Stay With Me

The weeks leading up to Tess Stewart's bridal shower proved to be stressful for Ellie, and she wasn't even the one getting married. Ellie had agreed to do the treats for Tess' bridal shower. That wasn't the stressful part. The stressful part was being with Tess all the time and knowing a secret about her personal life that Tess just didn't want to hear.

"Ellie, just stay out of it." Her mother ordered as Ellie was mixing the batter for Tess' cupcakes. "Whatever it is that you know about Tess that's bothering you, just stay out of it."

"Mom, you don't understand. It could ruin her marriage and I feel like she has a right to know!" Ellie sighed.

"This isn't your place, Ellie. Leave it alone," Esther ordered, pointing a finger at Ellie. "You told her that you knew something, she said she didn't want to hear it. So leave it alone."

Ellie nodded. She knew that her mother was right, but that didn't make it any easier. Knowing something that big about Tess' life was driving Ellie crazy. Ellie sighed and kept her mouth closed for the rest of the day at work. At six that evening Jordan picked her up.

"Hi, doll." She smiled getting in the car spotting Jordan in a white button up shirt and grey dress pants. "Look at you! You look great!"

"Thank you," Jordan smiled, leaning over the console and giving her a kiss.

"What's the occasion?" Ellie smiled, putting a hand in his hair.

"Nothing in particular," Jordan smiled with a shrug. "Just wanted to take you out for a nice dinner."

"Jordan," Ellie grinned, giving him another kiss. "Is what I'm wearing okay?"

Jordan looked down at her dress. It was a knee length black dress with white polka dots, with a V neckline. She wore a black cardigan overtop of it and black flats.

"It's perfect," Jordan nodded. "You look adorable."

"Thank you," Ellie blushed and sat back in her seat properly. Jordan smiled and put the car in drive, taking her to a restaurant she'd never been to before.

The restaurant was called Le Mont and it was so much more than Ellie could even imagine. The lounge area was absolutely beautiful. Lots of greys, blacks and white decor. Jordan led Ellie through the lounge area and up the stairs to the dining area.

"Jordan," Ellie gasped when she saw the view of Pittsburgh. She could see the city and the water. It was amazing. She didn't know what the occasion was, but she wasn't going to ask.

"Do you like it?" Jordan smiled.

"Like it?" Ellie asked. "I love it! If we had decided on getting married in Pittsburgh, I would so change our venue to this one. It's amazing, Jordan!"

"I'm glad you think so," Jordan smiled, kissing her forehead.

"Seriously, what's the occasion?" Ellie asked as they sat down near a window. She stared out at the Pittsburgh skyline and couldn't help but be in total awe.

"Nothing," Jordan laughed. "Is it so wrong to want to take my fiancé out for a nice dinner?"

"No," Ellie smiled, shaking her head. "You're far too good to me, Jordan."

"Nah," Jordan laughed, shaking his head. "You deserve it. You were so good to me when I was sick the other week. I just wanted to take you out to say thanks."

Ellie leaned over the table and gave him a kiss. He was always so good to her. Jordan was such a thoughtful and selfless person. After an expensive dinner and too much champagne Jordan drove a tired Ellie back to their house. He put the car in the garage and walked around to the passenger side of his Escalade. He laughed as he lifted his drunk fiancé out of the car. He hip checked the car door closed and walked through the garage door and into the house.

"You're going to be way too hungover for Tess' bridal shower tomorrow," Jordan laughed as he carried her towards the bedroom.

Jordan sat her on their bed and helped undress her. She kicked off her shoes and laid down.

"Babe," Jordan laughed. "C'mon, I have to get you out of this dress."

Ellie groaned, but sat up to let Jordan undress her. He took off her cardigan then stood her up and took off her dress. He unhooked her bra and then pulled one of his Nike Bauer shirts on her.

"Socks!" She whined. Ellie couldn't sleep without wearing socks, Jordan couldn't help but poke fun at her for it. He shook his head while laughing and grabbed a pair of socks from her drawer. He put the socks on her and lifted her up, placing her on her pillow. He covered her up and then got undressed himself. He walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth before climbing into bed next to Ellie who was passed out.

The next morning Ellie woke up with a headache. She felt like her head was cemented to her pillow. She opened up her eyes and looked around the room which was, thankfully, still dark. She looked over at the chaise lounge that was near their closet and smiled. Jordan had put her clothes out for her. Ellie heaved herself out of bed and shuffled to the lounge.

Gone to practice. Good luck today!
Love, Jordan

Ellie smiled, grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom for a shower. After her shower she dressed in her dark skinny jeans and royal blue plaid button up shirt. She put a little wave in her hair and went downstairs for some yogurt and an Advil.

Ellie's mom picked her up and they drove to the community centre where Tess was having her bridal shower. It was a nice day out, but Ellie didn't much care. She was so nervous about this party, she didn't want to go.

"Jordan took me to Le Mont last night," Ellie smiled as they drove to the community centre in silence.

"Did he?" Esther gasped. "I heard it's beautiful there!"

"It was so beautiful," Ellie nodded. "Expensive, but beautiful."

"What was the occasion?" Esther asked, taking a lefthand turn.

"Apparently nothing!" Ellie laughed. "Now that I think about it, he was probably giving me a nice night to get my mind off of today."

"Sounds like something Jordan would do," Esther smiled.

They got to the community centre before all the other women showed up and walked to the back kitchen area. They carried their trays of cupcakes and unwrapped them.

"Good, you're here!" Tess smiled, walking to the back with Sidney in tow. "Hun, look how cute these are!"

"These look great, girls." Sidney smiled softly at Esther and Ellie.

Ellie couldn't help but notice how bad Sidney looked. He looked like he was barely sleeping. His skin was dull and he had dark circles under his eyes. Sidney nodded at the girls, gave Tess a kiss and then headed for the door.

"Is he okay?" Ellie asked Tess as Esther busied herself setting up the cupcakes.

"He's been stressed what with the playoffs coming up," Tess smiled.

"Tess," Ellie sighed. She could feel the words crawling up her throat once more. She had to tell her. Tess was so completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Jordan is stressed about the playoffs, too. But I can assure you that he doesn't look like that," Ellie stated, pointing to where Sidney had been standing.

"Everyone deals differently, I guess." Tess shrugged with a small smile. "He'll be fine."

"Tess, just please let me tell you abo-"

"I don't want to hear it, Ellie." Tess sighed, tossing her hands up in frustration.

"Why?" Ellie fought. "Why don't you want to hear it, huh? Nobody wants to live their life in the dark."

"I do. Let it go," Tess ordered and started to walk away.

"Sidney cheated on you!" Ellie shouted, finally cracking. Tess stopped walking and turned around slowly, looking back at Ellie. Tess' eyes were halfway between angered and betrayed. Ellie immediately knew what she had done was wrong.

Oh, no.