Hello Goodbye
7 years ago
Sunday, June 13, 2010
NEW STORY
I've just started a new story called Jordan Junior now that this one has come to an end - let me know what you think. Thank you all so much for reading - I can't thank you guys enough!
59/60. Opportunity
THIS IS 59 AND 60 ROLLED INTO ONE!!!
I can't believe this is the end. I couldn't separate the chapters to write two long updates so this is it. Thank you to anyone who has read any of this story, and if you've been with me since the beginning, thank you too! I've thought about the many different ways I could end this - but this seemed the best way. I want to thank you all for your comments - what a great source of motivation. I'm starting a story about Jordan in juniors which will be up this evening.
India :)
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
ELLA'S POV
As I sat at my desk at work, I thought about how perfectly this morning had been. We had taken the métro in together where I had left Jordan to his own devices whilst I went to work.
I glanced at the clock on my computer screen showing that I had exactly half an hour before the departmental meeting where it will be revealed which intern is going to be employed at the end of our placements. To say I’m nervous would be underexaggerating; all of us have worked hard for this place and I really have no idea who's going to be taken on.
After my third cup of coffee in two hours, to calm my shaking hands and legs, I had taken a seat at my desk to relax. “You look happy for a Monday,” Marie-Pier said as she looked at me over the top of her screen. I nodded back at her as she looked a little puzzled. I know it’s a Monday but waking up with Jordan was really nice. It’s something I could definitely get used to again. We haven't really talked about what we are, or where we are - quite frankly I'm too scared of ruining what we have right now by discussing it. I know that Jordan has to go back to Thunder Bay at some point, but he hasn't mentioned when, so I'm enjoying every minute I get to spend with him.
“Jordan and I are back together,” I replied as a staff memo popped up on my screen, and everyone else’s, to remind us about the meeting. Marie-Pier raised her eyebrows.
“Félicitations,” she replied smiling at me. “When do I get to meet him?”
“Maybe later?” I said thinking about my plans for lunch with Jordan. I wondered what kind of trouble he was getting up to in the city all by himself. He had said something about Max earlier when we were on the métro, and knowing those two they could get into a lot of trouble. It had been a shame I hadn’t had the chance to get to know Marc or Eric any better, they're so important to Jordan and it would have been great to talk to them more instead of being locked in the basement for a whole night.
Just as I was sitting twiddling my thumbs I got called into my boss’s office. I wondered if he had caught me doing no work. I walked in to see him with a smile on his face and an austere looking man seated next to him.
“Ella, take a seat. This is Mr. Greene, head of our Washington branch. The company has decided to make you an excellent offer for a top position to work in our Washington branch. You would be working directly under Mr. Greene and working closely with their Middle East department. It’s an ideal position for you allowing you to use your language skills in a competitive environment. I don’t feel that you’re being stretched enough here.”
I wasn't sure that I wanted to be 'stretched' anywhere, I thought as I looked again between the two men in front of me. I didn’t have any words to say, I think my wide-eyed expression and slightly opened mouth showed just how much I wasn’t expecting this. “Thank you,” I said shaking both of their hands. "Thank you."
I wondered if there was the possibility that I could stay here in Montréal instead but this position was such a great opportunity for me. Maybe this was the company's way of saying 'Sorry, you didn't get the position here, but we want to keep you in the company'. I didn't know whether to be flattered or disappointed that I hadn't won the chance to stay in Montréal but I was honoured that they had offered me this position. At least I wouldn't have to be looking for a job when I finished here.
“I know it’s a long way from home, and we really wanted you to join our Arabic team here, but with the recession we really can’t afford to. Washington is a fantastic chance for you,” my boss continued as I stood there nodding, feeling ever so slightly numb.
I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to hug my boss and Mr. Greene, but somehow that didn’t feel appropriate. I shook their hands once more, managing a smile this time.
“There is also the chance of working in New York,” Mr. Greene continued. “They too, are looking for someone who speaks fluent Arabic.” I didn’t know what to say. Washington would be incredible – the city has a certain attraction to it, and New York, well it’s my second home so it would be easier to be settled there.
“How long do I have to think about this?” I asked.
“Until Wednesday,” my boss said. “You would finish your internship here, have a week off and then your contract would start the week after.”
I took a deep breath. I had a choice at the very least. We chatted a little more about the company and what would be expected from me from either move.
“You OK?” Marie-Pier asked me as I came out of the office looking a little shell-shocked. I smiled and gave her a hug.
“They’ve just offered me a position in Washington, or New York!” I said quietly as Marie-Pier squealed excitedly and gave me a big hug, drawing attention from our colleagues nearby. It was fantastic news, but for some reason I knew I should be more excited about it that I actually am. It’s the chance to get a leg up on the corporate ladder and a step in the direction I’ve always wanted.
“What about your chum?” Marie-Pier asked as I shrugged, biting my lip and rolling my tongue between my teeth in frustration. It wasn’t going to be a fun conversation and I couldn’t keep it from him, I had to tell him as soon as possible.
I called Félix to let him know about the news - he was delighted for me saying that I should pick Washington although New York has the competitive, financial market status that I've always wanted. I could practically feel him grinning down the line, as he talked about the opportunity. Félix was so excited about it, and not just about visiting me. "You have to tell Jordan, he has a right to know," he added before I put the phone down.
"So I finally get to meet the mysterious Jordan?" Marie-Pier said as we entered the elevator. I nodded, as the doors opened on the fifth floor as more workers crowded in. If they worked on the fifth floor, it was quicker for them to use the stairs rather than the elevator, I thought in frustration, eager not to miss a minute of my lunch hour stuck in the elevator.
As Marie-Pier and I made our way out of the elevator towards the busy main entrance, I caught sight of Jordan through the glass doors, leaning against the lamp post looking effortlessly gorgeous in his polo shirt and his navy baseball cap. His head was down, texting on his phone, He hadn’t seen me yet but I was just caught looking at him, wondering how exactly I was supposed to tell him.
“Hey,” I said walking up to him, “this is Marie-Pier,” as she looked at him in amazement.
“You didn’t tell me you were dating a Staal,” she whispered to me like it was some kind of state secret, as I looked on in amusement. I really didn’t think it was a big deal, to me he's just goofy Jordan, the guy I met on Spring Break, not some big, famous hockey player. Either way I wouldn't change him, not for all of the tea in China. I just grinned at her as Jordan shook her hand.
“I brought you lunch,” he said handing me a small bag. I peeked inside as my smile grew. He had even remembered to get me some carrot cake from Starbucks – what a star.
We said our goodbyes to Marie-Pier as she headed off to a café across the street as we headed along Maisonneuve and towards Mont-Royal. Jordan took my hand in his, as we made our way across the busy sidewalks into the cool, greenness of the parc.
“How was work?” Jordan said as we started walking up the steps. I didn’t really plan on climbing to the top during my lunch break; I didn’t want to be a sweaty mess this afternoon in the office.
“Usual,” I said as we neared the top.
“Really?” Jordan said, knowing there was something up. A few people had recognised him on our ascent but nobody bothered us as we reached the top.
“Y’know, I’ve never actually been up here,” Jordan said as he led me across to the viewpoint. I couldn’t believe I’d just walked all the way up here in kitten heels – such a good workout for my butt.
“Jordan,” I began, “I’ve been offered a position within the company.” I watched as his smile grew and he drew me into a big hug, kissing the top of my head. “Knew you’d do it babe,” he replied proudly.
“It’s not in Montréal. I have the choice between Washington and New York,” I continued. Jordan frowned as he thought about this. He seemed to be taking this better than I could have expected. He let out a big grin and chuckled to himself. Seriously, he was happy about this?
“You’ll be closer to me,” he replied as his fingers roamed the bottom of my cream chiffon blouse. “That’s better than you being in Montréal. We only play here about three or four times a season whereas we play Washington and the New York teams all the time,” he said instantly thinking about hockey. “Why are you so worried about this?”
“Because,” I said wondering how to phrase this. “Because, I thought you would want to split up with me as we won't be near each other and I can’t lose you,” I said gripping a fistful of his t-shirt as if he was going to turn and leave me right here. I needed some sort of reassurance and holding on to him was helping me a little bit.
“Babe it’s your choice. Are you saying we should split up?” Jordan asked worriedly, looking down at me. I shook my head. The thought had crossed my mind as I wondered how it would work. We wouldn’t be in the same city, we would be hours away from each other and the last time showed me that neither of us were great at keeping in contact. The whole LDR thing worried me as much as starting a new job in a new city - if I picked Washington.
“No, I’m just offering you the choice. If you don’t want this, or don’t think it’s going to work...”
He looked at me as if I had just told him I had a second head or I was secretly in love with Sean Avery. Jordan shook his head, putting his index finger to my lips to make me be quiet. “Why would I walk? I love you, I want to make this work, wherever you are, wherever I am, I want to be with you,” Jordan continued.
“Good because I don't want to break up," I said wondering if we were even technically together again as we hadn't talked about this. Jordan led me away to the steps in the shade to eat our lunch. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and tranquility, watching the tourists mill around and take photos.
"I can't believe you remembered the cake," I said taking it out. Jordan smirked at me."I remember lots of things," he said quietly as we sat there.
"So you're not worried about this?" I asked checking for confirmation that Jordan was happy with my new job.
"Not really. If anything you'll be closer to me, and you can come and visit me at the weekend," he said as he took a bite of his apple. I watched him chew as he sat there. He was so calm about this, when I was worried. "Ella, actually I'm kind of excited, as long as you don't convert to another hockey team then we might have some issues," he joked. I rolled my eyes in amusement. I didn't even know the names of the teams in Washington or New York to convert to - my ignorance was shameful considering I'm dating a NHL player.
"How do I decide?" I asked looking at Jordan. I knew Washington was closer to Pittsburgh, which was the ultimate factor for Jordan, but I wanted to make sure I chose well. The jobs were practically identical, I would be doing more work in Arabic in Washington than I would in New York - but the New York office was slightly bigger. If I chose New York, would I be there permanently or would I be moved elsewhere? The same with Washington - it's a smaller branch so would I be 'stuck' there longer?
"Washington," Jordan said without even hesitating. He put his arm around me. "Go with your heart, you know which one's best for you," he replied as he kissed my temple. "I can't choose for you, but I'll respect which ever one you choose."
"Thanks," I replied. "I love you." It felt like a weight had been lifted when I had said that. Despite Jordan telling me that he loved me, which it felt like he had done almost constantly over the last two days, I finally felt ready to say it back. I smiled at him as he pressed his lips to mine.
"I think I'm going to go for Washington," I said as we drew apart. "It feels like the obvious choice. Now how far away is it for me to drive?" I asked as Jordan kissed the top of my head.
Whatever was around the corner for us I was glad that we were back together, glad that Max had locked us in his basement overnight forcing us to talk to each other. Washington would be a new challenge for us, but I can't help but think that this time around we're a little bit stronger and a little bit wiser.
I can't believe this is the end. I couldn't separate the chapters to write two long updates so this is it. Thank you to anyone who has read any of this story, and if you've been with me since the beginning, thank you too! I've thought about the many different ways I could end this - but this seemed the best way. I want to thank you all for your comments - what a great source of motivation. I'm starting a story about Jordan in juniors which will be up this evening.
India :)
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
ELLA'S POV
As I sat at my desk at work, I thought about how perfectly this morning had been. We had taken the métro in together where I had left Jordan to his own devices whilst I went to work.
I glanced at the clock on my computer screen showing that I had exactly half an hour before the departmental meeting where it will be revealed which intern is going to be employed at the end of our placements. To say I’m nervous would be underexaggerating; all of us have worked hard for this place and I really have no idea who's going to be taken on.
After my third cup of coffee in two hours, to calm my shaking hands and legs, I had taken a seat at my desk to relax. “You look happy for a Monday,” Marie-Pier said as she looked at me over the top of her screen. I nodded back at her as she looked a little puzzled. I know it’s a Monday but waking up with Jordan was really nice. It’s something I could definitely get used to again. We haven't really talked about what we are, or where we are - quite frankly I'm too scared of ruining what we have right now by discussing it. I know that Jordan has to go back to Thunder Bay at some point, but he hasn't mentioned when, so I'm enjoying every minute I get to spend with him.
“Jordan and I are back together,” I replied as a staff memo popped up on my screen, and everyone else’s, to remind us about the meeting. Marie-Pier raised her eyebrows.
“Félicitations,” she replied smiling at me. “When do I get to meet him?”
“Maybe later?” I said thinking about my plans for lunch with Jordan. I wondered what kind of trouble he was getting up to in the city all by himself. He had said something about Max earlier when we were on the métro, and knowing those two they could get into a lot of trouble. It had been a shame I hadn’t had the chance to get to know Marc or Eric any better, they're so important to Jordan and it would have been great to talk to them more instead of being locked in the basement for a whole night.
Just as I was sitting twiddling my thumbs I got called into my boss’s office. I wondered if he had caught me doing no work. I walked in to see him with a smile on his face and an austere looking man seated next to him.
“Ella, take a seat. This is Mr. Greene, head of our Washington branch. The company has decided to make you an excellent offer for a top position to work in our Washington branch. You would be working directly under Mr. Greene and working closely with their Middle East department. It’s an ideal position for you allowing you to use your language skills in a competitive environment. I don’t feel that you’re being stretched enough here.”
I wasn't sure that I wanted to be 'stretched' anywhere, I thought as I looked again between the two men in front of me. I didn’t have any words to say, I think my wide-eyed expression and slightly opened mouth showed just how much I wasn’t expecting this. “Thank you,” I said shaking both of their hands. "Thank you."
I wondered if there was the possibility that I could stay here in Montréal instead but this position was such a great opportunity for me. Maybe this was the company's way of saying 'Sorry, you didn't get the position here, but we want to keep you in the company'. I didn't know whether to be flattered or disappointed that I hadn't won the chance to stay in Montréal but I was honoured that they had offered me this position. At least I wouldn't have to be looking for a job when I finished here.
“I know it’s a long way from home, and we really wanted you to join our Arabic team here, but with the recession we really can’t afford to. Washington is a fantastic chance for you,” my boss continued as I stood there nodding, feeling ever so slightly numb.
I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to hug my boss and Mr. Greene, but somehow that didn’t feel appropriate. I shook their hands once more, managing a smile this time.
“There is also the chance of working in New York,” Mr. Greene continued. “They too, are looking for someone who speaks fluent Arabic.” I didn’t know what to say. Washington would be incredible – the city has a certain attraction to it, and New York, well it’s my second home so it would be easier to be settled there.
“How long do I have to think about this?” I asked.
“Until Wednesday,” my boss said. “You would finish your internship here, have a week off and then your contract would start the week after.”
I took a deep breath. I had a choice at the very least. We chatted a little more about the company and what would be expected from me from either move.
“You OK?” Marie-Pier asked me as I came out of the office looking a little shell-shocked. I smiled and gave her a hug.
“They’ve just offered me a position in Washington, or New York!” I said quietly as Marie-Pier squealed excitedly and gave me a big hug, drawing attention from our colleagues nearby. It was fantastic news, but for some reason I knew I should be more excited about it that I actually am. It’s the chance to get a leg up on the corporate ladder and a step in the direction I’ve always wanted.
“What about your chum?” Marie-Pier asked as I shrugged, biting my lip and rolling my tongue between my teeth in frustration. It wasn’t going to be a fun conversation and I couldn’t keep it from him, I had to tell him as soon as possible.
I called Félix to let him know about the news - he was delighted for me saying that I should pick Washington although New York has the competitive, financial market status that I've always wanted. I could practically feel him grinning down the line, as he talked about the opportunity. Félix was so excited about it, and not just about visiting me. "You have to tell Jordan, he has a right to know," he added before I put the phone down.
"So I finally get to meet the mysterious Jordan?" Marie-Pier said as we entered the elevator. I nodded, as the doors opened on the fifth floor as more workers crowded in. If they worked on the fifth floor, it was quicker for them to use the stairs rather than the elevator, I thought in frustration, eager not to miss a minute of my lunch hour stuck in the elevator.
As Marie-Pier and I made our way out of the elevator towards the busy main entrance, I caught sight of Jordan through the glass doors, leaning against the lamp post looking effortlessly gorgeous in his polo shirt and his navy baseball cap. His head was down, texting on his phone, He hadn’t seen me yet but I was just caught looking at him, wondering how exactly I was supposed to tell him.
“Hey,” I said walking up to him, “this is Marie-Pier,” as she looked at him in amazement.
“You didn’t tell me you were dating a Staal,” she whispered to me like it was some kind of state secret, as I looked on in amusement. I really didn’t think it was a big deal, to me he's just goofy Jordan, the guy I met on Spring Break, not some big, famous hockey player. Either way I wouldn't change him, not for all of the tea in China. I just grinned at her as Jordan shook her hand.
“I brought you lunch,” he said handing me a small bag. I peeked inside as my smile grew. He had even remembered to get me some carrot cake from Starbucks – what a star.
We said our goodbyes to Marie-Pier as she headed off to a café across the street as we headed along Maisonneuve and towards Mont-Royal. Jordan took my hand in his, as we made our way across the busy sidewalks into the cool, greenness of the parc.
“How was work?” Jordan said as we started walking up the steps. I didn’t really plan on climbing to the top during my lunch break; I didn’t want to be a sweaty mess this afternoon in the office.
“Usual,” I said as we neared the top.
“Really?” Jordan said, knowing there was something up. A few people had recognised him on our ascent but nobody bothered us as we reached the top.
“Y’know, I’ve never actually been up here,” Jordan said as he led me across to the viewpoint. I couldn’t believe I’d just walked all the way up here in kitten heels – such a good workout for my butt.
“Jordan,” I began, “I’ve been offered a position within the company.” I watched as his smile grew and he drew me into a big hug, kissing the top of my head. “Knew you’d do it babe,” he replied proudly.
“It’s not in Montréal. I have the choice between Washington and New York,” I continued. Jordan frowned as he thought about this. He seemed to be taking this better than I could have expected. He let out a big grin and chuckled to himself. Seriously, he was happy about this?
“You’ll be closer to me,” he replied as his fingers roamed the bottom of my cream chiffon blouse. “That’s better than you being in Montréal. We only play here about three or four times a season whereas we play Washington and the New York teams all the time,” he said instantly thinking about hockey. “Why are you so worried about this?”
“Because,” I said wondering how to phrase this. “Because, I thought you would want to split up with me as we won't be near each other and I can’t lose you,” I said gripping a fistful of his t-shirt as if he was going to turn and leave me right here. I needed some sort of reassurance and holding on to him was helping me a little bit.
“Babe it’s your choice. Are you saying we should split up?” Jordan asked worriedly, looking down at me. I shook my head. The thought had crossed my mind as I wondered how it would work. We wouldn’t be in the same city, we would be hours away from each other and the last time showed me that neither of us were great at keeping in contact. The whole LDR thing worried me as much as starting a new job in a new city - if I picked Washington.
“No, I’m just offering you the choice. If you don’t want this, or don’t think it’s going to work...”
He looked at me as if I had just told him I had a second head or I was secretly in love with Sean Avery. Jordan shook his head, putting his index finger to my lips to make me be quiet. “Why would I walk? I love you, I want to make this work, wherever you are, wherever I am, I want to be with you,” Jordan continued.
“Good because I don't want to break up," I said wondering if we were even technically together again as we hadn't talked about this. Jordan led me away to the steps in the shade to eat our lunch. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and tranquility, watching the tourists mill around and take photos.
"I can't believe you remembered the cake," I said taking it out. Jordan smirked at me."I remember lots of things," he said quietly as we sat there.
"So you're not worried about this?" I asked checking for confirmation that Jordan was happy with my new job.
"Not really. If anything you'll be closer to me, and you can come and visit me at the weekend," he said as he took a bite of his apple. I watched him chew as he sat there. He was so calm about this, when I was worried. "Ella, actually I'm kind of excited, as long as you don't convert to another hockey team then we might have some issues," he joked. I rolled my eyes in amusement. I didn't even know the names of the teams in Washington or New York to convert to - my ignorance was shameful considering I'm dating a NHL player.
"How do I decide?" I asked looking at Jordan. I knew Washington was closer to Pittsburgh, which was the ultimate factor for Jordan, but I wanted to make sure I chose well. The jobs were practically identical, I would be doing more work in Arabic in Washington than I would in New York - but the New York office was slightly bigger. If I chose New York, would I be there permanently or would I be moved elsewhere? The same with Washington - it's a smaller branch so would I be 'stuck' there longer?
"Washington," Jordan said without even hesitating. He put his arm around me. "Go with your heart, you know which one's best for you," he replied as he kissed my temple. "I can't choose for you, but I'll respect which ever one you choose."
"Thanks," I replied. "I love you." It felt like a weight had been lifted when I had said that. Despite Jordan telling me that he loved me, which it felt like he had done almost constantly over the last two days, I finally felt ready to say it back. I smiled at him as he pressed his lips to mine.
"I think I'm going to go for Washington," I said as we drew apart. "It feels like the obvious choice. Now how far away is it for me to drive?" I asked as Jordan kissed the top of my head.
Whatever was around the corner for us I was glad that we were back together, glad that Max had locked us in his basement overnight forcing us to talk to each other. Washington would be a new challenge for us, but I can't help but think that this time around we're a little bit stronger and a little bit wiser.
Friday, June 11, 2010
58. Bedtime
Short and sweet
Ludovico Einaudi - Le Onde
JORDAN'S POV
I opened my eyes looking around at the stark whiteness which blinded my eyes. It must still be early, I thought as the first streaks of sunlight shone through the white muslin drapes. I looked across at the figure next to me, her blonde hair fanned out across the pillow. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. In a few hours she would be gone for the day and I had some major plans to make for this evening.
I drew her closer to me, kissing her bare shoulders as she murmured something in her sleep. She buried her head into the pillow before turning around to me and smiling ever so slightly. Her smile was so small that if I had blinked I might have missed it.
“It’s too early,” she said pulling the white cotton sheet and raising it over both of our heads. The sheet was translucent in the morning light and I could see her clearly under the cover. “Morning,” I said kissing her gently, not caring that Ella hates morning breath.
She smiled sleepily back at me, scooting closer into my chest so that I was spooning her. I could feel the gentle curve of her ass through her small pyjama bottoms as she wiggled getting comfortable. I rested my left hand on her left hip, playing with the elastic of her pyjama bottoms as my right arm ran through her hair.
“Jordan,” she warned as I started drawling lines with my fingers across her bare stomach. She wiggled her ass against my crotch again, as I swallowed, forcing myself not to think about sex. Thoughts of Geno and Max's sweaty, smelly equipement filled my mind. Although she had warned me, she hadn’t gone as far away as to move my hand away. I continued drawing light circles on the area across the bottom of her stomach.
“A huh,” I said into the back of her hair, moving a little of it out of the way so I could kiss the nape of her neck. She twisted her head around so I took the opportunity to kiss her on the cheek.
“You don’t know what you do to me,” she said as I continued drawing circles, pressing lightly on her smooth skin. “I think I do,” I said pushing my head forward so my mouth was next to her ear. Gently I began to draw larger lines and circles, slowly tracing ‘I love you’ on her skin before I started playing with her pyjama bottoms. Ella giggled a little, letting me know that she was enjoying the effect I had on her.
“Jordan,” she growled as she wriggled against me again. I inched my hand just inside the top of her pyjamas, waiting for her to stop me. I could feel her smiling against my cheek as I drew my fingers lower and lower until I could feel her shaved pussy against my fingers. She felt hot and wet against my fingers. With my right hand, I slowly tugged her pants down to her knees so I had better access.
Ella let out a little purr as she moved against my thigh, letting me know that I was hitting the spot. Carefully I rubbed her clit with one finger as Ella ground herself closer to me. With my middle finger I played with the edge of her pussy, encircling her wetness with my finger.
I could feel my blood draining south to my nether regions as they got warmer and my erection pushed against the cotton of my boxers and into Ella’s backside. Ella turned around until she was facing me, pushing my hand back to where it was again as she slid my boxers down.
Taking one hand and never taking her eyes off me, she wrapped one hand around my cock and gently began to twist whilst rubbing up and down. Ever so slowly, she bit her lip watching my reaction as she tightened her grip and began to move faster. “Ella,” I breathed. I had no words because there were no words. I don’t know how much more I could take. I kicked my boxers off and rolled on top of Ella, supporting myself with my arms as I looked down at her. “Are you sure?” I asked searching her eyes. She just nodded, her eyes laced with desire, want and need.
I kissed her gently as she responded with more passion, arching her back up to meet my chest, running her fingers across my chest and down my arms. “Never been more sure,” she smiled. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as I kissed my way down her neck to her collarbone and down her chest.
“Now,” she begged, pulling me up, clawing at my hair as she wrapped her legs around my back bringing me closer to her. With one hand I inserted my cock slowly into her dripping pussy, feeling the tight slick sides, I stared down into her eyes as she slowly began to move underneath me. “I love you,” I whispered as she looked back up at me. I knew she loved me even if she wasn’t at the stage where she was ready to say it again.
I pushed my cock in deeper, hearing Ella gasp in delight as she wrapped her legs tighter around me, pushing her pelvis up until I was grinding against her. I moved slowly at first, wanting to last as long as possible. This was so perfect that I hadn’t wanted to rush any of it.
“Harder,” Ella moaned as I thrust into her. I moved against her, focusing on my breathing and the look in her eyes. I didn't want to take my eyes away from hers. I felt her tense beneath me as her walls slammed hard around my cock, knowing she was only seconds away.
When she finally came, I grabbed the headboard with one hand as my cock throbbed before I shot my load inside her. I didn't pull out of her, letting myself go limp inside of her as I rolled over, still looking at her, holding her in my arms. She snuggled into my chest, kissing my neck and collar bone.
Our silence was broken only minutes later by Ella asking what the time was. It was only seven which meant plenty of time for round two. I know Ella is hungry for this position at the end of the summer and she doesn't want to mess up her chances by being late. But as soon as we leave this bed, the best morning ever will be over. I don't want to leave this moment.
"I'll come with you today," I offered. I wanted to see where she worked and she what her day was like. Her eyes widened in belief as she told me how she drives to the metro station and then takes the metro into the city.
I nodded, not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing. I could call Max and figure something out and call my brothers.
"Let's go shower," she said taking my hand as I followed her towards her bathroom.
This day could only get better, I thought as I closed the shower door.
Ludovico Einaudi - Le Onde
JORDAN'S POV
I opened my eyes looking around at the stark whiteness which blinded my eyes. It must still be early, I thought as the first streaks of sunlight shone through the white muslin drapes. I looked across at the figure next to me, her blonde hair fanned out across the pillow. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. In a few hours she would be gone for the day and I had some major plans to make for this evening.
I drew her closer to me, kissing her bare shoulders as she murmured something in her sleep. She buried her head into the pillow before turning around to me and smiling ever so slightly. Her smile was so small that if I had blinked I might have missed it.
“It’s too early,” she said pulling the white cotton sheet and raising it over both of our heads. The sheet was translucent in the morning light and I could see her clearly under the cover. “Morning,” I said kissing her gently, not caring that Ella hates morning breath.
She smiled sleepily back at me, scooting closer into my chest so that I was spooning her. I could feel the gentle curve of her ass through her small pyjama bottoms as she wiggled getting comfortable. I rested my left hand on her left hip, playing with the elastic of her pyjama bottoms as my right arm ran through her hair.
“Jordan,” she warned as I started drawling lines with my fingers across her bare stomach. She wiggled her ass against my crotch again, as I swallowed, forcing myself not to think about sex. Thoughts of Geno and Max's sweaty, smelly equipement filled my mind. Although she had warned me, she hadn’t gone as far away as to move my hand away. I continued drawing light circles on the area across the bottom of her stomach.
“A huh,” I said into the back of her hair, moving a little of it out of the way so I could kiss the nape of her neck. She twisted her head around so I took the opportunity to kiss her on the cheek.
“You don’t know what you do to me,” she said as I continued drawing circles, pressing lightly on her smooth skin. “I think I do,” I said pushing my head forward so my mouth was next to her ear. Gently I began to draw larger lines and circles, slowly tracing ‘I love you’ on her skin before I started playing with her pyjama bottoms. Ella giggled a little, letting me know that she was enjoying the effect I had on her.
“Jordan,” she growled as she wriggled against me again. I inched my hand just inside the top of her pyjamas, waiting for her to stop me. I could feel her smiling against my cheek as I drew my fingers lower and lower until I could feel her shaved pussy against my fingers. She felt hot and wet against my fingers. With my right hand, I slowly tugged her pants down to her knees so I had better access.
Ella let out a little purr as she moved against my thigh, letting me know that I was hitting the spot. Carefully I rubbed her clit with one finger as Ella ground herself closer to me. With my middle finger I played with the edge of her pussy, encircling her wetness with my finger.
I could feel my blood draining south to my nether regions as they got warmer and my erection pushed against the cotton of my boxers and into Ella’s backside. Ella turned around until she was facing me, pushing my hand back to where it was again as she slid my boxers down.
Taking one hand and never taking her eyes off me, she wrapped one hand around my cock and gently began to twist whilst rubbing up and down. Ever so slowly, she bit her lip watching my reaction as she tightened her grip and began to move faster. “Ella,” I breathed. I had no words because there were no words. I don’t know how much more I could take. I kicked my boxers off and rolled on top of Ella, supporting myself with my arms as I looked down at her. “Are you sure?” I asked searching her eyes. She just nodded, her eyes laced with desire, want and need.
I kissed her gently as she responded with more passion, arching her back up to meet my chest, running her fingers across my chest and down my arms. “Never been more sure,” she smiled. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as I kissed my way down her neck to her collarbone and down her chest.
“Now,” she begged, pulling me up, clawing at my hair as she wrapped her legs around my back bringing me closer to her. With one hand I inserted my cock slowly into her dripping pussy, feeling the tight slick sides, I stared down into her eyes as she slowly began to move underneath me. “I love you,” I whispered as she looked back up at me. I knew she loved me even if she wasn’t at the stage where she was ready to say it again.
I pushed my cock in deeper, hearing Ella gasp in delight as she wrapped her legs tighter around me, pushing her pelvis up until I was grinding against her. I moved slowly at first, wanting to last as long as possible. This was so perfect that I hadn’t wanted to rush any of it.
“Harder,” Ella moaned as I thrust into her. I moved against her, focusing on my breathing and the look in her eyes. I didn't want to take my eyes away from hers. I felt her tense beneath me as her walls slammed hard around my cock, knowing she was only seconds away.
When she finally came, I grabbed the headboard with one hand as my cock throbbed before I shot my load inside her. I didn't pull out of her, letting myself go limp inside of her as I rolled over, still looking at her, holding her in my arms. She snuggled into my chest, kissing my neck and collar bone.
Our silence was broken only minutes later by Ella asking what the time was. It was only seven which meant plenty of time for round two. I know Ella is hungry for this position at the end of the summer and she doesn't want to mess up her chances by being late. But as soon as we leave this bed, the best morning ever will be over. I don't want to leave this moment.
"I'll come with you today," I offered. I wanted to see where she worked and she what her day was like. Her eyes widened in belief as she told me how she drives to the metro station and then takes the metro into the city.
I nodded, not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing. I could call Max and figure something out and call my brothers.
"Let's go shower," she said taking my hand as I followed her towards her bathroom.
This day could only get better, I thought as I closed the shower door.
57. Et maintenant?
This is more like two or three in one - sorry about the length - it's ridiculously long, but there was so much that I wanted to include...
Dashboard Confessional - Several Ways To Die Trying
ELLA'S POV
When I woke up in the morning, I could feel something throbbing and it wasn’t my head. Opening my eyes, I wish I had been able to take my make up off last night. I sat up wondering where I was, until I remembered I was stuck in Max’s basement with Jordan. The throbbing was coming from Jordan's chest against which I was pressed, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
My back was pressed against the back of the sofa and I was facing Jordan’s enormous sleeping body. I looked up at his face, he was still sleeping contentedly. My legs were entwined with his. There was no easy escape.
I ran a couple of fingers through my hair, grateful I hadn’t used any hairspray on my hair last night. wondering how I was going to get off the sofa without waking him up. Jordan’s arm was tucked around my waist, my hips pressed against his pelvis. Maybe I could slide down the sofa without waking him?
Ever so slowly I began to slide down the sofa, trying to make sure Jordan was still covered with the blankets. I tried not to move my legs from either side, just to move straight down, but Jordan’s leg was heavier than mine and I was trapped. I felt his whole body tense as his face began to twitch and then his arm moved. His eyelids fluttered open once, twice, before he cranked his eyes open, rubbing them wearily with his left hand. I remained perfectly still, around about his knees. “What are you doing down there?” he asked with a smirk as I'm sure a zillion dirty thoughts ran through his head. I knew that smirk well.
“Trying not to wake you,” I said realising I had completely failed. He shook his head at me, obviously trying not to laugh. Without letting my legs go which were still sandwiched between his, he moved the top half of his body until he was level with me. “And why would you want to get away from me?” The smirk on his face was telling me he was joking, but the tone of his voice was deadly serious.
“Because I’m going to go and raise hell at the top of the steps if Max doesn’t let us out soon. I’m supposed to be at brunch at one with my mother and Félix and I have a feeling that it’s not that early,” I replied as Jordan released my legs.
Every five or six weeks, my mother organises a brunch at a nice hotel or restaurant in the city, usually with some sort of auction afterwards. And if Félix or I am around, we have to go. I give Félix a lot of credit for this, as he's in Montréal, he is forced to go to most of them, and the majority of them are as boring as anything.
Reaching out for my purse, I opened the small make-up compact and glanced at my reflection. I didn’t look too bad considering but I desperately wanted a shower and to wash my face before I arrived at the hotel for brunch. Somehow I don't think my mother would appreciate my current sparkly eyeshadow.
Jordan swung himself off the couch and made his way to the top of the steps. He tried the door which creaked open, beckoning for me to follow him. “It’s open,” he whispered as I reached the top of the stairs. “Ready for payback?” I nodded. I couldn’t think of anything better. Max totally deserved whatever Jordan had lined up for him. No one had knocked on the basement door or even hinted that we were no longer trapped down there. Hopefully Max was sensible enough to let us out by now, he couldn't emprison us any longer.
As Jordan opened the door into the kitchen, I could see Max standing at the island whilst two guys, who looked incredibly like Jordan, devoured their breakfast. They must be his brothers, I thought, looking from one to the other.
To say the kitchen looked clean would have been an outright lie. It looked like a bomb had exploded to say the least – a massive alcohol bomb. The floor was sticky from beer as I made my way across, trying to keep my flats on as they stuck to the floor, making a tacky noise each time I lifted my feet. It was like walking on drying glue. In the corner, Max’s beach was still there, various items now floating in the paddling pool, the inflatable palm tree was beginning to droop and the sand had begun to move, attaching itself to the beer stained floor.
“You’re getting it Talbie,” Jordan said, running over to him, picking him up and dumping him with a splash into the paddling pool. “Not cool,” Jordan said as he backed away from a dripping Max who looked rather dejected as he sat with his legs over the side in the pool. He didn't say anything, he just sat there, sort of knowing it was coming.
“Ella, this is Marc, and Eric,” he said pointing to his brothers sitting at the table. I nodded and stuck out my hand as they both shook it. “You guys back together now?” Max whined from his watery seat. I shook my head in amusement as Max pointed back to the basement door. “Get back downstairs!”
“I have to go to brunch this morning. Is Noah still here?” I asked looking around for him. Max let out a mere laugh. God, I hope Max didn’t do something to Noah as well. I could only imagine what sort of trouble that would involve.
"Vero and Marc dropped him back last night,” he said.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave which read 11:26. If I drove quickly I could make it home, have a shower and arrive at brunch looking presentable and still be in time. It was a way to drive from here, to Westmount and back onto the plateau but Mother would not be impressed if I was late for this charity brunch.
“Without being rude, I really have to go. It was nice to meet you both," I directed this at Eric and Marc who smiled, not sure which one was which, "not you Max, but I have to go for a family brunch,” I said trying to get out of there as soon as possible. Marc and Eric just waved, both of them inhaling their food as Jordan followed me to the door. “Do you have to go so soon?” he said gently holding my arm. I moved a little closer to him and nodded, smiling, “Mother would kill me if I’m late.”
“But I don’t want to let you go?” Jordan almost whined. I tried not to look at his best puppy dog impression, his pouty mouth that I so badly wanted to kiss and the look in his eyes. “Do you have a shirt?” I asked him. Jordan nodded, pointing to the stairs which I indicated for him to go fetch. He came back with his bag, slung over his shoulder, pulling his t-shirt tight across his chest so I couldn’t help but admire his abdominal muscles.
“So where are we going?” he said clambering into the front of my SUV and pushing the seat back to accommodate his long legs. He looked like some sort of spider, all hunched up in the front. He poked the air freshener as we set off before switching on the radio and messing around with it. It’s like looking after a grown up kid.
“First of all to my house so I can get changed and showered. I can’t go like this, it’s not appropriate. And then we’re going to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel,” I replied, as we crossed the bridge back onto the island.
Jordan nodded and relaxed back in his seat as I drove like a maniac back home. Fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad when I pulled up outside the house. “Is anyone in?” he asked as I dashed out of the vehicle to the door as he hesitated behind me on the front step.
“Unlikely, they’ll probably already be gone, Mother likes to set up early and greet everyone. Félix might be here,” I said as I pulled him off the doorstep inside. I noticed Jordan looking around when we were inside, behind doors and taking everything in. “Everything’s so white,” he breathed as I headed upstairs towards my room.
“I have to take a shower, I’ll get you a towel and you can shower in the main bathroom,” I said when Jordan dumped his bag in my room. Part of me was annoyed at how he thought he could just set up camp here and another part of me was secretly relieved.
“Ella, it’s twenty to one!” Jordan shouted as I ran out of my bathroom, trying to put my hair up with a clip and fidgeting with the dress. This brunch is going to feel forced I thought as I grabbed the purse from last night, making my way downstairs and outside.
_____________________________________________________________________
JORDAN’S POV
Ella looked stunning, I didn’t want to leave. When she came out of the bathroom I was tempted to pull her onto her bed and have my way with her. Honestly she looked hot as fuck. Her hair was down and it smelt of oranges and lemons and things I wanted to eat. She looked effortly gorgeous - her floaty navy blue dress accentuating her narrow waist and clinging across her hips. I wondered why I hadn't seen that dress before - it might be my new favourite thing, that or a naked Ella.
Her house was huge and everything was so clean and white. I felt like just being in there, I was making things dirty. Everything shone and gleamed in the sunlight. I'm not used to houses looking so clinical. With three brothers nothing in our house stays spotless for long, despite Mom's best efforts. We live on a farm and it sort of shows. That's not saying we live like slobs - our house is a home, it has this lived in look, not like this, it's more like a show home.
I sat in the passenger seat, watching her navy blue dress ride up her toned thighs as she drove through the traffic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman drive in heels before, but it’s kind of hot, I have to say. I took her hand and just held it, grateful to her for bringing her with me. I’ve never met her parents, just Felix so this brunch could be kind of interesting. Anyway, I hope the food would be better than whatever Max was serving up at his.
I recognised the hotel from the times we had stayed here as a team. We don't stay here often, it's one of several we frequent when we travel north of the border. It’s a really nice hotel and I’m glad Ella had told me to wear a shirt and change out of last night’s clothes. She handed her car over to the valet who gawked at me as we went inside. I didn’t really know where we were going, so I just followed Ella, happy that her hand was still entwined with mine.
“Bonjour Maman,” she said double-kissing a small, petite lady who was perfectly turned out in a matching cream jacket and skirt. Her mother looked like one of those ladies who goes to the hairdresser’s every week and who might have had botox or some kind of surgery. Her face didn't move a huge amount as she looked me up and down before turning to Ella and saying something in French, something I didn’t catch on to. I understand a few words of French, things I pick up in the lockerroom from Max and Flower, Tanger's French is a little harder to understand. This brunch is going to be tricky if it's all in French.
“Maman, this is Jordan, Jordan, meet my mother,” Ella said as she introduced us. I held out a hand which she weakly shook. Her hand was like a dead fish, cold and limp and not at all like I was expecting. I smiled at her, hoping she would either warm up to me or talk to me. I earned a forced smile in return but her silent dismissal was pretty clear. She looked back at Ella before talking to her again in rapid French, saying something about me, which was clear by the tone of her voice. She looked at me again before saying something else, probably asking why I wasn’t a clean cut lawyer or med student that she would want Ella to be with.
“Mother, this is so rude,” Ella said in English, catching my attention. “You speak perfect English, we don't need to talk in French in front of Jordan.” Thank God, I thought, though I’m not sure I want to hear the rest of the conversation, particularly if her mother is going to admit her dislike in English. Her mother replied sharply in French before turning to me.
“Jordan!” Felix said, coming up to me and pumping my hand as I excused myself away from the Ella and her mom. “How are you? Long time no see?” I was glad of the distraction as he took me away from Ella and her witch of a mother. “Don’t worry, they don’t get on that well,” Felix said seeing my look as I walked away from Ella. “Are you two back together again now? How did the party go? I was supposed to be there too with Ella and Noah, but I ended up on a date which didn’t go too well.”
“We’re not back together, I wish we were,” I said, taking a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter as Felix took one too. “Max locked us in his basement together until we made up. I kissed her but I’m not sure where we are or what we even are. I want to be back together, but I think she’s confused…” I admitted. I didn’t want to tell Felix about snuggling up with her and the truth or dare – he probably didn’t want to know what I got up to with his sister.
“Between you and me, I think Ella wants to be back with you,” Félix said, sipping his champagne. “She was seriously cut up after she ended it, and she met this guy who made her realise how much she loved you.”
“There was a guy?” I said, my blood beginning to boil. Felix put an arm on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.
“Not like that. Actually you know him, Lecavalier. Nothing happened, but he made Ella realise that she loved you and I think she still does. They just talked,” Felix said seeing the look on my face, gesturing over to Ella who was looking my way. I smiled at her, raising my glass slightly as she smiled back, turning back to the witch.
“You being here today is a good thing. Ella and I hate these charity functions which Mother insists on having every couple of months. They’re going to auction off some prizes for a local leukaemia fund. Last month it was epilepsy, which Ella hated. Maman likes to spread it round that Ella has epilepsy.”
I shook my head looking back over at Ella who was looking for an escape route. “So how do I win her back?” I asked Felix who was watching us both.
“How long are you around for?” Felix said fiddling with some flower decoration that was nearby.
“As long as I want to be,” I said. I had left the rental car back at Max’s and Eric and Marc were planning on leaving tomorrow but my summer was pretty clear. Dad didn't need all four of us and I could be spared for a week at least.
“If I was you, I would stay as long as possible. Ella has work tomorrow and then the rest of the week, but she’s free in the evenings. Take her out for dinner and just catch up.” We did a lot of that last night. Maybe we could go out and explore Montreal after this dinner was over. That would be fun. Now that I’m here, I don’t want to leave.
I nodded following Ella and Felix to the table, waiting to be seated. I felt really out of place here; this sort of thing is not what I’m used to. On Sunday mornings it’s always our family around the kitchen table, bacon and toast on the table and lashings of maple syrup, not pheasant stuffed with foie gras or lobster and smoked salmon platters.
I fidgeted with the cutlery, not sure which fork I should use. With the team we often have nice charity functions, but here I feel like I'm being observed and judged on every little thing I do. Ella saw me worrying and discreetly pointed to the fork I needed. I smiled as she quietly scooted her chair closer to mine. I placed my hand on her leg reassuring her that I was ok.
"Sorry about my mother," she whispered, her breath warm on my ear.
Across the room I spotted someone I knew from hockey. What a small world, I thought. And why the fuck is he here after what Felix has just told me? I nodded at him, as he stood silently before making his way across the room towards us.
____________________________________________________________
Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You
ELLA'S POV
Jordan didn’t seem that comfortable at brunch. He had this sort of nervousness on his face, something I’m not used to seeing from him. I refrained from any more champagne, knowing that I had to drive back after this. Felix sat opposite me and babbled on about his date from last night. It sounded like the date from hell, and I did feel sort of sorry for him. I thought back to the last time we had had one of these things - Rosalie had looked totally out of place.
Last time, she wore a leather mini skirt and a cropped white t-shirt that revealed her navel, making my mother practically recoil when she saw her. To my mother, appearance is everything; so the whole ‘Rosalie is a stripper’ thing didn’t go down very well. In comparison, with Jordan being here, things seemed to be a lot smoother; Jordan didn't look like he walked the streets and although he was out of his comfort zone, he was doing well so far.
As Jordan continued to lightly stroke my thigh under the table, I could feel my sparks running up my thighs as something began to tingle in my underwear. If we carried on like this, I could be in serious trouble. Looking at his expression, he knew exactly what he was up to.
“Ella,” I looked around at the voice and came face to face with Vinnie. I haven’t seen him for several weeks and to say he looked great would be an understatement. Jordan’s grip tightened on my thigh, as I put my hand on top of his, stroking small circles on it with my thumb until he relaxed. I stood up, letting my dress fall and cover my knees as I hugged Vinnie.
“Vinnie, meet Jordan,” I said as Jordan stood up awkwardly.
“We already know each other,” Jordan said plainly, not looking at me but staring Vinnie down. I put my arm around his waist to let him know I was still in the room. Was Jordan jealous?
“Oh, of course,” I said. “How are you? How and why are you here? I didn’t know my mother invited you,” I said really surprised to see him here. I didn't think my mother's circle extended to NHL players. Jordan put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. He was being a little too over protective for my liking. Vinnie was a friend, not someone Jordan should feel threatened by.
“I was back in the area. I’m actually house hunting on the plateau and Caroline was invited,” he replied. “I didn’t know you two were together. Was this the guy we talked about?” Thank you Vinnie, I thought, trying not to roll my eyes. That was very discreet. I nodded at the last question as Jordan’s grip loosened around my waist.
“Maybe we’ll see you after,” I said as the waiter brought our food over. Vinnie nodded, shook Jordan's hand and smiled at me before he headed back towards his table where I could see a slim dark-haired woman sitting next to an empty chair. She must be the fiancée Max had talked about yesterday, I thought.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked after the brunch was finished and most of my mother’s friends were standing around and talking. Technically I should be socialising too, being the ‘good’ daughter role, but with Jordan by my side, I just wanted to get out of there. “Anywhere,” he replied putting his napkin down.
“Maman, il faut que je doive partir,” I said airkissing her on both cheeks so I didn’t ruin her make-up. I gave Felix a hug before I tugged Jordan out of the room after me. He wasn’t the only one who looked suitably relieved when we left that room.
“You OK?” I checked as he grinned back at me. I handed the coupon over to the valet service. The boy’s eyes lit up when he saw Jordan and asked for his autograph.
“Ells, do you have a pen?” he said as he took a bit of paper off the valet’s stand. I pulled a pen out of my purse and handed it to Jordan. The boy was looking at Jordan like his Christmas had come early. And I thought everyone in this city liked the Habs? He went off to fetch my car as we waited there, Jordan pulling me closer to him.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I said to Jordan as I leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, linking his hands together at the bottom of my stomach. I could feel my stomach turning over and over. I’m almost one hundred percent certain that it’s not from drinking into the early hours or the brunch I’ve just consumed. “You’re welcome. It’s nice to meet your mother,” Jordan said. Was he joking? It’s never a pleasure to meet my mother. She makes life difficult for everyone around her and she’s always critiquing the world around her. You know that everything you do is being saved up to be psychoanalysed later.
“Are you joking?” I said turning my head back around to look up at him. Jordan shook his head, planting a kiss on my forehead and then my nose as the valet coughed. I tipped him and got into the car as the boy stared at Jordan who just nodded at him. “Big fan you’ve got there,” I remarked as we drove off. I wasn’t sure where to go; I didn’t really know what we should do. It’s three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and we were both quite dressed up.
“Shopping?” Jordan asked.
I really wasn’t dressed for shopping. I’m wearing a knee-length, blue dress with heels and I look like I’m about to go to a ball or a charity function, not shopping. I’m not the type of girl who keeps emergency clothes in her car either.
“Sure,” I said driving into a car park off St. Denis, knowing that I could buy some clothes to change into. My feet were going to kill if I was going to shop in these heels.
Shopping with Jordan is an experience. Admittedly he’s nowhere near as good to shop with as Noah and he does get bored of looking at clothes after about half an hour. Noah gives his opinion on everything, he’ll tell you if he doesn’t like the cut or if the top isn’t cute enough. He should be running some sort of program on fashion TV. According to Jordan everything I tried on looks ‘good’ or ‘great’ or ‘fantastic’.
I brought some flats from Aldo and a pair of jeans and a tunic top and I was ready to go. I carried my dress and the heels in the bag and changed in one of the change rooms at Jacob.
“Can we go in here?” Jordan said as we passed an underwear shop. I wasn’t sure, I mean I didn’t know if that was appropriate or not. We stood outside the shop as I looked inside. If I walked inside, I would effectively be confirming that we were back together. If I didn’t, it would be a blatant kick in the teeth to Jordan. And even if I did buy the underwear, I was sure that I wouldn’t be jumping into bed with Jordan right away. Sure, he might get a buzz out of helping me choose underwear, but what sort of message would I be sending to him?
“Umm…” I said, hesitating as we stood right in the middle of the walkway. I steered Jordan over to the railings so we had a clear view of the levels below. “Is it too soon?” Jordan asked. I looked over at him. “I’m not sure,” I said. “I don’t know what to do,” I said.
Jordan bit his lip before looking down at me. “Well let’s go choose underwear with no consequences or expectations attached,” he said leaning down to kiss me. I nodded. He was pretty keen on helping me choose out underwear, I thought as he led me into the shop.
I looked around. I certainly don’t need anything but Jordan has just put up with me for the last hour and he did sit through a painful brunch and the first half of the auction. I could have a little fun with this, and if I thought about it, Jordan was being such a sweetie. He looked like a little kid in a candy shop as he looked around, trying to help me choose things.
His idea of practical was slightly different to mine. I didn’t consider stockings and suspenders in the ‘everyday/work’ category. I bought a few items, humouring myself and Jordan, vowing that I would take it back after Jordan leaves.
“So do I get to see them on?” Jordan said as we headed back to my car. Talk about no “consequences or expectations attached.” I shook my head. I hadn’t let Jordan in the changing room because I knew what would have happened if I had – neither one of us would have held back and there would have been no stopping us.
“Let me drive,” Jordan said as we reached the car. I protested because my car is sacred to me. Not even Félix can drive her. And Jordan doesn’t even know Montréal, so I was going to have to direct him. It would be ten times easier if I drove. I headed round to the driver’s side as Jordan followed me. He pinned me up against the car and began to tickle me. “Jordan,” I gasped in between breaths.
“Ha, say that again,” he said clearly enjoying the power he had over me. I realised it had come out like a sex noise as I shook my head, squirming as his hands tickled my sides. He wrestled my purse from me and took the keys before pushing me up against the car and kissing me hard. I hadn’t kissed him since the kiss in Max’s basement and this one was forceful and urgent. It screamed sex to me as Jordan began working his way down my neck, still holding me in place against my car.
"Uh Jordan, we have an audience," I said as he stopped and I motioned to the little girl who was watching us as her parents packed their car up. He waved at her before he jumped into the driver's seat, leaving me with no choice but to sit in defeat in the passenger's seat.
I put all of my shopping down in my room and took a deep breath. The last twenty four hours had been crazy to say the least. I sat on my bed and kicked off my new shoes which had left angry red marks around my heels.
"So, what now?" Jordan asked as he stood in front of me.
Dashboard Confessional - Several Ways To Die Trying
ELLA'S POV
When I woke up in the morning, I could feel something throbbing and it wasn’t my head. Opening my eyes, I wish I had been able to take my make up off last night. I sat up wondering where I was, until I remembered I was stuck in Max’s basement with Jordan. The throbbing was coming from Jordan's chest against which I was pressed, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
My back was pressed against the back of the sofa and I was facing Jordan’s enormous sleeping body. I looked up at his face, he was still sleeping contentedly. My legs were entwined with his. There was no easy escape.
I ran a couple of fingers through my hair, grateful I hadn’t used any hairspray on my hair last night. wondering how I was going to get off the sofa without waking him up. Jordan’s arm was tucked around my waist, my hips pressed against his pelvis. Maybe I could slide down the sofa without waking him?
Ever so slowly I began to slide down the sofa, trying to make sure Jordan was still covered with the blankets. I tried not to move my legs from either side, just to move straight down, but Jordan’s leg was heavier than mine and I was trapped. I felt his whole body tense as his face began to twitch and then his arm moved. His eyelids fluttered open once, twice, before he cranked his eyes open, rubbing them wearily with his left hand. I remained perfectly still, around about his knees. “What are you doing down there?” he asked with a smirk as I'm sure a zillion dirty thoughts ran through his head. I knew that smirk well.
“Trying not to wake you,” I said realising I had completely failed. He shook his head at me, obviously trying not to laugh. Without letting my legs go which were still sandwiched between his, he moved the top half of his body until he was level with me. “And why would you want to get away from me?” The smirk on his face was telling me he was joking, but the tone of his voice was deadly serious.
“Because I’m going to go and raise hell at the top of the steps if Max doesn’t let us out soon. I’m supposed to be at brunch at one with my mother and Félix and I have a feeling that it’s not that early,” I replied as Jordan released my legs.
Every five or six weeks, my mother organises a brunch at a nice hotel or restaurant in the city, usually with some sort of auction afterwards. And if Félix or I am around, we have to go. I give Félix a lot of credit for this, as he's in Montréal, he is forced to go to most of them, and the majority of them are as boring as anything.
Reaching out for my purse, I opened the small make-up compact and glanced at my reflection. I didn’t look too bad considering but I desperately wanted a shower and to wash my face before I arrived at the hotel for brunch. Somehow I don't think my mother would appreciate my current sparkly eyeshadow.
Jordan swung himself off the couch and made his way to the top of the steps. He tried the door which creaked open, beckoning for me to follow him. “It’s open,” he whispered as I reached the top of the stairs. “Ready for payback?” I nodded. I couldn’t think of anything better. Max totally deserved whatever Jordan had lined up for him. No one had knocked on the basement door or even hinted that we were no longer trapped down there. Hopefully Max was sensible enough to let us out by now, he couldn't emprison us any longer.
As Jordan opened the door into the kitchen, I could see Max standing at the island whilst two guys, who looked incredibly like Jordan, devoured their breakfast. They must be his brothers, I thought, looking from one to the other.
To say the kitchen looked clean would have been an outright lie. It looked like a bomb had exploded to say the least – a massive alcohol bomb. The floor was sticky from beer as I made my way across, trying to keep my flats on as they stuck to the floor, making a tacky noise each time I lifted my feet. It was like walking on drying glue. In the corner, Max’s beach was still there, various items now floating in the paddling pool, the inflatable palm tree was beginning to droop and the sand had begun to move, attaching itself to the beer stained floor.
“You’re getting it Talbie,” Jordan said, running over to him, picking him up and dumping him with a splash into the paddling pool. “Not cool,” Jordan said as he backed away from a dripping Max who looked rather dejected as he sat with his legs over the side in the pool. He didn't say anything, he just sat there, sort of knowing it was coming.
“Ella, this is Marc, and Eric,” he said pointing to his brothers sitting at the table. I nodded and stuck out my hand as they both shook it. “You guys back together now?” Max whined from his watery seat. I shook my head in amusement as Max pointed back to the basement door. “Get back downstairs!”
“I have to go to brunch this morning. Is Noah still here?” I asked looking around for him. Max let out a mere laugh. God, I hope Max didn’t do something to Noah as well. I could only imagine what sort of trouble that would involve.
"Vero and Marc dropped him back last night,” he said.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave which read 11:26. If I drove quickly I could make it home, have a shower and arrive at brunch looking presentable and still be in time. It was a way to drive from here, to Westmount and back onto the plateau but Mother would not be impressed if I was late for this charity brunch.
“Without being rude, I really have to go. It was nice to meet you both," I directed this at Eric and Marc who smiled, not sure which one was which, "not you Max, but I have to go for a family brunch,” I said trying to get out of there as soon as possible. Marc and Eric just waved, both of them inhaling their food as Jordan followed me to the door. “Do you have to go so soon?” he said gently holding my arm. I moved a little closer to him and nodded, smiling, “Mother would kill me if I’m late.”
“But I don’t want to let you go?” Jordan almost whined. I tried not to look at his best puppy dog impression, his pouty mouth that I so badly wanted to kiss and the look in his eyes. “Do you have a shirt?” I asked him. Jordan nodded, pointing to the stairs which I indicated for him to go fetch. He came back with his bag, slung over his shoulder, pulling his t-shirt tight across his chest so I couldn’t help but admire his abdominal muscles.
“So where are we going?” he said clambering into the front of my SUV and pushing the seat back to accommodate his long legs. He looked like some sort of spider, all hunched up in the front. He poked the air freshener as we set off before switching on the radio and messing around with it. It’s like looking after a grown up kid.
“First of all to my house so I can get changed and showered. I can’t go like this, it’s not appropriate. And then we’re going to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel,” I replied, as we crossed the bridge back onto the island.
Jordan nodded and relaxed back in his seat as I drove like a maniac back home. Fortunately the traffic wasn’t too bad when I pulled up outside the house. “Is anyone in?” he asked as I dashed out of the vehicle to the door as he hesitated behind me on the front step.
“Unlikely, they’ll probably already be gone, Mother likes to set up early and greet everyone. Félix might be here,” I said as I pulled him off the doorstep inside. I noticed Jordan looking around when we were inside, behind doors and taking everything in. “Everything’s so white,” he breathed as I headed upstairs towards my room.
“I have to take a shower, I’ll get you a towel and you can shower in the main bathroom,” I said when Jordan dumped his bag in my room. Part of me was annoyed at how he thought he could just set up camp here and another part of me was secretly relieved.
“Ella, it’s twenty to one!” Jordan shouted as I ran out of my bathroom, trying to put my hair up with a clip and fidgeting with the dress. This brunch is going to feel forced I thought as I grabbed the purse from last night, making my way downstairs and outside.
_____________________________________________________________________
JORDAN’S POV
Ella looked stunning, I didn’t want to leave. When she came out of the bathroom I was tempted to pull her onto her bed and have my way with her. Honestly she looked hot as fuck. Her hair was down and it smelt of oranges and lemons and things I wanted to eat. She looked effortly gorgeous - her floaty navy blue dress accentuating her narrow waist and clinging across her hips. I wondered why I hadn't seen that dress before - it might be my new favourite thing, that or a naked Ella.
Her house was huge and everything was so clean and white. I felt like just being in there, I was making things dirty. Everything shone and gleamed in the sunlight. I'm not used to houses looking so clinical. With three brothers nothing in our house stays spotless for long, despite Mom's best efforts. We live on a farm and it sort of shows. That's not saying we live like slobs - our house is a home, it has this lived in look, not like this, it's more like a show home.
I sat in the passenger seat, watching her navy blue dress ride up her toned thighs as she drove through the traffic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman drive in heels before, but it’s kind of hot, I have to say. I took her hand and just held it, grateful to her for bringing her with me. I’ve never met her parents, just Felix so this brunch could be kind of interesting. Anyway, I hope the food would be better than whatever Max was serving up at his.
I recognised the hotel from the times we had stayed here as a team. We don't stay here often, it's one of several we frequent when we travel north of the border. It’s a really nice hotel and I’m glad Ella had told me to wear a shirt and change out of last night’s clothes. She handed her car over to the valet who gawked at me as we went inside. I didn’t really know where we were going, so I just followed Ella, happy that her hand was still entwined with mine.
“Bonjour Maman,” she said double-kissing a small, petite lady who was perfectly turned out in a matching cream jacket and skirt. Her mother looked like one of those ladies who goes to the hairdresser’s every week and who might have had botox or some kind of surgery. Her face didn't move a huge amount as she looked me up and down before turning to Ella and saying something in French, something I didn’t catch on to. I understand a few words of French, things I pick up in the lockerroom from Max and Flower, Tanger's French is a little harder to understand. This brunch is going to be tricky if it's all in French.
“Maman, this is Jordan, Jordan, meet my mother,” Ella said as she introduced us. I held out a hand which she weakly shook. Her hand was like a dead fish, cold and limp and not at all like I was expecting. I smiled at her, hoping she would either warm up to me or talk to me. I earned a forced smile in return but her silent dismissal was pretty clear. She looked back at Ella before talking to her again in rapid French, saying something about me, which was clear by the tone of her voice. She looked at me again before saying something else, probably asking why I wasn’t a clean cut lawyer or med student that she would want Ella to be with.
“Mother, this is so rude,” Ella said in English, catching my attention. “You speak perfect English, we don't need to talk in French in front of Jordan.” Thank God, I thought, though I’m not sure I want to hear the rest of the conversation, particularly if her mother is going to admit her dislike in English. Her mother replied sharply in French before turning to me.
“Jordan!” Felix said, coming up to me and pumping my hand as I excused myself away from the Ella and her mom. “How are you? Long time no see?” I was glad of the distraction as he took me away from Ella and her witch of a mother. “Don’t worry, they don’t get on that well,” Felix said seeing my look as I walked away from Ella. “Are you two back together again now? How did the party go? I was supposed to be there too with Ella and Noah, but I ended up on a date which didn’t go too well.”
“We’re not back together, I wish we were,” I said, taking a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter as Felix took one too. “Max locked us in his basement together until we made up. I kissed her but I’m not sure where we are or what we even are. I want to be back together, but I think she’s confused…” I admitted. I didn’t want to tell Felix about snuggling up with her and the truth or dare – he probably didn’t want to know what I got up to with his sister.
“Between you and me, I think Ella wants to be back with you,” Félix said, sipping his champagne. “She was seriously cut up after she ended it, and she met this guy who made her realise how much she loved you.”
“There was a guy?” I said, my blood beginning to boil. Felix put an arm on my shoulder, trying to calm me down.
“Not like that. Actually you know him, Lecavalier. Nothing happened, but he made Ella realise that she loved you and I think she still does. They just talked,” Felix said seeing the look on my face, gesturing over to Ella who was looking my way. I smiled at her, raising my glass slightly as she smiled back, turning back to the witch.
“You being here today is a good thing. Ella and I hate these charity functions which Mother insists on having every couple of months. They’re going to auction off some prizes for a local leukaemia fund. Last month it was epilepsy, which Ella hated. Maman likes to spread it round that Ella has epilepsy.”
I shook my head looking back over at Ella who was looking for an escape route. “So how do I win her back?” I asked Felix who was watching us both.
“How long are you around for?” Felix said fiddling with some flower decoration that was nearby.
“As long as I want to be,” I said. I had left the rental car back at Max’s and Eric and Marc were planning on leaving tomorrow but my summer was pretty clear. Dad didn't need all four of us and I could be spared for a week at least.
“If I was you, I would stay as long as possible. Ella has work tomorrow and then the rest of the week, but she’s free in the evenings. Take her out for dinner and just catch up.” We did a lot of that last night. Maybe we could go out and explore Montreal after this dinner was over. That would be fun. Now that I’m here, I don’t want to leave.
I nodded following Ella and Felix to the table, waiting to be seated. I felt really out of place here; this sort of thing is not what I’m used to. On Sunday mornings it’s always our family around the kitchen table, bacon and toast on the table and lashings of maple syrup, not pheasant stuffed with foie gras or lobster and smoked salmon platters.
I fidgeted with the cutlery, not sure which fork I should use. With the team we often have nice charity functions, but here I feel like I'm being observed and judged on every little thing I do. Ella saw me worrying and discreetly pointed to the fork I needed. I smiled as she quietly scooted her chair closer to mine. I placed my hand on her leg reassuring her that I was ok.
"Sorry about my mother," she whispered, her breath warm on my ear.
Across the room I spotted someone I knew from hockey. What a small world, I thought. And why the fuck is he here after what Felix has just told me? I nodded at him, as he stood silently before making his way across the room towards us.
____________________________________________________________
Colbie Caillat - Fallin' For You
ELLA'S POV
Jordan didn’t seem that comfortable at brunch. He had this sort of nervousness on his face, something I’m not used to seeing from him. I refrained from any more champagne, knowing that I had to drive back after this. Felix sat opposite me and babbled on about his date from last night. It sounded like the date from hell, and I did feel sort of sorry for him. I thought back to the last time we had had one of these things - Rosalie had looked totally out of place.
Last time, she wore a leather mini skirt and a cropped white t-shirt that revealed her navel, making my mother practically recoil when she saw her. To my mother, appearance is everything; so the whole ‘Rosalie is a stripper’ thing didn’t go down very well. In comparison, with Jordan being here, things seemed to be a lot smoother; Jordan didn't look like he walked the streets and although he was out of his comfort zone, he was doing well so far.
As Jordan continued to lightly stroke my thigh under the table, I could feel my sparks running up my thighs as something began to tingle in my underwear. If we carried on like this, I could be in serious trouble. Looking at his expression, he knew exactly what he was up to.
“Ella,” I looked around at the voice and came face to face with Vinnie. I haven’t seen him for several weeks and to say he looked great would be an understatement. Jordan’s grip tightened on my thigh, as I put my hand on top of his, stroking small circles on it with my thumb until he relaxed. I stood up, letting my dress fall and cover my knees as I hugged Vinnie.
“Vinnie, meet Jordan,” I said as Jordan stood up awkwardly.
“We already know each other,” Jordan said plainly, not looking at me but staring Vinnie down. I put my arm around his waist to let him know I was still in the room. Was Jordan jealous?
“Oh, of course,” I said. “How are you? How and why are you here? I didn’t know my mother invited you,” I said really surprised to see him here. I didn't think my mother's circle extended to NHL players. Jordan put his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. He was being a little too over protective for my liking. Vinnie was a friend, not someone Jordan should feel threatened by.
“I was back in the area. I’m actually house hunting on the plateau and Caroline was invited,” he replied. “I didn’t know you two were together. Was this the guy we talked about?” Thank you Vinnie, I thought, trying not to roll my eyes. That was very discreet. I nodded at the last question as Jordan’s grip loosened around my waist.
“Maybe we’ll see you after,” I said as the waiter brought our food over. Vinnie nodded, shook Jordan's hand and smiled at me before he headed back towards his table where I could see a slim dark-haired woman sitting next to an empty chair. She must be the fiancée Max had talked about yesterday, I thought.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked after the brunch was finished and most of my mother’s friends were standing around and talking. Technically I should be socialising too, being the ‘good’ daughter role, but with Jordan by my side, I just wanted to get out of there. “Anywhere,” he replied putting his napkin down.
“Maman, il faut que je doive partir,” I said airkissing her on both cheeks so I didn’t ruin her make-up. I gave Felix a hug before I tugged Jordan out of the room after me. He wasn’t the only one who looked suitably relieved when we left that room.
“You OK?” I checked as he grinned back at me. I handed the coupon over to the valet service. The boy’s eyes lit up when he saw Jordan and asked for his autograph.
“Ells, do you have a pen?” he said as he took a bit of paper off the valet’s stand. I pulled a pen out of my purse and handed it to Jordan. The boy was looking at Jordan like his Christmas had come early. And I thought everyone in this city liked the Habs? He went off to fetch my car as we waited there, Jordan pulling me closer to him.
“Thanks for coming with me,” I said to Jordan as I leaned back against him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, linking his hands together at the bottom of my stomach. I could feel my stomach turning over and over. I’m almost one hundred percent certain that it’s not from drinking into the early hours or the brunch I’ve just consumed. “You’re welcome. It’s nice to meet your mother,” Jordan said. Was he joking? It’s never a pleasure to meet my mother. She makes life difficult for everyone around her and she’s always critiquing the world around her. You know that everything you do is being saved up to be psychoanalysed later.
“Are you joking?” I said turning my head back around to look up at him. Jordan shook his head, planting a kiss on my forehead and then my nose as the valet coughed. I tipped him and got into the car as the boy stared at Jordan who just nodded at him. “Big fan you’ve got there,” I remarked as we drove off. I wasn’t sure where to go; I didn’t really know what we should do. It’s three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and we were both quite dressed up.
“Shopping?” Jordan asked.
I really wasn’t dressed for shopping. I’m wearing a knee-length, blue dress with heels and I look like I’m about to go to a ball or a charity function, not shopping. I’m not the type of girl who keeps emergency clothes in her car either.
“Sure,” I said driving into a car park off St. Denis, knowing that I could buy some clothes to change into. My feet were going to kill if I was going to shop in these heels.
Shopping with Jordan is an experience. Admittedly he’s nowhere near as good to shop with as Noah and he does get bored of looking at clothes after about half an hour. Noah gives his opinion on everything, he’ll tell you if he doesn’t like the cut or if the top isn’t cute enough. He should be running some sort of program on fashion TV. According to Jordan everything I tried on looks ‘good’ or ‘great’ or ‘fantastic’.
I brought some flats from Aldo and a pair of jeans and a tunic top and I was ready to go. I carried my dress and the heels in the bag and changed in one of the change rooms at Jacob.
“Can we go in here?” Jordan said as we passed an underwear shop. I wasn’t sure, I mean I didn’t know if that was appropriate or not. We stood outside the shop as I looked inside. If I walked inside, I would effectively be confirming that we were back together. If I didn’t, it would be a blatant kick in the teeth to Jordan. And even if I did buy the underwear, I was sure that I wouldn’t be jumping into bed with Jordan right away. Sure, he might get a buzz out of helping me choose underwear, but what sort of message would I be sending to him?
“Umm…” I said, hesitating as we stood right in the middle of the walkway. I steered Jordan over to the railings so we had a clear view of the levels below. “Is it too soon?” Jordan asked. I looked over at him. “I’m not sure,” I said. “I don’t know what to do,” I said.
Jordan bit his lip before looking down at me. “Well let’s go choose underwear with no consequences or expectations attached,” he said leaning down to kiss me. I nodded. He was pretty keen on helping me choose out underwear, I thought as he led me into the shop.
I looked around. I certainly don’t need anything but Jordan has just put up with me for the last hour and he did sit through a painful brunch and the first half of the auction. I could have a little fun with this, and if I thought about it, Jordan was being such a sweetie. He looked like a little kid in a candy shop as he looked around, trying to help me choose things.
His idea of practical was slightly different to mine. I didn’t consider stockings and suspenders in the ‘everyday/work’ category. I bought a few items, humouring myself and Jordan, vowing that I would take it back after Jordan leaves.
“So do I get to see them on?” Jordan said as we headed back to my car. Talk about no “consequences or expectations attached.” I shook my head. I hadn’t let Jordan in the changing room because I knew what would have happened if I had – neither one of us would have held back and there would have been no stopping us.
“Let me drive,” Jordan said as we reached the car. I protested because my car is sacred to me. Not even Félix can drive her. And Jordan doesn’t even know Montréal, so I was going to have to direct him. It would be ten times easier if I drove. I headed round to the driver’s side as Jordan followed me. He pinned me up against the car and began to tickle me. “Jordan,” I gasped in between breaths.
“Ha, say that again,” he said clearly enjoying the power he had over me. I realised it had come out like a sex noise as I shook my head, squirming as his hands tickled my sides. He wrestled my purse from me and took the keys before pushing me up against the car and kissing me hard. I hadn’t kissed him since the kiss in Max’s basement and this one was forceful and urgent. It screamed sex to me as Jordan began working his way down my neck, still holding me in place against my car.
"Uh Jordan, we have an audience," I said as he stopped and I motioned to the little girl who was watching us as her parents packed their car up. He waved at her before he jumped into the driver's seat, leaving me with no choice but to sit in defeat in the passenger's seat.
I put all of my shopping down in my room and took a deep breath. The last twenty four hours had been crazy to say the least. I sat on my bed and kicked off my new shoes which had left angry red marks around my heels.
"So, what now?" Jordan asked as he stood in front of me.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
56. Consequences
All Saints - Never Ever
JORDAN'S POV
Ella listened to my reasons for not calling her remarkably calmly. She didn’t yell or raise her voice, she just sat there and listened. Part of me was wondering if she really cared, she almost seemed passive. Most chicks would probably have flipped out by now. She didn’t and that was one of the things I liked about her.
I’m not saying she’s not passionate about things or doesn’t get riled up, because she does, but she was so chilled about it when I was explaining and actually listened instead of flying off the handle. Ella’s no doormat either; I knew I still had the hardest part ahead of me – trying to win her back.
When she left the room to “stretch her legs”, I knew Ella well enough to know that she needed some thinking space, so I let her go. I sat in the den, in front of the large TV screen debating whether to turn Max’s xbox on. I thought that would completely distract from the situation at hand. And as much as I was tempted to play NHL 10 or Halo or whatever other games Max had down here, I decided not to.
Pushing myself up off the floor, I drained the last half of my beer before collecting another from the kitchen. I don’t know if Max had forgotten that he had left a lot of alcohol down here, or if he had purposely done it, either way Ella and I were taking advantage of it.
From the kitchen I could see Ella sitting on top of the laundry machines. She looked so cute sitting up there, her long, twiglet legs dangling off the edge, swinging back and forth, gently banging against the machine. She was fiddling with the label of the empty bottle in frustration. I headed back to the fridge and pulled out another one for her.
“How are you doing up there? Stretching your legs?” It was lame small talk but I needed something to break the ice with. I handed her the bottle seeing her pop the top off and downing more than half. Wow, she was thirsty. Noticing my staring, she gestured for me to do the same. I got brain freeze as I poured the bud slowly down my throat.
I wanted to know if she missed me, so I told her I did partly to see what she said. Each time I feel like I’m pushing the conversation but trying to make sure she was comfortable at the same time. After a few moments of deliberation, Ella told me she missed me too. I decided to push this a little further. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” I said looking right at her. Apart from my body yearning for her, I missed her in my life, the way she talks, her smile, the way her eyes light up when she sees something or talks about something she’s passionate about.
“Tell me,” Ella said. I could stand here all night and rattle off reasons as to why I missed her. I think I would bore her to tears if I went through the whole list. So I thought maybe showing her might be better. It was a disguised way of saying ‘Can I kiss you?’ and she didn’t respond. If she had immediately said no, I don’t think I would have gone ahead, it’s not right to disobey someone’s wishes like that. But her delay meant she was thinking about it and probably about what it would mean which means she doesn’t know.
So I had to convince her.
So I stepped closer and kissed her.
She didn’t push me away or stop me which was definitely a good sign. I pressed my lips gently to her soft, smooth lips as her eyes fluttered shut and she gently began to kiss me back. It wasn’t urgent or needy and passionate, it was just tender and gentle and very slow. I can’t scare Ella away, not now.
I pushed my tongue against her lips, silently asking for entry which she granted me as she pushed her tongue gently into my mouth, her hand coming up to the back of my neck, playing with the hair there. She nibbled my bottom lip as I told myself to take this slowly. She tasted like lemons and oranges, intermingled with the smell of her shampoo and the floral perfume I got a strong waft of earlier. I need to ask her what perfume she wears so I can drench my pillows in the scent.
I’m not sure which one of us broke away first, but the kiss ended too soon. I stood there with my forehead against hers, both of us staring into each others eyes, neither one of us wanting to speak first. Her arm was still strung around the bottom of my neck, my hand still on her leg. Ella broke the eye contact first, looking down in embarrassment.
“I love you,” I whispered causing her to flick her eyes back up towards me. She had that whole ‘deer in the headlights’ look which would normally be really cute on her, but caused me to internally panic. It was too soon for me to say things like that to her. She wasn't ready. Taking her hands, I held them gently, noticing the goose bumps on her arms. She was either cold or spooked. Hoping it was the first one, I whispered to her gently, “Never stopped. C’mon let’s go back to the sofas, it’s cold in here.”
I lifted her off the washing machine, taking her by the hand and leading her back to Max’s den. I didn’t know whether to sit by her or not so I dropped her hand and headed over to the sofa I had been sitting against before. She sat cross-legged in the same place again, drawing the blankets around her into some sort of cocoon.
“Jordan, the kiss…” Ella started, not looking at me, focusing on some part of the carpet which seemed really interesting to her. “I don’t know what to say, or what to do,” she said quietly still not looking at me.
Did I have to kiss her again to convince her? I wanted to do whatever it took to convince her to get back with her, no matter what it took, I would be happy to do it. I think I would even give up hockey for her, if it meant she we lived happily ever after. I don’t want to give up on her. Seeing her tonight, looking breathtakingly gorgeous and talking animatedly with Tanger, made me realise how much of an idiot I was to ever lose her in the first place.
“Let’s play a game,” I said rummaging through the pile of xbox games next to the TV. I tossed a controller over to Ella who took it without any questions. I needed a distraction - something to do whilst I thought over what I was supposed to say.
As Ella overtook me on the final lap, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do. Admittedly I had sort of hung back a little bit, giving her a chance to win; it's not so fun if you're going to thrash the opposition by running in circles around them. So I let it look like I just sucked - I drove the car into a rock or a tree or the side of the tunnel or whatever even though I've played this game hundreds of times before on the road.
"Wahoo I win again," Ella said, tossing the controller down and looking at me as the writing on the bottom, losing, half of the screen read "YOU SUCK". As if I didn't already know.
"What shall we do now?" Ella asked, drawing the blankets tighter around her. I had some pretty good ideas of what we could do down here - maybe we could get some use out of those condoms Max had thrown down here? I know Ella's not ready for that though. She had kissed me back, that was one thing, but I don't think she was going to want to go any further just yet.
"Let's drink," I said, thinking it was the best idea I've had all night. When Max finally lets us out of here, I'm going to kill him for having one of the most boring basements ever.
"Sure," Ella said getting up still in her cocoon and walking in it to the kitchen. I stretched out and got onto the sofa. I had no idea what time it was but by the steady beat of the bass upstairs, the party was still going. "Thanks," I smiled as she handed me another beer and put a spare at my feet.
We sat there in silence, not really knowing what to say, both contemplating things. I could see her furrowed brow, meaning she was overthinking - she only does that when she overthinks.
"Drinking game?" she suggested looking around for things to play with. Ella shifted in her cocoon as she played with the label of her bottle. "Truth or dare?"
"Sure," I replied. I haven't played this since I was about fifteen, I thought. And it's probably going to end up being truths since we're stuck in a basement - it's not like we can do many 'dares' down here. "You first. Truth or Dare?"
"Truth," she grinned taking a long sip of her drink.
Hmm, I said. What did I really want to know. There were many things I could have asked her, some were probably too X-rated for our current state so I would try and keep it clean, for now. "How old were you when, you had your first kiss?"
Ella raised her eyebrows. "Kinda lame but I'll let it go. Thirteen," she said. Good to know she wasn't some sort of preteen hussy. "OK, truth or dare?"
"Dare." This could be interesting. I want to see what she has in mind for me.
"Stand on your head." I looked at her as if she was insane. C'mon, this is me. I have about as much coordination as a two legged cat. "Do it," Ella pushed.
Putting my beer down I turned around in my seat so I was sitting backwards on the couch. I leaned backwards until my head reached the floor and I placed a hand either side of my head. "Can't believe you're making me do this," I muttered as Ella just grinned at me. This could only end in disaster. Slowly I pushed my legs off the couch until my torso was in line with my head. If I could just keep my weight on my arms and not my neck. I was never one of those boys who used to practise handstands and gymnastics with the girls at school, no way José.
As soon as I had managed to get my legs in the air, I toppled over, crashing to the ground. Several profanities were on the tip of my tongue but I tried to keep quiet. She burst out laughing, as I sat up with a stupid grin on my face. "Six out of ten," Ella said - such a harsh critic.
"OK, truth or dare?" I offered Ella. If she chose dare, I was going to have to think of something more than 'suck my dick'. Maybe something mean and funny that I wanted to see her do.
"Truth." I rolled my eyes. She was going to play it safe. So that only meant one thing - the questions had to become more... risqué.
"How many people have you... slept with?" Ella let out a sigh before she pointed at me then did some quick maths on her fingers. "Four. And you?"
Shit. Think quick. "Seven," I said which was a complete lie. It was more like three times that but I didn't want her to know that. It was not something that was going to impress her. And seven was perfectly acceptable, it wasn't in double figures. At least I'm not into three figures like Max. Ella nodded as she accepted what I'd just told her. She didn't seem shocked or disappointed in anyway. I should really know the real number, but seven is good for now.
"Truth or dare?"
I'm going to do an Ella and play it safe. "Truth," I said wondering what sort of question she was going to pick. "If you had to have sex with an animal, what would it be and why?" I don't even want to know her thought process on that one.
"Hmm... Ella, this is really hard. Do humans count?" Ella shook her head. I'm not into beastiality. This has to be the most random question ever. Shit, what the fuck do I say? "Maybe an orangutan, I reckon they would give good hugs, and they're sort of human like?"
Ella snorted with laughter, no doubt as she tried to imagine me hugging an orangutan. "Truth or dare?" I said, picking up the beer again. If the questions continued like this, I was going to need a lot more alcohol. Ella chose truth again - what a surprise.
"OK, what's your bra size?" I needed to know and now seemed appropriate as opposed to when it lay on my bedroom floor.
"32C." Good to know I thought, even if that means pretty much nothing to me. The game eventually turned into truths. I was dared to sing 'Oh Canada' which I failed miserably at before Ella asked a killer question. "Who on your team would you turn gay for?"
I couldn't stop laughing. She did not just ask that question. I've seen them all naked, it's not something I'm fazed by. "Definitely not Max, just no. TK, no again. Kelsey would kill me. Not Sid, his butt's just too much." Ella stifled a giggle at this before nodding slightly. "Maybe Tanger, yeah Tanger. This goes no further, yeah?" I would never hear the end of it if this got out.
"Sure. I pick truth," Ella said before I could even ask her the question. Again, it's not like I didn't have some up my sleeve, I just had to wait until we were drunk enough to play those ones.
"What are... the three worst things you've ever done?" I know Ella's a good girl most of the time but I'm pretty sure there's a bad girl hiding in there somewhere - she can be pretty kinky in bed.
"Good question. On Spring Break, this year, whilst Gina was sleeping, Sophie and I skinny dipped in the pool one night. We were caught by security who threatened to throw us out. That's number one. Then back in second year, I screwed one of my economics tutors on his desk, then smoked a spliff with him, does that count?" Yep, I think it definitely does. "And a third one? I don't know," she sighed as she looked around the room. "I'm good, most of the time."
"C'mon there must be something else. Something you did at school?" Ella shook her head, she was clearly a goody-goody then.
"I can't believe I'm ever going to say this, but I once made a sex tape."
"That's not bad! That's normal," I said. Maybe on her scale it was bad but it wasn't off the scale by any means. And she didn't make the sex tape with me, and I'm assuming she didn't film herself having sex with the professor so that leaves the other two left on the list. I knew she had had a serious relationship in first year so I'm guessing it was with 'him'. Ella shrugged as she blushed. I guess I had embarrassed her a little with that question. She finished her drink and took a long swig of the next one before she spoke.
"If I was a food, what would I be and how would you eat me?" What a question. Of all the foods to pick. I needed to pick something tasty, maybe something forbidden that I could unwrap with some sort of filling, or maybe something seductive.
"A creme egg, like those Cadbury ones around Easter. I would carefully unwrap you, taking care not to rip the outside. I would gently bite the top off, nibbling my way down before I licked out your centre," I said thinking about going down on Ella.
"Pretty good," she replied still engulfed in her cocoon. All this beer was going to my head and making me sleepy. I was going to have to do something soon if I didn't want to go to sleep.
I involuntarily shivered as I sat on the couch without any blankets. I could feel that the temperature had dropped in the last couple of hours. "Cold?" Ella asked. I was a little bit. I nodded slightly, not wanting to admit it. Normally I'm a radiator, I don't get cold, I shoot off body heat in every direction.
"Come over here," Ella said opening her cocoon to me, opening her arms which were still covered by the blankets so I could see her body. "Plenty of blankets." I didn't need to be asked twice. I hopped up off my couch, trying not to look too eager and sat down on the couch next to her. Ella threw the blanket over me and snuggled with her back to me.
"God, I'm so tired, hope Max lets us out soon," Ella said as she leant backwards into me so her back was nestled against my chest, her legs up on the sofa whilst I left mine on the floor. I was just enjoying having her closer to me.
"MMmm.." I said not really paying attention, just relaxing with my eyes closed.
"Jordan do you mind if I lie on you?" Ella said, tilting her head back so she was looking up at me. I shook my head. She could lie on me for the rest of her life if she so wanted.
"What perfume do you wear?" I asked absentmindedly.
"I don't, it's just scented moisturiser and citrus shampoo,"she replied. Whatever she was using, it smelt so damned good. "Mind if I put my feet up?" I asked.
"Not at all," she replied as she moved over so I could lie next to her. I slowly manoeuvred myself so that Ella didn't lose any of the blankets until I was lying next to her, her head looking at the ceiling.
The room span as I lowered myself until I was horizontal, Ella's head against my chest as I dropped a kiss on her head, taking in the scent of coconut and fruit.
We lay in silence until I realised if she was asleep I should probably turn off the lights. Slipping off the sofa I found the lightswitch, turning the basement into darkness. "'Night Ells, love you," I said pulling her closer to me, listening to the steady, slow rhythm of her breathing until it lulled me to sleep.
JORDAN'S POV
Ella listened to my reasons for not calling her remarkably calmly. She didn’t yell or raise her voice, she just sat there and listened. Part of me was wondering if she really cared, she almost seemed passive. Most chicks would probably have flipped out by now. She didn’t and that was one of the things I liked about her.
I’m not saying she’s not passionate about things or doesn’t get riled up, because she does, but she was so chilled about it when I was explaining and actually listened instead of flying off the handle. Ella’s no doormat either; I knew I still had the hardest part ahead of me – trying to win her back.
When she left the room to “stretch her legs”, I knew Ella well enough to know that she needed some thinking space, so I let her go. I sat in the den, in front of the large TV screen debating whether to turn Max’s xbox on. I thought that would completely distract from the situation at hand. And as much as I was tempted to play NHL 10 or Halo or whatever other games Max had down here, I decided not to.
Pushing myself up off the floor, I drained the last half of my beer before collecting another from the kitchen. I don’t know if Max had forgotten that he had left a lot of alcohol down here, or if he had purposely done it, either way Ella and I were taking advantage of it.
From the kitchen I could see Ella sitting on top of the laundry machines. She looked so cute sitting up there, her long, twiglet legs dangling off the edge, swinging back and forth, gently banging against the machine. She was fiddling with the label of the empty bottle in frustration. I headed back to the fridge and pulled out another one for her.
“How are you doing up there? Stretching your legs?” It was lame small talk but I needed something to break the ice with. I handed her the bottle seeing her pop the top off and downing more than half. Wow, she was thirsty. Noticing my staring, she gestured for me to do the same. I got brain freeze as I poured the bud slowly down my throat.
I wanted to know if she missed me, so I told her I did partly to see what she said. Each time I feel like I’m pushing the conversation but trying to make sure she was comfortable at the same time. After a few moments of deliberation, Ella told me she missed me too. I decided to push this a little further. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” I said looking right at her. Apart from my body yearning for her, I missed her in my life, the way she talks, her smile, the way her eyes light up when she sees something or talks about something she’s passionate about.
“Tell me,” Ella said. I could stand here all night and rattle off reasons as to why I missed her. I think I would bore her to tears if I went through the whole list. So I thought maybe showing her might be better. It was a disguised way of saying ‘Can I kiss you?’ and she didn’t respond. If she had immediately said no, I don’t think I would have gone ahead, it’s not right to disobey someone’s wishes like that. But her delay meant she was thinking about it and probably about what it would mean which means she doesn’t know.
So I had to convince her.
So I stepped closer and kissed her.
She didn’t push me away or stop me which was definitely a good sign. I pressed my lips gently to her soft, smooth lips as her eyes fluttered shut and she gently began to kiss me back. It wasn’t urgent or needy and passionate, it was just tender and gentle and very slow. I can’t scare Ella away, not now.
I pushed my tongue against her lips, silently asking for entry which she granted me as she pushed her tongue gently into my mouth, her hand coming up to the back of my neck, playing with the hair there. She nibbled my bottom lip as I told myself to take this slowly. She tasted like lemons and oranges, intermingled with the smell of her shampoo and the floral perfume I got a strong waft of earlier. I need to ask her what perfume she wears so I can drench my pillows in the scent.
I’m not sure which one of us broke away first, but the kiss ended too soon. I stood there with my forehead against hers, both of us staring into each others eyes, neither one of us wanting to speak first. Her arm was still strung around the bottom of my neck, my hand still on her leg. Ella broke the eye contact first, looking down in embarrassment.
“I love you,” I whispered causing her to flick her eyes back up towards me. She had that whole ‘deer in the headlights’ look which would normally be really cute on her, but caused me to internally panic. It was too soon for me to say things like that to her. She wasn't ready. Taking her hands, I held them gently, noticing the goose bumps on her arms. She was either cold or spooked. Hoping it was the first one, I whispered to her gently, “Never stopped. C’mon let’s go back to the sofas, it’s cold in here.”
I lifted her off the washing machine, taking her by the hand and leading her back to Max’s den. I didn’t know whether to sit by her or not so I dropped her hand and headed over to the sofa I had been sitting against before. She sat cross-legged in the same place again, drawing the blankets around her into some sort of cocoon.
“Jordan, the kiss…” Ella started, not looking at me, focusing on some part of the carpet which seemed really interesting to her. “I don’t know what to say, or what to do,” she said quietly still not looking at me.
Did I have to kiss her again to convince her? I wanted to do whatever it took to convince her to get back with her, no matter what it took, I would be happy to do it. I think I would even give up hockey for her, if it meant she we lived happily ever after. I don’t want to give up on her. Seeing her tonight, looking breathtakingly gorgeous and talking animatedly with Tanger, made me realise how much of an idiot I was to ever lose her in the first place.
“Let’s play a game,” I said rummaging through the pile of xbox games next to the TV. I tossed a controller over to Ella who took it without any questions. I needed a distraction - something to do whilst I thought over what I was supposed to say.
As Ella overtook me on the final lap, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do. Admittedly I had sort of hung back a little bit, giving her a chance to win; it's not so fun if you're going to thrash the opposition by running in circles around them. So I let it look like I just sucked - I drove the car into a rock or a tree or the side of the tunnel or whatever even though I've played this game hundreds of times before on the road.
"Wahoo I win again," Ella said, tossing the controller down and looking at me as the writing on the bottom, losing, half of the screen read "YOU SUCK". As if I didn't already know.
"What shall we do now?" Ella asked, drawing the blankets tighter around her. I had some pretty good ideas of what we could do down here - maybe we could get some use out of those condoms Max had thrown down here? I know Ella's not ready for that though. She had kissed me back, that was one thing, but I don't think she was going to want to go any further just yet.
"Let's drink," I said, thinking it was the best idea I've had all night. When Max finally lets us out of here, I'm going to kill him for having one of the most boring basements ever.
"Sure," Ella said getting up still in her cocoon and walking in it to the kitchen. I stretched out and got onto the sofa. I had no idea what time it was but by the steady beat of the bass upstairs, the party was still going. "Thanks," I smiled as she handed me another beer and put a spare at my feet.
We sat there in silence, not really knowing what to say, both contemplating things. I could see her furrowed brow, meaning she was overthinking - she only does that when she overthinks.
"Drinking game?" she suggested looking around for things to play with. Ella shifted in her cocoon as she played with the label of her bottle. "Truth or dare?"
"Sure," I replied. I haven't played this since I was about fifteen, I thought. And it's probably going to end up being truths since we're stuck in a basement - it's not like we can do many 'dares' down here. "You first. Truth or Dare?"
"Truth," she grinned taking a long sip of her drink.
Hmm, I said. What did I really want to know. There were many things I could have asked her, some were probably too X-rated for our current state so I would try and keep it clean, for now. "How old were you when, you had your first kiss?"
Ella raised her eyebrows. "Kinda lame but I'll let it go. Thirteen," she said. Good to know she wasn't some sort of preteen hussy. "OK, truth or dare?"
"Dare." This could be interesting. I want to see what she has in mind for me.
"Stand on your head." I looked at her as if she was insane. C'mon, this is me. I have about as much coordination as a two legged cat. "Do it," Ella pushed.
Putting my beer down I turned around in my seat so I was sitting backwards on the couch. I leaned backwards until my head reached the floor and I placed a hand either side of my head. "Can't believe you're making me do this," I muttered as Ella just grinned at me. This could only end in disaster. Slowly I pushed my legs off the couch until my torso was in line with my head. If I could just keep my weight on my arms and not my neck. I was never one of those boys who used to practise handstands and gymnastics with the girls at school, no way José.
As soon as I had managed to get my legs in the air, I toppled over, crashing to the ground. Several profanities were on the tip of my tongue but I tried to keep quiet. She burst out laughing, as I sat up with a stupid grin on my face. "Six out of ten," Ella said - such a harsh critic.
"OK, truth or dare?" I offered Ella. If she chose dare, I was going to have to think of something more than 'suck my dick'. Maybe something mean and funny that I wanted to see her do.
"Truth." I rolled my eyes. She was going to play it safe. So that only meant one thing - the questions had to become more... risqué.
"How many people have you... slept with?" Ella let out a sigh before she pointed at me then did some quick maths on her fingers. "Four. And you?"
Shit. Think quick. "Seven," I said which was a complete lie. It was more like three times that but I didn't want her to know that. It was not something that was going to impress her. And seven was perfectly acceptable, it wasn't in double figures. At least I'm not into three figures like Max. Ella nodded as she accepted what I'd just told her. She didn't seem shocked or disappointed in anyway. I should really know the real number, but seven is good for now.
"Truth or dare?"
I'm going to do an Ella and play it safe. "Truth," I said wondering what sort of question she was going to pick. "If you had to have sex with an animal, what would it be and why?" I don't even want to know her thought process on that one.
"Hmm... Ella, this is really hard. Do humans count?" Ella shook her head. I'm not into beastiality. This has to be the most random question ever. Shit, what the fuck do I say? "Maybe an orangutan, I reckon they would give good hugs, and they're sort of human like?"
Ella snorted with laughter, no doubt as she tried to imagine me hugging an orangutan. "Truth or dare?" I said, picking up the beer again. If the questions continued like this, I was going to need a lot more alcohol. Ella chose truth again - what a surprise.
"OK, what's your bra size?" I needed to know and now seemed appropriate as opposed to when it lay on my bedroom floor.
"32C." Good to know I thought, even if that means pretty much nothing to me. The game eventually turned into truths. I was dared to sing 'Oh Canada' which I failed miserably at before Ella asked a killer question. "Who on your team would you turn gay for?"
I couldn't stop laughing. She did not just ask that question. I've seen them all naked, it's not something I'm fazed by. "Definitely not Max, just no. TK, no again. Kelsey would kill me. Not Sid, his butt's just too much." Ella stifled a giggle at this before nodding slightly. "Maybe Tanger, yeah Tanger. This goes no further, yeah?" I would never hear the end of it if this got out.
"Sure. I pick truth," Ella said before I could even ask her the question. Again, it's not like I didn't have some up my sleeve, I just had to wait until we were drunk enough to play those ones.
"What are... the three worst things you've ever done?" I know Ella's a good girl most of the time but I'm pretty sure there's a bad girl hiding in there somewhere - she can be pretty kinky in bed.
"Good question. On Spring Break, this year, whilst Gina was sleeping, Sophie and I skinny dipped in the pool one night. We were caught by security who threatened to throw us out. That's number one. Then back in second year, I screwed one of my economics tutors on his desk, then smoked a spliff with him, does that count?" Yep, I think it definitely does. "And a third one? I don't know," she sighed as she looked around the room. "I'm good, most of the time."
"C'mon there must be something else. Something you did at school?" Ella shook her head, she was clearly a goody-goody then.
"I can't believe I'm ever going to say this, but I once made a sex tape."
"That's not bad! That's normal," I said. Maybe on her scale it was bad but it wasn't off the scale by any means. And she didn't make the sex tape with me, and I'm assuming she didn't film herself having sex with the professor so that leaves the other two left on the list. I knew she had had a serious relationship in first year so I'm guessing it was with 'him'. Ella shrugged as she blushed. I guess I had embarrassed her a little with that question. She finished her drink and took a long swig of the next one before she spoke.
"If I was a food, what would I be and how would you eat me?" What a question. Of all the foods to pick. I needed to pick something tasty, maybe something forbidden that I could unwrap with some sort of filling, or maybe something seductive.
"A creme egg, like those Cadbury ones around Easter. I would carefully unwrap you, taking care not to rip the outside. I would gently bite the top off, nibbling my way down before I licked out your centre," I said thinking about going down on Ella.
"Pretty good," she replied still engulfed in her cocoon. All this beer was going to my head and making me sleepy. I was going to have to do something soon if I didn't want to go to sleep.
I involuntarily shivered as I sat on the couch without any blankets. I could feel that the temperature had dropped in the last couple of hours. "Cold?" Ella asked. I was a little bit. I nodded slightly, not wanting to admit it. Normally I'm a radiator, I don't get cold, I shoot off body heat in every direction.
"Come over here," Ella said opening her cocoon to me, opening her arms which were still covered by the blankets so I could see her body. "Plenty of blankets." I didn't need to be asked twice. I hopped up off my couch, trying not to look too eager and sat down on the couch next to her. Ella threw the blanket over me and snuggled with her back to me.
"God, I'm so tired, hope Max lets us out soon," Ella said as she leant backwards into me so her back was nestled against my chest, her legs up on the sofa whilst I left mine on the floor. I was just enjoying having her closer to me.
"MMmm.." I said not really paying attention, just relaxing with my eyes closed.
"Jordan do you mind if I lie on you?" Ella said, tilting her head back so she was looking up at me. I shook my head. She could lie on me for the rest of her life if she so wanted.
"What perfume do you wear?" I asked absentmindedly.
"I don't, it's just scented moisturiser and citrus shampoo,"she replied. Whatever she was using, it smelt so damned good. "Mind if I put my feet up?" I asked.
"Not at all," she replied as she moved over so I could lie next to her. I slowly manoeuvred myself so that Ella didn't lose any of the blankets until I was lying next to her, her head looking at the ceiling.
The room span as I lowered myself until I was horizontal, Ella's head against my chest as I dropped a kiss on her head, taking in the scent of coconut and fruit.
We lay in silence until I realised if she was asleep I should probably turn off the lights. Slipping off the sofa I found the lightswitch, turning the basement into darkness. "'Night Ells, love you," I said pulling her closer to me, listening to the steady, slow rhythm of her breathing until it lulled me to sleep.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
55. Reasons
I know I've been updating regularly, maybe too regularly for some, but I'm trying to work to a strict deadline. I wrote the final chapter last night which will go up on Sunday. On Monday I'm leaving for Malawi for two months so I really want to be finished before I go. Not as happy with this one as I was with the last one... Thank you to all you lovely people for staying with me this far!
NEW MAX STORY, BOOKED FOR LOVE
It was hard to choose just one song for this one so I settled with this: Damien Rice - Eskimo
ELLA'S POV
“Is that an invitation?” I asked playfully, trying to imagine all four Staal boys together under one roof. God, really must slow down on these, I thought as I took another look back at the bottle. Less than five percent, that’s not good, and who knows when we’ll be let out of here.
“Er, do you want it to be?” Jordy quickly replied. What a great way to put the question back on me. And I thought you were never supposed to answer a question with a question.
“Maybe,” I said taking a longer sip than was necessary, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
What was I supposed to say? Yes. Yes I want you to take me home with you to Thunder Bay right now. Or no, sorry was just curious. And the more I drank of these, the flirtier I was getting. Maybe it was something about being in a Talbot residence – it was just infectious. “Really?” Jordan asked with a certain air of surprise.
“Are your brothers hot?” I did not just say that! I scrunched my eyes closed in embarrassment, willing the ground to part and gobble me up. “Sorry, totally unnecessary,” I said, putting the drink down and pushing it away from me.
“All taken, even Marc,” Jordan said grinning. My shoulders sunk when he said that, the word all reverberating around my mind – he had already moved on and found someone else. Noah was right; he could have anyone he wanted. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s already got another girlfriend. Part of me was jealous about the girl I didn’t know anything about. “Just me who’s not,” he added quickly. Was I really that obvious? I thought as I leaned my head back looking at the plain, white ceiling.
“Gutted,” I said jokingly trying to clear the air and pretend I had some sort of interest in his brothers.
The silence was painful as we listened to the dull beat of the music and footsteps on the ceiling above us. I wondered if Noah even noticed I was missing, he was probably enjoying himself too much in a room full of hockey players to notice. And I was supposed to drive him home as well, but it wasn’t like I had planned any of this. I had been kidnapped and forced into a basement with my good-looking ex-boyfriend.
I couldn’t deny he was good-looking; I still had the magnetic feelings of attraction to him that I had back in Acapulco. He was tanned from working outside on the sod farm and he looked relaxed and happy as he sat opposite me on the floor. No, he didn’t seem to be worried about sitting down here, trapped in the basement, I thought. I looked at the way his baby blue t-shirt hugged his body in the right places, admiring the way his biceps looked poking out of the sleeves. His ink blue jeans hugged his muscular thighs and I shivered as I thought about his muscular legs underneath.
“Ella? You ok? Cold?” Jordan’s voice snapped me back into reality as I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the image of a naked Jordan on the opposite couch. I pulled the blanket around my shoulders and smiled across at him. We were only a couple of metres apart, but the distance felt further than it was, and in a way too close, as I could practically feel Jordan reading my dirty mind.
I swallowed and took another sip of my cold drink, begging myself not to blush as I could feel the redness seeping up my neck. “Yeah, fine,” I smiled, trying to convince myself I was. I really am fine. “Why didn’t you call me?” I asked. It had just slipped out, I had been thinking it, but it had just come out. I felt my hand slip up to my mouth to cover the obvious gape I had going on as I watched Jordan run a hand through his hair.
He let out a long sigh before he began. I didn’t take my eyes off him, I wanted to see him explaining and to read his emotions whilst he did. “It started with the loss. And my foot; it hurt, it really fucking hurt but I didn’t want to tell people, because I know there would have been a big fuss and that was the last thing we needed when we were struggling against the Habs. After the loss I was in this rut, I didn’t talk to anyone for at least a week – it felt easier just to shut down. I wasn’t just ignoring you, I was ignoring my family, Max, TK, everyone else on the team. I didn’t even go to the physio’s for at least a week.” Well at least he admits he was ignoring me.
“After that, I went and commiserated my sorrows with TK and Max. Max was spending a lot of time with Gina so mostly it was just me and TK. Getting drunk just seemed like a way of numbing the pain and forgetting about things like life in general and the fact that we had a four month summer. After winning the cup last year and then going out in the second round, it fucking hurt and we all wanted to forget about it. I didn’t talk to Sid, I didn’t want his motivational speech about ‘next year we’ll come up fighting’.”
When Jordan mentioned he hadn’t spoken to Sid I was surprised. Not only was he one of Jordan’s close friends on the team, he never shut him out, he had too much respect for him, so I knew things were bad. It still hurt that he had shut me out, but when I realised I wasn’t the only one being shut out, it didn’t hurt so much.
But Gina, she hadn’t been shut out by Max. Max had been round nearly every day and I think that’s when Gina had thrown in the towel and started with the commiseration sex. I guess Max had a different way of dealing with loss than Jordan.
“Then I packed everything up and left Pittsburgh and buried my head by working hard on the farm. It was a way to forget about our early exit from the playoffs and my foot. I hadn’t meant to not call or speak to you, I was in this stupid rut feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t even know what to do when I wasn’t on the farm. I felt haunted by the Habs and part of me was angry that we had crashed and burned like that.
“When you called I was so relieved when Tanya said you had called me. I wanted to speak to you and then after two weeks it felt like it was too late to call you and you’d be mad at me for being such a pussy and not calling you back, so I waited for you to call. Only when you called….”
“I ended it. Yeah, I know. God, Jordan, you should have just called me…” If only he had explained to me why he couldn’t pick up the phone, what he was going through after the loss, it might have been so different.
“Yeah, I fucked up, I really fucked up bad,” he said taking a long drink from his beer as if that was going to help him. “When I heard your voice, you were so angry and frustrated with me and I didn’t get a chance to explain…” Now he was making it look like it was my fault, he’d got a nerve. Like it was my fault I went awol for three weeks, incommunicado with the world for so long. I didn’t give him chance to explain but if I had, maybe things wouldn’t be this way.
If I had let him explain, maybe Max and Gina wouldn’t have gone out to Thunder Bay, maybe they wouldn’t have stopped off in Ottawa on the way back, Gina wouldn’t have been killed. Things would be so different. But I can’t play the ‘what ifs’ game.
“Hmmm…” I said trying to stall for time as I gave myself time to think. I really needed some air and some space right now and I was in the one place I couldn’t get that – the freaking basement. “I’m just going to go stretch my legs,” I said getting up and walking into the laundry room. Sitting on top of the washing machine I let out a huge sigh.
I felt so guilty for not letting Jordan explain on the phone that day in June. Nearly two months had passed and seeing him in such close proximity brought back all of those feelings I had. They had never gone away, I thought, I had just tried to forget I had felt that way.
“How you doing up there? Stretching your legs?” Jordan said as he leant in the doorway. He held out another Smirnoff ice which I gratefully took. I was supposed to be at a party, which meant drink and having a good time. And this conversation might be a little easier and less awkward if I drunk more.
I chugged most of the bottle down before placing it on top of the dryer next to me. Jordan still stood leaning in the doorway, taking up the whole frame as I stared at my feet. “Slow down,” he grinned teasingly, slowly entering the room. I gestured for him to catch up which he did, downing his beer and then wiping his mouth with his hand to remove any trace of the beer.
“Space for one more up there?” Jordan asked. I shook my head grinning. Jordan might break the washer if he tried to sit up on here too. Not to mention that I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted him in my personal space. “Not a chance,” I said grinning.
Jordan just shook his head and leaned against the opposite wall. “How long do you think it will be until Max lets us out?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. If I know Max like I think I do, maybe in the morning. He’s probably enjoying this.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Revenge is going to be so sweet for this, can’t believe he locked me in a cellar with you,” Jordan said. “Not that I mind being stuck down here with you, I really missed you in the summer.” I smiled in amusement as Jordan quickly tried to dig himself out of the little hole he had made.
I felt a pang when he said those three words, as I realised how much I had missed him too. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. I looked across at him, looking at those blue eyes, realising how much he had meant to me. Should I say it? Would it matter if I did? Would those three words change anything? Would it just make the situation more awkward if I did? I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes as I let the words out. “I missed you too,” I said slowly, opening my eyes after I said it, quickly lowering them, embarrassed by what I had just admitted.
I briefly looked up, noticing the look of delight on his features. I took a swig of my nearly finished drink as I wondered what to do with myself. “You have no idea how much I missed you,” Jordan said. My heartbeat quickened as I thought the same way. Cocking my head to the side a little, I replied, “Tell me.”
“Can I show you?” What did I say to that? The fuzzy, drunk part of my brain was screaming ‘YES!’ whilst the more rational, sober part of my mind told me not to. Even if he kissed me right now, what would happen after? Another few long hours in this boring basement as we avoided the awkwardness of the situation? That would be pure, agonising hell.
The seconds I used seemed to take longer as I paused, thinking over the decision. Would a kiss change anything? Yes. But how? I wasn't sure. It was one of those things I couldn't predict. Or would it change everything? More than likely. Did I want anything to change? Not sure. What did it mean to Jordan? I don't know. Did it have the same consequences for him as it would for me? Again I wasn't sure. Would we be on the same page afterwards? Who knows.
Too many questions flitted through my mind as I sat staring at my knees, struggling to find answers for those questions, as I turned the bottle in my hands, not knowing what to say. It was a simple yes or no question, something I should be able to answer. Yet the situation felt too intense and too pressured for me to know the answer. If only I had time and space and a piece of paper so I could go through this logically, more rationally and not in a basement.
Apparently I had taken too long to answer as Jordan stepped between my legs, putting one strong hand on my knee and pressed his lips gently to mine.
NEW MAX STORY, BOOKED FOR LOVE
It was hard to choose just one song for this one so I settled with this: Damien Rice - Eskimo
ELLA'S POV
“Is that an invitation?” I asked playfully, trying to imagine all four Staal boys together under one roof. God, really must slow down on these, I thought as I took another look back at the bottle. Less than five percent, that’s not good, and who knows when we’ll be let out of here.
“Er, do you want it to be?” Jordy quickly replied. What a great way to put the question back on me. And I thought you were never supposed to answer a question with a question.
“Maybe,” I said taking a longer sip than was necessary, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
What was I supposed to say? Yes. Yes I want you to take me home with you to Thunder Bay right now. Or no, sorry was just curious. And the more I drank of these, the flirtier I was getting. Maybe it was something about being in a Talbot residence – it was just infectious. “Really?” Jordan asked with a certain air of surprise.
“Are your brothers hot?” I did not just say that! I scrunched my eyes closed in embarrassment, willing the ground to part and gobble me up. “Sorry, totally unnecessary,” I said, putting the drink down and pushing it away from me.
“All taken, even Marc,” Jordan said grinning. My shoulders sunk when he said that, the word all reverberating around my mind – he had already moved on and found someone else. Noah was right; he could have anyone he wanted. I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s already got another girlfriend. Part of me was jealous about the girl I didn’t know anything about. “Just me who’s not,” he added quickly. Was I really that obvious? I thought as I leaned my head back looking at the plain, white ceiling.
“Gutted,” I said jokingly trying to clear the air and pretend I had some sort of interest in his brothers.
The silence was painful as we listened to the dull beat of the music and footsteps on the ceiling above us. I wondered if Noah even noticed I was missing, he was probably enjoying himself too much in a room full of hockey players to notice. And I was supposed to drive him home as well, but it wasn’t like I had planned any of this. I had been kidnapped and forced into a basement with my good-looking ex-boyfriend.
I couldn’t deny he was good-looking; I still had the magnetic feelings of attraction to him that I had back in Acapulco. He was tanned from working outside on the sod farm and he looked relaxed and happy as he sat opposite me on the floor. No, he didn’t seem to be worried about sitting down here, trapped in the basement, I thought. I looked at the way his baby blue t-shirt hugged his body in the right places, admiring the way his biceps looked poking out of the sleeves. His ink blue jeans hugged his muscular thighs and I shivered as I thought about his muscular legs underneath.
“Ella? You ok? Cold?” Jordan’s voice snapped me back into reality as I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the image of a naked Jordan on the opposite couch. I pulled the blanket around my shoulders and smiled across at him. We were only a couple of metres apart, but the distance felt further than it was, and in a way too close, as I could practically feel Jordan reading my dirty mind.
I swallowed and took another sip of my cold drink, begging myself not to blush as I could feel the redness seeping up my neck. “Yeah, fine,” I smiled, trying to convince myself I was. I really am fine. “Why didn’t you call me?” I asked. It had just slipped out, I had been thinking it, but it had just come out. I felt my hand slip up to my mouth to cover the obvious gape I had going on as I watched Jordan run a hand through his hair.
He let out a long sigh before he began. I didn’t take my eyes off him, I wanted to see him explaining and to read his emotions whilst he did. “It started with the loss. And my foot; it hurt, it really fucking hurt but I didn’t want to tell people, because I know there would have been a big fuss and that was the last thing we needed when we were struggling against the Habs. After the loss I was in this rut, I didn’t talk to anyone for at least a week – it felt easier just to shut down. I wasn’t just ignoring you, I was ignoring my family, Max, TK, everyone else on the team. I didn’t even go to the physio’s for at least a week.” Well at least he admits he was ignoring me.
“After that, I went and commiserated my sorrows with TK and Max. Max was spending a lot of time with Gina so mostly it was just me and TK. Getting drunk just seemed like a way of numbing the pain and forgetting about things like life in general and the fact that we had a four month summer. After winning the cup last year and then going out in the second round, it fucking hurt and we all wanted to forget about it. I didn’t talk to Sid, I didn’t want his motivational speech about ‘next year we’ll come up fighting’.”
When Jordan mentioned he hadn’t spoken to Sid I was surprised. Not only was he one of Jordan’s close friends on the team, he never shut him out, he had too much respect for him, so I knew things were bad. It still hurt that he had shut me out, but when I realised I wasn’t the only one being shut out, it didn’t hurt so much.
But Gina, she hadn’t been shut out by Max. Max had been round nearly every day and I think that’s when Gina had thrown in the towel and started with the commiseration sex. I guess Max had a different way of dealing with loss than Jordan.
“Then I packed everything up and left Pittsburgh and buried my head by working hard on the farm. It was a way to forget about our early exit from the playoffs and my foot. I hadn’t meant to not call or speak to you, I was in this stupid rut feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t even know what to do when I wasn’t on the farm. I felt haunted by the Habs and part of me was angry that we had crashed and burned like that.
“When you called I was so relieved when Tanya said you had called me. I wanted to speak to you and then after two weeks it felt like it was too late to call you and you’d be mad at me for being such a pussy and not calling you back, so I waited for you to call. Only when you called….”
“I ended it. Yeah, I know. God, Jordan, you should have just called me…” If only he had explained to me why he couldn’t pick up the phone, what he was going through after the loss, it might have been so different.
“Yeah, I fucked up, I really fucked up bad,” he said taking a long drink from his beer as if that was going to help him. “When I heard your voice, you were so angry and frustrated with me and I didn’t get a chance to explain…” Now he was making it look like it was my fault, he’d got a nerve. Like it was my fault I went awol for three weeks, incommunicado with the world for so long. I didn’t give him chance to explain but if I had, maybe things wouldn’t be this way.
If I had let him explain, maybe Max and Gina wouldn’t have gone out to Thunder Bay, maybe they wouldn’t have stopped off in Ottawa on the way back, Gina wouldn’t have been killed. Things would be so different. But I can’t play the ‘what ifs’ game.
“Hmmm…” I said trying to stall for time as I gave myself time to think. I really needed some air and some space right now and I was in the one place I couldn’t get that – the freaking basement. “I’m just going to go stretch my legs,” I said getting up and walking into the laundry room. Sitting on top of the washing machine I let out a huge sigh.
I felt so guilty for not letting Jordan explain on the phone that day in June. Nearly two months had passed and seeing him in such close proximity brought back all of those feelings I had. They had never gone away, I thought, I had just tried to forget I had felt that way.
“How you doing up there? Stretching your legs?” Jordan said as he leant in the doorway. He held out another Smirnoff ice which I gratefully took. I was supposed to be at a party, which meant drink and having a good time. And this conversation might be a little easier and less awkward if I drunk more.
I chugged most of the bottle down before placing it on top of the dryer next to me. Jordan still stood leaning in the doorway, taking up the whole frame as I stared at my feet. “Slow down,” he grinned teasingly, slowly entering the room. I gestured for him to catch up which he did, downing his beer and then wiping his mouth with his hand to remove any trace of the beer.
“Space for one more up there?” Jordan asked. I shook my head grinning. Jordan might break the washer if he tried to sit up on here too. Not to mention that I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted him in my personal space. “Not a chance,” I said grinning.
Jordan just shook his head and leaned against the opposite wall. “How long do you think it will be until Max lets us out?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. If I know Max like I think I do, maybe in the morning. He’s probably enjoying this.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Revenge is going to be so sweet for this, can’t believe he locked me in a cellar with you,” Jordan said. “Not that I mind being stuck down here with you, I really missed you in the summer.” I smiled in amusement as Jordan quickly tried to dig himself out of the little hole he had made.
I felt a pang when he said those three words, as I realised how much I had missed him too. I would be lying if I said I didn’t. I looked across at him, looking at those blue eyes, realising how much he had meant to me. Should I say it? Would it matter if I did? Would those three words change anything? Would it just make the situation more awkward if I did? I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes as I let the words out. “I missed you too,” I said slowly, opening my eyes after I said it, quickly lowering them, embarrassed by what I had just admitted.
I briefly looked up, noticing the look of delight on his features. I took a swig of my nearly finished drink as I wondered what to do with myself. “You have no idea how much I missed you,” Jordan said. My heartbeat quickened as I thought the same way. Cocking my head to the side a little, I replied, “Tell me.”
“Can I show you?” What did I say to that? The fuzzy, drunk part of my brain was screaming ‘YES!’ whilst the more rational, sober part of my mind told me not to. Even if he kissed me right now, what would happen after? Another few long hours in this boring basement as we avoided the awkwardness of the situation? That would be pure, agonising hell.
The seconds I used seemed to take longer as I paused, thinking over the decision. Would a kiss change anything? Yes. But how? I wasn't sure. It was one of those things I couldn't predict. Or would it change everything? More than likely. Did I want anything to change? Not sure. What did it mean to Jordan? I don't know. Did it have the same consequences for him as it would for me? Again I wasn't sure. Would we be on the same page afterwards? Who knows.
Too many questions flitted through my mind as I sat staring at my knees, struggling to find answers for those questions, as I turned the bottle in my hands, not knowing what to say. It was a simple yes or no question, something I should be able to answer. Yet the situation felt too intense and too pressured for me to know the answer. If only I had time and space and a piece of paper so I could go through this logically, more rationally and not in a basement.
Apparently I had taken too long to answer as Jordan stepped between my legs, putting one strong hand on my knee and pressed his lips gently to mine.
54. Basement
As promised. Couldn't stop writing this one, plenty more to come...
Ingrid Michaelson - Maybe
JORDAN'S POV
When I had caught sight of her I hadn’t known what to do, so I discreetly tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible by leaning against the wall, hoping she wouldn’t see me in the darkened room. I watched Tanger approach her, throwing his stupid arm around her shoulders and plying her with alcohol. I watched her chat to him in French, my blood boiling as he led her out of the room and out of sight. Tanger had always had a bit of a thing for her and I didn’t trust him with her, not one bit.
On the other side of the large living room I could see Eric eyeing me with caution as he chatted to Flower and Véro. Marc was on the dancefloor with Geno and a couple of girls that had been following him all night.
As curiosity got the better of me, I decided to go and see what Tanger and Ella were upto. Trying to get through the crowd of people was one thing, but as I reached the busy hallway, they were nowhere to be seen.
“Jordy!” Max said, slapping me on the shoulder as I whirled around. “Can you go grab me some cups from the basement? There’s a chick over there and I don’t wanna wait,” he said motioning to the bottom of the stairs. I was tempted to say the words ‘Gina’ and ‘too soon’ but decided against it. Who am I to cockblock him right now?
Grumbling I walked through to the kitchen and the closed door to the cellar. Opening the lock and the huge wooden door, I noticed that the lights were already on and I could hear somebody or something down here. I walked down the stairs only to be greeted with Ella holding said cups in her arms.
“Hi,” she said silkily, her voice sounding like honey on my ears. “What are you doing down here?”
“Max asked me to fetch some cups,” I said, pointing at the cups covering her chest. Her little mouth formed into a cute little ‘o’ as she stumbled over what she was going to say next. “Well, I found the cups, let’s just get going,” she said brushing past me as I caught a dizzying waft of her floral perfume. God she smelt incredible. I swallowed quickly, following her up the steps to the door which was locked. She bent down, putting the cups on the ground and I had to swallow as I checked her ass in those shorts.
She turned the handle of the door and pushed. Nothing. The door didn’t budge. I watched as she tried again. The wooden door must have gotten a little sticky in the heat, I thought as I reached past her to the door. “Here, let me,” I said, giving it a good push. It didn’t move an inch either. Ella sighed, turning to me and rolling her huge, green eyes.
“Gonna have to knock,” I suppose she said, looking at me as she started hammering loudly on the door. “Let us out!” she screamed over her incessant knocking. She stopped as she heard what sounded like Max’s laugh. “Maxxx!” she cried through the door. “Not fair. Let us out.”
“Only when you kiss and make up! You both still love each other, you can stay there until you admit it.”
Admit what, I thought, not hearing Max, as I hammered on the door, only hearing another laugh in return before all we could hear was music.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said, sitting down on the step facing me.
“About?” I pressed, she was going to have to be a little clearer than that if she wanted me to know what she was apologising for.
“Being stuck down here,” she continued, not looking at me, instead fiddling with the plastic bag the cups were encased in. I tried to suppress a smile. It definitely wasn’t her fault for being stuck down here. I could think of worse people to be stuck down here with, like Marc or Max or even Tanger.
“There are worse people to be stuck down here with,” I admitted as I stood in front of her at the bottom of the steps. “C’mon, those steps are cold, let’s sit in the warmth until we’re let out.” I offered my hand which she declined as she pulled herself to her feet, bringing the large bag of cups with me and following me into the room straight ahead, Max’s games room.
Ella took a seat on one sofa, and wrapped herself up in a blanket. I didn’t want to tell her where those blankets had been although part of me was tempted when she covered up her tanned legs. I took a seat on the floor, my back leaning against the other sofa. Sitting on the sofa seemed too far away and I wanted to be as close to her as possible.
“Max usually has some drinks down here, want anything?” I said, getting to my feet. I have no idea how long Max plans on keeping us hostage, but we might as well be comfortable, seeing as we’re missing out on the party.
“Yeah, whatever’s easiest,” Ella said not bothering to move as she opened her purse and flicked out her phone. Maybe she could call someone who could let us out, though I didn’t want my chances ruined by her phone.
“Battery’s dead,” she said flinging it back into her purse as she pulled the blanket a little tighter. My phone was upstairs with my wallet, packed away in my bag. There was no way I could call anyone, like my brothers, even if I had wanted to. No one upstairs would hear their phones over the music. I didn’t know what to say so I went into the other room and opened the fridge. I brought back a couple of beers for myself and the choice of a bottle of red or some Smirnoff ices for Ella. I wasn’t sure how much she could drink with her epilepsy medication or what she preferred.
“Thanks,” she said as she unscrewed the Smirnoff ice and putting it to her lips. I tried not to look as she took a sip, trying not to look at the way her lips looked on the bottle, or at the way her tongue licked her wet lips afterwards, removing any trace of the drink.
“So, how’s your summer been?” I said as awkward silence began to fill the air. I didn’t want this to be awkward, we’ve never had those moments where we didn’t know what to say or do to each other and I didn’t those moments to start now. Not now when all I want to do is screw her on that sofa.
“Summer has been, different,” Ella began, her eyes flicking across to look at me. I didn’t know how long was too long to hold her gaze but I was disappointed when her eyes were drawn to something else. “It’s the first time I’ve ever worked during the summer, so that’s different, nice different though.”
“Really?” I asked. Ever since I can remember I’ve helped Dad out on the farm. We all have, it’s just I don’t know anything else. It was always school and hockey or summer and sod farm. I know Ella’s had a privileged upbringing, but I didn’t know this was the first time she had ever had a job.
“Yeah, it is. I’m hoping they’ll take me on at the end of the placement. It’d be nice to be in the company, the opportunities, a foot in the door…” her eyes glazed over at the thought. I was really happy for her, she sounded really content with the internship and she knew what she wanted to do. I couldn’t help but admire her ambition even though one percent of me realised how happy she was without me.
“Oh yeah,” I took a swig of my beer, letting the liquid wash over my tongue and down my throat, swallowing what I was so eager to say. “Do you think you’ll stay in Quebec?”
“Who knows? I don’t even know if I’m in with a chance of getting the position,” she said, nursing her drink and looking at the end of the blanket.
“Well I hope you get it.”
“Thanks Jordan, that means a lot to me.” She fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, as if she didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen Ella tongue-tied or nervous so this was a first. I smiled back at her, wistfully thinking it would be nice if Ella didn’t get the job, maybe she would move back to Pittsburgh and work there. Wistful thinking, Jordy, I told myself. It’s more likely that she’ll move somewhere else. She speaks fluent English, French and Arabic; she can go anywhere she wants.
“So what’s new with you?” Ella asked, positioning herself more comfortably on the old sofa. She turned her face to look at mine. I couldn’t read her face, wishing I could. I so desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, what she was feeling.
“Well, season finished, that was a killer. God damn Habs, sorry Félix…” Ella smiled, nodding for me to continue. “My foot’s better, I was having some physio on it for a while but should be fine for preseason training. Oh Jarhead got traded to Carolina so he’s on the same team as Eric now. Kind of nice that they’re together. One less phone call to make. Umm..” I tried to think about other news. There wasn’t much. Life on the sod farm was pretty boring compared to life in Pittsburgh, or Montreal I assumed. “I missed you,” I blurted out. Smooth, Jordan, verrry smooth.
I glanced across at Ella to see how she had responded. She blinked a few times before she took another sip of her drink, swallowing hard.
It felt like time was standing still, every second seemed one hundred times as long, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Slowly she turned her face to look at mine, her eyes searching my face as if she would find the answer written on them. Just as she opened her mouth, about to speak, I heard the rough opening of the door followed by Max’s voice.
“In case ya get hungry,” then the door was quickly closed as I heard something thud onto the basement floor. Ella got to her feet, as curious as I was to hear what had fallen. She retreated back into Max’s den with a white bag, pulling out a large bag of Sun Chips, two condoms and a couple of apples. Ella quickly tossed the condoms to the bin, clearly spelling out that make up sex wasn’t on the menu tonight.
“Want some?” Ella said as she opened the huge bag of chips, offering me some. I nodded, taking a step towards her and putting my hand into the open bag. I was hungry but I shouldn't eat crap like this even in the off-season. It all has to go somewhere, I thought, as I took a handful.
"I forgot how good these were," Ella said as she crunched on the cheesy chips.
"Mmm.. me too," I said as she grinned back at me. I wanted to know the answer to my question that was rudely interrupted by Max, but it was going to sound arrogant if I pushed it further. 'Hey Ella, so did you miss me?' - I wasn't going to blow my chance. I thought back to what Eric had said when we were back in Thunder Bay. "Just talk to her."
"Would you go back to Pittsburgh if you didn't get the place?" I asked wondering about her attachments to the steel city. Ella paused on her munching, her eyes flickering towards the ceiling as she thought about it.
"If I got a really good offer. But I need to keep my Arabic up, that's the thing. There aren't many jobs in North America where I can do that," she continued still thinking about it, drink in her right hand, chip in the other as she sat cross legged against the sofa.
"Middle East?" I suggested, dreading the thought of her going there. It's so far away. I knew that whatever the outcome of us being in the basement, I didn't want her to go without her knowing how I felt.
"Maybe. Again, job offers, opportunities. I have to make companies be aware of who I am and what I can offer them," she said with all seriousness. "And certain places aren't exactly female territory out there." I didn't want to sound ignorant, but I didn't pay too much attention to the Middle East or anything really outside of North America, so I didn't push the conversation. I didn't want her to be aware of how ignorant I was on a topic on which she was so passionate about.
"When does the season begin?" she asked as her eyes fell back to room level and onto my face.
"Three weeks, looking forward to it. Thunder Bay gets a little quiet after a while," I said.
"I bet. Who did you come with?" Ella asked. Was she asking if I brought a date here tonight to Talbie's party.
"Just my brothers. Actually just Eric and Marc. Jarhead's helping Dad out on the farm and his girlfriend's pretty clingy."
Ella laughed and I smiled, listening to her laugh which sounded like bells pealing and summer all at the same time. "Why do you call him Jarhead?" she asked in obvious amusement. The more we drank, the funnier things were going to become, but I had to make sure I kept to the same level as she did - I didn't want to pass out down here. That would ruin everything.
"Because, he got more penalty minutes last year in Juniors than Eric, Marc or me combined. He's a fighter," I said. There wasn't much to it. Jared and his red hair (which must explain it) was always dropping the gloves, giving bad checks and arguing with the refs. He had always been like it, ever since we were little and used to play outside on our makeshift rink. It was his way of taking us down when he lacked Eric's skill, or Marc's gritty determination and my, well my general awesomeness.
"That's funny. He must really appreciate it," Ella said as she put the bottle aside and cracked opened her second. "I only ever had Félix, and you know how close we are, so I never know what it's like to have that fierce sibling rivalry," she said. "But being a twin is cool, you always have a best friend."
"Ha, you should come and spend two nights at our house with all of us there," I said as I thought about the general craziness that ensued when all of us were together.
"Is that an invitation?" Ella asked, grinning.
What does she want it to be? "Er, do you want it to be?" I shot back, trying to suppress the fact my stomach was flipping and flopping like mad. Please say yes, I silently begged looking back at her.
Ingrid Michaelson - Maybe
JORDAN'S POV
When I had caught sight of her I hadn’t known what to do, so I discreetly tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible by leaning against the wall, hoping she wouldn’t see me in the darkened room. I watched Tanger approach her, throwing his stupid arm around her shoulders and plying her with alcohol. I watched her chat to him in French, my blood boiling as he led her out of the room and out of sight. Tanger had always had a bit of a thing for her and I didn’t trust him with her, not one bit.
On the other side of the large living room I could see Eric eyeing me with caution as he chatted to Flower and Véro. Marc was on the dancefloor with Geno and a couple of girls that had been following him all night.
As curiosity got the better of me, I decided to go and see what Tanger and Ella were upto. Trying to get through the crowd of people was one thing, but as I reached the busy hallway, they were nowhere to be seen.
“Jordy!” Max said, slapping me on the shoulder as I whirled around. “Can you go grab me some cups from the basement? There’s a chick over there and I don’t wanna wait,” he said motioning to the bottom of the stairs. I was tempted to say the words ‘Gina’ and ‘too soon’ but decided against it. Who am I to cockblock him right now?
Grumbling I walked through to the kitchen and the closed door to the cellar. Opening the lock and the huge wooden door, I noticed that the lights were already on and I could hear somebody or something down here. I walked down the stairs only to be greeted with Ella holding said cups in her arms.
“Hi,” she said silkily, her voice sounding like honey on my ears. “What are you doing down here?”
“Max asked me to fetch some cups,” I said, pointing at the cups covering her chest. Her little mouth formed into a cute little ‘o’ as she stumbled over what she was going to say next. “Well, I found the cups, let’s just get going,” she said brushing past me as I caught a dizzying waft of her floral perfume. God she smelt incredible. I swallowed quickly, following her up the steps to the door which was locked. She bent down, putting the cups on the ground and I had to swallow as I checked her ass in those shorts.
She turned the handle of the door and pushed. Nothing. The door didn’t budge. I watched as she tried again. The wooden door must have gotten a little sticky in the heat, I thought as I reached past her to the door. “Here, let me,” I said, giving it a good push. It didn’t move an inch either. Ella sighed, turning to me and rolling her huge, green eyes.
“Gonna have to knock,” I suppose she said, looking at me as she started hammering loudly on the door. “Let us out!” she screamed over her incessant knocking. She stopped as she heard what sounded like Max’s laugh. “Maxxx!” she cried through the door. “Not fair. Let us out.”
“Only when you kiss and make up! You both still love each other, you can stay there until you admit it.”
Admit what, I thought, not hearing Max, as I hammered on the door, only hearing another laugh in return before all we could hear was music.
“I’m sorry,” Ella said, sitting down on the step facing me.
“About?” I pressed, she was going to have to be a little clearer than that if she wanted me to know what she was apologising for.
“Being stuck down here,” she continued, not looking at me, instead fiddling with the plastic bag the cups were encased in. I tried to suppress a smile. It definitely wasn’t her fault for being stuck down here. I could think of worse people to be stuck down here with, like Marc or Max or even Tanger.
“There are worse people to be stuck down here with,” I admitted as I stood in front of her at the bottom of the steps. “C’mon, those steps are cold, let’s sit in the warmth until we’re let out.” I offered my hand which she declined as she pulled herself to her feet, bringing the large bag of cups with me and following me into the room straight ahead, Max’s games room.
Ella took a seat on one sofa, and wrapped herself up in a blanket. I didn’t want to tell her where those blankets had been although part of me was tempted when she covered up her tanned legs. I took a seat on the floor, my back leaning against the other sofa. Sitting on the sofa seemed too far away and I wanted to be as close to her as possible.
“Max usually has some drinks down here, want anything?” I said, getting to my feet. I have no idea how long Max plans on keeping us hostage, but we might as well be comfortable, seeing as we’re missing out on the party.
“Yeah, whatever’s easiest,” Ella said not bothering to move as she opened her purse and flicked out her phone. Maybe she could call someone who could let us out, though I didn’t want my chances ruined by her phone.
“Battery’s dead,” she said flinging it back into her purse as she pulled the blanket a little tighter. My phone was upstairs with my wallet, packed away in my bag. There was no way I could call anyone, like my brothers, even if I had wanted to. No one upstairs would hear their phones over the music. I didn’t know what to say so I went into the other room and opened the fridge. I brought back a couple of beers for myself and the choice of a bottle of red or some Smirnoff ices for Ella. I wasn’t sure how much she could drink with her epilepsy medication or what she preferred.
“Thanks,” she said as she unscrewed the Smirnoff ice and putting it to her lips. I tried not to look as she took a sip, trying not to look at the way her lips looked on the bottle, or at the way her tongue licked her wet lips afterwards, removing any trace of the drink.
“So, how’s your summer been?” I said as awkward silence began to fill the air. I didn’t want this to be awkward, we’ve never had those moments where we didn’t know what to say or do to each other and I didn’t those moments to start now. Not now when all I want to do is screw her on that sofa.
“Summer has been, different,” Ella began, her eyes flicking across to look at me. I didn’t know how long was too long to hold her gaze but I was disappointed when her eyes were drawn to something else. “It’s the first time I’ve ever worked during the summer, so that’s different, nice different though.”
“Really?” I asked. Ever since I can remember I’ve helped Dad out on the farm. We all have, it’s just I don’t know anything else. It was always school and hockey or summer and sod farm. I know Ella’s had a privileged upbringing, but I didn’t know this was the first time she had ever had a job.
“Yeah, it is. I’m hoping they’ll take me on at the end of the placement. It’d be nice to be in the company, the opportunities, a foot in the door…” her eyes glazed over at the thought. I was really happy for her, she sounded really content with the internship and she knew what she wanted to do. I couldn’t help but admire her ambition even though one percent of me realised how happy she was without me.
“Oh yeah,” I took a swig of my beer, letting the liquid wash over my tongue and down my throat, swallowing what I was so eager to say. “Do you think you’ll stay in Quebec?”
“Who knows? I don’t even know if I’m in with a chance of getting the position,” she said, nursing her drink and looking at the end of the blanket.
“Well I hope you get it.”
“Thanks Jordan, that means a lot to me.” She fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, as if she didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen Ella tongue-tied or nervous so this was a first. I smiled back at her, wistfully thinking it would be nice if Ella didn’t get the job, maybe she would move back to Pittsburgh and work there. Wistful thinking, Jordy, I told myself. It’s more likely that she’ll move somewhere else. She speaks fluent English, French and Arabic; she can go anywhere she wants.
“So what’s new with you?” Ella asked, positioning herself more comfortably on the old sofa. She turned her face to look at mine. I couldn’t read her face, wishing I could. I so desperately wanted to know what she was thinking, what she was feeling.
“Well, season finished, that was a killer. God damn Habs, sorry Félix…” Ella smiled, nodding for me to continue. “My foot’s better, I was having some physio on it for a while but should be fine for preseason training. Oh Jarhead got traded to Carolina so he’s on the same team as Eric now. Kind of nice that they’re together. One less phone call to make. Umm..” I tried to think about other news. There wasn’t much. Life on the sod farm was pretty boring compared to life in Pittsburgh, or Montreal I assumed. “I missed you,” I blurted out. Smooth, Jordan, verrry smooth.
I glanced across at Ella to see how she had responded. She blinked a few times before she took another sip of her drink, swallowing hard.
It felt like time was standing still, every second seemed one hundred times as long, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Slowly she turned her face to look at mine, her eyes searching my face as if she would find the answer written on them. Just as she opened her mouth, about to speak, I heard the rough opening of the door followed by Max’s voice.
“In case ya get hungry,” then the door was quickly closed as I heard something thud onto the basement floor. Ella got to her feet, as curious as I was to hear what had fallen. She retreated back into Max’s den with a white bag, pulling out a large bag of Sun Chips, two condoms and a couple of apples. Ella quickly tossed the condoms to the bin, clearly spelling out that make up sex wasn’t on the menu tonight.
“Want some?” Ella said as she opened the huge bag of chips, offering me some. I nodded, taking a step towards her and putting my hand into the open bag. I was hungry but I shouldn't eat crap like this even in the off-season. It all has to go somewhere, I thought, as I took a handful.
"I forgot how good these were," Ella said as she crunched on the cheesy chips.
"Mmm.. me too," I said as she grinned back at me. I wanted to know the answer to my question that was rudely interrupted by Max, but it was going to sound arrogant if I pushed it further. 'Hey Ella, so did you miss me?' - I wasn't going to blow my chance. I thought back to what Eric had said when we were back in Thunder Bay. "Just talk to her."
"Would you go back to Pittsburgh if you didn't get the place?" I asked wondering about her attachments to the steel city. Ella paused on her munching, her eyes flickering towards the ceiling as she thought about it.
"If I got a really good offer. But I need to keep my Arabic up, that's the thing. There aren't many jobs in North America where I can do that," she continued still thinking about it, drink in her right hand, chip in the other as she sat cross legged against the sofa.
"Middle East?" I suggested, dreading the thought of her going there. It's so far away. I knew that whatever the outcome of us being in the basement, I didn't want her to go without her knowing how I felt.
"Maybe. Again, job offers, opportunities. I have to make companies be aware of who I am and what I can offer them," she said with all seriousness. "And certain places aren't exactly female territory out there." I didn't want to sound ignorant, but I didn't pay too much attention to the Middle East or anything really outside of North America, so I didn't push the conversation. I didn't want her to be aware of how ignorant I was on a topic on which she was so passionate about.
"When does the season begin?" she asked as her eyes fell back to room level and onto my face.
"Three weeks, looking forward to it. Thunder Bay gets a little quiet after a while," I said.
"I bet. Who did you come with?" Ella asked. Was she asking if I brought a date here tonight to Talbie's party.
"Just my brothers. Actually just Eric and Marc. Jarhead's helping Dad out on the farm and his girlfriend's pretty clingy."
Ella laughed and I smiled, listening to her laugh which sounded like bells pealing and summer all at the same time. "Why do you call him Jarhead?" she asked in obvious amusement. The more we drank, the funnier things were going to become, but I had to make sure I kept to the same level as she did - I didn't want to pass out down here. That would ruin everything.
"Because, he got more penalty minutes last year in Juniors than Eric, Marc or me combined. He's a fighter," I said. There wasn't much to it. Jared and his red hair (which must explain it) was always dropping the gloves, giving bad checks and arguing with the refs. He had always been like it, ever since we were little and used to play outside on our makeshift rink. It was his way of taking us down when he lacked Eric's skill, or Marc's gritty determination and my, well my general awesomeness.
"That's funny. He must really appreciate it," Ella said as she put the bottle aside and cracked opened her second. "I only ever had Félix, and you know how close we are, so I never know what it's like to have that fierce sibling rivalry," she said. "But being a twin is cool, you always have a best friend."
"Ha, you should come and spend two nights at our house with all of us there," I said as I thought about the general craziness that ensued when all of us were together.
"Is that an invitation?" Ella asked, grinning.
What does she want it to be? "Er, do you want it to be?" I shot back, trying to suppress the fact my stomach was flipping and flopping like mad. Please say yes, I silently begged looking back at her.
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