kids. Then she said that Jace doesn’t want to have anything to do with his siblings.”

Jordan’s brow furrowed. “Sad.”

Rhonda sighed. "Jace hasn't been the easiest to deal with at home. He's been giving them a lot of attitude, not doing his homework, and generally being a pain in the ass."

“So, teenage boy.”

Rhonda frowned. “Maybe. But after everything you told me, I don’t think it would be a bad thing to say something. I think they’d be grateful for some insight.”

He nodded. “Perfect. Thank you.”

Rhonda beamed. “You’re welcome.”

Jordan took a drink and leaned back in his seat. “So, you helped me.”

“I did.”

“Which means I get to help you with something. I get a freebie.”

She scoffed. “That’s not how this works.”

Jordan was already scooting his chair back. He stood. “Meet me tomorrow morning. I’ll text you the address.”

He grinned, then shared a location for his favourite tire shop. He’d already called to make sure they had the right snow tires in stock.

He was about to slip his phone back into the pocket of his scrubs when a text came through. Unknown number. He wouldn’t have clicked on it, but his name was in the preview.

Hey, Jordan. This is Anne.

And Tina!

Jordan stopped short in the hall. Anne and Tina. Those were Rhonda’s friends.

Hey?

Anne

Sorry to weird you out. Just wanted to say, we’ve never seen Rhonda like this

Tina

What Anne’s trying to say is: if you hurt her, we will kick your ass

Jordan laughed out loud.

I’ll kick my own ass

Tina

Perfect

Anne

Okay. That’s all

Jordan gave that message a thumbs-up, then continued to the nurse’s station. Never seen her like this. He’d take that.