Bay Boy

Jordan drove me to the airport after a quick breakfast. I closed my eyes, laying back in the comfortable leather seat of his Range Rover. Mozart played, relaxing me. Airports always made me jittery. Jordan reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Will you come visit again soon?" I racked through my brain, thinking about my schedule. "I can do next weekend." Jordan sighed. "We have a game against the Caps on Saturday and we fly out Friday. We'll be back really late Saturday night. But you could come if you want." I smiled. I missed DC so much and I would love to go back home. "That would be perfect," Jordan pulled into a parking spot in the airport parking lot. "Great, I'll get you the tickets." I nodded and got my duffel out of Jordan's trunk. He took it from, he was a gentleman. "Thanks Jord." I boarded the shuttle that would take me to the airport. Jordan kissed me hard and I didn't want to stop but the driver cleared his throat and we shot apart. "Bye Milena! Call me when you land!"

The plane ground to a halt and soon I got off. I took a cab home, spending the remainder of the money in my wallet. I was so broke. I pulled out my iPhone and gave Jordan a call. "Hey, I landed and I'm home now." Jordan breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, thanks for letting me know. I'll see you soon." Jordan tried to play tough guy but inside he was such a great, sweet guy. He'd die before he let his teammates know that though. I threw my bag down in my room and hopped into the shower, eager to get the stale airplane smell off of me. I showered quickly and toweled off.

I worked on homework until I was done and then went downstairs, trying to find Dad. He'd been busy with work and I'd been dealing with Jordan and the crazy stress that was med school and we hadn't talked in a while. I missed his company a lot. I finally found him in his office. He was grading some papers. "Hey Dad," Dad turned around and his face lit up. "Lena! How was Pittsburgh? Was your flight okay?" I smiled, I loved seeing Dad happy. "Pittsburgh was great. Um, I have,err, um, a boyfriend now," I spit out. Dad sighed. "I knew I could only keep you to myself for so long. So he lives in Pittsburgh? I thought it was weird that you were going there to visit a friend. None of your friends are in Pittsburgh. Now I know why."
"Yeah, he's in Pittsburgh. But I'm going to DC this weekend to see him there." Dad raised his eyebrows. "You're staying with him? How long has this been going on for Mila?"
"Um, I'm staying in a hotel, as is he. Separate rooms though, don't worry. And it's really recent, we've been friends since September but he just asked me this weekend."
"What does he do? Tell me he's not a law student like that idiot Tyler."
"He's a hockey player actually." Dad gave me a look of disapproval. "Lena, I love you very much and I don't want you to get hurt. Are you sure getting involved with a hockey player is a good decision? You know how professional athletes are, they're a wild bunch. Those kids on the Georgetown basketball team were crazy, I can't even imagine what a professional hockey player would be like." I bit my lip. "Dad, it's the right decision. Just because he's on the Penguins doesn't mean he's a bad guy. He treats me really well." I knew that would be the final straw, after Tyler Dad would have to accept a guy who actually treated me right like Jordan did. "Okay Mila. But I don't know how you're going to keep flying out there. I can pitch in a bit, but every weekend is very expensive."
"I have some savings Dad, and Jordan's already offered to pay. He's flying me out to DC."
"Have you told Jana? She'll be excited to see you." Jana was my best friend from Georgetown. She was studying to be a chemical engineer and I loved her a ton. We'd met when she'd been my barista at Starbucks. "No I'm gonna surprise her. I know when her shift is at Starbucks so I'm just gonna walk in and order a coffee. She'll flip out when she sees it's me." Dad laughed lightly. "Give her my best." I nodded. "Will do. So Dad, do you want to go grab some lunch? We haven't talked or done stuff together in a while." Dad nodded eagerly. "Just give me a minute Mila. And I'm sorry about that. I've been busy, but that's no excuse. I love you a lot Mila and you come before work. If I'm ever neglecting you feel free to yell at me." I rolled my eyes playfully before giving Dad a hug. "You're the best dad I could ever ask for so don't sweat it. C'mon, I'm craving a panini."
"Alright, pushy. But you might regret this lunch later. I fully intend to grill you about that hockey player of yours." I groaned. "Dad. . ." But inwardly I was ecstatic. It was just like old times, except better. Now I had Jordan.

Dad and I sat inside, I chewed on my veggie panini while he bit into his ham and Swiss. "So Lena, which hockey player is it? I know he's on the Penguins, but I need more information." I swallowed. "Guess." Dad groaned. "I'm too old for games Lena. But fine, Crosby?" I shook my head. "Malkin?"
"Nope."
"Tell me it's not of those French idiots."
"It's not, no worries. I'll give you a hint since you're clueless. His brothers are in the NHL too. He's from a famous hockey family." Dad looked stumped. "I don't know, please just tell me."
"Fine! It's Staal."
"Which one?"
"Jordan."
"I'll have to beat this Jordan fellow up for stealing my little girl," Dad huffed. I giggled. "Oh, Dad. I love you but he's six four, you don't stand a chance."