Endlessly

I felt Jordan's racing pulse beneath my hand, which was resting at the base of his neck. His lower lip twitched, like he was trying to say something but just couldn't quite manage it.

"I can't remember if you ever actually asked," I rambled, traces of doubt trickling into my thoughts.

He shifted himself slightly, so he had room to cup my face with both hands. His thumbs stroked over my cheeks, the rough pads contrasting the soft skin there. "I just didn't think you'd say yes," he whispered. A half-strangled laugh escaped his lips, and one of his arms locked in closer, pulling my face to his neck, burying his face in my hair.

I laughed a little, but mumbled, "Jordan. I can't breathe."

"Sorry!"

I forgave him with a simple, wide smile though, pecking his lips lightly. "I love you, too."

It was Jordan's turn to grin like a fool. "So you finally admit it?" he teased, tugging a stray lock of my hair affectionately.

"Didn't have much of a choice, you see. Some big blonde guy was beating down my door, threatening to kidnap me."

I snuggled against Jordan then, closing my eyes against impending sleep. A soft chuckle vibrated in his chest as he whispered, "At least I can take a hint." He pulled the comforter over our heads, and we drifted off, finally where we belonged.

---

I drifted on the surface of sleep for several minutes before finally coming fully to consciousness. My body moved slowly, stretching each of its muscles individually. I noted the absence of the source of heat that had been beside me all night.

"Jordan?" I mumbled, opening my eyes, only to find the bed, and the room, utterly empty. I sat up, glancing around. Despite being vacated, Jordan's side was still somewhat warm, like he has just recently left. Pulling on my bra, mostly because I didn't know who would all be hanging around, I ventured out of the room and downstairs.

I heard his voice before I saw him, speaking in low but urgent tones. When I came into the main living area, I spotted Jordan sprawled out on the couch, his phone pressed to his ear. His brow was furrowed in mild disbelief, but the hard set of his jaw told another story, hinting at a deeper planted anger. He glanced up momentarily, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. He pointed towards the kitchen table, where a variety of breakfast items where laid out. While I made a beeline for an orange, I guiltily eavesdropped on Jordan's conversation.

"-and they're the fucking enemy bro! I just don't understand how they could do this."

My head snapped up, sensing hockey talk. Jordan met my eyes, listening to the person on the other line. He patted the spot next to him on the couch, and I gladly padded over, snuggling into his side as I peeled the orange. Not to mention I could now hear the voice on the other side.

"-didn't give me a choice. They just didn't offer me enough. So Philly was the only option."

My eyes went wide at the mention of Philly, knowing now that Jordan was for sure talking about hockey. "Who?" I mouthed, with my head tilted back towards Jordan.

He covered the mouth piece. "Max. Max Talbot. One of my best fucking friends got traded. To the Flyers, of all the franchises on the goddamn planet-"

He was cut off as the voice, Max, shouted through the phone. "Mon ami! Is that a lady I hear? Did you finally let go of your ghost? A blonde-haired, blue-eyed ghost?"

"No," he stated, pausing, considering his next words. "I chased her down. Turned out she wasn't just a figment of my imagination."

"Rae?" I blinked, surprised by the mention of my name through the speaker. My mind wandered down the path of Jordan talking about me, my name dropping in amongst other women's in the locker room.

"Hi."

"What did I tell you, Jordan? I am always right," Max teased. He had smooth French accent, the kind with just enough of a soft burr of the tongue that it could drive women nuts.

"Alright, Max. You were right about that. And guess what? She's moving to the city with me. And you won't be there."

There was a silence, as I pieced together information, taking small bites of orange, and Jordan sat in quiet frustration, and Max... Well, I couldn't really tell you what Max was doing. But my imagination conjured up the mental image of a man with a dark shock of hair, and scruffy beard, sitting on his front steps in the glow of the rising sun, wearing only a pair of boxers. It seemed like something a Frenchman would do.

"Mon ami." Max's voice lost some of its playfulness, turning slightly tired. "There is nothing I could do. The Penguins wouldn't offer me enough, and the Flyers jumped on the opportunity. Philadelphia will be my new home. That's just the way it is."

Jordan heaved a huge sigh, displacing both of us for a moment. I rested my hand on his thigh, rubbing gentle circles, trying soothe him in some way. He leaned his head to the side, resting it on top of mine. "I know, Max. I know it's not your fault. But I just wish there was someone I could blame."

"Well, Ray Shero is definitely an option..."

"I mean blame someone who won't fire me, Max." I felt, rather than saw, the hint of a smile on Jordan's face, as he chastised his teammate.

Jordan's hand slipped over the top of mine, trapping on top of his thigh. He laced our fingers together, before lifting them to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of my hand. I shuddered involuntarily at the tender gesture, the desire for him to kiss other parts of me overwhelming.

"It's been awfully quiet for a long time," Max commented. "Wait, are you two having sex? Right now? With me still on the line? Jordan, even for you that's-"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. We're not doing anything," Jordan assured him. The warm, tingly feeling spread through my body begged to differ. Apparently, Jordan was in a similar boat, because he added, "At least, no yet."

This was too much for even a Frenchman, because Max groaned uncomfortably. "That is dangerously close to breaking the bro-code, Staalsy. Dangerously close."

"Like I care," Jordan stated, his free hand dragging up the side of my leg, before slipping under me and hauling the majority of my body into his lap. I squeaked in surprise, shocked by his fowardness.

"Jordan!" Max shouted. "Alright, alright. Goodbye. But I will be calling you later. And at that time there better not be any suspicious activities occurring in the background. Oui? Oui. Au revoir." The line clicked dead.

For a moment, the two of us just stared at the phone. But I made the first move to break the sexual tension obviously building between us. I set my orange down on the coffee table. Jordan followed suit by tossing his phone to the floor. "Nobody will be home all day," he murmured, head dipping to nuzzle his nose into my neck.

My breath left my lungs all at once, in a soft gasp, at the realization of his implications. He reacted to the sound, pulling away. "I just thought that-" I stopped his words by connecting my lips solidly with his. Both of us watched each other for a few seconds, but my eyes fluttered closed as his hand wrapped itself around my waist, tugging at the material of my shirt, urging me even closer.

I obliged, and parted my lips slightly to deepen the quickly evolving kiss. His tongue flicked once across my bottom lip, but didn't return. Jordan broke the kiss briefly to mumble against my lips, "You taste good." He tilted his head, moving his lips to the corner of my lips, then along my jawline. He took a moment to gently nip my ear, causing goosebumps to race across my skin, despite the fact that I was not cold, not in the least. The mixture of my raging hormones and Jordan's heated kisses had my body crackling like a live wire. His lips then found the pulse point in my neck, causing me to whisper his name in a labored breath.

He pulled away only to shift us backwards on the couch, laying me out on the cushions before spreading himself over the top of me. "Tell me... when... to stop," he said between kisses.

I responded on instinct, letting my hormones decide, replying, "Don't."

---

Jordan

Rae was snuggled against me, back in my childhood room, fast asleep. The majority of our clothes were on the floor of my room; only my shirt had been shed before we'd made it up the stairs, and lay forgotten on the couch in the living room. I had heard movement downstairs earlier, and wondered if anyone noticed my rogue shirt, or the absence of both Rae and myself.

I brushed some of Rae's hair away from her face, marveling at the stillness present, with no trace of thought marring its surface.

As if tuned in to my thoughts, her eyebrows twitched, a small line forming between them. "Why are you staring at me?" she mumbled in my chest.

I responded by pressing a kiss to her lips, letting the action speak for itself. "Mmmmm," she answered, opening her eyes. "I see." She cracked a smile. "What time is it?"

I shrugged, unintentionally displacing both of us. "No idea. But I'm pretty sure someone's home."

Her eyes flashed, cheeks tinting pink. "Oh my God. Do they know about..."

"Shh," I hushed her. "As far as I know, no one knows anything." And I intended to keep it that way. If Rae wanted to keep these past hours solely our own, I had no problem keeping it that way. "This is still ours."

"Good." She settled back in against me, saying, "Because, as much as I love your family, I'm not ready to spoil your mother's image of me. I do not want to be tossed amongst the ranks of the puck bunnies."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, at her use of the word, and the fact that she used as an almost-description of herself, but settled for mumbling, "Never," into her hair. "In my mom's eyes, you are an angel sent to save me from the temptations of the NHL."

That earned me a small laugh. "When are we going to tell them about us? About me moving to Pittsburgh?" she asked.

I was careful not to shrug this time, keeping her body tipped against mine. "It's up to you. I don't care as long as you're still coming."

She sighed, but in the content sort of way, looping her arm around my side to stroke her fingers up my back. I returned the favor by drawing patterns along her bare side. "What's your apartment like?" she asked.

"I want to get a new one. One that's our's. We could even get a house. I'm sure Duper or Brent would be happy to show us around the market."

"You don't have to do that, Jordan. I just..."

"What?"

"I just want to be with you."

My voice was slightly rough as I replied. "I always have. And always will. Even if something terrible happens and one of us leaves again, some part of me will always be looking for you. It just took me this long to figure it out. I'll never forgive myself for it."

Her arms tightened around me, pulling herself towards me, closing the entirety of the gap between us. She sucked in a breath, about to reply, when there was a loud knock on the door. Both of us jumped, and on instinct I yanked the blankets and sheets further up the bed, making sure both of us were as modestly covered as possible, considering it was pretty obvious what was going on to anyone who looked at us.

"You two better be decent..." Jared burst in, and gave us the once over, shrugging. "Good enough for me. I suggest that you get your asses in some form of clothing and downstairs. Dad just went looking for you at Rae's place. He wanted to talk to you about when you're headed back to Pittsburgh."

He awkwardly looked around, before finishing, "I'm going to leave now." Jared ducked out, closing the door behind him.

Rae and I stayed glued together, for two reasons. For one, at least for me, was the fact that we were back in a compromising position, and neither one of us had clothing on. I wasn't sure about her, but my hormones were starting to stir, bringing a certain part of me back to life. And two, which was probably what Rae was thinking, was no one wanted to be the first out of the shelter of the blankets. It was one thing to see each other in the heat of the moment, but another thing entirely to see each other while both of us had clear heads.

"If you want, I can, like, close my eyes or something. But I can't promise I won't peek," I whispered.

She laughed, a big belly laugh shook her body in a way that made me really, really regret letting her out of the bed. Either way, it must have been the confidence boost she needed, because she slipped out of bed, sunlight hitting the miles of bare skin stretched across her body. I watched, totally guilt free, as she bent at the waist, giving me a full view of her profile.

My eyes found the scar on her thigh, where she'd torn the skin open sliding into home plate during a pick up game of baseball in our younger years. I remembered sprinting back home, yelling at the top of my lungs for my mom. Rae spent several weeks with the majority of her thigh wrapped tightly to keep out infection. She had complained to no end about it, whining when she couldn't do anything with my brothers and me.

When she'd covered all the good parts, mostly by just putting on panties and a bra, I deemed it safe enough for me to extract myself from the bed without my blood rushing to my lap. I saw her glance at me from where she pretended to be busily pulling shorts on, a steady blush creeping up her cheeks.

I knew I was playing with fire as I pulled boxers on and said conversationally, "You weren't embarrassed when we first came up here."

She crossed the gap between us just to shove me, a playfully angry look in her eyes. I caught her arms, my hands nearly circling her forearms, as she moved in for a second shove. I hauled her towards me, bringing out arms out to the side, and planted a kiss squarely on her lips. "You're beautiful," I murmured against the soft give of her lips.

"You're not so bad yourself. Although, Crosby looks like he might have a better ass..."

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence, because I picked her up, and tossed her over my shoulder. She shrieked loudly, and louder still as I gave her ass a pinch. "Jordan! Put me down!"

"Not happening. You brought this on yourself." I opened the door, and tromped down the stairs, Rae thrashing around weakly on my shoulder. "How's my ass looking now?"

"Eh. How much do you think Crosby squats?"

I growled, continuing through the house. Jared glanced up at us when we entered the kitchen. "When do you think Dad will be home?"

"He was going to run errands before he hunted you down, so you probably have half an hour. Mom's at some knitting thing."

"Good." I opened the basement door, and I felt Rae tense up, confused at what I was thinking.

"Jordan, where are you taking me? The only thing in your basement is a punching bag and the washer and dr--" her words died in her throat. "Oh, no! No you don't!" She thrashed with new intensity, actually trying to break free from my grip, now that she knew what I was up to. "Not with Jared home," she hissed.

"Jared," I hollered from the bottom of the stairs, "You might want to head outside. Go for a drive or something."

Rae smacked my butt, hard, gasping at my bluntness. I had discovered Rae's love of washing machines by accident. It was the first summer, after my first season with the Pens, and I had been tossing hockey stuff into the washer when Rae came over. We hadn't seen each other in three months, and it wasn't surprising that the sexual tension between us was through the god damn roof. I had just started the spin cycle when she burst into the room, and we went at it like horny teenagers, which, technically, I suppose we were. I got tired real fast of leaning down, so I had lifted her onto the machine. And the discovery had been made.

I entered the laundry room, and didn't bother checking if there was anything in the washing machine. I just punched the start button, and plopped Rae down on top. It rumbled to life as I slipped my tongue into her mouth. I pushed her thighs slightly apart with one hand, then supported her lower back with the other, putting her into a position I knew sent vibrations into just the right places. She moaned quietly into my mouth, all anger forgotten.

"Jordan?" We jumped apart at the sound of my dad's voice. My dad entered the room just as Rae's feet hit the ground. He took one look at us, and shook his head. "Jesus Christ. Put some clothes on, both of you. I'm sure you can find something in here. Then turn that off, and come upstairs. We'll just pretend this never happened."

I grabbed a nearby shirt, pulling it over my head, and turned to Rae. She stood frozen hand covering her mouth. "I know I should be upset, but I kind of want to laugh," she said as a giggle bubbled out.

I grinned, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek, before moving to whisper in her ear, "We can finish this when we get to Pittsburgh."