Reunited

Jordan sat down on an uncomfortable chair near the arrivals door. He knew he was early, but was too anxious to sit around his apartment waiting. This was, in his opinion, his last chance to tell the red hair woman how he felt about her. If he was unsuccessful now, he figured it was game over.

He pulled his cap further down in front of his eyes and waited. Slipping his earphones into his ears, he turned on his iPhone. Music filled his ears and a smile spread across his face. It wasn’t his usual music, but something that Simone had told him to listen to. He remembered her explaining that she had picked a random concert to go see on one of her off nights and as it turned out she loved the music.

“Excuse me,” a lady said as she tapped him on the arm. A young boy, maybe five or six years old, stood behind her leg.

Jordan pulled the music away from his ears and looked at the lady expectantly. “Is there something I can do for you?”

She nodded and looked down at the boy with her. “I know you’re probably here trying not to be recognized, but my son saw you and swore that you were Jordan Staal.”

“That’s me,” Jordan smiled, looking at the boy.

“You’re his favourite player,” she explained. “I don’t want to draw attention to you, so could I maybe sit next to you and get you to sign something for him? It’s alright if you say no. I thought I’d give it a try.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Jordan told her. “Anything for a fan.”

“Thank you.” She sat down beside him and started digging through her purse. “Sorry, I guess I should have had something ready before.”

“It’s quite alright, the person I’m waiting for doesn’t get in for awhile anyway, so I have lots of time.” He turned to the boy, who was now sitting on his mother’s lap. “So, what’s your name?”

“Zack,” the boy said quietly.

Jordan resisted the urge to cringe. “That’s a great name. My brother plays with a couple guys with your name. How old are you Zack?”

The little boy held up five fingers and grinned. “This many.”

“I remember when I was your age. I miss those days.”

“Um, this is all I have, I hope that’s alright.” The woman handed him a pen and a business card.

“This is fine. Just to make sure I’ve got this right, how do you spell Zack?”

“Z-A-C-K.”

Jordan smiled and quickly signed the card for the boy. “There you go. Do you play hockey Zack?”

The boy nodded.

“That’s really cool, what position do you play?”

“They’ve been moving the kids around a bit, but he really likes defence,” the mother explained. “I don’t really understand it because you’re his idol and you play forward.”

“I’m sure it happens a lot,” Jordan assured her. “I bet some of the kids who love Sid play defence.”

“That could be true,” she chuckled. “You're really great with kids, by the way."

"I owe it to my brother," Jordan admitted. "His little boy is about the same age and, although I don't see him much, it's a lot of fun when I do."

"That's lovely to hear," she smiled. "Thank you for your time, Mr Staal. This is really appreciated.”

“No problem at all, but please, you can call me Jordan.” He watched the woman nod and stand up ready to leave. “Look, I don’t usually do stuff like this, but do you go to many games?”

“No, not really,” she shook her head. “I’m on a single mother’s budget, so it’s a bit hard.”

“How would you like to go to the next one?”

“What do you mean?”

“I could have the office save you two tickets, free of charge, if you want.”

“Oh, I couldn’t accept something like that.”

“It’s no problem at all, really. Some of the other guys do it and, to be honest, you seem like a really nice person and a great mother.”

“I don’t know what to say,” the woman looked from Jordan to her son. “What day is the game?”

“It’s the twenty-seventh.”

“Well, I have to work, but I suppose I can see if my dad will want to take him. He loves hockey and is a huge Pittsburgh fan.”

“I’ll just have the tickets sent to will call for you. What name would you like me to put them under?”

“You could just put them under Zack and Freddy. That’s my dad’s name, Freddy.”

“I will get that done as soon as I get back home,” he told her. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Same with you,” the woman smiled. She turned to walk away, but changed her mind and looked back at him. “Jordan, just one more thing, whoever you are waiting for, if it’s a woman, she is a very lucky person.”

Before Jordan could reply, the nameless woman had disappeared with her son into the crowd of people. He was taken aback by what she had said. How did she know that he was waiting for a girl? Was it that obvious that he was nervous?

He took a deep breath and thought about what Brett had told him to do. She had gone into detail of what his first moves should be and what he should not do. Trying to remember it all proved to be more difficult than Jordan had thought.

As the arrival gates opened, Jordan looked up. He watched for the red hair of his petite friend. Upon spotting her, he took a few seconds to take in her appearance.

She was alone, which was good in Jordan’s eyes. Her hair was curled, her clothes were casual, and her eyes were wildly searching the crowd.

He took another deep breath, gathering his courage and walked toward her.

“Hey, Jor,” she smiled up at him once he was standing in front of her.

“Hey, Simone,” he muttered, slightly losing his confidence. He quickly looked around and then back down at the woman.

“Jordan, are you okay? You’re acting weird.”

He nodded, unable to speak. With one last breath, he made his move. He placed a hand on either side of her face and leaned down. For a split second, before his eyes closed, he saw a startled look flash across her face, but he was too far now to stop. He placed his lips on hers, not expecting, but was surprised when she returned the kiss. Feeling her smile against his lips caused him to smile back. He dropped his hands to her hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Realizing that they were in the middle of a crowded airport, he pulled away. He felt his cheeks change color and stared at the ground. “Want to go get your luggage?” His voice was quiet.

Simone giggled lightly at his actions. “Let’s go.”

As the pair walked to the luggage belt, Jordan made another move. He slid his hand around hers and squeezed lightly.

Once they were stopped at the carousal, Simone took a step closer to Jordan and leaned into his side.

He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder with a grin on his face. As he smiled down at the girl, he made a mental note to thank Brett and Kris for helping him.

After grabbing Simone’s luggage, Jordan took her hand once more and led her out to his SUV, which she hadn’t seen since the accident. He put her stuff in the back and went to open the door for her, but stopped as his fingers touched the handle.

A smirk hit his face and he leaned down, taking her in another kiss. He ran a hand through her hair as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Pushing her gently against the vehicle, he pulled away slightly causing the red head to drop her arms from his waist. “Simone, will you be mine?”

She looked up into his glistening blue eyes and nodded. “Yes.” Her voice came out whispered, but happy.

He needed no more convincing as he lowered his lips onto hers once more. As she snaked her arms around his neck, he placed one hand on the window of his SUV and the other on the small of her back as they continued their kiss, not caring who was watching.