Accidentally In Love

It was mid-August and after a week in Nova Scotia and a night in Pittsburgh, Jordan and I were on the road to my parents’ house. It was the last leg of our summer vacation before we both had to be back in Pittsburgh. As excited as I was to see my sister, brother-in-law, and niece again, leaving Thunder Bay was hard, especially since I was falling in love with it. If I didn’t have to be in Cole Harbour, I would have spent the entire summer up there with Jordan and his family. They were another reason why I didn’t want to leave. Over the past couple of months I have become very close to the Staals, but I knew I would be seeing them all again during season when they came to Pittsburgh to see Eric and Marc play the Penguins.

A light snore caught my attention from next to me, causing me to glance over at my sleeping boyfriend and smiled, even though we were currently stuck in traffic. Not only did I become very close to Jordan’s family, but Jordan and I got closer as well. We spent the summer learning new things about each other and we found little things that we liked and disliked about each other. Also with all the time we’ve spent together, I’ve come to realize that I was falling in love with Jordan. I was ready to tell Jordan this too, even if we’ve only been a couple for two months or so. I told Taylor this when we visited and she had instantly burst into tears, she quickly brushed it off as hormones since they were controlling her this time around. She then told me how happy she was and to tell him when I was ready, not to rush it.

I sighed and glanced at all the traffic in front of me. Heading south in August was probably the worst idea we ever had. Everyone was going to the beaches before school started again. I drummed my fingers on the door and glanced at Jordan again. Oh how I wish I could be sleeping instead of driving right now. My phone buzzed in the cup holder, quickly glancing at the road I reached for it. I saw that I had a text from Sidney.

Where are you guys?

I sighed. Stuck in traffic in Delaware…kill me now

I silently cheered when there was a break in the traffic and we began moving faster than twenty-five miles an hour. “Fuck!” I growled when we were stopped again, I was getting so sick of this. It wouldn’t be so bad if Jordan was awake, but he’s not. Finally not being able to take it anymore, I screamed and slammed my fist against the steering wheel, waking Jordan up.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, glancing around the car.

I smiled softly. “I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just got frustrated. We’ve been stuck in this traffic for over an hour. I’m getting so sick of staring at the back of the minivan in front of us. But, on the plus side, I’ve been kept entertained by The Little Mermaid.”

Jordan laughed and laid a hand on my leg, giving it a squeeze. “Why don’t you pull off at the next exit and we’ll get something to eat. Hopefully by then the traffic will have died down.”
I nodded and pulled into the far right lane, signaling that I wanted off.
**
Finally we made it to my parents’ house. Even with stopping for food, it took us another almost two and a half hours to get there. I was beyond grouchy, but seeing my family again brightened my mood. Mom, Taylor, and I were sitting in the dining room discussing babies since Taylor and Sidney announced what the baby’s name was going to be. Troy Patrick Crosby. It was a beautiful name and we all loved it. Mom was so excited to be a grandmother again, she loved Sidney and she even loved Jordan.

I remember when Taylor and Sidney first became friends and a bunch of the guys would come down for a weekend when they had one free. Mom was sure she was going to go crazy with all the boys in her house, but she soon got use to it and loved when the boys came to visit. She still loves going to Pittsburgh and all the guys come over to Sidney and Taylor’s place just to see her.

As mom and Taylor continued to talk about pregnancies, I glanced outside where my dad and the boys were standing in front of the grill talking. I knew my dad was happy to finally have sons to talk to, even though Taylor and I liked a lot of the same things he did. He was also ecstatic that the two boys he considers his sons play for his favorite hockey team. It was funny watching him with Sidney when he and Taylor first started dating. He did the same thing with Jordan and the rest of the guys. After about a year of being around them, he finally chilled out. Jordan caught my attention with a silly face that I couldn’t help but laugh at. I excused myself from the table and went to join the boys outside. Jordan instantly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. Both Sid and my dad smiled at us.

“How are you doing sweetheart?” My dad asked.

“I’m doing great. I had a wonderful summer up in Canada and I can’t wait until I start school.” Jordan squeezed me tighter, I knew he was excited.

“That’s great, I know Taylor is excited to have you living so close to her. Especially now that she’s pregnant again.”

Sidney laughed. “Yeah, fair warning Mandy. She’s already planning on using you for when she gets further into the pregnancy and I’m not there.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great.” I laughed. “So Sid, since Steph is already in bed. How is she handling the fact that there’s going to be a baby in the house in just months?”

Sidney sighed and took a sip of his beer. “It’s been rocky. Sometimes she’s excited that she’s going to be a big sister, but other times she’s worried that Tay and I are going to forget about her.” He rubbed the back of his neck, like he always does when he’s nervous or stressed out. “Nathan, how did Taylor handle finding out she wasn’t going to be the only child anymore?”

Dad smiled. “She was actually very excited to be a big sister. We really didn’t have many problems with her and Mandy. She loved her baby sister and she still does.” He smiled in my direction.

“She was just afraid of me, so she felt the need to love me.” I chuckled. I looked at Sidney, who still looked worried about the whole Stephanie and Troy issue. “Sid, everything will be fine. Stephanie is such a sweet girl, she’ll be excited once Troy is here. Just give her time to adjust, she’s been the only child now for four years.”

Sidney nodded his head and seemed to relax some. Dad declared that dinner was ready and the four of us made our way inside where Taylor and my mom had finished setting the table. Dinner was quite, there was some talk of next hockey season, school, work, and of course babies. Throughout dinner Jordan would keep glancing at me and asking if I was okay.

“I’m fine, just tired from the trip.” I assured him.

Once dinner was done, it was almost nine o’clock and I was exhausted. I laid out on the couch and almost instantly fell asleep, if it wasn’t for Taylor talking to me.

“So I was thinking, we should take Stephanie to Kings Dominion tomorrow. Do you and Jordy want to go with us?” she asked, rubbing her growing baby bump.

I smiled despite my exhaustion, “KD sounds like a great idea. I don’t think Jordan would mind going. It’ll be fun.”

Taylor gave me a smile and a hug before declaring that she was going to bed. The guys came back from outside, where they had gone after dinner and the three of them sat on the couch. I instantly curled up in Jordan’s side and smiled when he placed a kiss on the top of my head. I caught up with dad a little bit before I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more.

“I’m going to bed, guys. I’ll see you two in the morning.” I told Jordan and Sidney. “Dad, I’ll see you when you get home. Night everyone.” I said shuffling my feet to my old room.

“’Night sweetheart.” Dad called.

I quickly brushed my teeth and changed for bed. I was pretty much asleep before my head even touched the pillow. I never heard when Jordan came in, but I fell into a deeper sleep once I was wrapped up in his arms.