Reunited

“Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Hopefully we will see you again next year.”

Simone stood from her seat and shook hands with the people who were at the table with her. After saying a quick goodbye, she exited the hotel. She hailed a cab and gave him the address Jordan had given her at lunchtime.

As she paid the cabdriver, she was thankful it had been a short drive to the hotel. She entered the building and swiftly made her way to the elevator. Alone in the metal box, she stood silently as the elevator took her to the floor she had requested.

When the doors opened, she slowly walked down the hallway. She checked each door, looking for the correct number. Upon finding it, she knocked lightly three times and waited. The door opened and she was immediately engulfed in a hug.

“Hey Jordan, it’s good to see you too,” she smiled, pushing the large man away from her. “But I must change my clothes. Business attire is definitely the worst part of this job.”

“Alright,” Jordan took a step backward and pointed to a doorway. “There’s the bathroom. Take your time; our reservation is still a couple of hours away.”

“Thanks,” Simone entered the bathroom. She was about to close the door and looked at her friend. “Are you alone or do you have a roommate?”

“I have a roommate. He’s in Sid’s room, I think.”

Simone nodded and closed herself in the bathroom. She didn’t know why, but the fact that the room was neat shocked her. The boys had arrived hours ago and had already been to practice and back.

Quickly, she changed out of her black pencil skirt, white blouse, and pale nylons. She pulled her new outfit out of her bag and unfolded it. After she slipped into it, she ran her fingers through her straight hair in an attempt to fix any stray strands. She smoothed out her dress and picked up her discarded clothes. Once they were folded, she put them into her bag and picked up both the bag and her heels.

“Jor?” she called as she exited the bathroom. “I forgot my coat.”

“That’s alright,” Jordan told her. His eyes were fixed on the television. “We’ll steal on from one of the...guys.”

Simone smiled as she saw his jaw drop. “I hope that’s a good sign.”

Jordan nodded and stared at the woman.

“It’s not too short, is it?” she asked, looking at the hem of her dress. It stopped mid-thigh.

“It was this or the sweats that I wear for pyjamas and I didn’t think that would be appropriate for tonight.”

“You look amazing,” Jordan promised. He looked her up and down, taking in the black dress. The straps were thick and the neckline was square. He felt as though he was experiencing déjà vu as he noticed the similarities between the dress that Simone wore now and the one she wore in his dream. He shook his head of the thoughts. “Do you want to hang out here for a bit or go see the rest of the team now?”

“Well, since I’m going to be with you the rest of the night, can we go see the guys? Maybe I can steal a jacket from Sidney or Tyler.”

Sure thing, I’m pretty certain they all went to Sid’s room.” Jordan grabbed his key, wallet and jacket and led Simone out of the room.

“I’m really impressed,” Simone said as they walked in the opposite direction of the elevators.

“By what?” Jordan stopped in front of a door. He waited for Simone to answer before knocking.

“How clean your room is,” she admitted. “I assured it was going to be messier by now.”

“Well, you know what they say when you assume. You make an ass out of you and me,” Jordan chuckled as he knocked on the door.

Within seconds Evgeni had the door open and was grinning. “You here!”

“I am,” Simone laughed, giving the Russian a hug. “It’s good to see you guys again. I’m pretty sure I was going through Penguin withdrawal.” She sat down on the bed next to Sidney, while Jordan sat next to her.

“Did you have fun in Edmonton?” Sidney asked as he threw an arm around her shoulder. He ignored the harsh look that Jordan sent his way.

“You know, I did,” Simone nodded. “I hung out with an old friend and got to meet some new people.”

“Like whom?” Max asked from his spot on the floor. “By the way, you look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “I just met some friends of my friend and another guy.” She muttered the last part, hoping the guys wouldn’t hear.

“Your friend, Jordan’s friends?” Jordan asked, putting his legs up on the bed.

Simone nodded and looked around to see who was gathered in the captain’s room.

“And that other guy you met?” Max asked with a smirk.

“He was very nice and super friendly.”

“Oh, really? Does he have a name?” Tyler quizzed.

“He does.”

“You’re not telling us, are you?” Kris commented as he leaned back against the other bed.

“Leave her alone you guys,” Brett spoke. She leaned her head on Kris’ shoulder and bit into a chocolate bar.

“Is that the dress you’re wearing when we go out tonight?” Tyler asked. “’Cause you really look great.”

Simone gave Jordan a questioning look. “Did you not tell them?”

Jordan’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Tell us what?” Marc-Andre asked with fake innocence.

“I’m not going out with you all tonight,” Simone confessed.

“Why not?” Kris asked with a huge smile across his face.

“Jordan and I are hanging out. We haven’t had any ‘us’ time in awhile, so Jordan asked if I wanted to hangout instead of Brett, but I chose Jordan over you guys. Blame Max, he turns me off clubbing with the team.”

“What do you mean ‘us’ time?” Tyler asked. “And Brett, if you aren’t going to share, do you mind not eating chocolate in front of us?”

Simone gave Jordan a look that said ‘I told you so’, while Brett ignored the dark haired forward and continued eating.

“Lighten up, TK; they just want to catch up. You’d do the same if your friend came to town,” Marc-Andre put in.

“You really no come out?” Evgeni asked, pulling his puppy dog face.

“No, I’m not,” Simone laughed, looking away from the Russian. “Stop with the puppy dog eyes, I’m not caving this time.”

“What makes Jordan more special than us?” Max questioned.

“Nothing,” Simone shrugged. “He worked hard on the plans for tonight.”

Jordan’s face turned deep crimson as his unknowing teammates found him out.

“Staalsy have crush,” Evgeni joked, causing Jordan’s face to become a deeper red.

“Whatever,” he muttered in return. “You guys are dicks. Anyway, Simone we should head out.”

She nodded and turned to Sidney. She snaked an arm around his shoulder. “Oh, Sidney, lovely, could I ask a favour?”

“Uh, I guess so,” Sidney replied, confused as to why the woman’s arm was around his shoulder.

“I need to borrow a jacket,” Simone told him. “I didn’t need it this morning and forgot mine at the hotel.”

“Sure. Max, go in my bag and pull out one of my jackets.”

“Like a suit jacket?” Max asked as he did as his captain told him.

“Anything that will keep me warmer than no sleeves in the middle of winter,” Simone responded. She got off the bed with help from Jordan and went to stand beside Max. She took the jacket he gave her and slid it on. “This will work wonderfully. Thanks, Sidder.”

The captain stuck his tongue out at the red head. “Have fun tonight, Simone. The things Staalsy planned sound great.”

“You knew about this?” Tyler asked, bewildered.

“Not only me,” Sidney defended. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Tell them to have fun and drop it, TK.”

Tyler scowled but did as he was told.

Simone chuckled and waved goodbye to everyone before following Jordan out of the room. They silently walked side by side toward the elevators.
The silence that continued in the elevator was comfortable as they travelled down to the main floor.

“I’m really excited,” Simone smiled as the doors opened and they started to make their way to the curb. She was about to hail a cab when Jordan pulled her arm back down. “What are you doing? You don’t expect me to walk, do you?”

Jordan laughed and shook his head. “I found us a chauffeur.”

“Another old teammate of yours?” Simone smirked, giving him a soft hip check.

“As a matter of fact, he is and that is him.”

An SUV pulled up and Jordan smiled. He opened the back door for Simone to enter.

She thanked him and slid into the seat as Jordan closed the door and made his way to the other side and got in.

“Simone, this is Sergei Gonchar. Gonch, this is my friend Simone.”

The defenseman looked in the rear view mirror and smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ditto,” Simone said. “Thank you for driving us around tonight.”

“Jordan owes me,” he smirked. He put the vehicle in gear and pulled away from the hotel.

“So where are we going, Mr. Staal?” Simone asked.

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough,” Jordan shrugged.

Simone watched the blonde as he stared out the window at the scenery. She couldn’t stop herself from being curious. Subconsciously, she played with the zipper on her purse.

After a quiet drive, Sergei pulled in front of a brick restaurant. “Your first stop.”

Simone felt her jaw drop. “Jordan, this place looks really good.”

Jordan grinned and got out. He quickly made his way to the other side and pulled the door open for Simone once more. He held out his hand and helped her out of the vehicle. He allowed her to hook her arm in his own and led her through the door.

“Reservation for Jordan, we should have a table in the back.”

The hostess showed the pair to their table and told them that their waiter would be with them shortly.

“Jor, these prices, they are-”

“Don’t look at the prices,” he said, reading over the menu. “What would you like to eat?”

“Water?” Simone joked. “Seriously, Jordan, I can’t let you buy me supper from here.”

“Who said I was paying?” Jordan peered over the top of the menu with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, in that case I’m definitely getting water because I can’t posses myself to pay that much for food.”

Jordan rolled his eyes and put down his menu when the waiter approached. “I’ll get a bottle of your Pinot Noir. And we need a few more minutes; I don’t think she’s ready to order quite yet.”
Simone eyed Jordan, surprised by his professionalism. “Wow, Jor, I didn’t know you could be so polite.”

“Ha ha, funny Simone,” Jordan muttered casting a displeased look her way. “Have you decided or will I have to pick for you?”

“I’m thinking the steak pasta sounds good. What about you?”

“Just a steak,” Jordan shrugged.

The waiter returned with their wine and took their order before disappearing once more.

“So tell me about your trip so far,” Jordan said, taking a sip of wine. He tried his best to resist the look of disgust that formed on his features.

“Don’t drink it if you don’t like it,” Simone told him, taking a sip from her own glass. “My trip hasn’t been too special. There was a conference in Dallas, which Alex drove me to. Another conference in Edmonton, the day after I met up with Jordan, um, Jordan Eberle. We went to the game Saturday and I got to sit in the box seats.”

“Do you like box seats? I could get them for you.”

“I prefer the seats I have, but it was cool to experience. Please don’t change my seats.”

“And you met the team.”

“Yea, I did and they seem really nice. Their young and funny, but nothing compared to the Pens.”

“So, who was the other guy you met?”

“Wow, Jor, way to jump right in.”

“What? I’m curious,” Jordan shrugged. I figured I’d ask, since you wouldn’t tell TK.”

“Sneaky bastard,” Simone smiled and shook her head.

“Are you embarrassed by your new friend?”

“Not at all. More like the opposite.”

“Then why won’t you tell me who he is?” Jordan looked up at the waiter and thanked him as the man placed their plates in front of them.

“I know you won’t like who I met.”

“How come? It’s not like you met a guy who plays for Washington.”

Simone looked down at her plate as she took a bite of her food.

“Oh my goodness, you did meet a Washington Capital? It wasn’t Ovechkin, was it?”

“No, no, it definitely wasn’t Ovechkin,” Simone laughed. “Why don’t we forget about this conversation?”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Tell me about the things I’ve missed since I left.”

“We practiced and had a couple of games. We won, of course, and Tanger scored a goal.”

“Kris is the only one to score a goal?”

“Well, no. Nealer, Sid, Geno, Engo and Duper all scored, too.”

“You didn’t score?” Simone cocked her brow and put a piece of beef in her mouth.

A hurt look flashed across his face. “No, I didn’t score. I didn’t even manage an assist.”

“Oh, Jordan, honey,” she reached her arm across the table and took Jordan’s hand in her own. “You’ll score soon.”

“Simone, I haven’t played the same or practiced the same in a week.”

“So, you’re having a setback, who cares? It happens to everyone.”

“Everyone, except Sid,” Jordan said sadly.

“Sid’s had a setback.”

“When did that happen?”

“Around the time he had his concussion. It doesn’t matter anyway. You’re not Sid and you never will be.”

“Gee, that makes me feel better,” Jordan rolled his eyes.

“Jor, you’re way cooler than Sidder, hands down. He doesn’t even compare to you, no one does.”

“Why do you say that?” Jordan asked as he took a sip of wine. His face scrunched slightly at the taste.

“Seriously, stop drinking it if you don’t like it.”

“I can’t let you drink alone.”

“Right, are you about finished eating?”

Jordan looked at his empty plate and then back up at Simone. “Uh, yea, I think so.”

“What else do you have planned for tonight?”

“You’ll see,” Jordan smiled. He paid for their meals and left.

“Is Sergei picking us up?”

“Nope,” Jordan shook his head and linked his arm in hers. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Jordan led Simone across the street and down the block toward a park. “You never told me why you think Sid isn’t as cool as me.”

“Well, you know, you just are.”

“Well, that’s a really good reason,” Jordan said as the two of them walked through Major’s Hall Park.

“Come on, Jor, you don’t really want to hear me talk about that.”

“You mean, talk about me. Of course, I want to hear what you think about me.”

“Can you say conceited?” Simone teased. “Fine, you really want to know? I think you have a great sense of humour. You’re tall, strong and fit. You aren’t scared to say what you think and for that I’m grateful. Anytime something happens, you know the right things to say and the right things to do, well most of the time. If it was all of the time, I’d get annoyed of you quickly. Hmm, what else? You’re friendly, responsible and a team player. You are a sweetheart, Jordan.”

“Who knew you thought such good things about me?” Jordan smirked.

“Oh, I forgot, you are arrogant, too,” Simone stuck her tongue out at him.

“Keep your tongue like that and it might freeze.”

“Whatever,” Simone hit him lightly on the chest. She jogged ahead of him, receiving a strange look from the man. Smirking, she picked up some sticky snow and formed a ball.

“Don’t even think about it, Simone.” Jordan picked up his own ball of snow and started forming it.

“If you let me throw it, I’ll tell you which Cap I met,” Simone bargained.

After some thought, Jordan dropped his snow in surrender. “You have to throw it from there; I want to see how good of an arm you have.”

Simone obliged and chucked the snowball at the blonde. She cheered as it hit him in the arm.

“Nice throw, now get back here and keep your promise.”

Simone walked back to her friend. She could feel herself get nervous as she got closer. “Does it really matter that much, Jor?”

“It does,” Jordan replied. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they continued walking. “I like to know what I’m up against.”

“What you’re up against?”

“Uh, what?” Jordan mentally slapped himself for not keeping the sentence in his head.

“You said you like to know what you’re up against. I want to know what for?”

“Nothing,” Jordan covered. “Just me running my stupid mouth again.”

“Alright,” Simone said, still suspicious. “If it’s so important, I met Michal Neuvirth.”

Jordan froze for a second. “Neuvirth, the Cap’s goaltender?”

Simone nodded, trying to figure out what Jordan was thinking.

“I never knew you had a thing for goalies.”

“Shut up,” Simone nudged him. “He’s really sweet. The other night, when I first met him, we talked for a long time about the most random things.”

“Was that the night I called you like five times?”

“You mean seven? Yes that was the night. Sorry, if I had known it was so important I would have put Michal on hold.”

“Are calls from me not always important?” Jordan pulled the girl closer into his side.

“Jordan thinks he’s so funny,” Simone mumbled. She placed her arm around his waist.

“So, do you like him?” Jordan’s curiosity over took him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Simone shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean he’s really thoughtful, but I just split with Za-” she paused and took a deep breath. “Zach. I don’t think I’m ready for anything more than just friends.”

Jordan felt his heart sink as he heard the words come out of her mouth. He turned his head away so that she couldn’t see the disappointment written across his features.

“You okay, Jor? You got quiet all of a sudden.” She stopped, causing him to stop as well and stood in front of him. Placing a hand on his chest, she tried to look up into his eyes.

He continued to avert his eyes, not wanting her to see how hurt he was.

“Jordan, talk to me,” Simone said. She placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head toward her. “What’s bothering you? You’re never this silent.”

“It’s nothing, Simone, just something to do with work,” Jordan tried. He made an attempt to look happier, but failed.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about Michal,” Simone dropped her hands to her side and looked down at the snowy walkway. “I wrecked your night, didn’t I?”

“No, no, Simone,” Jordan placed his hands on her arms. “Anytime I’m with you, my day or night is great. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” He ran his hands up and down her arms and looked to the ground beside her. “Are you ready to head back now?”

Simone looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile. “Sure, do you have anything else planned?”

“Not really,” Jordan said, leading her back in the direction they had come from. He slid his arm back around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

They walked silently to the sidewalk, where Sergei’s SUV was sitting. Jordan helped the petite woman into the vehicle and got in the other side. He told his ex-teammate to go to Simone’s hotel and looked at the woman next to him. “Do you know when you’ll be back from Europe?”

“Not yet,” she shook her head. “All I know is where I’m going.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

Simone smirked and shook her head. “London, France, Prague, Berlin and, I was recently informed that, I am going to Russia.”

“Where in Russia?”

“Moscow,” Simone said. “Too bad I don’t know Russian.”

“And you know Czech and German?” Jordan asked.

“Well, no, but Russian is definitely cooler. Maybe Geno can teach me before I get there.”

“We’re here,” Sergei said from the front seat.

“Thank you so much, Sergei,” Simone said as Jordan got out and opened her door. “It was nice to meet you.”

They made their way into the building and up to Simone’s room. When they stopped at the door, Simone turned to look at Jordan.

“Thank you, Jordan, tonight was special.”

“Anytime,” he told her, pulling her into a hug. “Do you really need to go on the rest of this trip?”

Simone laughed and pulled away from the tall forward. “Yes, I do, Jordan. If I don’t, I’m out of a job and I need this job. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Alright,” Jordan sighed, turning away. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Wait, Jordan, do you want to come in for a bit? The guys are probably still out, so you can hang out here if you want.”

“Sure, if you don’t mind,” he said turning back to her. “You don’t have anything to do tomorrow morning?”

“Well, I have a flight, but that’s alright. If I fall asleep, you can show yourself out.”

“Cheap date,” he joked, following her in. Shrugging off his coat, he put it on the chair at the desk.

“Do you mind if I throw on something else?”

“Not at all,” Jordan sat down on the bed and started flipping through the channels. “Do you want to watch anything in particular?”

“Pick whatever you want,” Simone told him, grabbing her duffel bag and going into the bathroom. She changed into a pair of sweats and a black tank top. Walking out into the main area, she threw her bag on the floor. “You know you can get comfortable, right?”

“If I was to get more comfortable, I would not be wearing this shirt or these pants.”

“How about we compromise and you take your shirt off.” Simone sat down next to him and looked at the TV.

He looked at her startled, unsure what to do next.

“Seriously, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, take your shirt off.”

“Okay,” Jordan said, still unsure of himself. His fingers gingerly touched the top button. He slid it out of its hole slowly as he tried to figure out if she was serious.

“For goodness sake, Jordan, it’s not like I haven’t seen you topless before,” she turned to him with her eyebrow raised.

“When was that?” Jordan frowned, as he stopped unbuttoning his shirt.

“You walk around shirtless all the time, in your apartment, of course.”

“But you’ve never been around for that, I make sure of it.”

“It’s happened,” Simone assured him. She leaned over and unbuttoned another button on Jordan’s shirt. “What’s the big deal anyway?”

“Other than the fact you’re taking my shirt off for me?” Jordan questioned, looking down at her fingers and then up at her. He could feel his heart beat faster and the bubbling feeling from his dream appear. As much as he wanted her to continue, he knew he should stop her before anything happened. “You know I can undress myself, right?”

“What’s taking you so long then? Strip for me,” Simone removed her hand from his shirt with two buttons left. Her face held a serious expression.

“Are you serious?” he stared at her.

“No,” she laughed. “You can definitely take your shirt off, though. I won’t make fun of your muscles. That is if you still have them.” She raised an eyebrow to challenge him.

“Oh, I still have abs,” Jordan replied, undoing the last two buttons. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the floor next to the bed.

Simone felt a smirk spread across her face as her eyes travelled up and down his body. “I think they’re better than I remember.”

“Thanks, so do you want to watch a movie?” Jordan inquired, awkwardly. He felt that he needed to change the subject.

“Alright,” she shrugged, sitting back against the headboard.

“Can I go with you to the airport tomorrow?” Jordan turned the channel to a random movie.

“I guess so, but I’m leaving here at six in the morning. My flight’s at eight.”

“I’ll get a cab and we’ll pick you up. I really want to say goodbye once more before you’re gone.”

“I’m not leaving forever tough guy,” Simone said, leaning her head against his bare shoulder. Her eyes slowly drifted closed as she heard him say that he knew. “Good night, Jordan, and thank you again for the wonderful night.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head as she drifted off. He waited until he knew she was asleep to whisper once more. “Good night, Simone.”