Cherry Lips

Camryn was still less than thrilled to attend the game the next night but they had a good time nonetheless. It had taken more than an hour the day before to convince Camryn to even go to with her but it was a fight worth fighting in Landon’s mind. Cam had been one of her first friends in Dallas and for as long as she had known her, she had never celebrated her birthday or made a big deal about it. She deserved one night to feel like the center of everyone’s world and why not let Tyler Seguin be the main one for that?

Landon shot Jason a quick text after the game thanking him for the tickets and Camryn leaned in to see who she was texting.

"You have his phone number?" She whispered with surprise.

"Jason? Yeah, we exchanged numbers. I'm just thanking him for the tickets. It was fun."

"Yeah but...what does Stevie think?"

"I didn't tell him. It shouldn't be a big deal who I'm friends with." It was sort of true. She didn't tell him that Jason gave her the tickets; she didn't tell him that they were gonna meet up after and she definitely didn't tell him she had his number. She had only told him about seeing him at the coffee shop and meeting for lunch after his reaction to that news.

"I don't know if you noticed but Jason is really good looking."

She had but she answered diplomatically instead. "He's also gone all the time and doesn't even live here full time. I imagine it's also stressful."

"Maybe, but one look into those killer blue eyes ought to make everything better."

Oh those blue eyes, Landon thought. She could get distracted just staring into those crystal blue orbs. She couldn't tell Cam that though so she flipped her words back on her. "Sounds to me like you have a crush. Want me to tell him?"

"No! And I don't have a crush on Jason. I'm merely stating the obvious."

"Why don't you state the obvious about Tyler then? I mean, you are the one who kissed him."

She blushed. "I thought I was being helpful. How would it have looked if those girls had kidnapped him? At a team function no less! I was thinking of the team, that's all."

"Sure you were, not whether that body lived up to photographs."

"That body lived up to expectations, trust."

They headed out after that, laughing as they exited the arena, heading for Cam’s car. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Landon's phone dinged. She smiled upon seeing Jason's name and typed a response before tucking it into her purse.

"What was that?" Camryn asked.

"What was what?"

"That smile."

"Nothing."

"Was that Jason?"

"Yes; he said to tell you happy birthday and that anytime we want tickets to let him know. Now, are you ready to drink?"

"You didn't give me a choice."

"If I gave you a choice you'd be at home in sweatpants watching Netflix."

"I don't know why you don't think that sounds like a good night."

"You're young and haven't had a date in six months. I need you to get out and live life. Which is why we're going out tonight. We're gonna drink and dance and flirt with boys and have a good time."

"Drink, dance, flirt," Camryn repeated. "Got it."

They made the drive to the downtown nightclub and headed inside. The two girls shared a shot at the bar and then found a table to share a cocktail before hitting the dance floor.

Landon spotted Tyler making their way towards them sometime later and she smiled to herself when he spun Camryn away from her and they disappeared into the crowd. Landon followed a group of giggling girls in tiny dresses until she spotted Jamie and Jason. She waved to them and Jason's face broke out in a smile. He sidestepped the girls and made his way to Landon.

"Hey! Do you need a drink?"

"Yes please," she grinned. They made their way to the bar as Avery saved Jamie from the giggling girls.

"When I told Segs Cam was gonna be here he couldn't get here fast enough."

"I did not tell Camryn we might run into you guys. She was surprised I had seen you."

"Why is that?"

"I guess I missed the law where a girl can't be friends with a guy just because she has a boyfriend," she shrugged. "I don't get why it's a big deal honestly. And if Stevie were secure in our relationship, and trusted me, then he wouldn't give a shit that I have friends who are boys."

"I'm sorry I've caused trouble for you."

Landon sighed. "It's not your fault, Jason. It didn't matter who my friends were until it was you and that's ridiculous."

"I think you should forget it for tonight, drink, and have fun. And then tomorrow you can tell Stevie that you told me to take a hike and never contact you again."

She frowned. "I'm not doing that."

"What? Drinking?”

"No; cutting off my friendship with you."

"We barely know each other, Landy. It'll suck, but I'll get over it. Eventually."

"Landy?"

"Yeah; Landy and Daddy. It has a nice ring to it, right?"

"You're not right."

"Obviously."

"Which is exactly why you need a friend like me. Come on; you promised me a free bar tab."

Landon spent the night laughing and dancing with Jason, enjoying the night out with good people. She liked hanging out with Stella and Avery, who were surprisingly down to earth and welcoming.

She and Camryn left the club just after two and they took Jason, Tyler, Jamie, and Avery with them to their favorite 24 hour diner for French toast before they all parted ways and made their way home.

Landon fell into bed with one shoe on and one off, still in her jeans but without her shirt, leaving her clad in just her bra when she woke up. She pulled the covers over her head and burrowed under but her ringing phone had her tossing them back.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, baby."

"Hi, Stevie."

"Do you want to get lunch today?"

"Sure, I just need to get up and take a shower."

"You're not up yet?"

"I didn't get home until almost four.."

"What did you girls do last night?"

"Just went out to the club for some dancing and drinking."

"Camryn had a good birthday then?"

"She did," Landon smiled to herself.

"I'm glad you two had a nice night. I'll let you get ready; I'll pick you up in an hour?"

"Hour and a half and I'll meet you there. How does Luck sound?" The local food meets local craft beers was one of Landon's favorite places.

"Sounds good. I'll see you there."

As she took a shower, her thoughts drifted to the night before and a conversation and a piece of information Avery had let slip about Jason. He was divorced, which wasn't that big of a deal, but he was divorced from one of his teammates wives.

At first she had been weirded out by that, but after Stella explained that it was years ago, and they had only been twenty, she started to think maybe it wasn't weird after all. Later in the night, Stella pulled her aside and told her the whole story, including that she and Jason had a son together but that Jordie had adopted him and they had a good balance amongst them when it came to Alex.

Knowing that bit of information made Landon more aware of Jordie's interactions with Jason and they were obviously friends, laughing and cutting up with one another. That made her decide if it wasn't a big deal to Jordie, then it shouldn't be a big deal to her.

Except....she and Jason were only friends. So why should she care at all?

Landon and Stevie had just finished lunch and had ordered dessert when she saw Stella and Jordie approaching their table. She shifted lower in her seat, hoping to avoid them noticing her but it was too late.

"Landon, hi!" Stella exclaimed, pulling the other woman out of her chair and hugging her. "I had so much fun last night; I'm so glad you and Camryn came out."

"Thanks for including us. Hey, Jordie," she smiled. "This is my boyfriend Stevie."

"Hey man," Jordie grinned. "It's nice to meet you."

Stevie shook his outstretched hand. "You too," he replied with a tight smile.

"Come on, Stels," Jordie said, sensing the tension rolling off the other man. He shot an apologetic look at Landon before continuing. "Let's leave these two alone. I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Stella answered with a roll of her eyes. "See you soon, Landon." She waved and let Jordie lead her away as Landon sat back down.

“So,” Steve started.

“What?”

“You were out with them last night.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “They’re nice people, Stevie. Tyler wanted Cam to have a nice birthday so we went to the game. They met us at the club after and she’s seeing him tonight so I’m calling that a win. You could’ve come; I invited you to meet us out.”

“If I had known you were going to be hanging out with those guys, I would have. But you didn’t tell me that, just like you didn’t tell me that you were having lunch with Demers.”

“I have lunch every day; I have lunch with other people almost every day. What’s the big deal with having lunch with Jason?”

“He’s a guy.”

“And? Mark is a guy and you don’t care if I have lunch with him.”

“You work with Mark and I know Mark. Demers is a hockey player; those guys all expect you to sleep with them.”

“Jason does not expect me to sleep with him,” she shot back hotly. “We both lived in San Jose and now we both live here. It was bonding over a shared connection and it was not a big deal. Jason was polite and nothing but a gentleman. Furthermore, I told him that you were being a spoiled brat about my being friends with him and he told me it was fine, that we hardly knew each other so it wasn’t a big deal to stop talking to each other.”

“Good,” he replied, folding his arms over his chest.

“You are an asshole,” Landon said as she stood abruptly. “Don’t call me,” she shot over her shoulder as she walked away from the table.