“See you there, son.” My dad left too, leaving Jordan and I standing arm to arm in the stadium hallway. The moment of peace was desperately needed, and I lowered my head, resting it on Jordan’s shoulder. I breathed her in, the floral and almost spicy perfume comforting me.
“Fuck, that was tough.” She wrapped her arm around my broad shoulders, not quite about to hug me completely. “I’m sorry, Charming. I wish you told me more about them before so I’d know how to help you.”
“No, you were perfect.” I remained there, my body bending to rest on hers for another few seconds. Then I stood and placed my hands on her shoulders. “Thank you. I clam up around them and am wracked with guilt for getting mad at them. My mind goes into this weird useless mode where I freeze, unable to do a thing. You said exactly what I needed, so thank you.”
“Of course. It’s what anyone would say. They were being obnoxious.”
“No, not anyone. Just you.” My lips curved into a smile. “You’re so fearless sometimes. I wish I could be more like you.”
“Knock it off.” She rolled her eyes, but a little blush covered her cheeks. “No need lay it on so thick, Charming. I’ll still come to dinner with you.”
“Oh, you’re joining. I’d honestly kidnap you if you tried leaving me with them.”
“You’d never catch me, big guy. But good try at threatening me.”
“You’d be surprised.” My voice dropped low, my teasing turning into flirting real fast. I didn’t even mean to, but it happened, and the air thickened between us. Her proposal from earlier jumped to the front of my mind, and all the reasons I wanted to say no disappeared.
Her lips parted, and her gaze heated, her hands coming up to my best as she swallowed hard. “I’m really proud of you. It might sound cheesy, but I’m seriously so fucking proud of you, and I want you to know that. You say you could be more like me, but I disagree. I wish I could be more like you.”
That was not what I expected. Her hands remained on me, her fingers digging into my pecs as I slid my hands down hersides. Her words hit me like a train, almost toppling me over. Hearing her say I made her proud had me smiling wide. “Thank you, J. That was awful sweet of you.”
“Me and sweet don’t go in the same sentence.”
“I know. You’re a black cat, but that was a sweet thing to say, and I’m thankful for it. I needed that little boost.” I kissed her forehead, only lingering for a second, before I sighed. “We should do this thing, huh? Get it over with?”
“One hour. We placate your parents for one hour, get some meaty steak and potatoes, then we escape to the hotel.”
I wanted to ask what we’d do then but wasn’t a fool. I knew we’d have to talk about her proposal and what that meant, and I wasn’t sure I was in the right headspace for that. Not after spending time with my divorcing parents.
“How isyour junior year going, Jordan?” my dad asked her after his third glass of wine.
It’d been over an hour, and we were still here. The food took a long time, and while it was good, I was worried my parents’goodbehavior would expire. I couldn’t fucking relax for one second.
“It’s been interesting. My best friend moved in with me after years of dreaming about it. You remember Logan. She’s dating Hawthorne now, and that’s fun. But junior year is good.”
“You have an internship coming up, right?” my mom asked, also on her third glass of wine. My parents weren’t drinkers really, so I wasn’t sure if she was doing so just to get through dinner or if it was a new habit they picked up.
But it made my nerves worse.
“I do, yes. How did you know?”
“Preston mentioned it sometime in August, I think.” Mymom narrowed her eyes at me. “Back when you picked up my calls.”
Here we go.
“Julie, don’t start. He has his own life now. He’s busy having fun.”
“Sure, but I miss our FaceTime calls. I liked hearing about the shenanigans you got into with Jordan and Logan.”
“Oh, I can provide a quick update on all the shenanigans if you’d like. A recap of sorts.” Jordan winked at my mom, instantly calming the brewing storm. “Let’s see, we did mud wrestling, the naked party, game night, video games, parties, oh, a few classes here and there…”
The tension diffused, and both my parents laughed. She continued, going into detail about some of the dumb shit we did, and I eventually relaxed into my chair. Jordan was a fucking rockstar, taking charge of the conversation and keeping it light. She balanced the art of not making it horrible small talk but avoiding any topics that could be problematic. Fuck, this girl was incredible.
“Jesus, you guys are something else.” My dad chuckled hard and stared at me with pride. “I’m glad you’re having fun, Preston. Even with your discipline with hockey, it makes me real happy to see you enjoy your college years. When you go to the pros, you won’t have that fun at first.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, blushing. “Jordan is a huge part of it.” I ignored the last part of his sentence. Filed that away with just another thing to think about later. Wasn’t sure ifproswas an option or if that was what I wanted.
“I can see that.” My dad beamed at her. “Glad you two have each other.”
