Act Your Age

#Taylor#

The next day was horrible. Nobody was at the rink so Ronni and I were stuck together... alone. She stretched my leg, massaged me, asked the same questions and took notes. She didn't say much, and I think she was nervous about whether I knew about her and Jordan or not, because she wasn't nearly as spunky as the first time we did this. Then, we started walking and she suggested that I show her around the stadium. It was nice, because I was in charge for once, not her. But I couldn't take the quiet, so when we walked down to the rink, I broke the silence the best way I knew how.

"I know about you and Jordan."

She froze and turned to me with a pleading look. "Taylor... you can't... I didn't... we're not. If you tell anyone, I'm going to be fired and... Please, I'm begging you." Ronni was sputtering, her face was getting red, and she looked like she was going to burst.... and I loved it.

"Relax. I won't say anything. I mean... you're just friends... right?" I baited her with an evil grin. She rolled her eyes. "You couldn't possibly have feelings for him, could you?" I teased. Ronni just glared at me. Got her. "Oh yeah... I know... and if you hurt him, I will personally kill you."

She scoffed, "I'd love to see you try. Besides, it is absolutely none of your business. You and I... we're not friends, I don't have to share anything with you except for your progress regarding your knee. So, i'd appreciate it if we could drop this subject... now."

I hobbled in front of her and shook my head. "Right... because you and I... we're being completely professional, right?"

She locked her jaw and focused her eyes on me. "Yes..."

"So... you know... you and Jordan will be.... professional." I insisted with a grin. Feel the power. FEEL IT. "Anything further would just be completely inappropriate."

"I thought we were cool now?!" At that, she lost it. "Look... Jordan may trust you... but I don't. I don't like you, but I have to work with you... and if you care about him at all, you'll drop this. I never said anything was going to happen between us and frankly I shouldn't have to explain it to you in the first place. So, let's walk, focus on you, and get back to work, okay?"

"Or what? I have the dirt on you, Ronni, and I plan to use it to my advantage." I grinned, crossing my arms over my chest.

She shot back with a sinister smile. "Oh, you want to play hardball, do you? Follow me."

*Ronni*

Fine. Dimwit wants to mess with the bull, he'll get the horns. I dragged Taylor to the car and drove him to the local rec center. We walked in, I told the people at the counter that I was here with one of the Oilers and they let me in without asking about a membership or anything. They also pointed me in the direction of the pool which we were soon sitting by.

"Okay... so, why are we here?" he asked as we sat on the bleachers by the pool

I pointed to the pool and commanded, "Get in."

"What?" he chuckled.

"You heard me."

He glared at me and slowly took off his shirt. Let's be real... I couldn't help but look, and to be honest, it was pretty great. Abs galore! If only he wasn't such a jackass... I looked away before he poked his head out of his shirt. "No staring. Wouldn't want you getting distracted." he teased with a smirk as he moved to the edge of the pool.

"No worries there." I assured him. I shamelessly pushed him in.

"Hey!" he complained as he came up for air.

I shrugged. "Swim." He just blinked up at me as he wiped his eyes. "Swim laps.... now."

"But my knee-" he began.

I shook my head. "You wanted to play hardball... Go."

Taylor glared at me. "I hate you... I'll get you back for this."

"Yeah you're no walk in the park either." I hissed. Ouch. Kind of hurt. Such a jerk, why does he have friends. "Seriously this will help your knee and it will be easier on you than walking. The water provides assistance with your movement, but just enough resistance so you'll be working out as well."

He shook his head as he bobbed under water quickly and came back up, wiping his face. "Whatever. I should just tell coach and-"

I inched over to the edge of the pool and bent down close to the water. "Who would you be helping? Jordan? By making him upset? Me? By ruining my chances at ever becoming a physical therapist? Or yourself? By pushing away an opportunity to heal and get back on the ice?" He didn't respond, just stared at me. Did that just work? Does he actually have a soul? "Oh, and I forgot, don't forget you'll be punishing the person you hate, right?" Taylor flicked water in my face before swimming away, doing the breast stroke as he went.

I really hoped the words sunk in, because I was so fucking tired of dealing with his shit. Plus, he was really starting to get to me and I couldn't handle it. He did twenty laps before he started slowing down and he asked if he could stop.

"Do another ten." I sighed.

Taylor got out of the water. "No. My knee hurts." He stood in front of me, dripping wet, with his hands on his hips. It took so much effort not to look at his stomach.

"Oh, you're knee hurts? So, you're just going to lie in bed all day and quit?" I asked.

He shook his head. "You're pushing me too hard! I'm tired of this shit!"

"Because you're being a wimp!" I screamed, stepping close to him. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his hair in my face. "You don't scare me."

Taylor growled, "You should be scared. I'm tired of this. It's been three days and you haven't let me have a single break yet-"

"Because you don't deserve one! All I've heard is complaining. You haven't even tried anything without whining unless I force you into it! You want to stop swimming? Fine. Stop swimming. We'll just walk around and hope it heals up on it's own... Oh wait... THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS."

He glared at me. "You don't know the pain I'm in."

I nodded. "You're right... and you know, if I was in pain like you, I wouldn't have been able to do any of the things you have done... but that's the point. You're supposed to prove that you're better than expectations." I insisted. He just looked at me in silence. "Alright... this is hopeless."

I backed away and started taking my shirt off. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" Taylor attempted to shield his eyes with his hands, but soon dropped them. Classic boy.

I kept my sports bra and my shorts on and went to the edge of the pool. "Come on. I'll do it with you." That could be interpreted really wrong when taken out of context...

"What?" he asked as he joined me at the edge. "Why-"

I shook my head. "I should practice what I preach. You're doing ten more laps and I'll do them with you... Because you're not alone and you can do this and.. I'll be right behind you the whole time."

#Taylor#

For a second, I believed what she was saying... but something inside me just said she was willing to do anything to calm me down, make sure I didn't rat her out, and keep me working hard. I looked at her and just laughed. "Fine, just leave the cheesy-ness behind, okay?" With that I jumped in.

She shook her head as I splashed her. Ronni pulled her hair back into a tight pony tail and lingered at the edge of the pool. "Is it cold?" she wondered.

I rolled his eyes. "If you're going to get in, just get in you big baby, before I drag you in. And I won't be gentle about it." I threatened. I was trying to feign annoyance, but it came out more playful than I had intended.

Ronni dipped her toe in and shivered. She stayed out of the water a little too long for my liking, so I hopped up, grabbed her arm and pulled her in. Ronni came up for air two seconds later and splashed me, angered. One thing I noticed, her hair frizzed up and looked huge, like she had just gone through a wind tunnel. But, I wasn't about to point that out to her... even if it looked somewhat nice.... in a weird way... which it didn't. "Alright... let's go." she sighed.

We did our ten laps without saying a word to one another. I was exhausted and my knee was still hurting. I wanted to be able to keep up with her, though, so I kept going. Surprisingly though, it was easy to swim. Walking was a pain, but swimming was like a walk in the park and I liked being able to move around again. I felt so empowered that I thought I would be able to skate within a week... Of course... then I got out of the water and it hurt like normal... but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

The two of us sat on the edge of the pool together, looking out at the other people swimming around. "You did good... I'm proud of you." she admitted quietly.

For a second, I thought I misheard her. I did a double take and gasped. "What? Did... did you just say you're proud?" She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, it's the end of the world. Call the media!" I hollered.

She nudged me and we laughed. I made her laugh. "I know, it must mean so much to you."

"You overestimate the effect you have on me." I teased.

Ronni smirked. "Well... you should be proud of yourself. If you can do this once a day for the next week, I think you'll be able to start walking and jogging again by next week." She added optimistically.

"Seriously?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I mean... you'll still feel weak and you won't be on the ice for two weeks at least but... you know, ice it, keep it elevated... everything you've been doing and... it will come along."

Ronni patted me on the back and I just grinned. Things fell silent between us and all we could hear was the splashing of a couple kids in the pool. "Thanks... for helping I mean. I.... I do need your help." I confessed quietly. She didn't respond right away and I just turned to see her gaping at me. "What?"

"Uh... thanks... I mean... that means a lot to me." she sighed. I nodded. "I'm sorry... I push you so hard but... I don't know... I just think you can do more than you give yourself credit and... yeah."

I shrugged. "I'm sorry we fight so much and I'm so stubborn. And I'm sorry, but we're probably going to fight again tomorrow before we can tolerate each other again."

She giggled. "I can deal with that I think.... for now." We got quiet again... more because neither of us knew what to say. Thankfully, this time, Ronni talked first. "You know... I won't hurt him... Jordan, I mean. I'm obviously not close with him but... he's a good guy and I would never do that to him."

I nodded. "Yeah... okay. He doesn't deserve it. He's been through some shitty relationships in the past and... it'll be nice if he has a.... friend who is just stable and.. good." I struggled with the words to explain what I meant.

"Are you calling me a good person?" she laughed. I rolled my eyes. "I think you just complimented me." she pinched my shoulder and I squirmed away.

I shook my head and nudged her. "Don't flatter yourself."

"That's a big change from hating my guts twenty minutes ago." she insisted. "I think we could be friends Taylor.... maybe."

I smirked. "I don't really hate you...I'm sorry I said that." Ronni shrugged it off. "Really." Ronni looked at me and just nodded. "Seriously... don't take it personally because.. I have a bad temper sometimes." I held my hand out to her and she gave me a quick high five.

"Oh? I hadn't noticed." she mumbled under her breath. "Look... are you tired?"

"Exhausted." I huffed, falling onto my back.

She shook her head and smiled. "You think your knee can withstand anymore work?" I just shook my head. "Alright... let's go. I'll drop you off."

*Ronni*

I drove Taylor back to his apartment and I helped him up to his room. I set him up with ice, pillows, and a bandage so that he could rest the day away. "You comfortable?" I asked. He nodded and thanked me. "It's a nice place you have..."

"Thanks. Had to grow up kind of quickly when I joined the NHL.. apartment became the first big step. It's crazy." he sighed, sipping some water.

I nodded. "Yeah... i know the feeling. I have an apartment with a couple of my friends and I-"

"Coach is trying to kill me and I-" Jordan boomed as he burst through the front door. Taylor and I whipped around and stared at him. "Oh... hi... i hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

I shook my head. "No, just... helping Taylor get settled. He worked hard today, so go easy on him."

Jordan walked further in and patted him on his good leg. "Worked up a sweat?"

"Yeah, that's more than I can say about you." he chided with a grin.

I smiled and slowly backed to the door. "Right, well... I'll just see you guys later and-"

"You should stay! We'll all go out to dinner." Jordan suggested.

I shook my head. "Thanks maybe next time but... I'm a poor college kid with no money and, I have a test tomorrow morning so... I should probably get back and study."

"Are you sure?" Jordan asked as he stepped closer. I just nodded. "Alright.. we'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye Jordan." I gave him a quick hug and waved to Taylor. "See you tomorrow Taylor." He waved back, lips in a straight line

As I walked down the hall and traveled down to the main floor, I regretted not staying. When I got to my apartment, both my roommates were getting drunk with friends and I couldn't focus at all. I didn't want to pass my test anyways....

#Taylor#

"So... What was that?" Jordan asked as he sat next to me. I gave him a confused look. "You and Ronni? You guys....?"

I cackled, and slapped him on the back while doing so. "That... that's funny. Me and... me and her? We-No. Never."

"Well I thought-" he began.

I shook my head. "No... you should have seen us earlier. We got into a screaming match at the pool. I'm surprised they didn't throw us out...."

"Then why was she here? Being all buddy buddy if you two weren't getting along?" he inquired.

"We calmed down... talked it out... like last time.... It's getting hard to keep up with her." I yawned, letting my head fall back onto the pillow. "She's almost as determined as me."

He chuckled, "Right... well... you could have warned me that she was here or something."

"Why? So you could show up with roses and a wedding ring? What more did you want to do lover boy!" I joked, messing with his hair.

He swatted me away. "I don't know, I would have thought of something to make her hang out with us... And I'm not in love with her! Shut up!"

"Whatever..." I sighed. I let my mind wonder about what Ronni said earlier. I actually began to feel really guilty. I was threatening to hurt all of my friends just because I wanted to get my way and get Ronni out of my life... which was kind of unfair considering how helpful she's been.

I didn't tell Jordan that I thought about blowing their cover, when nothing even happened yet, but I did tell him about how Ronni made an effort to understand my point of view by swimming the laps with me. This just boosted his opinion of her. At that point, I didn't care, because I didn't want to kill her. Give it ten hours... I'll go back to wanting to rip her head off.

The next day, I was sore as hell. I could hardly stand up. My knee didn't look any worse, but it felt horrible. When I got to the rink, Ronni had a book in hand about anatomy. "Whatcha reading?" I yelled as I walked into the weight room. She jumped, and I successfully ruined her composure.

"You scared the shit out of me..... human anatomy. Got a test next week. But..." She slammed the book shut and put it by her exercise bag, "that's done with now. How you feel- are you on crutches."

I looked down at my crutches and sighed. "Yeah... I feel really sore from yesterday... but the other muscle pain is gone."

Ronni smiled and commented, "Well, let's see if we can fix that." She skipped away and left me standing around for a few minutes. When she came back she called, "Sit." I did. Then, she carefully put a steaming towel onto my knee. It was scorching at first, but I could slowly feel my knee loosening up. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks." I sighed. Ronni moved her bag back to the side of the room as I sat with the towel.
Her hair was tamed again to it's normal, not wet self. Not that I cared. "What's next for today?"

Surprisingly enough, we didn't fight... most of the time. Ronni spent the session massaging my knee and putting the hot towel back on in between. At the very end, we took a quick lap around the rink while the guys were practicing. Then, I said something smart about her and Jordan and she flipped out... again. This time, she actually left. Jack finished the walk with me and helped me with a couple more stretches before doing the final examination.

It was weird, falling into this type of pattern with a girl. But... when you're seeing the same girl everyday, it can get insane. And this pattern continued for the rest of the week. We started fighting about trivial things though, like how many laps I should do in the pool or when I should be doing stretches at home and stuff. It was dumb... but It just became so routine, if it didn't happen, something was wrong.

*Ronni*

I kind of liked fighting with Taylor, as sick as that seems. It kept me on my toes and it made me more determined to keep him focused. We always calmed down after each fight, but half the time, I left and had Jack finish with him.

That afternoon, the Oilers had a game against the Canadiens, and because it was a home game, Jack told me I should come. Again, we fiddled with the water bottles and towels. We did it a little earlier than usual, because it was an afternoon game, I guess. I didn't question it. But, while we were taking the items out, the ice was empty. I mean literally empty, not a soul to be found. "Echo!" I called. I heard my voice reverberate throughout the stadium as I placed the water bottles in their places.

"Grow up and get back to work." my uncle teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. Very Mature. "It's cool, isn't it? To see it without people completely beating each other to death over a puck."

I shrugged. "I like it both ways... it's just a cool place." My uncle smiled at me before dragging me back into the equipment room to grab more stuff.

That night, I didn't bump into Taylor, thankfully. I don't think Jack, or anyone else for that matter, would have enjoyed watching the screaming contest that was our daily dose of fighting. I was allowed to focus, for once, on other players that didn't completely irritate me.

Theo Peckham got a cut that needed to be cleaned up before he could go back out. The problem was, it wouldn't stop bleeding. We had to take him off the bench and into our staff room, because he was slowing everyone else on the bench down.

"Well... this sucks." he sighed as I pressed a little harder on the cut. It stretched from part of his cheek to his chin.

I shook my head, apologizing as I changed the gauze. "I'm sorry... does it hurt?"

He shrugged. "Stings I guess... it's just a cut."

"How did you manage to do this anyways?" I questioned.

Theo grimaced. "Some guy hit me with his stick. Not pretty... what's your name?" he asked, smirking a little.

"Ronni.. and you are?" I replied, dabbing some ointment onto the cut.

"Theo. The guys were talking about the new addition to the med staff. Nice to meet you.. Oh, and thanks for..." he pointed to the cut that had finally slowed. Theo stood up, towering over me. "Really appreciate it... thought it would never stop." He smiled down at me.

I felt my heart melting as I looked at him. He looked like a gigantic teddy bear! "Uh... yeah, no-no problem..." I sputtered, putting the used gauze in a plastic bag. "Glad I could help..." He gave me a peck on the cheek before leaving the room and making his way to the rink. Jack, who I conveniently forgot was there, was chuckling in the corner. "What?" I snapped, trying to savor the moment.

"Pick your tongue up off the floor, we still have work to do..." he patted me on the back and walked towards the. I scowled at him as I followed. "Don't get all lovey-dovey on me now, he's just a very polite guy."

I shrugged. "Who's being lovey-dovey..." Even if he is like really really adorable.

The rest of the game was uneventful... for me that is. The Canadiens were winning most of the game, 3-0. The only bright part of the game was the fact that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal in the second period and Gagner scored one in the third, closing the deficit. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough boost to win it. I mean, I'm new to the sport, but I did understand that they were all tired by the end and the other team clearly was not. I still struggled through learning the penalties and such though...

After the game, I gave Jordan a hug... it was in the parking lot once everyone cleared out, but it was a hug nonetheless. He deserved one considering he was skating his heart out the whole game and didn't get a single positive takeaway from it. Then, it was back to the apartment where I would study, work on a paper, and try and finalize my schedule for Taylor, which wasn't going well.

I know, I know, as fun as all that sounds, I did want to do other things... so, I finally booked a date with Jordan. That coming Friday, I texted him and decided we were going to watch a Flyers-Penguins game at a local bar. In case you were wondering, it was pretty fricken awesome. Besides the fact that I had to take a cab because Annie borrowed my car to go to the library or something. Great planning on my part

"Hey, co-worker." he greeted as I walked into the bar.

I smirked and waved. "How are you?" We hugged and I sat next to him at the bar. "You haven't been here long, have you?"

"Nah, just like four hours." he joked. "So, you ready for some hockey?"

I shrugged. "I guess... Might as well go for it."

"Alright." Jordan grinned at me and waved the bartender over. "Can I get a Corona? And she'll have a...."

I spoke up, "A water." The bartender nodded and walked away. Once he was gone, I could feel Jordan's eyes on me and I looked back at him. "What?"

"You didn't want a drink?" he questioned.

I sighed and looked down. "Well this is kind of embarrassing...." I mumbled.

"What?" he asked, smirking a little.

**I blushed and blurted, "I'm not twenty one yet... I'm only twenty." Jordan chuckled... and chuckled.... and didn't stop until the bartender brought us our drinks. "Why is that so funny?"** *read author's note*

"Nothing... you just make it seem like such a big deal, that's all." he commented.

I squinted at him. "Well, how old are you?"

"Twenty-three."

I shook my head. "Well, of course you don't think so because you're older."

"You know, you seem a lot older than you actually are... in a good way!" Jordan smacked his head and frowned. "Uh... forget I said that."

I smiled. "Oh Jordan... you're adorable." Once I saw his face, I slapped my hand to my mouth after I said it, blushing immediately. "Forget I said that."

He chuckled. "And I thought I was bad. Did you just call me adorable?"

"Just drop it." I laughed as I sipped my water, avoiding his stare.

Jordan nudged me. "Adorable? Hmm. not exactly what I was going for... being a hockey player and all."

"Jordan." I huffed, dropping my head. "Stop."

He joked, "I mean, is it like a baby adorable or a bunny adorable."

"I take it back, you're just annoying." I giggled, turning to face him. Jordan gave me a look and grinned. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything!" he insisted, throwing his arms in the air. I shrugged and thankfully the game started, ending my embarrassment.

"So... that right there is going to be called icing." I commented. Seconds later, the whistle blew and icing was called.

Jordan smiled and patted me on the back. "Look at you! A regular pro. Okay, pop quiz. What does this mean?" Jordan put one arm and a ninety degree angle, facing up, and tapped the elbow.

"Elbowing!" I cheered.

He chuckled. "That one was too easy though... What about this?" Jordan crossed his arms in an 'X' over his chest.

"Uh... interference?" I asked.

He nodded and opened his mouth to continue when there was a goal horn from the television. The Flyers scored in overtime, ending the game. We both cheered, even though nobody else in the whole place was watching the hockey game for two teams that nobody around there cared about.

"Well, thanks Jordan. I think I got the basics of hockey down...." I thanked with a grin.

Jordan shrugged. "No problem. It was fun. I should probably take you home though, it's getting late."

Jordan and I hopped into his car and he drove me back to my apartment. He brought me to the door, gave me a hug, and made sure I got in safely. To be honest, I was kind of surprised that he didn't try and kiss me... and a little disappointed.... even though I shouldn't want him to even think about touching me because it would jeopardize everything. I'm sick.

#Taylor#

"What's wrong with me?!" Jordan whined as he flopped on the couch next to me.

I ruffled his hair. "What? Does she bite? She's a werewolf isn't she. No, a witch and she's going to come and kill you. Wait! She's Bigfoot-"

"Shut up! She's great... I'm just dumb." he mumbled as he sat up. "I taught her hockey, we laughed, it was great, she called me adorable-" My mind drifted at that statement. She never called me adora-OH why do you care! "And then I took her to her door and... she was right there... I just didn't kiss her. I got a stupid vibe that she didn't want to and.... I'm officially the dumbest guy on the planet."

I chuckled, "Or the smartest." He glared at me and wound up to punch me. "You said it yourself, you wanted to be friends! Maybe this is better."

Jordan dropped his fist and stared up at the ceiling."But... she's so-" he began. Jordan looked at me skeptically. "Damnit... you don't understand Taylor... you don't even like her."

Jordan got up and marched into his room, going to sleep no doubt. I lounged on the couch, feeling more lonely than ever, then I slowly made my way to his room. "Look... I'm sorry okay?"

"It's cool. It's not a big deal." he sighed.

I agreed, "It's not... and I mean, I'm sure she doesn't mind being spared from your horrible kissing." Jordan threw a pillow at me but I just caught it and tossed it back. "Kidding. Relax." I plopped onto the bed and shoved him. "Why are you so worked up about this?"

"She's nice." he stated plainly.
Jordan is honestly the sweetest guy when it comes to girls... and I'm not just saying that. It's unfair that he's been ruined by a couple of jerk girls. This is the reason, and the only reason, that I stupidly said, "Well... you know, I could try and talk you up at my next session."

The look on Jordan's face was priceless. He tackled me on the bed with punches as a thank you. I mean, it's too late to turn back now. How can you say no to that? Before I did more good deeds that made me want to barf, I went to bed.

*Ronni*

Jack wanted a few days to work with Taylor by himself... and, I had school to work on, so, I met Taylor in the weight room a couple days after our last session. I was doing some crunches and listening to music when he came in. My eyes were closed and I was just listening as Drake's voice started rapping through the loud speakers. As I came back up for a crunch, I opened my eyes to see Taylor's face only inches from mine, squinting like he was in the sun. I flinched and fell back, my head hitting the ground with a thud.

"Ooh.. sorry." He apologized, reaching to help me up.

This time, I took his hand and stood up. "Ouch... do you enjoy scaring the shit out of me, dude?"

Taylor laughed, "I said sorry... what are you listening to?"

"Drake, why?" I asked, rubbing my head.

He shrugged. "It's not exactly what I would listen to to work out..."

"Well, that's alright because you're not in charge of that, are you? Now let's go, we're going to the pool again, if you're feeling up to it. You already saw Jack, right?" I wondered.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah... My knee's loose... or at least as loose as it can be."

"Alright, let's go." I insisted as we walked down the empty halls. It was early, probably around seven, and no one was going to show up there until nine at least. "You know, I'm surprised you showed up. I thought you would have slept right through everything."

He grimaced. "Hey, I'm trying to really put in an effort, okay? And why did I have to wake up so early today?"

"After swimming, we're walking around again, and then we're going to the hospital to get some more tests done to see how your muscles and tendons are looking. If they're strong enough, you can start actual weight training, we'll do some jogging, and eventually, running." I explained.

He shook his head as we walked through the parking lot. "Alright... sounds like a ton of boring." She laughed and shrugged. Once we made it to the car, we were just staring at each other, but I couldn't figure out why he was staring at me. "Uh... Look, Ronni, can we talk about something?"

I got in and started the car. "Uh... sure..." Shit. What is he gonna say? If he told his coach or Uncle Jack anything.... "What's up?"

"I uh... I heard you and Jordan had a good time last night...." he began.

"Taylor! I told you I won't let you hold this over my head! Shut the fuck up about it, okay?" I started furiously. Without realizing it, I sped down a coupe streets in Edmonton.

He shook his head. "No, it's really not what you think. I-"

"Just drop it, okay? I'm not bringing my personal life into my workplace!" I insisted. That was a load of hypocrisy if I ever heard of it.

"Ronni, Just listen to me. All I'm saying is-"

I jerked to a stop, slamming on the brakes. We both flew forward, restrained only by the tight seatbelts. "Taylor, if you say one more word about Jordan, I will turn this car around and you can deal with Jack. If you thought I was bad, you have no idea-"

#Taylor#

"Fine!" I growled. Another reason why I hate this girl. Why the fuck did I agree to help Jordan out. Now he's going to kill me and it's not my fault! He'll never believe that she ruined the chance for any sort of schmoozing because of course, oh no, no, NO Ronni could never ever do anything wrong.

When we got to the rec center I silently got into the pool and left Ronni sitting on the bleachers. I was doing thirty laps and I was halfway through the fifteenth lap when she came to the edge of the pool and stopped me. "What?" I sputtered as I came up for air.

"I'm sorry. Again." I couldn't help but smile. I ended up laughing, I thought it was so funny. "What?" she wondered.

"There's no hope for us..." I chuckled. She stared at me, confused. "I mean, like we're always fighting. We'll always be stuck in this rut. Cats and dogs twenty-four seven"

Ronni smirked. "At least we make up.... I said I was sorry. Just, I don't really want to talk about Jordan, okay?"

"He told me about the date- I mean, non-date thing...." I sighed. She looked down, tracing the tiled floor with her finger. I hopped out of the water and sat next to her. "Did you want to kiss him?" At first she didn't answer, I think because she was genuinely shy. "Come on, I won't say anything, I promise. Did you?" She nodded without looking at me. God. Do I have to do everything in this relationship. "Why didn't you?"

She still couldn't look at me. "He didn't want to and... he just left."

"Alright, I'm calling your bullshit." I teased, turning to face her, crossing my legs.

"What?" she scoffed.

"You heard me." I nudged mer.

Ronni glanced up at me, shocked. "I-I didn't-"

"Why didn't you want him to kiss you?" I pushed, "For real." I leaned forward, daring her to lie to my face.

She sighed and looked across the empty pool. "I was worried... you know, what if- do I really have to talk to you, of all people about this?" Ronni ended up laughing awkwardly at the idea. She was even blushing a little.

"Hey, maybe if we learn how to talk we won't be biting each others heads off all the time."

Ronni dropped her head. "Fine. I... didn't want you to... tell anyone what happened.... if we started dating. Can I trust you?" Reluctantly I held my hand out for a pinky promise and we locked fingers. Come on... who breaks a pinky promise? I don't care if your six or sixty-six. They're legit. "I like Jordan, but this opportunity means so much to me... working with you is like..." Her voice caught and for a second I thought she was going to cry, but she didn't. Ronni doesn't cry.

Way to go, douche bag. "Ronni. I promise, I won't rat either of you out... ever. I think... I think you both deserve each other and I'm sorry that I put you in that position." Ronni was surprised at my kindness, which kind of hurt because I'm not a bad guy. "It's possible for me to be good, you know!"

"I know! It's just... weird when it's directed towards me. Thank you." she whispered.

I hopped back into the water. "Well, don't flatter yourself... I'm doing it for Jordan more than you. And, for the record, I wasn't trying to scare you again this morning... I was trying to butter you up so you would go out with Jordan again. He's freaking out right now..."

She grinned. "Really?" I rolled my eyes and went back to work.

The rest of the day was fine. We went to the hospital, got some tests, and my MRI showed that my knee was progressing nicely. In three to four days, I could start jogging, if I kept swimming and walking. In a week, I could try running and in a week and a half, I should be building up the muscle with weight training. The great thing was, I hadn't limped noticeably since my last day with Ronni. So, everything the doctors said, which was hypothetical and optimistic, seemed realistic to me!

Because we had such good news, Ronni celebrated by buying us some frozen yogurt at the local hot spot before we returned to the rink in the mid afternoon. I took advantage of our alone time to poke fun at her while I could.

"So, why do you like Jordan so much? I mean, he's got that big gap-" I started.

She nudged me. "Stop, I think it's cute." Ronni took a bite of her yogurt. "He's a-"

"Adorable, I know." I mocked, mimicking her. "You know, he sleep-talks."

Ronni stared at me like I was crazy. "So?"

"And he sleeps in the nude." I pushed, eating some yogurt.

She winced, closing her eyes and hiding her head in her arms. "Taylor, God, stop it!" she giggled, nudging me. When she looked up, she was still covering her smiling mouth and blushing.

"Before games, he wears a thong," I joked.

Ronni shook her head. "You're evil." She was playing around with her yogurt and she accidentally flung yogurt directly into my face. Ronni gasped and I froze, mouth agape. Then she started laughing and she apologized repeatedly. I let the yogurt fall into my mouth for the most part. "Here, I'm really sorry!" She reached forward and wiped my face with a napkin. "There, all better." Ronni was still laughing a little.

"No, not all better." I dipped my finger in my yogurt and leaned over the table. "Come here."

She backed away. "No. Don't you dare!" she whined, sinking into the seat. "Stop!"

"Oh, quit it, ya big baby. One time and we're even." She sluggishly sat up. "That's right." Ronni reluctantly leaned over the table and allowed me to dab her on the nose. "Thank you. Now it's all better." Moments later, I grabbed a napkin and wiped her face. "Back to business... you and Jordan."

Ronni rolled her eyes. "Why do you care so much?"

"The kid's like my brother! I have to be nosey." I elaborated. "So...?"

She shrugged and played awkwardly with her yogurt. "Well... I don't know, he's cute. He's really funny... he seems sweet and... I gotta say, it'd be kind of cool to have a hockey player as a boyfriend. Maybe he can actually teach me to understand it."

"Did you say boyfriend?" I smirked and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm telling him you said that."

Ronni giggled and threw her hands to her face. "This is why I don't want to talk to you about these things!"

"Why?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together. Why do I care?

She sighed, "Cause you make fun of me!"

I frowned. "It's all playful, you know that, right?"

"Well, now, yeah..." Ronni and I didn't look at each other for a while. We just sat in silence. Eventually, she mumbled, "Look... Taylor, can we be friends? I-I'm really tired of fighting with you... I like it better when you make me laugh or you say something stupid that's not completely insulting."

Give it a shot. Maybe it could work. "Yeah... I like it when you're not being a bossy bitch too... we could.. try and be friends." I reached over the table. Ronni met me for a handshake which I quickly turned into a handshake with random movements.

"What was that?" she laughed as she put her napkin in her empty yogurt cup.

I shrugged. "Friends need handshakes, right?" Am I five?

She nodded and smiled. "Right... so, I told you about me and Jordan... you have any girls in mind?"

You-"Ehh, you don't want to hear about that. I wouldn't want to corrupt your innocence." I yawned, casually placing my arms behind my head.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? Try me." Ronni leaned closer, smirking.

"Well, there's too many to count, really. I'm such a ladies man that I have a different girl each week." I laughed.

Ronni crossed her arms over her chest. "Right, you know, when you're not practicing for hockey, getting injured, and spending the rest of your time in the weight room with me."

I shrugged. "You caught me... my only love is hockey as of right now."

"That's not a bad thing." She nodded, eating some yogurt.

"Who said I was complaining." I scoffed, "I don't want any attachments." Lies.

She shrugged. "Relationships aren't for everybody.... Well, we should probably get back to work." Ronni stood up and waited for me to join her.

"Ugh... do we have to?" I moaned as I dragged myself to my feet. "Let's just pretend my knee feels all better."

Ronni patted me on the shoulder and shook her head. "Not that easy bub, come on. The day's almost over."

*Ronni*

At the end of the day, I felt horrible for Taylor. His leg was sore after our walk and he asked me to massage it and stretch it... The pain he underwent must have been excruciating because he grabbed a towel to grip and he ended up tearing it to shreds.

"Almost done... almost." I whispered as I massaged out the last kink in his knee.

He groaned, "Just finish!" Taylor was holding his breath through the last push and he nearly burst when it was over. "My God!" He turned over and screamed into the bench. "That fucking hurt!"

I whimpered, "I'm really sorry. But you'll sleep better tonight, you'll feel good in the morning and-" As I was listing off advantages of the massage, I heard the door creak open. Taylor and I both jerked out heads up in the general direction to see Jordan standing in the doorway. "Hey." I greeted, a little too excitedly.

He smiled and walked in, wearing shorts and an exercise shirt, somewhat sweaty. "Hey, just got done practice. What's up with you guys?"

"Well, I swam, had doctors poking at me, and just screamed my head off as Ronni killed my knee." Taylor complained as he sat up.

I smacked him. "It wasn't that bad! Besides, I got you frozen yogurt because you were so good today." Taylor swatted me away and laughed.

Jordan looked from Taylor to me, back to Taylor, and then back to me again. "Well, that just means you'll be back on the ice faster. We could use you out there too." Taylor smiled and thanked Jordan. "Well... uh, Ronni, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to do come over... you know, once I showered and don't smell like the locker room. Jordan and I were going to watch a movie."

"We wer-?" Taylor began. Jordan shot him a look that said shut up.

I smirked. "Uh... yeah sounds good... uh I'm going to head home and shower, but text me?" He nodded. I patted Taylor on the back and gave Jordan a hug before I headed out and made my way home.

#Taylor#

"So... you had a good day?" Jordan asked as he slipped on his hat. "You seemed to actually enjoy her company this time."

I shrugged as I rested my head on the couch. "Yeah... I mean, we're friends now... so, that's better than fighting and making up... and doing it over again." Wash. Rinse. Repeat. "We both just got tired of it." He stood directly in front of the television and interrupted my date with NCIS. "Dude!"

"Why don't I believe you?" he asked. I gave him the most innocent look I could because I was innocent! I hadn't done anything against the bro-code thus far! And I would- no, COULD never! "You guys went to get yogurt-"

"As friends! A girl and a boy, getting yogurt. It's this thing one might call friendship, you should look it up, because apparently, you forget when we used to get ice cream everyday before a game!" I pointed out, standing up.

He wagged a finger at me. "That's different! Ice cream is not yogurt!"

I glared at him. Now who's being mature? "Ebs... I told you this morning I was going to talk to her about you and keep her interested... why would I turn around and stab you in the back... I literally just built up a tolerance for her, I couldn't imagine dating her too.

"Okay... I'm just.. I'm paranoid. I'm sorry. What... what exactly did you say?" he wondered.

I grinned. "Uh... you should ask her that...I'm sure she'll be more than willing to tell you." I plopped back on the couch and Jordan kindly moved out of the way.

"Fine... Thanks for hanging with us tonight." he sighed, moving to the bookcase that we had filled with DVD's. He scanned them and tried to pick out a good one.

I shook my head and stared at the television. "I don't exactly understand why you insisted I stay with you tonight. I mean... wouldn't this be a good time to make a move.... without out a third wheel... A.K.A. me?"

"This will determine if she's interested in being more than friends or not. If she doesn't have a good time, then that proves it." he answered, picking out a random movie.

"That's the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard." I huffed. "I told you she liked you! I talked to her for an hour about it! What part of that aren't you getting? Besides, of course she'll have a good time because she'll be polite and nice around you... because she likes you and wants to impress you!"

Jordan cocked his head to the side. "I don't think so. I mean... I want to be sure. She could easily lie to you to get you off her back about our undercover meetings." I looked up, knowing he was talking about my threat. So it had crossed his mind. When I opened my eyes to apologize he waved his hand. "Forget it. you're making up for it now. Do you think she'll wanna watch Goon."

"Uh... considering she doesn't understand hockey and it's a hockey movie, no. Try a comedy." I suggested. Jordan pulled out The Hangover and I shrugged. "I think she can handle it."

*Ronni*

When I walked in to their apartment, the movie was ready to go. They even made popcorn and Magnus had showed up too, which I wasn't expecting. So, it was basically like a guys night, but.... with me. "Hey." I greeted as I walked in. Magnus and Taylor were on the couch and Jordan was grabbing the popcorn from the kitchen and bringing it to the table.

"Hey!" He called back. He gave me a hug and lead me into the living room. "You know Taylor, and this is Magnu-"

I corrected, "Oh, we've met. Hi Magnus." He waved.

"Right, we'll we're watching The Hangover, if that's okay?" I nodded and sat down next to Taylor. "And, here are the drinks." Jordan jogged into the kitchen and returned with four beers. Reluctantly, I took one and silently drank. Awkward.

I whispered to Taylor, "What the fuck is going on?"

"I'll explain tomorrow." he breathed back, patting my shoulder. I'm glad I had a friend who could explain all this guy code to me.

With that, the movie started. I had seen it already, as had Jordan and Taylor, but it was Magnus's first time; it was entertaining because every time something insane happened, he said 'Holy shit' with that swedish accent of his. The thing that annoyed me was that Jordan basically friendzoned me and treated me like one of the guys, nudging me at all the funny parts. I felt pretty shitty considering I was under the impression that he had lied about Taylor really being with us in order to get me to come... and then Magnus was thrown into the mix, and that just made things worse.

At the end, Magnus was the first to leave. Before he did, he gave his friends fist bumps and I got a kiss on the cheek. All the action I got all night... and it was from the guy I hadn't liked. Better than nothing. Maybe I should just go for Magnus... When it came time for me to leave, I silently made my way to the door and Jordan lead me out, leaving Taylor by himself inside.

"Well, thanks for coming." he thanked with a smile. I felt like making that gap between his teeth just a little bit bigger with my fist. "I hope you had fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, loads of fun... I'll see you later." I huffed, turning to leave.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jordan grabbed my arm and pulled me back. I yanked against his grip but he was stronger, obviously. "Oh no you don't. What's wrong?"

I shrugged. "I wasn't expecting it to be so many people I guess...."

"What do you mean?" he asked, with a perplexed look.

"I can't explain. I... I thought it would be more private and... whatever."

Jordan frowned. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize- you and me. Tomorrow night, you and I will go out. I heard about the local park shooting off fireworks. They're having an anniversary or something-come with me." I glared at the ground. "Please? They have a pretty lake there." I faced him to find him grinning. A lake? Really? That's the bribe?

I shook my head. "Yeah... okay. Text me tomorrow." I wriggled free of his grip and walked down the hall to the elevator, not looking back. For fuck's sake...

"Alright, I'll see you later." he called.