Devin walks over and pats her belly while giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry baby, you’ll be so big you can’t see your feet soon enough.”
She punches him on the arm and he winces but laughs. I catch Alex watching everything from the back of the plane where he’s sipping a bottle of water. I can’t help but think he does that a lot, watches his teammates interact with their loved ones, like it’s a movie he wants to see but can’t be a part of. I get that. I was there too.
I walk over to him and rock up on my toes to give him a quick kiss. “You okay?”
He nods and sips his water again. He smiles at me, but it’s forced. “Let’s grab some seats.”
The plane is small but comfortable. I sit in one of the oversized leather seats and Alex sits next to me. Len sits across from me. The flight isn’t long but because I didn’t sleep well I doze off. When I start to wake up again, Alex is still talking with Jordan. Jordan’s words quickly pull me out of my sleepy state, but I don’t open my eyes or move my head off Alex’s shoulder where it must have dropped when I nodded off.
“So no one is coming? Not even Brie and Mac? You haven’t brought anyone to family day, like, ever have you?”
“I have you guys and your crazy families to amuse me,” Alex jokes back, but I can feel the tension in his body.
Jordan laughs. “Yeah, we do tend to be entertaining.”
“Nothing is going to be more entertaining than watching you try to be a dad,” Alex laughs. “This kid is in for a hell of a ride. Hopefully I’m on this team long enough to see it myself or else I’ll have to have Jessie send me videos of all your epic diaper-change and burping fails. Have you bought the kid a helmet and protective suit yet? You know you’re going to drop it at least once.”
“Fuck you, buddy,” Jordan jokes. “You can bust my balls all you want, but I think you’re not so different from me anymore. So remember, payback is going to be a bitch.”
“I am not the family-man type,” Alex says.
Jordan makes a noise in the back of his throat. “Yeah, well you’re fooling everyone right now. Even yourself.”
I know he’s referring to me and I can feel their eyes on me. I know a flush is imminent so I stir, moving my body Alex and tilting my head toward the window so they don’t see my face. I still pretend I’m asleep though, because I need time to absorb what I just heard.
“I know you always said you break headboards not hearts,” Jordan whispers but I hear it loud and clear. “But this thing with…” He doesn’t say my name but I’m betting he’s gesturing to me. “Feels like more than a broken headboard and I have to say, it suits you.”
“It is.” His answer is terse. “Now shut up.”
“You’re a headcase you know that, Rue,” Jordan says with a slight chuckle. “You’re lucky chicks think you’re cute.”
“They think you’re cute,” he retorts back. “They think I’m a god.”
“Ha!” Jordan balks at that and I shift again, this time opening my eyes and praying I look groggy and like I just came out of a coma.
“Hey. Have a good nap?” Alex asks and kisses my cheek. I nod and plaster a fake smile on my face and glance across from us at Len who is still sound asleep. I’m guessing she’s not faking it by the snoring. I lean forward and give her a gentle shake.
“We’re landing soon,” I tell her and she nods, rubs the sleep from her eyes and mumbles something about freshening up and heads to the bathroom.
Alex reaches over and takes my hand in his. His eyes cloud over. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Sure. Have you been to Maine before?”
He nods. “Yeah for Jordan’s wedding. And a couple times before that during the summers to visit him. I spend most of the off-season bumming around visiting teammates.”
“So most players go back to their hometowns when they aren’t playing?” I question.
“Yeah.”
“When was the last time you went back to Quebec?”
He looks startled by that question but he answers it. “I haven’t been back since I was started playing professionally. No point.”
“What’s the family thing Jordan was mentioning?” I ask bluntly. Now his startled face morphs into a guilty one because he knows I heard his conversation.
“It’s nothing.”
Okay then. I lean forward and turn to look at Jessie across the aisle. “Jessie, what’s family day?”
