At Last

Jamie and Tyler approached the group of players still left after the married players and their families cleared out of the locker room. They settled on a place to go and headed out. They made their way into one of their favorite spots, where the waitresses were hot and anyone looking to get laid was guaranteed to find some action.

It had been a couple hours and only a few of the guys were left, enjoying the scenery. Jamie had only had a couple beers since he was driving. "Hey man," Tyler started. "You gotta get Alex a new jersey since Dills left. Kid likes you; bet he'd like it if you got him one of yours, maybe as a peace offering towards his mom?"

Jamie frowned. "Can we not talk about that right now?"

"Why don't you like her? She's nice, and Jordie's really happy."

"I just don't know if I trust her."

"Why the hell not? Jordie pursued her, not the other way around. And if she was after a paycheck she would've bounced from Jordie to me or you months ago. Bro, trust me. I know. I've dated those girls."

"I know, I just don't want Jordie to realize later he made a mistake and have them be all attached and clingy and shit."

"I think Jordie has a handle on things. He's serious about her. If he wasn't he wouldn't have introduced us all to her. He's in love or whatever."

"No, he is. He told me a couple days ago. Don't know if he's told her though."

"Did you see how fast they left? He totally has."

"What are you guys talking about? Jason asked, sitting down across from them.

"Darth's girlfriend," Tyler answered. "Jamie doesn't like her."

"She's a dog?"

"Hell no," Tyler laughed. "She's out of Jordie's league she's so hot. She has a kid; that's why Jamie doesn't like her. Thinks Jordie's throwing his life away for a girl with baggage."

"I don't think he's throwing his life away," Jamie started.

"Bullshit!" Tyler crowed. "I've heard you tell him that. Stella heard you say that dumb ass."

"Stella? Is that her name?" Jason interrupted.

"Yeah, her name is Stella," Jamie answered him.

"I knew a girl named Stella once. Met her when I was twenty. Man, that feels like forever ago but I guess it's been about six years."

Jamie's head snapped to Jason. He looked over at him and stared for a long minute. "Where?" He finally asked.

"Where what?"

"Where did you meet that girl?"

"Oh, her. When I played in the A. That's where I met Tiffany too. When I made the Sharks roster, she moved out to San Jose with me the next season."

Jamie stood abruptly and pulled out his wallet, throwing a fifty on the table. "I'll see you guys at practice Monday."

"Dude, don't be pissy," Tyler said. "You don't hate Stella, I take it back."

"I'm not being pissy. I'm tired and I want to go to bed. I don't care what you think when it comes to Stella," he bit out. He stalked out of the bar and to his car, holding his phone in his hands. He typed out a text, hesitating several minutes before he hit send, putting it out in the universe.



Stella got Alex into bed and joined Jordie in the kitchen where he sat at her small table, munching away happily on the last of the leftover pizza.

"Did you leave anything for me?" She asked, sliding her arms around his neck and leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"Sorry babe; you want me to fix you something?"

"I'm fine but I'll let you make it up me by cooking breakfast in the morning."

"Two sleepovers in a row? What did I do to deserve that?" He smirked.

"Just being you I guess," she teased him.

"It was that thing I did with my tongue last night, right?"

"Jordie!"

"Want me to do it again?" She blushed and he grinned victoriously. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Do you have practice tomorrow?"

"Naw, off day." Stella nodded as she moved to sit across from him.

"Alex has a game, at eleven. If you want to go."

Jordie had encouraged Stella to sign Alex up after the first time he skated, It had taken a lot of convincing as she had been completely resistant but once Alex asked, she couldn't say no. Jordie, Brendon, Tyler, and Cody Eakins had all helped in coaching Alex so he was ready when joining the mites team and didn't feel behind the other kids. He had taken to all of it easily and insisted on playing defense like Brendon and Jordie.

Before he could answer Stella though, his phone vibrated on the table top. He glanced at it and seeing Jamie's name, grabbed it to read his message.

Stella watched as Jordie's face contorted and he glowered at his phone. "Everything okay?" She asked carefully. Jordie pushed his phone across the table to her and she felt everything stop.

Ask your girlfriend about her ex again. Because I was just sitting across the table from Alex's dad. The eyes have it.

"Jordie," she started softly. She could feel the tears prick at her eyes.

He growled, low and fierce as he pushed back from the table. "Jamie needs to mind his own fucking business."

She was surprised his first reaction was to defend her and chose her next words carefully. "He's looking out for you; he's your brother."

"I told him I'm happy and to get over it. Fuck him."

"Jordie, I really need to tell you about Alex's dad. Will you please sit down?"

He pushed a hand through his hair in frustration but obliged her and sat. "Is it okay if I start at the beginning and tell you all of it?" Stella asked.

"I've told you before that you don't have to do this, Stels. It's your past and I don't have to know all the details."

"It's different now. He wasn't your teammate then."

"He wasn't my? Stella, I don't understand."

"Alex's father is Jason Demers, Jordie."

The revelation stole the air from the room and Stella was sure he would walk out. When he didn't move, she pressed on.

"I was a sophomore in college, going to Clark in Worcester when we met. I was out grocery shopping with my roommates and he came up to me in the produce section and asked me how to tell if a tomato was ripe. He flirted with me, I flirted with him, and he asked me out. It was crazy and intense and I thought I met the man of my dreams. I fell hard and fast and when he proposed to me, I said yes. We got married without any families or friends at the courthouse. We'd known each other two weeks. I was going to school full time, and he played hockey. To say things were hectic would be an understatement. He went out with his boys or would be gone on the road, and I wrote papers and went to study groups. No one really knew we had even gotten married to be honest."

"We traded Dills for your ex husband?" Jordie said in disbelief.

"It's weird to even think of him as my ex husband. He's just been the sperm donor for so long."

"What happened?"

She smiled sadly. "I went to his place to see him. I was still living on campus; he had housing from the team and a roommate. I mean, we had free places to live. Why in the hell would we strike out on our own? Anyway, I let myself in, I had a key I was there often enough and he had Tiffany over." She frowned at the memory and swiped at her eyes. "He told me he had met her the week before and that he wanted a divorce and I threw my key at him and I left. We were married six weeks."

"That was it?"

"That was it. It crashed and burned about as fast as it took for it to all happen. I went to my parents and told them all of it. My dad swore he'd get it annulled. Then I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't face him so I sent him a letter and an ultrasound picture, told him I could forgive what had happened if he wanted to be with me and our baby. I gave him the chance to step up and he didn't. He didn't call or come to see me or even try to stop the divorce from happening. My dad made things happen quickly and I had Alex during the summer and I finished my last two years of school and took every internship and job I could to build my resume. I was working in Boston when the opportunity to come here came along. You know the rest after that."

"What if he didn't get your letter?"

She shook her head. "I sent it certified. He had to sign for it. He got it."

"Stella..."

"You don't have to say anything, Jordie. I'll understand if you want to leave too. It's a lot."

"I'm not going anywhere, remember?" He stood and pulled her out of her seat and held her tightly. "None of what you just told me changes anything."

"It changes everything. Jason will remember me and it's pretty easy to figure out about Alex. Jamie did and he said it himself: the eyes have it," she quoted. "Alex and Jason have the same blue eyes. Anyone with half a brain will connect the dots."

"Then we'll deal with it when we have to. We'll deal with it however you want to. Do you want to confront him? I can kick his ass."

She laughed into his chest. "You're teammates; I'm pretty sure you can't beat him up now. You should call Jamie though."

"What should I tell him?"

"Whatever you want. He's your brother."

He nodded and she stepped out of his embrace to give him a moment alone. "Hey," Jordie said, catching her arm and pulling her back to him. "What about Christmas? You're coming with me, right? You and Alex?"

"You still want us too?"

"Of course. You're my family, Stels, and I want my parents to love you as much as I do."

"I love you, Jordie," she whispered, holding him with everything she had.