Reunited

She pushed open that door to find a rather high pair of black heels sitting on the mat. She tried her best to push all of the thoughts of Zach cheating to the back of her mind. Looking around the kitchen curiously, she noticed a couple of dirty plates sitting on the counter.

“Zach?” Her voice carried through the apartment. “Zach, are you here?”

Suddenly Zach’s face appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. “Hey, Simone, I didn’t realise you would be home so soon.”

“It’s over an hour,” Simone said. “What have you been up to?”

“Holly is over and we are working on a building for work,” Zach replied, walking up to his girlfriend.

“Who’s Holly?” Simone asked quietly. “Have I met her?”

“She’s a new higher,” Zach told her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before taking her hand and leading her into the living room. “The boss assigned her to the building I’m working on.”

Simone nodded as she took in Holly’s appearance. The woman’s hair was blonde with obvious extensions. She was at least six inches taller than Simone, which made the redhead wonder how Holly was able to be comfortable in the three inch heels that were at the door. The fact that she was dressed professionally calmed Simone’s nerves ever so slightly. Her make-up was heavier than Simone would have liked, but she knew that she didn’t have a say in the matter.

“Holly, this is my girlfriend Simone.” Zach’s voice broke her from her thoughts. “Simone, this is my new partner Holly.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Holly,” Simone said, holding out her hand for the blonde girl to shake.

Instead of taking her hand, Holly pulled her into a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you!” Her voice squeaked.

Simone couldn’t stop the look of horror that covered her face. Her first impression of Holly had been that she was superficial. Now she knew that the assumption was probably correct.

“Zachy has said so many good things about you,” Holly screeched, waving her hands around wildly. “I feel like I already know you.”

Simone held back a laugh as she took a step away from the woman. “I wish I could say the same about you.” She turned to her boyfriend, still holding in her laugh. “Um, Zach, I’m heading over to Jordan’s and then I’ll probably go to their game tonight. Do you want me to come with me?”

“You know I have to get this job finished, Sim,” Zach told her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He watched as a saddened expression settled on Simone’s face. “But, if I’m finished by the time you are ready to leave, I’ll come with you.”

“Okay,” Simone nodded, turning away from him.

“I’ll see you in a few?” Zach asked before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Yea, of course, I’ll stop by before I leave for the game.” She turned to the door and quickly walked to it. She took one last look at the living room doorway and pushed her way through the door.

Instead of going to Jordan’s, she made her way down the hallway and descended the stairs. She opened the front door to the building and looked both ways before sprinting across the street. Simone didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she didn’t want to be in the same building as Zach.

There was something about him that just wasn’t adding up. Why hadn’t he told her about his new partner? Why didn’t he go to hockey games with her anymore? Why didn’t he go anywhere with her anymore? She knew that the only way she would find the answers to her questions was by asking Zach, but, at the moment, she was unable to face him.

Tears started to fill her eyes as an unknown feeling filled the pit of her stomach. Pulling out her phone, she scrolled through her contacts trying to find the one person who know almost nothing about her current life.

“Come on, answer,” she mumbled, holding the phone to her ear. Four rings passed before there was an answer.

“Hello?” His voice filled her ear.

“Hi,” Simone said, unsure how she should introduce herself. “Um, am I talking to Jordan?”

“Yes,” he replied. “You wouldn’t happen to be a red haired mystery Canadian, who lives in Pennsylvania, would you?”

Simone smiled. “That would be exactly who I am.”

“Wonderful.” His voice seemed to brighten immediately. “To what do I owe this phone call?”

“I just needed an escape from life for a bit.”

“I feel like I should ask you why, but since you want an escape, I won’t.”

Simone was surprised when a small laugh slipped from her lips. “I hope this isn’t a bad time. If it is, I can always head over to a friend’s place.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jordan said. “I’m travelling right now.”

“Are you driving?” Simone asked. “I would feel horrible if you got into an accident because you were on the phone with me.”

“A friend of mine is driving,” Jordan told her. “I’m not allowed to drive.”

“Why not?” Simone raised her eyebrow as she crossed another street.

“The doctor said that driving with my concussion is a bad idea,” Jordan explained. “Plus, if I drive anywhere, my teammate will murder me.”

“How unfortunate,” Simone said with a laugh. “Where are you going?”

“Have you ever heard of Martensville?”

“I sure have. I know someone from there.”

“What a coincidence,” Jordan said. “I do too.”

“Are you going to visit him, um, or her?”

“Yea, one of the guys from the team suggested that I get out of the city, so I decided to go visit I guy I used to play hockey with when I played in Regina.”

“That’s really nice of you,” Simone told him.

“Thanks,” Jordan said. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

“You just did, but I give you permission to ask something else if you’d like.”

“Okay, well, I was just wondering, hypothetically, if your best friend was dating someone that you knew something about, would you tell the person what you knew?”

“That’s tough,” Simone said, thinking over his question. “If it was something that would hurt them, I think I would be hesitant about telling him or her. If it was something insignificant, like they are afraid of the dark or something, then I’d probably be the first one to spill those beans. I honestly can’t say that I am the best at keeping my mouth shut.” Simone paused and glanced at the time on her phone. “I think that I would tell my best friend anything that would be beneficial for him or her to know. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that my best friend, my teammate, obviously knows something about my girlfriend that he isn’t telling me. I just wanted to know if everyone felt the need to keep secrets from me or if it was just him.”

Simone found herself nodding. “Well, if it makes you feel better, my boyfriend is in our apartment right now with some blonde girl who is totally superficial. Apparently they are partners and they are working on some new building.” Simone took a deep breath to prevent tears from welling in her eyes. “I’m not sure if I buy it or not, but I don’t really want to deal with him either.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jordan said. “I wish I could kick his ass for you, but I don’t know who you are or where you live.”

“And that is something you will not be able to figure out,” Simone teased.

“We will see about that,” Jordan countered.

“How long are you out for?”

“Hopefully just a week,” Jordan told her.

“Well, you’ve got until next Sunday then,” Simone informed him.

“Unless I can’t play,” Jordan argued.

“Do you really want to be out more than a week?” She asked him, walking into the cafe. She sat in the back bench, where she always sat.

“Not really, but if it happens, it happens, right?”

“I guess so,” Simone said. “Hang on a second, okay?” She turned to the barista, who had approached her soon after sitting down. “I’ll just get a green tea latte.” She handed the lady some money before returning to her phone call. “Sorry, I stopped at the cafe and had to give the lady my order.”

“No problem,” Jordan said. She pictured him waving off her apology. “So, how did your friends like their coffee?”

“I hope they liked it because I never got a chance to collect money from them.” She mentally smacked herself for forgetting. “I got distracted by other things.”

“Like half naked men walking around?” Jordan chuckled.

“Ha ha, nice try, but that wasn’t it.” Simone rolled her eyes at his comment.

“Oh really?” Jordan’s voice rose slightly. “I feel like there is an actual story to come out of this.”

“Trust me there is,” Simone responded.

“But?”

“But I’m not going to tell you,” Simone decided. “I won’t tell you now, at least. Maybe one day you will be able to hear it.”

“And why is that?” Jordan asked. There were audible giggles coming from his end.

“Who’s with you?”

“Taylor’s girlfriend,” he said.

“Oh,” Simone frowned. She was trying to figure out why Jordan was going to Martensville with someone else’s girlfriend. “Anyway, I have to go. I am expected to be at the boy’s game tonight. So, I have to finish my latte and get ready before I head over to Marc’s.”

“Who’s Marc?” Jordan asked before she could hang up.

“One of the guys on the team,” Simone explained. “I usually meet his girlfriend at the game, but today I feel like meeting her before so that I can talk to her.”

“I see,” Jordan said. “Have fun and I’ll talk to you again.”

Smiling, Simone ended the call. She had expected him to pry into her personal life, but at the same time she was grateful he hadn’t. It was mostly because he still wasn’t sure who she was and, although she believed that he was the same Jordan Eberle she had known in high school, she also knew that people were able to change. Without proof that he hadn’t changed, she wasn’t as willing to let him in on to problems of her life.