CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jordan
Jordan scanned the bar. It was a packed house tonight. But then again, Noah had posted about his new place on social media, with plenty of photos, including one of him serving behind the bar. Patrons had packed the dining area pre-game, and a whole new wave came in to watch the game.
She admired the crowd and didn’t mind that they were here because of Noah. After all, patrons had come to The Sin Bin because of Harrison. It didn’t matter why they were here at Slap Shot, so long as they came.
Jordan grabbed a few orders from the window and helped the servers out delivering food. With all the patrons happy, she sat down at the bar and worked on the new schedule. The Slap Shot bartender, Mo, handed her a water.
“Thanks, Mo.”
A new group of customers filled the waiting area. She looked over at Shelby, who was across the room, keeping everything running smoothly. Everything under control, she went back to the schedules.
“Hey, stranger.”
Jordan turned and was face to face with her friend. “Talia!” She pulled her into a hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I stopped by to see how you’re doing. Looks like a great crowd.” Talia turned to the television, just as the National Anthem finished.
Guilt ran through Jordan, having Talia at her new place of business. And it obviously showed on her face.
“Jordan, don’t look at me with those puppy dog eyes.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Please stop feeling guilty for taking this job.” Talia grabbed her hand. “I am so excited for you!”
“The Sin Bin was family.”
“We’ll always be family, and you know that. Plus, this will give us more chances to hang out. We were always on opposite shifts before.”
“True.”
“I am so proud of you. And you deserve this more than anyone. So please celebrate your accomplishment.”
“You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I just want you to be happy. Speaking of happy, how did your date go?” Talia asked.
“Date?” Heat rushed to her cheeks. Had Talia somehow heard about the night with Noah?
“Yeah, the guy who asked you out at the grand opening. The reporter. How did that go? You never said.”
“Oh, that guy. Yeah. I never went.” She left it at that, hoping her friend might, too. Of course, that was wishful thinking when it came to Talia.
“You never went? What happened? Did he cancel on you?” Talia became defensive of her friend.
She laughed at Talia’s response. “No, nothing like that. I was the one who cancelled. I just wasn’t feeling it.”
“What do you mean? You liked him enough to accept in the first place.”
“Yeah. I don’t know… I mean, yes, I did. When I was talking to him at the grand opening, my excitement level was running high. But afterwards, the more I thought about the date, the less excited I was. I mean, he was nice, and I guess he was attractive, but he just…” She shrugged, not finding the words.
“He wasn’t Noah?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Well, maybe she did, a little.
“Jordan, I don’t know who you think you’re fooling. It’s obvious you like him. And he likes you. Why are you fighting it?”
She wasn’t ready to tell her friend about the night she’d spent with Noah. Yes, she’d slipped up, and she didn’t want Talia to know about her mistake. Noah was her employer, and she should’ve been more professional.
Noah wasn’t into long term relationships. He was all wrong for her. But she had to admit, there was so much about him that she really liked. Yes, she wanted Noah.
After that first night, all she could think about was how amazing it felt to be with him. She craved more of him. Not just their time in bed. The more time they spent together doing other things, the more she wanted him.
Could she accept his idea about keeping things casual? She might not like it, but it was better than not having him at all. She could do casual, sure…maybe.
“What is going through your brain over there? Let me guess… Noah?”
“No. Tal, you know he’s not the kind of guy that settles down. We’ve been through this.”
“Right. Noah the playboy, a free spirit,” Talia said with a smirk. “Funny thing is, I don’t know that Noah. The Noah I’m familiar with is thoughtful and generous and sweet. That’s the Noah who is head over heels for you. And apparently, since you can’t even go on a date with another guy, you’re smitten as well.”
Smitten? Who says smitten?
“Talia.” She shook her head. “You live in a fun fantasy world. But there is no friends-to-lovers romance novel playing out here.”
“If you say so.” Talia gave in. “Changing the subject, are you going to the game tonight?”
“No. Shelby needed the night off.”
“You know what, I have an idea! I know how much you like to ice skate. Tomorrow night there’s a Renegades family skate at the team’s practice facility. Come with us! It will be fun. All the wives and girlfriends and kids. Probably some BFFs too, and parents. Please?” Talia begged.
“Okay, sure. The only thing is, I’m here tomorrow until my shift ends in the evening. But I can meet you guys there. Will that work?” Ice skating sounded fun.
“Sure. Be there at seven. It’ll be so much fun, I can’t wait! Well, I need to get home and get Dakota ready for the game.”
“Have a good night!”
Jordan would take any chance to ice skate now that she’d gotten back into the habit. And it would only be a bonus if Noah was there, too.
Jordan loved game day crowds. Slap Shot was filled wall to wall with hockey fans, dressed in their hockey jerseys, cheering on the Renegades. The energy was electric.
She looked up to the television to see Noah score his second goal of the game. The bar went wild with cheers. A little tingle ran through her at the sight of Noah celebrating his goal. His grin, the excitement on his face, the passion for the game.
After the last customer left, the quiet of the bar gave her a little time to reflect on how Talia was so accepting of her new job. She’d been so worried about Talia coming into Slap Shot, but now Jordan no longer had the guilt hangover. It was a freeing feeling to be able to simply be happy about her new path in life and still have her best friend. Bonus, the Renegades had won 2–0.
She tallied up the receipts, then headed down the hall to her office. Suddenly she was face-to-face with Noah. She put her hand up, her palm resting on his chest. His heart was racing, pounding against her hand.
“Nice game,” she commented.
“Thanks.” His eyes were dark and focused on her.
Maybe it was something to do with Talia’s visit making her feel freer. Or maybe it was that intense, sexy look in Noah’s eyes. But she readily closed the space between them and kissed him. She couldn’t help herself. His cologne filled her senses and as she kissed him harder, he kissed her back.
Noah was the one who pulled away. “Wait, what are we doing here?”
The question gave her pause. “What do you mean?”
“Are you okay with what I said about keeping things casual? I don’t want to pressure you into anything.”
“You’re not pressuring me. And do we even need to define it?” Jordan asked. “You said fun.” But she wanted to define it. She wanted to be his and only his. But most of all, right now, she just needed him.
The bar was closed, the doors locked, and all the employees had gone home.
Noah’s heated gaze made her heart race, as he walked her backwards into the office. He shut the door behind them, and taking her face in his hands, his lips covered hers. She melted in his arms, craved him, as he dropped kisses down her neck.
Jordan sighed when his lips touched her skin, leaving cold empty spaces in his wake.
Taking a minute to catch her breath as she visualized pulling him down on the desk right now, she asked quietly, “Two goals tonight, huh?”
“Amazing game,” he said, in between kisses.
Pushing her up against the large, oversized desk, he asked, “And your day?” He stepped between her legs, fueling the fire in her belly.
“Really good.” Her smile widened as Noah pulled off his shirt. “And I think it’s about to get better.”
Her breath caught in her throat as his muscular body pressed against hers. His head lowered towards hers and his fiery kiss had her feeling a reckless abandon. What was one more night? They were just having fun, no strings attached. In this moment, she didn’t even question it. It was probably adrenaline, or pure lust, but she wanted him.
Her eyelids fluttered closed as he kissed her. She gripped the waistband of his pants, her fingertips running over his muscles.
His gruff moan turned her on even more, as she unzipped and tugged at his pants.
He pulled the shirt over her head in one move. His eyes raked over her before his palm closed around her breast. As he dropped kisses down her neck, she leaned into him, impatient.
“Let’s slow down for one second,” Noah suggested, as he dug in his pocket and pulled out a condom wrapper.
“You came prepared,” she said with a smile.
“I’ve been thinking about this all day.”
Eager to feel him inside her, she pushed his pants down. She plucked the condom package out of his hands and tore open the wrapper. That caused a sexy smirk to slide across his lips. He brought out this animalistic side of her, and she kind of liked it.
She watched Noah roll the condom on, and when he finally hiked up her skirt, she helped to slip off her panties. Gripping her ass with his strong hands, he pulled her up on to his hips.
She motioned to kick off her heels, but Noah shook his head, stopping her. “No, leave them on.”
He moved across the room, bracing her against the wall. Tilting her hips towards his, his hard dick pressed into her. Her grip on him tightened, and a moan escaped her lips, as he filled her completely.
He didn’t waste time, rocking into her until they both climaxed, and he devoured her mouth, dissolving their collective moans. Jordan’s grip on Noah tightened, and then her body fell limp, exhausted from the vigorous task.
Staring up at him, she knew he was all she wanted. Secretly, she admitted that he was the reason she hadn’t gone on that other date.
This was no longer casual, as far as she was concerned.