I’ll have to feel him out, see what he thinks. This could be exciting, an option I never imagined would be available to me!
And I’m excited just thinking about it.
Chapter 30
Jordan
As we get close to the end of the regular season, I’m starting to focus more on hockey and less on Victoria. As much as it pains me, I have to give hockey everything I’ve got. I also have to talk to Coach Petrov about this situation, because he’s one of the people who wasn’t just there for the blow up that happened four years ago, he was also very clear about me getting involved in drama once I came back to the team.
So, I get to the arena early and go looking for him. He’s usually here early too, and this is the time that he has his open-door policy, where we can go to him about literally anything.
Sure enough, the light is on in his office and he’s sitting at his desk reading something on his computer. I knock lightly even though the door is open, and he glances up with a smile.
“Hey, Jordan. Come on in.”
“Hey. You got a minute?”
“Always.” He nods.
I close the door behind me and sink into a chair from him.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yes. Everything is great. I just…” I hesitate. It’s hard to articulate what I want to say even though I rehearsed it in my head dozens of times over the last couple of days.
“Just spit it out,” he says knowingly. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”
“Victoria and I are back together.” I blurt it out because it seems easier than trying to dance around the issue.
He stares for a beat, and then his brows knit together.
“Victoria…as in, the Victoria?”
I nod.
“I heard that you were involved with someone but that detail didn’t get back to me.”
“Most of the guys don’t remember her or weren’t here when everything blew up. The ones that were have been respectful of my privacy. But I wanted to come clean because it’s serious and I’m here to give you my word that there won’t be any bullshit this time. We’ve both grown up, she’s about to graduate college, and the plan is to move in together this summer.”
He nods. “Okay.”
That catches me off-guard. “Okay? That’s it?”
“What did you expect? That I would ream you a new one or forbid it or something?”
“No, but I thought…I don’t know.” I meet his gaze. “I thought you might be disappointed in me.”
He immediately shakes his head. “No. God, no. I’m a little concerned, definitely, but you’re a grown man who’s shown a ton of maturity the last two years. You’re an asset to the team and someone I consider a friend. I also know how much you loved her four years ago. And sometimes, your first love is your true love. My son Anton and his first love broke up but then found their way back to each other. Now they’re married with three kids. I have a feeling it’s going to be four.”
I smile. “We ran into each other at a club and some guy was hassling her. I intervened and then we talked.” That’s a simplified version but he doesn’t need the details. “I took her to breakfast a week or so later and we talked about everything that happened, got some closure about the baby we lost…and I realized I wasn’t over her.”
“And she feels the same.”
“Yeah, she does.” I pause. “The thing is…”
“Uh oh.” He leans back in his chair. “Go on, tell me.”
“Her dad still doesn’t like me. They had me over for dinner, and there were all kinds of rules and curfews put into place. It’s annoying as fuck.”
