Chapter 12 – Jordie
CHAPTER TWELVE
The sex warlock
Jordie
“Hi, honey.”
I settle onto one of the wooden chairs at a little bistro in Rice Village, near my townhome. “Hey, Mom.”
At her request I progressed from calling her Delphine to Mom last month. It still feels a little weird since I’ve never called anyone that before, but I’m getting used to it.
“How was your meeting this morning?” she asks excitedly.
“It was… fine. I gave the marketing guy some feedback, so he’s going to make a few changes.” And he’s a douchebag cheater who was somehow oddly comforting to my nerves.
My mother scrunches her shoulders in delight. “I can’t wait to see your commercials. I saw your face on the side of the bus yesterday and just had to take a pic.”
I take the proffered phone and look at it. My face is indeed on the side of a Houston METRO bus in an advertisement for Gatorade. Neon purple sweat drips down my face, and I have to admit it’s pretty badass.
“Thanks. Can you send that to me?”
Mom retrieves her phone, and a second later, my own device pings in my small purse.
“What else have you been up to?” she asks, resting her chin on her hands, the study of an interested mother.
“We had our team photos done since the last time I saw you. My friend Carrie Broxton also got drafted by the Dragons, and so did Liz Weston. She’s an offensive lineperson, the best in this year’s draft class actually.
And we got a quarterback named Zena Hernandez who has a phenomenal arm.
She previously played in one of the other leagues. ”
The so-called tits and ass league, according to Willie.
I’m relieved my mother didn’t bring her fiancé today.
I’ve been meeting with her a few times a month, and she usually brings the creep along, though sometimes he has to work.
I still haven’t shared with the rest of my family about being in touch with Delphine.
I don’t need the drama in my life right now.
“That’s so awesome. I know you’re close with the Broxton girl,” Mom says.
A smile takes over my face. “She’s my best friend. We’re so excited we both got drafted by the Dragons.”
“I can’t wait to watch you play on TV.”
My heart squeezes in my chest. “You’re not coming to my games? I bought season tickets for you and Willie.”
Mom’s face falls, and emotions flutter her lashes with quick blinks. “I really want to, Jordie, but I’m afraid we may be moving soon.”
“Oh.” The disappointment crashing around me is more than I would have expected. “Why are you moving?”
A frustrated twist pulls her mouth to the side.
“They cut Willie’s hours at the refinery since he was the most recent hire there, and we just can’t afford our apartment here in Houston any longer.
They say he won’t be full-time again for another few months.
There’s a job he can take in Oklahoma, but that’s about eight hours from here.
” She reaches across the table and envelops my hand between her cool ones.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I wish we could stay. ”
My gut churns like a tropical storm across the sea. “But… I… we just started getting to know each other.”
I don’t know why it’s so important for me to have her in my life. I’ve gone this long without a mom, but this hurts. Bad.
Tears stream down her face, and she turns away, dabbing at her cheeks with her napkin when the server arrives. I order for both of us in a shaky voice, my brain struggling to come up with a solution.
I’d let hope grow in my belly over the last few months. Hope that maybe she’d stay this time. Hope that I was enough to keep her here.
“Mom, can I ask you a kind of personal question?”
She pauses with her club sandwich halfway to her mouth and regards me. “Sure, honey.”
“What kind of…” I attempt to gather my awkward words. “Have you ever used one of the hormonal IUDs as birth control?”
My mother takes a bite and chews thoughtfully. “No. I’ve used the regular ones, but not the ones that release hormones too. Why do you ask?”
Pretty sure my face is the color of the tomatoes on my caprese salad when I answer. “I’m thinking about taking things to the next level with Miles. We’ve—” I cut myself off before I overshare and say we’ve done a few things, like oral. I really, really like oral.
Mom’s eyebrows inch together in apparent confusion. “Why would you need birth control, Jordie?”
“Uhhh, so I don’t get pregnant,” I say with a half-chuckle.
“But why? Miles is an up-and-coming hotshot quarterback from what I’ve been reading, and I know the NFL pays way better than the WNFL. Which is bullshit, in my opinion,” she adds.
“I agree, but our league hasn’t even started, so we’re not profitable yet.” I wave my hand in dismissal because that’s not the point here. “Anyway, what does that have to do with birth control?”
She tuts like I should know this already. “Honey, Miles is a man that can take care of you,” she croons before bobbing her eyebrows up and down. “And a baby is a good way to make sure you hang onto him.”
I’m stunned beyond belief. I ignore the hang onto him bit for now and say, “But I can’t play football if I get pregnant. Plus, I’m only twenty-three. I’m not ready for a baby and all that.”
Mom tilts her head, her blonde hair brushing one shoulder. “You’re right, honey. You should play for at least a year before you go getting knocked up.”
A year? More like ten years.
But I don’t say it, realizing my mother probably isn’t the best person to ask for relationship or family-planning advice. Instead, I stuff a bite of mozzarella drizzled with balsamic vinegar into my mouth and decide to call Juliette this afternoon.
I also don’t voice the fact that I don’t need a man to take care of me financially. I’m doing a pretty damn good job of that myself.
Now, in other areas of my life—like between the sheets—I wouldn’t mind a man taking care of me.
And Miles will be home soon to do exactly that.
I’m back in Phoenix Hale’s office to look at the new sketches. My spine is steely and straight. The man exudes charm from every pore, and I’m not falling for it. Nope, not a bit. Not even when his excitement is palpable as I reluctantly sit beside him on the forest-green leather couch.
And okay, his excitement might be a little contagious, but that fades as soon as he opens the first page of his sketch book to reveal a drawn Jordie wearing a white, flowy dress. Seriously, dude? Didn’t we already discuss this?
Phoenix smirks and flips to the next page, pulling a gasp from me. The white dress is in shreds, and underneath, I’m wearing…
“My football uniform?” I question, my voice squeaking a bit at the end. I stare at the words at the bottom of the page. Just Jordie.
“Yep,” the smug man beside me says, still smelling like mint and something sweet. Dammit, why does he have to smell like a cup of minty hot cocoa?
“That’s… amazing,” I breathe.
“Your very own Superman moment.” He pauses and lowers his voice as we both stare at the drawing.
“I like to think of it like you’re stripping off society’s expectations of what a woman should look like, how she should dress.
Beauty and raw femininity come in many forms, and your strength and confidence are what draw people to you, Jordie.
Being feminine doesn’t mean being prissy or fancy.
It means embracing who you are as a woman. ”
I’m blown away. It’s hard to even put into words what that means to me. Phoenix sees me, the real me, and he appreciates it.
“I love it.” I turn my face to find him looking at me, his gaze intense and heavy. “Thank you.” Those last two words come out in a whisper.
Our faces are inches apart, and from this distance, I can see the details of his eyes. The vivid blue is surrounded by a circle of smoky navy around the perimeter of his irises. They are gorgeous.
“I want to make you happy,” he replies, and for some reason, those words hit hard.
Luckily, whatever spell Phoenix has put me under is broken when there’s a knock at the door, and we both straighten. I hadn’t even realized we had been leaning into each other’s space.
Jesus, have mercy. What is wrong with me? I’m pretty sure Phoenix Hale isn’t human. He must be some kind of warlock or something. Yes, that’s it. He’s a sex warlock who draws women in with his magical eyeballs.
“Here are your coffees,” Charlotte chirps, setting down our cups and a small crystal plate holding two scones.
“Thought you might want a little snack as well. These are the orange-blackberry ones. Divine!” She holds a hand over her heart and swoons like the scones are the edible manifestation of Chris Hemsworth.
And she’s not too off. I have to hold back my groans each time I take a bite of the buttery, crumbly bread.
Phoenix walks me through what the campaign will look like and shows me the color palette the lab has developed for the makeup they’ll use during the photo shoot.
They’re also giving me my own line of eyeshadow and allowing me to choose the colors.
Phoenix pops the last bite of his scone into his mouth and washes it down with a drink of his iced coffee.
“We’d also like to do a lipstick line for the Just Jordie campaign, but we’ll release that closer to the end of your football season.
I’m picturing an ad with a kiss print on the Super Bowl trophy after the Dragons win it all. ”
His cheeky wink makes me laugh. “Let’s hope you’re right. I think we’re going to have a lot of talent on the team.”
We talk for a few more minutes about football, and it’s nice and easy. The sex warlock doesn’t make any more appearances, and by the time I go out to set an appointment for the photo shoot with Charlotte, I’m feeling much better about my deal with Hale Cosmetics.