Rebound

“Two croissants, two coffees and a pain au chocolat.” Amerie read back, smiling at the American tourists sitting at the table. “That’s correct, non?”

“Spot on.” The man chuckled, keeping his arm wrapped around the lovely blonde beside him. She smiled, trying to hide the way seeing happy couples tugged at her heartstrings as she walked into the back. She missed Jon so much that it kept her up at night, her heart breaking as she thought of what she had done to him, the way he’d just stayed silent as she walked away.

It had been three days, and she had made sure to tell her parents the bare minimum. They had no idea what she was doing for a living, and she wanted to keep it that way. It had been hard enough to lose Jon over it, and she couldn’t lose her parents again at the knowledge that she was basically a prostitute with a degree. She sighed, pinning up the order to the line in the kitchen before grabbing the plates there, putting on her best fake smile as she walked back into the café.

Finally the last customer left and she collapsed in one of the chairs. She had forgotten how much walking and standing she did, and her feet were killing her. She leaned back in the booth, just like she had done before she left, and smiled softly. She tried to pretend that she had never left, and that nothing had changed as she let her eyes slip shut.

But at the jingling of the bell she groaned, realizing she’d forgotten to turn the sign to closed and lock the door. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “My apologies, but we’re closed.”

“Amerie.” She knew she must be dreaming as her eyes shot open, slowly but surely moving to the source of that beautiful, familiar sound. When she saw Jon standing in the doorway, his eyes locked on hers, she had to blink back tears. She shakily stood, walking over to him and reaching out to see if he really was real. And as her fingertips were met with the warm skin of his cheek she broke down.

Jon caught her in his arms, leading her over to the booth and setting her down as she sobbed. He knelt in front of her, just holding her in his arms and burying his face in her hair. She gripped him back, unable to stop herself from shaking when she heard her parent’s voices.

“Amerie, what’s wrong?” Jon pulled back, helping her to her feet as she wiped her eyes. There was a look of recognition on her mother’s face as she gaped, setting her hand on her husband’s shoulder. “It’s him.”

“What are you talking about Marie?” Pierre asked, watching as his wife just looked at the man beside their daughter.

“You’re the one she was dating, the hockey player.” Her eyes then moved to Amerie. “I thought you said you broke up with him?”

“She did.” Jon said, turning to Amerie. “But I needed to talk to her, if that’s alright with you?” Marie sighed, looking at her daughter.

“It’s up to her.” She said softly. Amerie simply nodded and Marie sighed. “We’ll be in the house if you need us.” With that her parents walked off, Marie looking back at her daughter one more time before they closed the door. After they were gone Amerie turned to Jon, shaking her head.

“How did you find me?” She whispered. He sighed.

“It was a lot tougher than I thought I’ll tell you that.” He chuckled humorlessly. “No one had ever heard of this place before until finally someone recognized your café.” He then reached back into his pocket, producing a photograph. “This is yours, by the way.” She took it gently from him, her eyes staying on his.

“You came all the way to Quebec to bring me a picture?” She asked. He shook his head, taking a deep breath.

“Amerie, I should have stopped you, back when you told me everything. I should have stood up, grabbed you, and forced you to talk to me but…” He stopped. “I froze. It just reminded me so much of Jaclyn leaving me that I couldn’t even think.” She folded her arms over her chest, letting out a long sigh.

“It was a lot to take in Jon.” She whispered. Her eyes then moved to his. “But I thought you were in the playoffs? Aren’t you playing the Bruin’s today?”

“I let the backup take my place.” He said. He then reached out, taking her face in his hands. “I couldn’t let you walk out of my life without a word.”

“Jon.” She whimpered. “I lied to you, everything we had was fake-”

“See, that’s where I don’t believe you.” He said, letting one of his hands move to run through her hair. “I think you really did fall in love with me Amerie. And if you really do love me, then we can work through everything else.” She tears up as he looked at her, bringing her forehead to hers. “I love you Amerie, no matter what you do to make ends meet.”

She looked into his eyes before she wrapped her arms around him, missing the way he could hold her so tightly and make her feel safe. She nuzzled into his chest, letting the smell of his skin wrap around her. “Jon, I have to look at this logically. I know that eventually the fact our entire relationship was a set-up is going to destroy you. You’re going to question everything-”

“Do you love me?” He repeated, gently tilting her face up so she looked into his eyes.

“Jon, I don’t want to hurt you anymore-”

“Amerie Delacroix.” He said softly. “Please, just yes or no. Do you love me too?” She pressed her lips together, collapsing against him.

“Yes.” She whispered. “That’s why I left. I told Darryl I couldn’t hurt you by keeping up this lie.” She sniffled, gripping his shirt. “We can’t keep doing this, we can’t keep this up, it’ll tear us apart.”

“Then we’ll start over.” He said, holding her against him.

“We can’t just-”

“Hi.” He said, stepping back and extending his hand. “I’m Jonathan Quick, goalie for the LA Kings. I have a little girl named Madison who’s really missing her nanny.” His eyes then got sad. “And I miss her more than words can even say.” She teared up again as he set his arms on her shoulders. “Please Amerie, just come back to me. I know that it won’t be easy, but we’ll figure it out.”

She smiled softly at him, reaching out and touching his face softly. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his softly. But just as he kissed her back she pulled away, smiling at him with tears in her eyes. “Okay.” She whispered. He beamed, pulling her into his arms and crashing his lips to hers as they both smiled.

“I love you Amerie.” He whispered, holding her tightly. “No matter what.”

“I love you too Jon.” She promised. “And I always will.” He then smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Let’s go home.”



Chara’s face was pulled back into a snarl as he came at Jon. It was the last game, and it had come to a shootout. Dustin had already gotten a goal on Tuukka, and Jon knew he had to win. Not just because of Jaclyn, but because of his pride. He watched as Chara shot and he shot out, grabbing the puck out of the air. And hearing the crowd scream their approval. He turned to Amerie, smiling as he held up his glove. She clapped, Madison in her lap and her parents beside her, cheering.

Jon watched as Tuukka caught the next puck, evening the score as Jon prepared himself again. He didn’t recognize the Bruin coming at him but knew that he couldn’t lose this one as he watched the puck go flying towards his five hole. He dropped down into the splits, stopping the puck and quickly covering it. He let out a long breath, knowing he just had to stop one last puck and they would win, no matter what Tuukka did.

He looked across the ice to see Tuukka, who gave him a simple nod before going back into the zone. He had another save, and Jon knew it was all up to him. He looked back at Amerie, who simply mouthed that she loved him. He took a deep breath, knowing he could do this as the puck started moving towards him. Just as the puck went soaring top shelf Jon shot out, grabbing it and pulling it into his chest.

He waited, seeing if he’d hear the buzzer, and finally cheers rocked the stadium. He let out a deep breath, standing as the team raced towards him, tackling him to the ice. He smiled, feeling like he was on top of the world as he looked up from the dog pile, seeing Amerie smile at him. He then let his head fall back against the ice, cheering. They were on their way to the Stanley Cup, and he never could have done it without the love of a girl named Amerie.