Rough Hands and Kind Eyes

"So, how's your girl?" Tess asked Jordan as they sat together in a coffee shop about a week later.

Jordan was making an effort to be friends with Tess again. He knew that it probably wasn't a good idea, but he figured the only way to keep Tess out of his and Ellie's relationships was to keep her in his life. Kicking her out of his life only left them with her in the background, so he figured that he should try and keep a small relationship with her. Small amounts of Tess kept him and Ellie in a good place.

"She's good," Jordan nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Is she still mad about last week?" Tess asked, putting another package of Splenda into her coffee.

"Not that she's told me," Jordan replied. "She talked about it with her mom and she seems okay with it now."

"Does she know that we're hanging out?"

"Yes," Jordan replied, nodding. "We don't keep secrets from each other anymore. I told her where I was and who I was with. So she's spending the day with Sid. He needed help picking out some stuff for his house."

"Are they good friends?" Tess asked.

"They are," Jordan smiled. "She's good friends with a lot of the guys on the team, which is good. I knew that they'd love her and that she'd love them, too. It's a relief."

It wasn't any surprise to Tess that the team loved Ellie. The younger guys all liked Tess, for the most part. The older guys, the married ones, didn't like Tess. Ellie was so sweet and loveable, so it was no surprise to Tess that everyone adored her. She wanted to hate Ellie, but she couldn't.

"So what about you? Any guys you have your sights set on?" Jordan asked. He desperately wanted Tess to have a guy in her life. She needed a guy, a guy maybe a little tougher than him when it came to giving women what they wanted. Tess needed a guy who would go toe to toe with her and not roll over and give her what she wanted.

"No," Tess laughed, shaking her head. "No guy."

"What about Talbot? You two are together a lot," Jordan stated. It was true. If he saw anyone being "the guy" for Tess it would be Max. They were pretty much perfect for one another.

"Max? I don't know. I like him, but I don't know if we're fit to be in a relationship. We're both kind of messy when it comes to this stuff," Tess replied, shaking her head.

"You should try it out. Go on a date that doesn't start and end in your bed," Jordan teased.

"Well, that's not fun." Tess smiled.

Jordan smiled back at her. He couldn't lie that he liked having this relationship with Tess now. Everything seemed to be moving smoothly. He hoped it would stay that way.

....

"So you're seriously okay with Jordan hanging out with Tess?" Sidney asked as he and Ellie walked through a Bed, Bath and Beyond looking for sheets.

"I'm not thrilled at the idea, but he's a big boy. He can make his own decisions. If he wants to have a friendship with her then I trust him," Ellie shrugged.

"I don't trust this whole situation," Sidney stated, picking up a package of light blue sheets. Ellie shook her head and made him put them down.

"No, honey. Those sheets are heinous," Ellie stated, leading him away from the horrible blue sheets. "So what do you mean that you don't trust the situation?"

"It's Tess," Sidney shrugged. "She's always got some hidden agenda."

Sidney didn't hate Tess, but they weren't good friends like he and Ellie were. He was impartial to Tess. He was nice and respectable to her when they war win social situations, but he didn't go out of his way to befriend her.

"I trust Jordan," Ellie stated.

"And so you should. I'm just saying you shouldn't trust Tess," Sidney replied. "She can be very persuasive."

"Jordan deserves to have friendships that don't involve me," Ellie stated, linking her arm with Sidney. "Besides that way when he hangs out with Tess, you and I can go out and have fun."

"I'm okay with that," Sidney smiled as they walked through the store.

Ellie knew that Sidney was right. She should keep an eye on this friendship, but she knew that doing that would only start drama and tension between her and Jordan. She loved him too much to start something like that. He deserved his freedom and to have friendships with other women. She just wished it wasn't Tess.