How I Feel

Avery Croft turned as her nephew Alex went running by, the much taller best man chasing after him. He scooped him up, throwing him over his shoulder and then pushing his white shirt out of the way to blow a raspberry across his belly. She couldn't help the laugh that followed.

"Hey," her sister Stella said as she walked up to join her, touching her shoulder.

She turned her face towards her. "Stella, you look gorgeous."

"Thank you. You look so pretty too." She followed her sister's gaze across the room where Jordie took Alex from Jamie. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you checking out Jamie?" She hissed.

"I am not checking out your brother in law," she shot back.

"Jamie's cute."

"Stella! You're related to him now."

"So? That doesn't mean I can't state the obvious. Jamie is cute. He does this adorable little puppy dog thing with his eyes; he taught it to Alex. Don't let him fool you with it."

"He's not cute," she scowled.

"Who's not cute?" Tyler asked as he walked up and stepped between the two women, an arm around each of their shoulders. "Not me I hope."

"You're adorable, Tyler," Stella answered.

"Adorable? I was going for sex on legs." Stella burst out laughing and doubled over. "It wasn't that funny," he pouted.

"But you're like my baby brother, Ty. I can't think about you and sex in the same sentence."

"Yet you just stood here and told me your actual brother in law was cute," Avery pointed out.

Tyler perked up. "Second thoughts already Stella? I always thought you picked the wrong Benn."

"I did not pick the wrong Benn," she said, shoving Tyler lightly. "The right one picked me."

"Awww!" He cooed.

"Why don't you go bother someone else?"

"And miss out on the girl talk? Heck no! Who else do you think is cute on the team? I think Val is the dreamiest."

"That kid is really hot," Avery agreed.

"And me?"

"Not my type," she replied, flicking her gaze over him.

"Burn," he winked.

"Are you harassing my wife Segs?" Jordie said as he walked up.

"Apparently I'm not her type. Got the wrong last name."

"Tyler Seguin!" Stella exclaimed. "Shut your mouth!" She smacked his arm and he rubbed it.

"Ow! That hurt, Stella. I am a delicate flower."

"Delicate my ass."

"Language young lady." She stuck her tongue out at him in response. "Your wife thinks your brother is hot."

"I never said hot," Stella defended herself. "I said he was cute, because Avery was checking him out."

"I was not checking him out! I was watching Alex."

"You'd be better for him than the girl he's been seeing," Jordie said. "That girl is a complete airhead. Stella banned her from the wedding."

"You did not," Avery said as she looked at her sister.

"Yes I did. She's a bimbo and Jamie can do better. And I hate her voice. I would rather stick dull needles in my eye."

"I don't like her either," Tyler added. "Plus she blew me in a bathroom once. Before Jamie of course."

"Of course," Stella deadpanned. "Slut." Tyler stuck his tongue out at her.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Stella suggested. "You've barely said anything to him."

"I don't need to say anything to know what I already know. He's a jock and jocks are assholes."

"Not Jordie," she replied, snuggling into her husband.

"He's the exception, not the rule."

"I'm not an asshole," Tyler spoke up.

"You just told us that Jamie's girlfriend blew you."

"Yeah, but before she started seeing Jamie. I didn't do anything wrong."

"There is so much wrong with this entire conversation. I'm going to get a drink."

Avery left the other three as she made her way to the open bar (Tyler's gift to the newlyweds) and waited for one of the bartenders to fix her cocktail.

As a rule, she didn't date athletes. She was eighteen when Stella had come home in tears, sobbing out her story about Jason, someone her family had never even met. Stella's fail in love had only added to a growing list of reasons why jocks were bad news.

Growing up, the Croft sisters were physically the same. Dark brunette hair, amber colored eyes, and full lips. They were both 5'4", and similar in build. The similarities ended there. Stella had always been more outgoing than her and made friends more easily. Avery much preferred the company of one or two other people, and sometimes just being alone.

In school, teachers always remembered Stella and compared Avery to her which she hated. They both earned good grades, but Avery was far more studious and earned better grades. She applied to Clark just as Stella had, as it was their parent's alma mater, but knew she never intended to go there. She had one school on her list and when the acceptance letter came, she squealed with joy. It was the same day Stella came over and tearfully announced she had gotten married and now needed their daddy's help in getting a divorce.

Needless to say, Avery's announcement of being accepted at Harvard was lost in Stella's proclamation.

Avery's experiences with the jocks in high school left a bad taste in her mouth, and hearing Stella's story only reinforced her opinions. Her work as a statistician did little to change her ideas.

She had always had a vague knowledge of hockey, with the Bruins nearby and then having a team in Worcester. Her dad loved it, and regularly took clients to games. When fancy stats started becoming a thing, she found she had a knack for deciphering the data and started quietly offering her assistance and building a niche role for herself.

Which is how the year previous found her hooked up with a guy that she had once sworn she'd never date. When it inevitably ended badly, it only strengthened her opinion that athletes were jerks and she vowed to never make that mistake again.

"Hey, you're Stella's sister, right?" She heard the voice behind her. She turned to find two of Jordie's teammates standing there.

"Avery."

"I'm Cody, this is Brendon."

"You're Alex's favorite, right?" She said to Brendon.

"That would be me but I'm pretty sure he's replaced me with Darth now."

"Darth?"

"That's Jordie's nickname. Mine is Dills, because my last name is Dillon."

"I see."

"Would you care to dance, Avery?" He smiled.

"I don't....I'm not very good..."

"It won't hurt my feelings to say no but mostly you just gotta sway in place." His smile was friendly as he held his hand out to her and she blushed.

"Okay," she agreed softly, letting him take her hand and lead her out onto the dance floor. Avery was hyper aware of everyone around them and felt like everyone's eyes were on them as Brendon slid one arm around her waist, holding her loosely.

"I would tell you that you should come visit your sister more often but since they traded me, might I suggest a visit to San Jose in your future?"

She laughed. "That will be hard since I'm taking a job here."

"Congratulations. Stella didn't tell us that."

"She doesn't know yet. I just took the job two days ago."

"Why haven't you told her if it's been two days?"

"I don't know if you know this or not, but brides to be are pretty much all consumed by last minute details and major freak outs the last couple of days before a weddings It's something that could wait until after."

"It's good news though, right?"

"I think so."

"I bet Stella will think so too."

"You're probably right but there's been a lot going on; it's news that can wait."

The rest of the evening passed quickly and after Jordie and Stella took their leave, Avery headed back to her hotel. She kicked her heels off at the door and struggled a moment with the zipper of her dress before it fell to her feet and she stepped out of it.

The phone in her room began to ring and she looked at it curiously before picking it up. "Hello?"

"Avery?"

"Who is this?"

"This is Jamie, Jordie's brother. I called the front desk and they transferred me to your room."

"Is something wrong?"

"Kind of. Alex said his stomach hurts and I don't know what to do and I don't want to bother Stella. He's not throwing up and I don't think he's running a fever. But he wants me to sing a song and I don't know it."

In the background Avery could hear Alex whining and she imagined him tugging at Jamie's sleeve. "I know the song. What's your address?"

He rattled it off and she wrote it down on a hotel notepad. "I'm ten minutes from the hotel you're staying at."

"I need five minutes to get dressed and then I'll be on my way."

Jamie had a brief image of Avery naked flash through his mind. She had been quiet at the family functions they were both at, and even as the best man and maid of honor, their interactions had been limited. He wasn't quite sure what to make of her but she was pretty. He hadn't failed to notice that. Or how well she filled out her dress earlier that day.

"Yeah, okay," he finally said after a pause. "Can I like bribe him until you get here?"

Avery laughed. "I don't suppose the stud athlete keeps ice cream in his house, does he?"

"This one does," Jamie boasted.

"Try that. I'll be there in twenty."