by Alley Ciz
“You know I always wondered what happened to him. Now I know.”
“What do you mean?” He felt more than heard her mumble into his chest.
“I researched all the teams that courted me. I tried to find out as much about the players who would potentially be my teammates as I could. I was impressed the Titans were able to land such talented forwards two years in a row. Granted, Tommy’s skill was miles away from the level Ryan’s is, but the fact that the Titans got him and then your brother the following year proved they were serious in making their program the strongest possible.”
Jordan was quiet for moment before she spoke. “It’s one of the reasons I blame myself for you guys sucking so bad your freshman year.”
He couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Yeah the team was pretty awful. But I don’t see why you would blame yourself.”
“Now you sound like my brothers,” she grumbled.
“I take it they don’t agree with you?”
“Nope. They got all pissy I wasn’t coming around. Cornered me during winter break my freshman year.”
“Why didn’t you listen to them?” If she did he would have met her earlier.
“I did. I just thought it would be better if I didn’t hang around the team though. I knew some of the seniors were upset their last season was ruined. I was the reason one of their star forwards wasn’t playing.”
“That’s bullshit. You didn’t hit yourself. I don’t care what the reason is, a man never puts his hands on a woman.” Conviction rang in his voice.
“Thanks… Can we talk about something else now please?”
He pulled the blanket from earlier higher when she snuggled deeper in his arms.
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
“Don’t care. Anything.”
He thought for a moment. They needed a light topic.
“So what made your parents have Sean? I know I have a similar age difference with Carlee but you and Jase are so close in age to Ryan, such a big age gap seems odd.”
Her laugh confirmed he was successful.
“Yeah… umm… he was a souvenir my parents brought home from their second honeymoon.”
“Sounds like a good time.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Eww.” She placed a hand over her face as if to ward off the mental images he painted.
“Sorry.”
“No worries,” her hand dropped from her face to rest on his stomach. “Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. My dad is always grabbing my mom’s ass and stuff when he thinks we aren’t looking. It’d be gross if they weren’t so cute together.”
Jake’s ab muscles constricted when her thumb started tracing their bumps. He was pretty sure she wasn’t aware she was doing it.
“What about Carlee? I can’t believe you have the same age gap in your family too.”
“Carlee is my mom’s little miracle. My parents tried for years after they had me for another baby with no success. Then, poof, Carlee happened.”
“Bet they were shocked.”
“You have no idea. Now she runs the house. All of us are wrapped around her cute little finger.”
“She is cute,” she said around another yawn.
Chapter Eleven
Jordan was very warm and comfortable and did not want to wake up. She had such a restful night sleep with no dreams. Her alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet but something had woken her up. When she opened her eyes she saw why she was so warm, Jake slept beside her. The guy was like her own personal space heater.
“What are they doing?”
After a few seconds she heard what woke her up, it sounded like whispering. She looked up at Jake when he started to stir.
“It looks like they’re sleeping.”
“But why?”
When Jake opened his eyes, his emerald depths alight with pleasure, everything else ceased to exist.
“Morning,” he said with a lazy smile.
She blinked a few times to clear the fog he created. “Hi,” she smiled too. “I can’t believe we fell asleep.”
“Yeah I guess we stayed up later than we thought.”
“Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“That would be so cool.”
Again Jordan heard the noise that woke her. “Listen. Do you hear that?”
Jake lifted his head to hear better. “What is that?”
“I’m not sure but that’s what woke me up.” She sat up in the hammock and saw little feet sticking out from behind the pool shed. “I think I have the answer to that riddle.” She paused. “We’ve been caught red handed.”
Jake looked confused. “Huh?”
She pointed over to the shed. “Look at the left side of the pool shed… do you see little feet sticking out?”
He sat up to get a better look. The action caused his body to rub against hers. “Oh yeah now I see them. They are such little sneaks,” he said with a lazy half smile that damn near broke her heart.
“You two can come out now, we know you’re there,” she called.
They watched as Sean and Carlee made their way out from behind the shed, heads down in embarrassment. “Sorry,” they said in unison.
They looked so sullen and guilty, there was no way anyone would be able to stay upset with them. “It’s ok guys, but why were you hiding?” She asked.
Sean was first to answer. “Well Mom couldn’t find you so I went to play with Carlee and to see if Jake would take us to swimming and when we went to find Jake we saw you sleeping out here and we didn’t know why so…”
“Crap!” She pushed a hand against Jake’s chest. “What time is it?”
She reached for her phone and came up empty.
“Do you have your phone? I guess I left mine at home,” she asked Jake.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s 9:30.”
“Crap. I have to be at the pool by 10.”
Realization hit that an innocent situation, like accidentally falling asleep with Jake in a hammock, could become a completely disastrous scenario if her other brothers found out about it the wrong way. “Listen you aren’t in trouble. But you have to make me one very big promise, okay?”
The little ones looked at each other and nodded. “Okay what?”
“You can’t tell Ry or Jase we were sleeping in the hammock. Deal?”
“Deal!” They shouted. She knew they were happy they weren’t in trouble.
With that settled she got out of the hammock. “Okay, I’m going to go get my stuff and we can go to the pool. Is Mom picking you guys up after lessons because I have to run practice?”
“I don’t know she’s not home.”
“What do you mean she’s not home?”
“After she told me to ask Mrs. D for a ride she went to the store.”
Indecision warred within her. She would have to text her brothers to see if one of them could pick the kids up from the pool.
“I can pick them up, it’s not a problem,” Jake offered.
“You’re my savior.” She gave him a grateful smile.
“Come on Navy. Time to eat buddy.”
Her big lab stood and stretched before following her out of the Donovan backyard.
Moments later she ran through the sliding glass doors of her house into the kitchen. The first thing she did was look for her phone and found it on the kitchen island. As she checked the battery status she noticed a missed call from an unknown number, but no time to figure it out.
In her room she quickly changed out of her pajamas and into her red lifeguard suit and pair of daisy dukes. After confirming her swim duffle had everything she needed, she ran back downstairs to feed Navy.
A glance at the clock confirmed she didn’t have time to make coffee. Dammit.
JAKE OPENED HIS eyes to what he thought was the best sight in the world, Jordan. She slept with her arm draped across his chest and her leg intertwined with his. He liked that she was drawn to him in her sleep.
He ran a hand up
and down her arm when he noticed she was awake. “Morning.” He said while a lazy smile spread across his face.
She blinked a few times. “Hi,” she smiled too. “I can’t believe we fell asleep.”
“Yeah I guess we stayed up later than we thought.”
He wasn’t sure what time they actually fell asleep but it had to be late. They spent hours joking and talking as they learned how much they had in common.
The night could have been described as perfect, with the way Jordan cuddled against him as they talked and the easy chemistry they had. The only exception was having to listen to Jordan explain about her breakup with Tommy Bradford.
Tommy. Fucking. Bradford.
He had a feeling there was more to the story than she let on, but he let it go for now.
The bliss from waking up with Jordan was interrupted by two pint-sized troublemakers. He could feel the anxiety roll off her body while she got Sean to promise not to say anything to their brothers. He had to admit he was relieved Sean agreed. The last thing he needed was for his friends to get the wrong impression of his intentions before he had a chance to state them.
“What do you mean she’s not home?” Jordan asked her brother, bringing Jake’s attention back to the conversation at hand.
“After she told me to ask Mrs. D for a ride she went to the store,” Sean answered.
The kids needed to be picked up from practice. Jake saw it as the perfect opportunity to see her again so he offered his assistance. “I can pick them up it’s not a problem.”
“You’re my savior.”
When she smiled at him he vowed he would do whatever it took to always keep her that way. The night before only reinforced the instant attraction he felt toward her.
“Come on squirts. Let’s get some food.”
Jake led the kids into the kitchen. He set them up with Frosted Flakes to eat while he made himself breakfast. He still couldn’t believe he’d woken up with Jordan in his arms. It was like his thoughts conjured her up. He’d been dreaming of the two of them together and when he opened his eyes she was really there.
At first he thought he was still dreaming but then he felt her move beside him and knew it was real. You couldn’t feel a dream could you?
He was in the middle of scrambling eggs when Sean started talking to him. “Hey, Jake?”
He turned to face Sean. “Yeah, buddy.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
Sean looked really nervous but still pushed on. “You like my sister, right?”
Jake paused before he answered. He had to tread lightly where Jordan was concerned. He knew how he felt and was pretty sure she felt the same way but also knew it was a complicated situation that involved not only them but also two of his best friends. “Yeah.” He decided to keep it simple.
Sean played with his cereal and was still looking down when he started talking again. “So you would never hurt her right?”
Jake wasn’t sure how to respond. He was dumbfounded. Of all the questions he could have been asked, this wasn’t one he would have ever anticipated. “No, of course not buddy. Why would you ask that?”
“Just wondering.”
Jordan entered the kitchen preventing him from probing any further. “Hey kids, ready to go?”
“Yup!” Sean jumped off his stool and ran over to his sister.
“So what time should I pick them up?” He handed Jordan a travel coffee cup.
“What’s this for?”
“I figured you wouldn’t take the time to make yourself one, even though I’m sure you need it.”
“Thanks.” She took a tentative sip before she looked up at him in surprise. “This is perfect. How’d you know how I take it?”
“I remembered how you took it yesterday at the house.”
It was obvious she was touched by the comment.
“Anyway lessons are over at 11:30, so any time after that. I can have one of the other lifeguards keep an eye on them until you get there,” she turned her attention to the kids. “Are you guys ready to go?”
The kids nodded and grabbed their stuff. Then the three of them were out the door and on their way.
Jake went for a run in the free time before having to pick up the kiddos from swim lessons. He was hoping the exercise would keep his mind off Jordan’s revelations. He knew she dated a member of the hockey team and things ended badly. But the truth blew his mind.
Her story was worse than he imagined. Consequently, it created a pact between the Donnelly siblings that Jordan would never date another member of the team.
On top of all that, there was Sean’s question if he would ever hurt his sister. That was the thing that baffled Jake the most.
Was Sean just mature beyond his years and mean emotionally hurt his sister or could he actually mean physically hurt her? The latter tore his stomach up in knots. He hoped Sean didn’t see him as anything like Tommy Bradford.
He figured he and Jordan danced around their attraction long enough. It was time to do something about it.
His run took him longer than planned and it was just before noon by the time he arrived at the pool. He found Sean and Carlee playing in the pool with some of the other kids.
Carlee was laughing at something Sean was doing when she noticed him walking their way. “Hey, Jake!”
“Hi, sweetie,” he looked around the pool area. “Where’s Jordan?”
She pointed towards the deep end of the pool, where the summer team practiced. “Over there.”
He followed her finger to where Jordan stood next to the diving blocks and saw her talking to two swimmers, gesturing something with her arms. He’d seen her in pants-tightening bikinis, but in her red one piece boasting Lifeguard across the chest and a white cross beneath, she belonged on the set of Baywatch.
A moment later she looked in their direction, waved and motioned she would be there in a minute. After Jake nodded he would wait she turned back to the swimmers she was speaking with.
“Why don’t you two dry off and get your stuff? We’ll head out after we say goodbye to Jordan.”
The kids hurried over to their towels. His attention turned back to Jordan, drawn to her as usual. He watched her remove the whistle and stopwatch from around her neck and hand them to the swimmer at the block she was talking to. Next she donned the goggles wrapped around her wrist and stood on the diving block. She said something to the swimmer in the water while pointing down the lane.
The swimmer in the water swam out a little further before swimming toward the wall with the diving blocks. Jordan waited, bouncing slightly bent over with her arms out. As the swimmer approached the wall, Jordan swung her arms around and launched herself into the pool.
Jake had seen Jordan swim laps in both her pool at home and at the hockey house but neither of those times compared to how she cut through the water now. Her speed and skill were obvious to even a swimming novice such as himself. Quicker than he thought possible she executed a flip turn, he smiled remembering how she soaked him the day before and the adorable look on her face when she noticed.
Finished with her lap, Jordan got out of the pool. She put her whistle and stopwatch back on and grabbed a towel before she made her way over to where he was standing.
“Hey Jake. Thanks again for picking them up.”
“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” He gave her his most charming smile and could tell she was affected.
“Spoiled.”
He nodded. “So that was really awesome. I’ve seen you swim before but that was something else.”
She smiled at the compliment and draped the towel around her neck. “Thanks. It’s easier to push it in the bigger pools.”
“What were you showing them?”
“I’m helping their coach work on their relay starts. It’s one of my specialties.”
“Looked impressive from over here.”
“Thanks.”
“Alright kids. How’s a
bout we go get us some ice cream?”
Barely two hours later he was regretting the suggestion. Thanks to their sugar rush Carlee and Sean had been non-stop.
Luckily now they entertained each other in his backyard pool. He laid in the same hammock he slept in with Jordan a few hours earlier utterly torn.
His was still wallowing in self-pity when his buddies walked into his backyard. “Yo Donovan, what’s goin on?” Ryan asked as he sat down next to him.
“Not much bro. What are you guys doing here?” He reached out to bump knuckles.
Sean noticed his brothers’ arrival and called for their attention. Ryan rose from the hammock and made his way over to the pool allowing Jase to take his place. “Well since JD is home now, Sunday night is back to family dinner night. So here we are.”
“Oh and Mom wanted us to invite your family over to barbeque with us, but if you ask me it was more of a demand than an invitation.” Ryan shouted from by the pool.
Jake couldn’t believe his luck. He was being given an opportunity to spend more time with Jordan without raising suspicion. He wondered if it would afford him the opportunity to prove to his friends that he would be a good fit for their sister.
“You know we’ll be there. Let me go tell my parents and we can go over there now.”
Normally Jordan loved giving swimming lessons and coaching, but today wasn’t a normal day. She started her day waking up in Jake’s arms and even now couldn’t shake the feeling of how good those arms felt around her.
Falling asleep in the hammock was a major tactical error on her part. She should never have sat down to talk to him. Over the past week they started forming a friendship and if she wasn’t careful she might let it develop into something she couldn’t. Sure, she tried not to be friends with him, because it was too hard with how attracted to him she was, but he was so hard not to like.
He was attractive, witty, sexy, and amazing with kids. Plus anytime they talked she knew he was actually listening. And when he looked at her, it felt like he was seeing all the way into her soul.
Last night she talked more about her past then she did with most people. Sure, she down played what happened, but letting anyone know anything about Tommy was not an everyday occurrence.
