Reunited
Her
“Why did we have to go home tonight?” She leaned her head against the door, her breath causing the window to fog.
“We were in the same state, Simone, plus we have another game tomorrow.”
“Right, another game, who are you playing?”
“Anaheim is coming to town.”
“You couldn’t have made that sound more like a Christmas song than you did right then, Jordan.”
Jordan glanced at the girl beside him. “What do you mean?”
“Anaheim is coming to town,” she sang. “You know, like, Santa Clause is coming to town.”
“Right.” Jordan shook his head. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“The Jordan you were talking about earlier, was he, by any chance, Jordan Eberle?” His voice was timid. He glanced at her again and then focused on the road. It had started to snow in Pittsburgh and the last thing he wanted was to get into some kind of accident, especially with Simone in the vehicle. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just curious and it would help make sense as to why you were so freaked out that he had fainted.”
Simone nodded, thinking over her answer. “I suppose you will find out sooner or later.” She looked at the blonde next to her and sighed. “Yes, Jordan is Jordan Eberle, star forward for the Edmonton Oilers.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t know,” Simone shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want you to think that I was your friend because you are a hockey player. Also, things between Jordan and I fell apart a few years ago, when I moved away from Regina.”
Jordan didn’t say anything; instead he put all his thought into driving. He didn’t know what to tell Simone. He knew she wasn’t his friend because of his social status. In all honesty, he had been the one to befriend her. It had been just over a year now that he had accidentally shown up at her door one night. He had been out with the team, drank a little bit too much and stumbled into the door, thinking it was his own. Lucky for him, Simone had been awake that night. She had been talking on the phone with Zach when she heard a thud on her door, followed by the jiggling of the door knob. When she opened the door, Jordan had been standing there going through his keys, as if he was trying to find the one that would fit in the lock.
“What are you thinking about?” Simone asked.
“Huh?” Jordan looked over at the girl as he stopped at a red light.
“You look like you are concentrating on something, I was just wondering what it was.”
“Oh, I was thinking about when we first met,” Jordan admitted.
Simone giggled at the memory. “That was a great night.”
Jordan nodded. “I agree.”
“My favorite part was definitely when you waltzed into my apartment like you owned the place.”
“I did not,” Jordan argued, even though he knew she was telling the truth.
“You did too,” Simone said. “You walked right in, opened the fridge and drank straight from my milk container.”
“Sorry about that,” Jordan said, his cheeks going a slight pink color.
“No big deal,” Simone smiled, waving off the apology. “After that, I followed you to the living room, where you laid down on my couch.”
“I remember that,” Jordan grinned. “I patted the seat beside my head and convinced you to sit down. Then I put my head in your lap and started telling you the most random stories I have ever told anyone.”
Simone couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “I’m not going to lie, but half of the stories didn’t even make sense. The ones that did were stories about girls you tried to pick up at the bar that night. Unfortunately for me, those were the ones I didn’t want to hear.”
“I was a mess that night, thanks for reminding me,” Jordan chuckled. “I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Me either,” Simone agreed. She looked out the window again and noticed the snow starting to fall harder. “Do you think there will be a storm tonight?”
“I hope not. I really don’t want to get up early just to clean the snow off this thing.”
“Do you have morning skate?”
“We sure do,” Jordan nodded. “Do you want to come along? I think Vero might be working, but I can give Marc a call to see for sure.”
“If you stop by before you leave, I’ll come with you,” Simone told him. “But don’t be insulted if I start doing work for Monday or end up talking on the phone for part of it.”
“I’ll try not to be,” Jordan smirked. He pulled his SUV into his parking spot. “I probably won’t even notice, to tell you the truth.”
The pair got out of the vehicle and started toward their apartment block. “Well, it’s up to you because you know I’ll be awake. So if you decide you want me there, just knock on the door and I’ll come.”
They made their way up the stairs and to their doors. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Jordan said, unlocking his door.
“Until tomorrow!” Simone exclaimed, doing the same to her door before entering her apartment.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Simone heard a voice ask from the living room.
“Going to morning skate with Jordan,” Simone answered, hanging up her orange pea coat and slipping out of her sneakers. “Is that alright with you?”
“Sure, whatever you want to do,” the voice replied.
She walked into the living room to find Zach working on his drawing. “How’s the building coming?”
“Not too bad actually,” Zach told her. “Do you want to see it?”
“Of course,” Simone smiled. She walked over to his work station and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before looking at the plans in front of her. “Wow, Zach. These are incredible. There is absolutely no way your boss is going to discard these.”
“Thanks, Sim. That means a lot coming from you,” Zach grinned up at his girlfriend. “How was your trip to Philly? Did the boys win?”
“It was good,” Simone said. “I think I needed to get away and just relax with Vero for a few hours. Unfortunately, they didn’t win. Sorry I left earlier than planned. Things came up and Max said I had to go with them.”
“Hey, not a problem,” Zach said, waving off her apology. “I think it might have helped not being distracted for an extra day.”
“So, I’m a distraction now?” Simone raised her eyebrow.
“Someone as beautiful as you, how could you not be a distraction?”
“Thanks, I think,” Simone said, scratching her head. “Oh, I’ve got a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Who were you with Friday night?”
“Friday night, like as in the night you left?” Zach asked.
“Yea, I was at the cafe with Max and he said you walked in with some girl,” Simone told him. “I didn’t think much of it, but Max thought it was suspicious.”
“Oh, that girl,” Zach laughed, nervously. “That was my sister. You know Andrea, don’t you?”
“We’ve met once or twice,” Simone nodded.
“Well, that’s who I was with,” Zach said, a little more confidence in his voice. “What is Max doing butting into our business anyway?”
“He wasn’t butting in, Zach. We were just having coffee and he saw you walk in with Andrea. I guess he thought it might be someone else, like another girlfriend or something, and didn’t want me to get hurt. Don’t worry about it, ok? Max is like my over protective big brother.”
“You guys aren’t even related,” Zach commented.
“I know, but he still feels the need to look out for me.” Simone shrugged her shoulders. “Truthfully, I don’t really mind.”
“Well, maybe I do,” Zach’s voice was starting to get angry. “I’m the one that is supposed to be protecting you, but instead you are heading off to see your hockey friends. I mean, come on Simone, I’m your boyfriend, you have to trust that I am staying faithful and always looking out for you.”
“I do trust you, Zach, but you’ve got to admit that if you were in Max’s position and saw me walk into the cafe with an unknown guy, you’d be jumping to the same conclusions he had.”
“I guess you’re right,” Zach sighed. “I’m sorry, Sim. I didn’t mean to get angry at you, especially over nothing.”
“Don’t worry about it, Love.” Simone looked at the clock. “I better get to bed if I’m going to wake up in time to go to the rink with Jord.” She gave him one last kiss before retreating to the bedroom. She quickly changed into a pair of fleece pajama pants and an over-sized tee-shirt that she stole from Jordan, before sliding under the covers and drifting off into a deep sleep.
“We were in the same state, Simone, plus we have another game tomorrow.”
“Right, another game, who are you playing?”
“Anaheim is coming to town.”
“You couldn’t have made that sound more like a Christmas song than you did right then, Jordan.”
Jordan glanced at the girl beside him. “What do you mean?”
“Anaheim is coming to town,” she sang. “You know, like, Santa Clause is coming to town.”
“Right.” Jordan shook his head. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“The Jordan you were talking about earlier, was he, by any chance, Jordan Eberle?” His voice was timid. He glanced at her again and then focused on the road. It had started to snow in Pittsburgh and the last thing he wanted was to get into some kind of accident, especially with Simone in the vehicle. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I was just curious and it would help make sense as to why you were so freaked out that he had fainted.”
Simone nodded, thinking over her answer. “I suppose you will find out sooner or later.” She looked at the blonde next to her and sighed. “Yes, Jordan is Jordan Eberle, star forward for the Edmonton Oilers.”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Jordan asked.
“I don’t know,” Simone shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want you to think that I was your friend because you are a hockey player. Also, things between Jordan and I fell apart a few years ago, when I moved away from Regina.”
Jordan didn’t say anything; instead he put all his thought into driving. He didn’t know what to tell Simone. He knew she wasn’t his friend because of his social status. In all honesty, he had been the one to befriend her. It had been just over a year now that he had accidentally shown up at her door one night. He had been out with the team, drank a little bit too much and stumbled into the door, thinking it was his own. Lucky for him, Simone had been awake that night. She had been talking on the phone with Zach when she heard a thud on her door, followed by the jiggling of the door knob. When she opened the door, Jordan had been standing there going through his keys, as if he was trying to find the one that would fit in the lock.
“What are you thinking about?” Simone asked.
“Huh?” Jordan looked over at the girl as he stopped at a red light.
“You look like you are concentrating on something, I was just wondering what it was.”
“Oh, I was thinking about when we first met,” Jordan admitted.
Simone giggled at the memory. “That was a great night.”
Jordan nodded. “I agree.”
“My favorite part was definitely when you waltzed into my apartment like you owned the place.”
“I did not,” Jordan argued, even though he knew she was telling the truth.
“You did too,” Simone said. “You walked right in, opened the fridge and drank straight from my milk container.”
“Sorry about that,” Jordan said, his cheeks going a slight pink color.
“No big deal,” Simone smiled, waving off the apology. “After that, I followed you to the living room, where you laid down on my couch.”
“I remember that,” Jordan grinned. “I patted the seat beside my head and convinced you to sit down. Then I put my head in your lap and started telling you the most random stories I have ever told anyone.”
Simone couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “I’m not going to lie, but half of the stories didn’t even make sense. The ones that did were stories about girls you tried to pick up at the bar that night. Unfortunately for me, those were the ones I didn’t want to hear.”
“I was a mess that night, thanks for reminding me,” Jordan chuckled. “I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Me either,” Simone agreed. She looked out the window again and noticed the snow starting to fall harder. “Do you think there will be a storm tonight?”
“I hope not. I really don’t want to get up early just to clean the snow off this thing.”
“Do you have morning skate?”
“We sure do,” Jordan nodded. “Do you want to come along? I think Vero might be working, but I can give Marc a call to see for sure.”
“If you stop by before you leave, I’ll come with you,” Simone told him. “But don’t be insulted if I start doing work for Monday or end up talking on the phone for part of it.”
“I’ll try not to be,” Jordan smirked. He pulled his SUV into his parking spot. “I probably won’t even notice, to tell you the truth.”
The pair got out of the vehicle and started toward their apartment block. “Well, it’s up to you because you know I’ll be awake. So if you decide you want me there, just knock on the door and I’ll come.”
They made their way up the stairs and to their doors. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Jordan said, unlocking his door.
“Until tomorrow!” Simone exclaimed, doing the same to her door before entering her apartment.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Simone heard a voice ask from the living room.
“Going to morning skate with Jordan,” Simone answered, hanging up her orange pea coat and slipping out of her sneakers. “Is that alright with you?”
“Sure, whatever you want to do,” the voice replied.
She walked into the living room to find Zach working on his drawing. “How’s the building coming?”
“Not too bad actually,” Zach told her. “Do you want to see it?”
“Of course,” Simone smiled. She walked over to his work station and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before looking at the plans in front of her. “Wow, Zach. These are incredible. There is absolutely no way your boss is going to discard these.”
“Thanks, Sim. That means a lot coming from you,” Zach grinned up at his girlfriend. “How was your trip to Philly? Did the boys win?”
“It was good,” Simone said. “I think I needed to get away and just relax with Vero for a few hours. Unfortunately, they didn’t win. Sorry I left earlier than planned. Things came up and Max said I had to go with them.”
“Hey, not a problem,” Zach said, waving off her apology. “I think it might have helped not being distracted for an extra day.”
“So, I’m a distraction now?” Simone raised her eyebrow.
“Someone as beautiful as you, how could you not be a distraction?”
“Thanks, I think,” Simone said, scratching her head. “Oh, I’ve got a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Who were you with Friday night?”
“Friday night, like as in the night you left?” Zach asked.
“Yea, I was at the cafe with Max and he said you walked in with some girl,” Simone told him. “I didn’t think much of it, but Max thought it was suspicious.”
“Oh, that girl,” Zach laughed, nervously. “That was my sister. You know Andrea, don’t you?”
“We’ve met once or twice,” Simone nodded.
“Well, that’s who I was with,” Zach said, a little more confidence in his voice. “What is Max doing butting into our business anyway?”
“He wasn’t butting in, Zach. We were just having coffee and he saw you walk in with Andrea. I guess he thought it might be someone else, like another girlfriend or something, and didn’t want me to get hurt. Don’t worry about it, ok? Max is like my over protective big brother.”
“You guys aren’t even related,” Zach commented.
“I know, but he still feels the need to look out for me.” Simone shrugged her shoulders. “Truthfully, I don’t really mind.”
“Well, maybe I do,” Zach’s voice was starting to get angry. “I’m the one that is supposed to be protecting you, but instead you are heading off to see your hockey friends. I mean, come on Simone, I’m your boyfriend, you have to trust that I am staying faithful and always looking out for you.”
“I do trust you, Zach, but you’ve got to admit that if you were in Max’s position and saw me walk into the cafe with an unknown guy, you’d be jumping to the same conclusions he had.”
“I guess you’re right,” Zach sighed. “I’m sorry, Sim. I didn’t mean to get angry at you, especially over nothing.”
“Don’t worry about it, Love.” Simone looked at the clock. “I better get to bed if I’m going to wake up in time to go to the rink with Jord.” She gave him one last kiss before retreating to the bedroom. She quickly changed into a pair of fleece pajama pants and an over-sized tee-shirt that she stole from Jordan, before sliding under the covers and drifting off into a deep sleep.