Rough Hands and Kind Eyes

After a little while at the cottage Jordan and Ellie made their way back to Pittsburgh. Their time at the cottage proved to be very "eye-opening" for them. It made their relationship stronger and it made them much more open with one another.

One Monday night Jordan stayed at Ellie's place and then took her to the bakery the next morning.

"No, no it's fine! I'm not ready to meet your mom!" Jordan stated as Ellie pulled him towards the bakery doors.

"Please, Jordan?" Ellie asked. "Just come in for a minute, get a cupcake, let my mom drill you with questions. It'll be fine. Then tonight we can go out to that club you like and we'll go see all your friends. You're introducing me to your teammates tonight, the least you can do is meet my mom."

"Okay, fine!" Jordan laughed. He straightened his hat and let her lead him into the bakery.

"Ma!" Ellie called. Jordan jumped a little, not expecting her to yell.

Jordan was surprised when a small, pretty middle aged brunette woman walked out of the back. She was thin and a little bit taller than Ellie, but not by much. She had on thick black rimmed glasses on and a blue sundress on with a white apron overtop of it.

"Hi, honey!" The woman greeted, smiling.

"Ma, this is my boyfriend. This is Jordan," Ellie smiled. "Jordan, this is my mom Esther."

"Nice to meet you," Jordan smiled, shaking Esther's hand. Jordan thought Esther was very pretty, he could see that Ellie got her good looks from her mother. Esther was kind hearted and welcoming, she reminded him of his own mother.

"You, too." Esther smiled. "You were right, Ellie. He is very, very cute."

"Ma, oh my God." Ellie muttered, hiding her face.

"Do you want to stay for a while?" Esther smiled. "I put coffee on and I made a few blueberry muffins."

"I'd like that," Jordan nodded.

Jordan stayed for an hour or so and then went home for a nap and a workout. He showered and then a bit later went and picked up Ellie from the bakery.

"Can I just go home and shower? I smell like flour," Ellie smiled when she got in the car.

"Sure," Jordan laughed, driving them to her apartment.

Ellie had her shower and put on the same dress she wore on her's and Jordan's first date. Jordan smiled down at her lovingly and then led her to his car. They had dinner alone, together before going to the club. Jordan figured that they should have some alone time before he "threw her to the wolves". He knew that his teammates would be good to her, but she did have a bit to prove considering they were all so used to Tess.

"Are you nervous?" Jordan asked as they walked into the bar.

"I think I'm more nervous about meeting your teammates than I was when I met your family," Ellie replied.

"You'll be fine," Jordan laughed.

He was right. Ellie had met a few teammates and it went really well. They were all very welcoming and nice to her. Kris Letang even bought her a drink to make her feel more comfortable.

While Ellie was out on the dance floor with Vero, Jordan stood off to the side with his teammates. Kris came up to him and pulled him aside.

"Tess is here," Kris stated. "I didn't know she was going to be working tonight."

"Oh, fuck." Jordan groaned. He looked at the bar and saw Tess beside the bar, looking around. She was probably looking for him.

She spotted him and left from behind the bar.

"No," Jordan muttered as she walked towards him.

"Hi, Jordan." Tess stated.

"Tess," Jordan nodded.

Jordan looked out into the crowd, begging to catch Ellie's eye. He thankfully did and she walked over to him. He took her waist in his arm and pulled her close.

"Ellie this is Tess," Jordan mumbled, hating that this moment had finally happened. "Tess, this is my girlfriend Ellie."