by Alley Ciz
“Mommy, hurry, Jordan’s here.”
By the time he reached the bouncing five year olds, Jordan was out of her car and was letting the dog out. “Navy, come.”
The big black lab jumped out of the car and sat in front of Jordan waiting for his next command.
“Good boy, Navy.” When she bent down to kiss his nose he licked the entire left side of her face with one swoop.
She wiped away the slobber but before she could stand Sean jumped into her arms knocking her over. “Jordy I missed you.”
She kissed her brother’s cheek. “I missed you, too, buddy.” After she put him down she scratched the dog behind the ears. “Plus, Navy loves being around you. With all the food you drop he stays well fed. How could I deprive him of that?”
Sean ran back to the middle of the yard where Carlee was and took her hand. “Jordy this is my friend Carlee, she lives next door. We have swimming lessons together. Can she meet Navy? I told her all about him.” Sean was speaking a mile a minute without taking a breath.
Jordan smiled at the kids and spoke with such care and openness. It was a skill you didn’t find in a lot of twenty year olds. Jake liked it.
“Of course, buddy. Hello Carlee, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Jordan,” she turned to pet the dog. “And this is Navy.”
Carlee looked at the dog questionably.
It was obvious Carlee was nervous by the sheer size of the dog. Jordan reached out a hand out for Carlee. “Don’t worry he’s very nice just hold out your hand for him to sniff and if he licks you, you’re good to go.”
Jake smiled when Carlee took Jordan’s hand and cautiously made her way up to the dog. Most guys his age wouldn’t think twice about how a girl treated kids, but having a sister so much younger than himself made him appreciate it.
When Navy licked Carlee’s hand she laughed and the two kids sandwiched him with hugs. It was an amusing sight and Jake could tell the dog loved the affection.
Carlee ran her hands up and down Navy’s back. “Wow your dog is so soft. Thanks for letting me pet him.”
“No problem, honey. He loves kids.”
“Sean, your sister is so nice.”
He nodded. “Yeah she’s my favorite. But shh don’t tell my brothers.” He gave Carlee a little wink, the action not going unnoticed by Jordan.
“Where in the world did you learn to wink at girls? You’re five,” she asked in disbelief.
“Ry and Jase do it,” Sean looked at Jake. “So does Jake.”
Unbelievable. Why does it feel like I’m getting played out by a five year old?
“Oh they do, do they,” Jordan rolled her eyes. “Do you even know why they do it?”
“No but it makes all the girls happy.”
“We are in so much trouble when you get older buddy,” Jordan said with a laugh.
Jake had to agree with the sentiment.
“She’s pretty too,” Carlee added and turned to face her brother. “Jake don’t you think Jordan’s pretty?”
At Carlee’s question Jordan looked at him. “Hey, Jake.”
“Hey.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me we were neighbors last night,” she scolded.
“I guess in all the excitement I didn’t think about it.”
“Wow what are the odds.” She gestured to Carlee. “I take it she’s your sister?”
“Yeah she’s my crazy monster.” He pulled on one of Carlee’s pigtails, smiling as he remembered all the chaos he’d endured since the Donnellys moved in a few weeks ago.
His sister was not one to be ignored and huffed as she moved to where Jake was standing. She pulled his right arm to egg him on.
“Jake, you didn’t answer my question. Don’t you think Jordan is pretty?”
God how could he not. She was wearing jean shorts and a loose white t-shirt, hair pulled back in a ponytail showing off big hoop earrings, even without makeup she was still a knock out.
He placed a hand on her head. “Yes, Carlee, I think Jordan is very pretty.”
His gaze locked with Jordan and he watched her blush.
“You should take her on a date,” Carlee announced.
Shocked by his sister’s comment he shook his head while running a hand over it. “Excuse me? Since when have you become a little match maker?”
“Since that mean girl Tabby was over last week.” Carlee frowned and looked down at the ground.
He heard Jordan giggle in the background.
He couldn’t believe his sister’s outburst. He didn’t necessarily like Tabby in that way either. She was a persistent puck bunny so they went on a few dates but it was nothing serious.
“How do you even remember her?”
Carlee couldn’t have spent more than ten minutes with Tabby the one night she was over to watch a movie. That night had been their last date after she tried to get him to have sex in his family’s den, with everyone home. Not his style.
“I don’t like her, she called me a baby.” Carlee’s frown deepened.
“Don’t worry about Tabby.” He pulled her close to his side for a hug. “I’m not sure how Jordan’s boyfriend would feel about her going on a date with me though.”
But before anyone could say anything else Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly were coming out their front door.
JORDAN COULDN’T BELIEVE her luck. Jake was her new neighbor? How the hell did this not come up the night before? Of all the houses her parents could have moved into, they picked the one next door to temptation itself. If he was just Jake, she would have thanked the stars for her good fortune. But he wasn’t. He was Jake Donovan, hockey goalie. AKA her brothers’ teammate. Dammit!
She cursed ever promising not to date another teammate of theirs. Home not even twenty four hours, she already questioned her decision to transfer to BTU. She thought she built up her resolve while away at NYU. Unfortunately, without the distance school provided, she was more susceptible to temptation than she thought.
It was obvious he recently finished working out based on the sweat soaked tank he wore. Damn if the sight didn’t make her knees weak. She tracked a bead of sweat running down the side of his face and had to fight the urge to follow it with her tongue. Where the hell did that thought come from?
She was grateful for the distraction Sean and Carlee provided. Jake’s sister was adorable and the way he interacted with her was a total turn-on. Shit. Seriously stop thinking things like that. Nothing more than friendship. Remember?
It was time to schedule a girl’s night out to find a distraction, of the male variety, to get her mind off her sexy new neighbor. A fact driven home by the flutter of excitement she felt learning the attraction was mutual and flash of disappointment over him dating. However, she was confused over why he would think she had a boyfriend.
Unfortunately, before getting clarification, her parents came outside to greet her.
“Jordan, baby, welcome home. I missed you so much.” Her mom pulled her into a fierce hug.
Jordan squeezed her mom back as they swung from side to side. “Hi Mom. I missed you too.”
“I can’t tell you how excited I am that you’ll be living at home instead of school. The testosterone in the house is out of hand.”
“I bet. I guess it’s a good thing Ry and Jase don’t live at home.”
“You wouldn’t think that was the case the way they eat me out of house and home.” Her mom let out a loving laugh.
“Not sure if that’s gonna get any better. You know Skye will be over all the time. Plus Maddey and Sammy when they have time off from school.”
“The more the merrier.” Her mom turned her attention to Jake. “Hi Jake, how are you honey?”
“Hi Mrs. D. I’m good. Seeing your boys soon at the rink,” Jake said with a smile.
“You boys work too hard.”
Jordan turned to hug her father. “Hi Daddy.”
“Hi Princess. How are you? Are you hungry? I can make you one of my famous omelets.”
“No
thanks I’m ok, I just want to get settled in. Is all my stuff here?”
“Yes it is. Your godfather took care of everything.” Her dad laughed.
“I’m sure he did.” She focused her attention back to her brother. “Sean why don’t you take Navy in the house and set him up with food and water while I get the rest of my things from the car. You and Carlee can play with him in the backyard when he’s done. His Frisbee and dishes are in the duffle bag.”
The little kid beamed. “Really? Aww man you’re the best, Jordy.” He gave her a hug before he reached down to drag the bag into the house.
Her parents followed the troops inside. “And while Navy eats, I’ll make you two some of my world famous omelets,” Jordan heard her father say.
It was the first time she was alone with Jake, not sure what to say an awkward silence followed.
“Sorry about Carlee. She doesn’t really have a verbal filter yet,” Jake said, sounding embarrassed.
“It’s okay. Sean is the same way. He’s so nosey, sometimes I swear he’s a little spy for my other brothers. When he would visit me at school with my parents, he would ask any guy I talked to if they were my boyfriend,” she said on a laugh.
“But I do have one question. What makes you think I have a boyfriend?” She asked with a tilt of the head.
“When I saw you kiss the DJ last night I figured he was your boyfriend. I didn’t think you kissed random guys in front of your brothers. I mean they seem kinda overprotective.”
She couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that came out in response.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just funny,” her hand came up to cover her smile. “First off, Sammy is not my boyfriend. Neither is anyone else. Let’s just say… I’m not his type.”
She could see confusion written all over his face. “What do you mean you’re not his type? He likes brunettes or something?”
She bit back another grin. “No I’m not a guy. Sammy’s gay… Most people wouldn’t know it but he is one hundred percent gay.” She paused. “He does have great taste in men though.”
“I would have never guessed it.”
“Yup. It’s funny you’d think he was my boyfriend. Gotta love it.”
She sighed and looked at her car.
“Well I guess I should finish taking my things out of the car and unpack.”
She watched Jake’s gaze linger on the convertible, naked appreciation on his face.
“Nice ride.” As if drawn by a magnet, he walked closer to the car.
“Thanks, I love ‘vettes. It was a high school graduation gift from my godfather.”
Jake lifted an eyebrow. “Nice godfather.”
“Yeah he likes to spoil me.” She shook her head remembering some of the more outrageous gifts she received.
She walked over to where Jake stood and popped the trunk.
“Autobots?” Jake ran a finger over the transformer emblem that replaced the classic flags.
“Yeah. I love the Transformers.”
“No shit?” He said with a smile. “You know… I have Optimus Prime on my goalie mask.”
“Really?” Her eyes widen in surprise.
“Yeah I was obsessed with the toys when I was younger.”
“We had the toys too. It used to drive Jase nuts when I would take the cars and use them for my Barbies. Which only made me do it more.”
When her story garnered a laugh from him, she felt ten feet tall. It was shocking how easy he was to get along with.
Jake lifted her carry-on suitcase from the trunk. “When they started making the movies, my parents surprised me one year with the custom artwork.”
“That’s seriously cool. You’ve gotta show me sometime.”
“You got it.”
They were interrupted by a horn honking.
“Yo, loverboy, get a move on. We need to be at the rink in fifteen minutes,” Tucker yelled from his car.
“Asshole.” Jordan heard Jake mutter under his breath.
“Hey Jordan. Lookin’ good.” Tucker flirted.
“Hey Tuck,” she said with a wave before turning her attention back to Jake. “Guess you gotta go.”
“Yeah our team captain is a real slave driver,” he said with a wink.
“Guess I’ll be seeing you around, since you live fifty feet from me,” she said, gesturing to their houses.
“See you later Jordan. Tuck give me a minute I have to get my gear.”
As Jake ran to get his gear, she couldn’t help but appreciate the flexing of the muscles of his very attractive behind. It really was too bad he was her brothers’ teammate.
Chapter Three
Jake slid into the passenger seat of Tucker’s Mustang after placing his gear on the backseat. It didn’t take long for Tucker to start busting his balls, luckily he was used it.
“Sooooooo, I see Jordan moved in.” Tucker said wiggling his eyebrows.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He tried to be nonchalant. “Of course she moved in, Ry and Jase told us she was moving home since she was transferring to BTU.”
Tucker pulled the car away from the curb to drive them to the rink. “Actually they said JD was moving home with the transfer.”
“So I’m not the only one who thought JD and Jordan were two different people?” He looked at Tucker, watching his reactions carefully.
“Nah. I thought the same thing. They didn’t really talk about Jordan much. I only really remember hearing anything about her after seeing her post on their Facebook and shit. But even then, they didn’t say much. I tried to see if I could find out more about her, because she’s hot, but her accounts are private.”
“Same here. Every now and then she’d post something funny on their walls or trash talk one of their Instagram posts, and I’d want to know more… but nothing.”
“Do you think it was intentional?”
“I don’t know.” Jake shifted in his seat, unsure why the thought made him uncomfortable. “I can’t see why. I keep trying to remember if they ever blatantly said JD was a guy. Or a different person from Jordan and I can’t recall any.”
They pulled into the parking lot of the practice rink and parked next to Ryan’s car. As they unloaded their gear Wade and Nick pulled in. Looked like it was going to be drills for Ryan’s whole line. Together the four of them walked into the rink.
“So was that her whip?” Tucker asked as they walked down the hallway leading to the locker room.
“Yeah. Sick ride, right?”
Tucker nodded. “Girl has some serious taste.”
“She even has an Autobot emblem on her car.” Jake smiled at the memory.
“No shit. Damn I thought you were the only grown transformer junkie out there. Marry her.”
He popped Tucker in the chest. “Asshole.”
“Who you guys talkin’ about?” Wade asked pushing the doors to the locker room open.
“Jordan. Ry and Jase’s sister.” Tucker answered sitting down to put on his skates.
“JD is home?” Nick asked surprised.
“You call her JD too?” Jake asked trying to piece things together.
“Pretty much. Jase was Jay and she was JD anytime they were at the house,” Wade confirmed.
“Yeah and I fucking hated it when they called me Jay too. That’s why they did it. Thank god they stopped once I was actually on the team.” Jase said from in front of his locker.
“You used to hang at the house before you were on the team?” Jake asked pulling on his leg pads. The other guys didn’t need full gear since it was a skills practice, but he did being their target.
“Yeah they used to come by all the time to chill with Mr. Superstar over here.” Wade waved a hand in Ryan’s direction.
Ryan flipped Wade the bird at the dig causing the guys to laugh.
“Why’d she stop coming around? She’s a hell of a lot better to look at then your ugly asses,” Tucker joked.
An awkward silence de
scended, making the room feel as if all the oxygen was sucked out of it. Finally Ryan spoke.
“That’s why,” Ryan pointed his hockey stick at Tucker. “We don’t need guys like you hitting on her.”
“I wouldn’t hit on your sister.”
“Says the guy who started hitting on her best friend as soon as she started working at Rookies…” Jase pointed out.
“Hey, Skye isn’t your sister.”
“Might as well be.”
“Whatever,” Tucker grumbled.
Jake had to laugh to himself because the moment Tucker saw Jordan he hit on her too, but being the good best friend that he was, he didn’t remind their friends of that fact.
“Alright ladies enough chit-chat. Let’s get to work.” Ryan said with authority only a captain could.
Chapter Four
After spending a few of hours working out with the guys Jake returned home. Between the night out, his run, and practice, he was beat. He stored his gear in the mud room and headed for his room hoping to get a shower and nap in before Carlee returned home from the Donnelly’s.
He entered his room and enjoyed the cool breeze he felt on his skin. He’d been taking advantage of the recent lack of humidity by leaving his windows open.
He stripped his t-shirt off and headed for his ensuite bathroom. Before he could reach his destination, he was distracted by the sound of laughter outside. His room was in the back corner of the house and overlooked both his and the Donnelly’s backyards. As he looked out the window, he could see Sean and Carlee splashing around in the pool with Jordan.
He was surprised to see Jordan entertaining the kids and not one of her parents. It usually took Carlee time to warm up to new people, instead she played around like she’d known Jordan forever. Shocked by the scene below, he couldn’t look away.
Unfortunately, Carlee caught him red handed. “Jake, hey Jake come down here and play. I wanna show you what Jordan taught me.”
He cursed the missed opportunity for a nap. “Sure honey, I’ll be right down, just let me put on my suit.”
Five minutes later he opened the gate to the Donnelly’s.
