Reunited

She sat. In her grey pencil skirt and pale yellow blouse, she waited for the time to pass. There was one place she had to be, but that was still two hours away.

She had fixed her red hair into a bun that sat on the left side of her neck. Her skin coloured nylons covered her legs. She had yet to put on shoes, but knew exactly which pair of heels would be perfect for her outfit.

The movie playing on the television was having a hard time distracting her from missing her friends back in Pittsburgh. Her mind wouldn’t let her forget the words Max had said before leaving. She was having trouble figuring out why Jordan would be jealous if she decided to have some fun. She knew she wasn’t going to have the type of fun her dark haired friend was referring to, but even if she did, she had no idea why Jordan would care.

He was her best friend, sure. They lived across the hall from each other, but she didn’t see any reason for him to have any type of emotional attachment if it wasn’t strictly on a friend’s basis. She had never thought about him in any way other than as friends. She was willing to admit that he was attractive, you’d have to be insane not to. She always liked him better with shorter hair and would bug him until he got a haircut. The way his blue eyes lit up whenever he was excited about something or the way they clouded over when he was disappointed or angry or the way he rubbed the back of his neck when he was embarrassed or unsure of himself. They were things she always noticed.
There was no way to explain why she noticed these things specifically, but she doubted it had any significance. Noticing other people’s actions was something she had always prided herself at, so why would noticing specifics about her neighbour and best friend be any different? And why did she miss him the most?

Ignoring the nagging feeling to call him, Simone turned to the television. She had no idea what was playing, but chose to watch it anyway. The boys weren’t scheduled to play until the next day, which meant she had no real reason to watch TV, but with the conference she was to attend still hours away, she felt she had no other options. Not knowing anyone in Dallas proved to be another problem for the young redhead. She knew that the boys had won the cup with a man by the name of Alex Gologoski, but she had never met him personally and knew she would feel uncomfortable asking one of the guys for his number, let alone calling him to see if he would show her around.

Glancing at her phone, she saw the red light blink. She couldn’t hold back the smile that formed once she had opened her text messages. One was from Vero, asking if she was having a good time. The second was from Max, asking about the bruise on her wrist. The last one was from Jordan, wondering if she had found herself a tour guide.

Answering Vero was quick and easy. Replying to Max took a little more time and space. When she went to reply to Jordan, her fingers made the decision to dial his number and call him.

As she waited for her blonde friend to answer, she mind drifted to the fun he was probably having with the rest of the team. Simone knew that they had finished practice no more than fifteen minutes earlier and they were more than likely fooling around in the locker room.

“Hello, Simone,” Jordan’s voice came through the ear piece. There were voices talking over music in the background as Jordan spoke. “I thought you were at some conference thing.”

“I’m waiting for it to start,” Simone admitted. “Is this a good time to talk? If it’s not, I can call you later.”

“No, no this is fine,” Jordan argued as the background noise disappeared. “So what have you been doing?”

“Not much,” Simone shrugged. “Just hanging out in the hotel room and going down to the restaurant when I get hungry. It’s kind of boring actually.”

“Why don’t you go look around?”

“Seriously? Who would I call if I get lost?”

“I know a guy who lives in Dallas for hockey, you could call him.”

“Do you not think that would be awkward?” Simone asked. “A person he doesn’t know calling him to find her way back to her hotel?”

“He’s a fairly nice guy and if he knows that you are a friend of mine I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help.”

“I wouldn’t want to be a bother,” Simone told him.

“Believe me when I say this, you’re never a bother.”

“Thanks Jor, but I’m not going to call your friend,” Simone glanced at her watch. “Look, I’ve got to go and try to catch a cab. I’ll call you later?”

“Sure, anytime, Simone,” Jordan replied. “I’ll be up.”

“I might not call tonight, but that’s good to know.” She pressed the red button on her phone and got off her bed to grab her heels. She pulled them on and buckled the straps before reaching for her purse and heading for the door. Stopping at the mirror to quickly look over her appearance and check that her key card was in her wallet.

As she reached for the doorknob, there was a knock on the door. She paused briefly to decide her next move. Figuring that it would be a good idea to see who her guest was, she looked through the peephole. On the other side of the door stood a man who looked to be a few years older than Jordan. He had short dirty blonde hair and an attractive amount of facial hair. He wasn’t the tallest looking, but seemed to be muscular.

Slowly, Simone opened the door for the man. She looked him up and down, noticing that he was just a few inches taller than her. “Can I help you?”

“Are you Simone Cheauseur?” The man asked.

“Yes, I am,” Simone nodded. “Is there something I can help you with? I’m kind of on a schedule and don’t really know where I’m going, so I really need to leave.”

“I’m Alex, Alex Goligoski,” the man held out his hand for her to shake. “I was talking to Jordan earlier and he was telling me about you being new to the city.”

“Of course he did,” Simone muttered. “He sent you, didn’t he?”

“Actually, no,” Alex shook his head. “I offered to help you out. He really seemed worried about you not knowing anyone down here.”

“I don’t get him,” Simone said. “I don’t usually know people when I go on business trips, but this time it matters whether I do or not? I just got off the phone with him and we talked about how I don’t know anyone or know where anything is.”

“If you’re asking my opinion, I’d say the boy worries about you a lot,” Alex shrugged. “Where are you off to anyway?”

“I don’t even know. The itinerary says that I have to go to some centre in the middle of the city.”

“Well, let’s take a look at that itinerary and get you to where you need to be.”