by Alley Ciz
“Mind if I come in?” Her mother asked.
“Not at all, Mom.”
Her mom closed the door behind her, which she thought was odd, and made her way over to sit on the opposite side of the bed. Her mom didn’t speak automatically which earned her a questioning look from her. Eventually though she broached the difficult topics she came in to talk about.
“So how are you holding up, really?”
“Honestly… pretty good. I know I didn’t do anything wrong, Tommy is just crazy. I’m not going to let him affect my life anymore. I’ve wasted too much time letting what he’s done to me rule my life and I’m over it.”
“Good. That makes me so happy to hear.” She reached out and squeezed her daughter’s hand. “So what’s going on with Jake? Things seem like they have changed between you two.”
“Oh, Mom. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“It’s okay, start from the beginning, that usually helps.”
Jordan laughed. “I don’t know, I feel like everything is happening so fast but not, if that makes any sense?”
When her mom nodded in agreement she continued. “It’s like when Tommy attacked me last night, the only thing I was thinking about was why didn’t I tell Jake how I feel. I was trying to hold on hoping someone would find and help me and then there he was. He got Tommy off of me and instead of kicking his ass like I know he wanted to, he took care of me.
“Then when we got back to the hockey house he made sure I was comfortable and he never pressed me to talk about it, he just let me say what I wanted to say when I wanted to say it. And after I told him everything that happened with Tommy two years ago you know what he did?”
She looked to her mom and when she said nothing she continued.
“He kissed me and proceeded to tell me he doesn’t care what Ryan or Jase say, he wants to be with me and he is going to be and he’s not going to let them get in his way.” She wasn’t sure how her mom would react, but like always she didn’t disappoint.
“I knew I liked him.” They shared a knowing smile. “I can tell by the way he looks at you that he cares about you, and now we know he’s smarter than your brothers. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love them dearly but sometimes they can be so thick-headed I want to slap them.”
“Mom!”
“What?” Her mom gave her an innocent look. “You know it’s true. But that’s not the point. The point is, if you and Jake are going to be together, which I’m happy you are by the way, what are you going to do about your brothers when they find out?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure, but for now we are going to keep the truth about our relationship a secret.”
“Okay.”
“Really?”
“Really. I just want you to be happy and when I see you with Jake, you are. The only thing we have to figure out is how to get Sean to keep the secret, because you know there’s no way to keep it from him since he lives here, but I’ll worry about that. You just worry about being happy.”
“I am. I can’t explain it but when I’m with Jake, I can’t not be happy. It’s so different.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” With that her mom got up from the bed and made her way to leave her bedroom. “Goodnight honey.”
“Goodnight Mom.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
The next few weeks were complete heaven. The agreement with her brothers allowed Jordan to spend time with Jake without them getting suspicious. The more time she spent with Jake, the more she realized how completely different he was from Tommy. Jake always tried to compliment her and genuinely cared about her opinions. They didn't have to do anything special to have a good time and he always kept her laughing. She was hoping that with time her brothers would be able to see that Jake wasn't the same as Tommy and would be able to accept their relationship.
One could only hope.
Because she had fallen for him. Hard.
Surprisingly, it was very easy to convince the little ones to keep their secret. To them it was like a game of secret agents. They loved to help come up with reasons for why both Jake and Jordan had to be together.
"Hey babe, you ready?" Jake called from downstairs.
"Yeah, I'll be down in a sec."
Tonight was Maddey's surprise birthday party so they were headed down together. Jordan grabbed her overnight bag to stay at Maddey's for the night and headed down to meet Jake.
"Damn, you look hot,” Jake exclaimed as she made her way down the stairs.
Jordan couldn't stop the blush from creeping up her neck at his compliment. She still wasn't used to how he would give her compliments whenever the thought crossed his mind. She didn’t think there was anything special about her yellow tube top, daisy dukes, and flip flops. But damn was he good for her ego.
"You don't look so bad yourself," she said as she took in his khaki cargo shorts, white pumas, and maroon t-shirt. Since they weren't going too fancy for the night, they were able to dress down. The things his shoulders did to a t-shirt should be illegal.
She stopped on the bottom step as she leaned in to give him a kiss hello. As per usual her short kiss hello quickly morphed into a more heated embrace.
Jake put one arm around her waist and a hand behind her head and pulled her tighter against him. His actions made her lose her position on the step she stood on and caused her body to line up flush against his. She braced her hands against his hard chest as he plundered her mouth.
Eventually reality settled back in and she broke the kiss.
"What was that for?"
He pushed an errant hair behind her ear. "Well I figured I'm going to have to behave tonight so I wanted to get that out of my system now."
Her smile was all satisfaction as she leaned into his touch. "I'm glad you did. Keeping my distance from you will be the hardest part about tonight."
"I know what you mean." He reached down for the bag she brought down with her. "Is this all you need?"
"Yeah everything else is already at Maddey's parents' house."
She called goodbye to her parents and the two headed out to Jake's Jeep.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The birthday festivities continued the next day. Jordan, Skye, Sammy, Jake, Jase, Ryan, and Tucker spent the night at Maddey's and the eight of them, along with Maddey’s brothers and Dex decided to spend the day at the beach. It was perfect. The girls laid out sunbathing while the guys tossed around a football down by the water.
“So…” Maddey turned to face Jordan. “What’s been going on with you and Jake?”
She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. She pulled her sunglasses down to cover her eyes as she leaned up on her elbows to look out at the guys playing football in the water. Her gaze instantly found Jake in all his bronzed glory. He really was a sight to behold.
“It’s been amazing.” She sighed as she rolled over to face her friends. “I’ve completely fallen for him.”
“We know,” Maddey said.
“It’s obvious to us,” Skye confirmed.
“Well shit,” Jordan let out.
The three girls burst out laughing.
“So how are things going with my brother?” She asked Maddey.
“He’s amazing. I can’t wait until you don’t have to keep Jake a secret and we can double.”
Jordan sighed. “One day.”
The girls flipped over to keep their tans even.
“So are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room or not?” Jordan asked Maddey.
“And that would be?” Maddey played dumb.
“Dex.”
“What about him?”
“Are you okay seeing him?”
“Yup.”
“Are you sure?”
“Nope.”
“Okay then.” Jordan paused. “Let’s drink.”
“And this is why we are friends.”
The girls laughed and reached for the cooler that had the beer.
Maddey’s
brothers were awesome. They fit in with their group seamlessly. Maddey had been so surprised to see them that she cried.
Ryan was holding his own but Jake had a feeling the SEALs weren’t through with their ‘inspection’.
“So Ryan, what are your intentions with our sister?”
Ryan almost dropped the football Tucker tossed him, he was so startled by Tyler’s question.
“We’ve been dating for a little over a month. I think it’s been going good.” He paused. “I really like her.”
“Just so you know, you hurt her we hurt you,” Connor deadpanned.
“I figured as much. But to be perfectly honest, I’m more afraid of my sister than the three, I mean four, of you.” He pointed to Maddey’s brothers and their best friend. “I’m pretty sure her exact words were, and I quote, you break Maddey’s heart and I’ll break your legs, even if it ruins your chances in the pros.”
“That sounds like Blondie alright,” Tucker said catching the football from Sammy.
Ryan shook his head at the memory. “The scariest part is I don’t doubt her for a second.”
“I knew I liked your sister when I met her,” Tyler said on a laugh and tossed the football to Connor.
“Yeah she may be tiny, but she can be vicious and completely loyal,” Jase interjected.
“But all kidding aside, I’ve fallen for your sister. I have every intention to never hurt her.”
“Good enough for us,” Justin stated.
The guys tossed the football around for a few more minutes before they broached the other sensitive subject.
“So what’s been going on with Jordan’s situation with her ex?” Justin asked.
“After the night Tommy attacked her at Rookies, it’s been complete radio silence,” Jase answered.
“We’ve been trying to make sure she isn’t really alone too much, at least when she goes out places. The guys on the team have helped to look out for her and with Jake living next door to our parents he’s been using the little ones as good excuses to hang around,” Ryan added.
“Dude. That was one of the scariest nights of my life and I didn’t even know the whole story then. I swear it took ten years off my life,” Jake stated. He looked over to where the girls were sunbathing on the beach and shuddered at the thought of what could have happened that night if they hadn’t gotten to Jordan when they did.
“She hasn’t had any more phone calls or texts from him, has she?” Tucker asked.
“She hasn’t said anything,” Jake said.
Conner tucked the football under his arm after he caught it. “I don’t know about you guys but I could use a beer.”
“Agreed,” Tucker responded.
The guys made their way out of the surf and back up the beach to where the girls laid out on the blankets they had set up to claim space on the crowded beach.
The girls were laying on their stomachs talking and didn’t hear the guys approach. So the guys took the opportunity to shake off near the girls and shock them with cold water.
“What the hell!” Maddey yelled.
“That’s cold,” Skye commented.
“Payback’s a bitch,” Jordan stated calmly and smiled at the “oh shit” expression on their faces.
Ryan caught Tyler’s gaze. “See, I told you she’s vicious.”
The guys all settled into the beach chairs around the blanket. Tucker reached into the cooler to pass out beers to the rest of the guys.
The conversation flowed and jokes were flying. Jordan could see how happy it made Maddey to have her family home.
“How long are you guys home for?” Maddey asked her brothers.
“We have to report back in two more days,” Dex answered.
“But we didn’t make any plans for our time off so we get to spend it all with you,” Justin added.
“Do you think you can handle the pressure of having us around?” Conner taunted Ryan.
“Yeah I think I can handle it,” Ryan said with a wink to Maddey.
The guys talked sports with a lot of trash talk going around. Jordan was laughing over Tucker’s comments as she got up to get a bottle of water out of one of the coolers. She knew she could have had one of the guys pass her the water but she had an ulterior motive for getting up.
Luckily for her when she opened the cooler there was only one bottle left. She uncapped the bottle and took a deep drink before placing it in the sand. Then she picked up the open cooler and threw the ice and water over the guys as payback from earlier.
They let out yells of surprise and Jake, Tucker, Jase, and Conner stood up to get the ice off.
Jake raised his eyebrows at her while he brushed the rest of the ice off his body. Jordan shivered at the look in his eyes.
“Oh shit,” she whispered.
“I’d run if I were you,” he stated calmly.
She took off down the beach with the four guys following close behind. Jake was first to reach her and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
She let out a squeal when he picked her up. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp but her efforts proved futile. He carried her into the ocean and sent her flying in the air.
She came up spitting water and shoved her hair out of her face. In the time it took her to surface, everyone else had joined them in the water.
“Asshole,” she said as she splashed him.
“You started it,” he countered.
A full on splash war commenced. Tucker snuck up behind Skye to dunk her and the two of them battled it out.
Jordan followed Tucker’s actions and tried to dunk Jake. She swam out to where he was treading water and pushed down on his shoulders while using him to prop herself up.
She quickly had to swim away when she caught Jase closing in on her.
By the time everyone made it out of the water they were exhausted. They packed everything up to head back to the McClain’s house for dinner.
Chapter Thirty-Four
It was around nine o’clock by the time Jordan and Jake got home that night, luckily everyone showered and changed at the McClains.
Ryan was staying the weekend with Maddey, and Jase and Tucker went back to the hockey house.
While they were at the beach, her mom had sent her a text saying they were going to her Uncle Rick’s for a barbeque and would be staying the night. The best part was that the Donovans went with them and now she had the whole night alone with Jake.
Grabbing a bowl of popcorn, she made her way to where he was on the couch.
Since he was laying on the oversized chaise portion, she was able to snuggle up right alongside him. She tangled her legs between his, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his chest right beneath his chin.
Jake tightened his arms around her and stroked his hands up and down her back. She let out a contented sigh and felt him smile at the sound. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed at the knots in her lower back.
“Why are you so tense, babe?”
“It’s nothing really. It’s just getting really hard to be with you but not with you when we’re around other people. I’m so happy we are together that I just want to shout it for all the world to hear, but I can’t.”
He continued to run his hands along her back in a soothing manner.
“I know exactly how you feel, babe.”
God how she loved when they were alone and he used pet names for her.
“It’s getting harder to keep living a lie. I think if my friends didn’t know, I would be going completely out of my mind.”
She was quiet for a moment before she continued.
“The other day Jase and I were out to lunch and he kept looking at me funny. I was becoming a nervous wreck.
“I feel like he knows something is going on with me but he’s just not quite sure what exactly. I’m used to telling him everything. He’s my other half and it kills me to keep this from him.”
She had been spilling her guts into his chest. He put his finger un
der her chin and lifted her face up to his.
“So then let’s tell them the truth.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered and bit her bottom lip.
“Baby,” he whispered back. He cupped the back of her head and brushed his lips against hers in a soft kiss.
At the touch of his lips she instantly relaxed and melted against his body. She loved that no matter what was going on around them, Jake had a way to calm her.
With a sigh of contentment she settled back into the crook of his arms to watch the movie they decided to rent for the night.
Jake loved the feel of Jordan in his arms, it was like she was made for him.
Throughout the movie he continued to run his hands up and down her back. Every now and then he could feel her body give a little shiver.
At some point toward the end of the movie Jordan’s hands found their way under the hem of Jake’s t-shirt to caress his back in return. Every so often her hands would sneak around to the front to trace the ridges of his abs. She felt the muscles in his abs quiver under her touch. She couldn’t keep her hands off of him. He was so warm and strong and she couldn’t get enough.
Being with him when her brothers were around was a true testament to her self-control. Not touching him was harder than it looked.
She nuzzled in closer, rubbing her nose against his neck breathing in his clean scent. She heard an appreciative growl come from the back of his throat.
The way Jordan was kissing his neck was driving him crazy. He gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger to tilt her face up for a kiss.
This kiss was the complete opposite of the one earlier in the evening. It was pure need that drove it.
Jordan’s mouth parted to allow his tongue to enter. As the kiss deepened Jake hooked his arm around her waist and shifted her so her body was fully beneath him.
