Rebound

The world seemed to slow down as Jon watched the puck go flying off the center’s stick. It was aimed top shelf, and since Jon was already down from blocking the previous shot, he knew he needed a miracle. He grabbed his stick, swinging it up into the air and swinging at the puck with everything he had. He heard a loud crack echo through the arena, and just prayed he’d gotten enough of it. He waited, hearing nothing but his own heavy breathing when the buzzer went off.

He slammed his stick on the ground in frustration, but when he saw the ref waving his arms for no goal, he shot up, looking behind him. The net was empty, so where was the puck? His eyes darted everywhere when he saw it, sitting on the edge of the goal line as one of the rookie’s for the Ducks eyed it, seeing his first NHL goal. Jon lunged, throwing his body in the direction of the puck just as the rookie swung, his stick colliding with Jon’s neck and knocking the breath out of him.

But he had the puck.

The referee dragged the rookie away as Jon got up, grabbing his throat and coughing. Dustin immediately skated over to him, kneeling down. “You alright?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.” Jon wheezed.

“Well you have more than a second.” Dustin chuckled. “The game’s over.” Jon looked up at him and Dustin simply chuckled. “You didn’t hear the buzzer?”

“I thought it was the goal buzzer.” Dustin shook his head, helping his friend up as the crowd cheered, glad to see Jon was alright. He looked over into the stand to see Amerie, still looking lovely as she let out what he assumed to be s sigh of relief. She always worried about him, it was just one of the things he absolutely loved about her. He skated to the line where the Ducks waited to shake hands, and he was surprised at how well they were taking being kicked out in the first round of the playoffs.

It had been several months since that day on the beach when Amerie had finally become his, and Jon had been on fire. He’d had sixteen more shutouts, quickly returning his save average to what it had been last year and then some. He beamed as all the players told him congratulations, and was proud of them for being such good sports. But he couldn’t deny that he just wanted to hurry up and go see Amerie.

He practically ran out of the locker room to see her standing there, Madison holding her hand as they smiled at him. But as Maddi began leading them away, talking all about the rousing game of Princess Tea Party her and Amerie had played before the game, Jon saw the concern in the stunning French Canadian’s eyes. She kept a lid on it, however, and Jon knew it was because she didn’t want to scare Maddi. It wasn’t until they’d gotten home and the young Quick girl was tucked into bed that she finally let out what was bothering her.

“Jon.” She whispered as they sat on the couch, his arm wrapped around her.

“Yes?” She pressed her lips together, looking at him.

“I know that you’ve been fine so far but… please start wearing a throat guard.” He could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at him, running her fingers over the beginnings of his playoff beard. “Today when you fell and I thought you were hurt I just…” She stopped, blinking back tears. He just looked at her, awestruck at her concern for his wellbeing. “I can’t watch something happen to you Jon, not something that’s so easy to prevent.”

“Amerie…” He murmured, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before he cradled her face in his hand. “I’m not going to get hurt-”

“What if you cover the puck and someone slides into the goal skates first?” She whispered. “Jon I can’t lose you.” She then blushed, realizing what she had said as his cheeks turned pink. He looked at her for a long time, letting his thumb move over her cheekbone and looking into those dazzling blue eyes.

“Alright.” He said finally.

“Really?” He nodded.

“I’ll pick one up first thing tomorrow so I can start practicing with it.” She smiled, resting her head against his collarbone as he nuzzled his face into her hair.

“Thank you.” She murmured.

“Anything for you Amerie.” He whispered. “And you’re right, I have a family to think of.” She narrowed her eyes at that as he looked at her, setting his hand on her hip and gently pulling her into his lap. “I don’t want to lose you Amerie, not now, and not ever. I…” He stopped, taking a deep breath. It would be the first time he’d said those three little words since Jaclyn, but he knew there was no one else he’d rather say them to. “I love you.”

Her eyes grew huge as he looked at her, cupping her face again and looking into her eyes. “Jon…” She whispered. She knew it went against every rule she had established for herself, every single moral and ethical code of conduct, but she couldn’t hold back the truth anymore as she looked into his warm brown eyes. “I love you too.” She slowly leaned down, pressing her lips to his as he quickly kissed her back. But as his hands began to move under her shirt, she stopped him. “What about Maddi?”

“Guestroom.” He said simply. “It’s on the other end of the house, she won’t hear a thing.” Amerie blushed, smiling as Jon scooped her up in his arms, causing her to giggle. “I love you Amerie Delacroix.” He said, loving the way her name came so perfectly after those three beautiful words.

“I love you Jonathan Quick.” She giggled. They couldn’t stop beaming at each other as he carried her into the guestroom, both of them blushing as she closed and locked the door behind them. He walked her over to the bed, setting her down gently before crawling over her. It was the first time they would finally make love, and they were both completely terrified.

“I love you.” He whispered again, more to himself then her as he pressed their lips together. And as he pulled his lips away, looking into her eyes, she smiled, all her fears gone.

“I love you too.”

It was nothing like Amerie had ever experience before as Jon took his time, always making sure she was comfortable and just whispering that he loved her the entire time. She was used to men using her more like a low up doll, not caring if she was comfortable because her job was to just get them over their exes. But the way Jon held her so tenderly, kissed her so passionately, it made her completely forget that this was a job, that she was going to have to let him completely destroy her because that was what she’d been hired to do.

Finally with one last whisper of her name he laid down beside her, pulling her into his arms and tugging the blankets over them. She just relaxed into his warm skin, never wanting to leave as he held her. “That was incredible.” She whispered, looking up at him. He simply flushed.

“Sorry, I know I’m a little rusty.” He admitted. She beamed.

“I couldn’t tell at all.” She promised, running her fingers over his collarbone. He beamed, kissing her forehead before he quickly fell asleep.

Once she was sure he was completely out Amerie stood, letting a pillow take her place as she carefully slipped out of bed. She pulled on Jon’s shirt, grabbing her phone as she walked into the hallway, making her way to the deck as she dialed in the number. She knew he’d be furious to be awoken during the playoffs, but she couldn’t do this anymore.

“Hello?” Daryl Sutter grumbled. She winced, knowing that if he was that mad over just being woken up, he was going to be furious.

“Mr. Sutter, it’s Amerie.” She whispered.

“What, did Jon leave you and we’re all square now?” He asked. She sighed.

“No.” She whispered. “Mr. Sutter, I am a professional, and that mean I have certain rules I abide by. One of them is to not get romantically attached to my clients. That’s about the only rule actually, other than keeping them happy.”

“I’m well aware of your guidelines Miss Delacroix, but would you mind explaining to me why you’re outlining them at three in the morning?”

“I broke my rule Mr. Sutter.” She said simply. “I’ve fallen in love with Jon and I can no longer be professional. I’m afraid I’ve let you down, so no payment will be necessary and I’ll be on my way in the morning-”

“You’re not going anywhere.” Darryl snapped.

“Sir I can no longer be a professional and all I’m going to do is make things worse. I’m supposed to help him move past Jaclyn, not make him fall in love with me.”

“I don’t care.” Sutter snapped. “You want to abandon him Amerie, fine. But you wait until after the playoffs. Then he can have some time to bounce back. If you leave now I promise you, you will never work again.”

“I don’t want to.” She choked out. “Darryl please, I can’t hurt him. When he finds out he’ll be devastated. He’ll lose all trust he has in women and it’ll just make everything worse.”

“Then keep your mouth shut and don’t let him find out.” Darryl said. “You keep him happy until after the playoffs or I’ll make sure everyone in the entire NHL, hell the world, knows what you do.” She sniffled and Darryl immediately regretted his harsh words. “Look Amerie, you make him happy, and he makes you happy, so why don’t you just quit this whole thing and just be together?”

“Because our entire relationship would have been built on a lie.” She choked out. “Jon might never know but I would. It’s not fair to him.” There was a long silence before she sighed, leaning against the railing. “I’ll wait until after the playoffs.” She then hung up, not wanting Darryl to try and talk her out of it as she made her way back inside.

She crawled back in by Jon’s side, letting herself settle back into him as he grumbled. “Where did you go?” He asked, his brown eyes sleepy as they opened to look at her.

“Just to the bathroom baby.” She lied, hoping he couldn’t see how hard it was for her to hold back her tears as she kissed his forehead. “Now go back to sleep.”