CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Noah
At Talia’s request, Noah tagged along with her and Harrison to the Renegades family skate night at the practice facility. The rink had closed early so the team could have this private event.
He walked into the lobby where Harrison and Talia were waiting for him, holding hands and kissing. It was one thing to be invited to dinner at their home, but in this situation, he realized how much it sucked to be a third wheel. It was awkward, but he had to at least make an appearance.
“Are we ready to go in?” Noah looked through the glass. “There are already people on the ice.”
“No!” Talia said abruptly, then cleared her throat and very nonchalantly added, “I mean, no, not just yet.”
Talia looked around, finally turning to the entrance. “Jordan! So glad you could make it! Yay!” She squeezed Jordan tight.
Jordan looked between Harrison and Talia. “Where’s Dakota?” Her body tightened when her glance landed on Noah.
“Babysitter. Maybe next year,” Talia responded.
“I tried to convince Tal to bring her. You’re never too young for the rink,” Harrison countered, but Talia comically rolled her eyes.
“Hey guys! Glad you made it!” Luc said to Harrison. “Rodgers, too? Holy shit.”
“Never pegged you for a family skate guy, Rodgers,” Kaden added.
By now, Talia had pulled Jordan into their little foursome.
“Uncle Harry!” Willow’s voice bellowed.
The little blonde jumped into Harrison’s arms. Then she turned to Talia. “Aunt Tally! I’m so excited to skate with everyone! But where’s Baby D?”
“Aunt Tally thinks Dakota is still too young to come to the rink for skate night,” Harrison answered sarcastically.
“Isn’t she though?” Noah asked.
“My daddy used to bring me skating, and he’d bring baby Hank,” Willow answered.
“I didn’t think they made skates that small,” Noah teased.
Willow giggled. “No, silly. Hank didn’t wear skates! Daddy would just hold him while he skated.”
“See?” Harrison said, raising his eyebrows.
Noah wasn’t convinced that holding a baby out on the ice was such a great idea, but he had no clue about babies, and wasn’t about to question anybody’s parenting choices.
“How about some hot cocoa before we hit the ice? It’s on me,” Noah suggested, changing the subject.
“I want hot cocoa!” Hank called, and he ran up to their group, with Sam following close behind.
“All right, let’s go get hot coca. Noah is buying,” Sam said.
The kids ran to the concessions stand, with Sam and Noah following.
“I can’t wait to see the Morris kids on the ice,” Noah said.
“Willow is a natural. Hank is still learning,” Sam said.
“But I’m still small. So I have time to get good,” Hank added.
“Buddy, with a teacher like your dad, you’re going to be a great skater,” Noah said.
Sam turned to him. “Speaking of skating, I’m kind of surprised to see you here.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? It’s a team event. And I’m on the team. Why wouldn’t I at least show?” He had grown tired of these kinds of comments. He wasn’t the only single guy on the team. “Just because I don’t have kids doesn’t mean I can’t participate.”
“Did you bring Jordan?” Sam asked.
“No. Talia and Harrison invited me.”
“And I’m pretty sure Talia invited Jordan.” Sam shook his head. “You’ve been set up, bro.”
Willow ordered everyone’s hot cocoa. Noah paid and threw in a chocolate chip cookie for each kid.
“Really Rodgers? Are you sugaring them up on purpose?” Sam exclaimed.
Noah simply shrugged with delight. “Kids like cookies.”
“Are we putting on our skates, or what?” Trina called, as she walked up to them.
“Mommy, we need to eat our cookie first,” Willow said, holding up her cookie that already had bites taken out of it. Then taking a drink of her hot cocoa, the foam left a cocoa mustache on her lip.
“Sam?” Trina whined.
Sam put his hands up in defense. “Don’t look at me! It was all Rodgers.”
Trina flashed Noah an evil grin. “Someday I’m going to babysit your kids, and I’m going to feed them cotton candy before you get home.”
“Woah,” Talia interrupted them, laughing. “Is Noah getting on Tri’s shit list already?”
He watched Hank shove the cookie into his mouth, while Willow gulped down the rest of her cocoa. It was totally worth it.
“More like Trina’s payback list,” Sam added.
“See you guys out there,” Noah said. He slipped away, leaving the sugared-up children with their parents.
He carried a cup of cocoa to the side of the rink, where Jordan now stood.
“Hey there, I bought you a hot cocoa,” he said, handing her the cup.
“Oh, thanks. It’s colder in here than I remembered.” She shivered before taking the cup.
“Are you going to skate?”
“Eventually.” She set her skates down on a bench and took a sip of cocoa.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Noah said.
“Talia begged me to come.” She looked out at the rink. “And now she and Harrison are out there skating, together, and I’m here on my own. I should’ve thought through the third-wheel thing more. Who did you come with?”
“Talia and Harrison.”
Jordan nodded knowingly. “Huh.”
“Well, since our friends plotted to throw us together, would you like to skate with me?”
“Sure.” She took another sip of cocoa before setting it down on the bench. “Why in the world did they go to such lengths? All they had to do was ask. I mean, we’re friends.”
“Right?” Maybe he should’ve asked her himself. Why hadn’t he?
While Jordan sat down and put on her skates, Noah moved down the bench and put his on.
“Ready?” He held out his hand. He wasn’t sure if she’d be okay with this in front of everyone, but it was worth a try.
She surprised him by taking his hand, and they walked to the ice together. They stepped on the ice just in time to see Willow fly by.
Looking around, Jordan smiled. “This is pretty cool. All the wives and girlfriends and kids. Ever been to one of these before?”
“No, this is a first. But I’m glad I decided to show up.”
“Me too.” She smiled at him and tightened the grip on his hand.
Oddly enough, all he could think about was how happy he was to be with her, even if it was just for a family skate.
Jordan let go of his hand and let out a laugh. “Catch me if you can!”
She sped up and raced around the end of the ice.
Noah chuckled at her spunk, then followed after her. He loved watching her skate, weave in and out of adults and children.
“Too slow!” she said gleefully.
Noah could skate faster, but he let her have her fun. Seeing Jordan so happy warmed his soul, and her excitement was a turn on.
Little Ian Lafleur crossed in front of her, with Kris following behind him. Jordan slowed a little to avoid both of them. Turning to grin at Noah, she wasn’t looking when Hank jetted out in front of her, barely staying upright.
“Jordan, watch out!” Noah called and hurried to her. He reached out, grabbing her and pulling her into his arms. They spun around together in an embrace. Holding her close, they slowed to a stop, successfully avoiding running over little Hank.
“Thanks,” she said in a breathy voice. Her head rested in the crook of his shoulder, and he felt her warmth through his shirt. He watched her chest rise and fall sharply. Then she lifted her face and his gaze met her hazel eyes.
“I think I won,” he said softly.
“What?” she asked, confused.
He smirked. “I caught you. So, I won.”
“Oh, yeah.” She grinned back. “I guess you did.”
They stood on the ice, as folks began to skate around them.
“Yo! Rodgers!” Luc called. “This is a skating rink. No loitering, bro.”
When Luc skated by with Kassie, his wife, Noah reached out and gave his teammate a little shove.
“We should probably either get back to skating or get out of the way,” Jordan said softly.
“C’mon.” He grabbed her hand, leading her around the ice to the next exit. As they hopped off the ice, Jordan tugged on his hand, pulling him back to face her.
“You want to maybe get out of here?” she asked softly, her lips only centimeters from his.
Surprised by her suggestion, but immediately interested, he nodded. “So much.”
Noah pulled into Jordan’s parking lot. Her car was already there. She must’ve ducked out right away, while he had been stopped by Coach Walker and then Kyler on his way out.
After Jordan buzzed him in, he ran up the stairs to her floor, taking the steps two by two, too impatient to wait for the elevator.
Slightly out of breath, he moved to knock on her door. But before his knuckles could touch the wood, the door swung open. “What took you so long?” she asked, with an adorable grin.
“It’s called obeying the traffic laws,” he joked, as he moved inside her loft, and wrapped his arms around her waist.
He dipped his head down and pressed his lips to hers. Kicking the door shut with his foot, he never took his focus away from her.
She wound her arms around his neck, and her hazel eyes flickered with fire as they met his. Her breathing was already ragged. They were locked on one another as she tipped her head up to his. She welcomed his kiss and his lips brushed over hers. Easing his tongue into her mouth, he waited to ensure she had time to change her mind.
But her lips parted for him, and her body melted into his. Desire flickered in her eyes as she pressed against him.
With a growl, he grabbed her and hiked her up onto his hips, and she let out a little squeal in response. Resting her head on his shoulder, she dropped kisses on his neck as he carried her to the bedroom.
Jordan was more playful than he had ever seen her, and it was a huge turn on. His hard-on was proof of that.
“Do you think they’ll be mad that we left?” she asked.
“Does it matter?” He gently laid her on the bed, staring into her eyes. “I’m the only place I want to be.”
Jordan smiled. “Me too.”
She tugged at his shirt before lifting it off and tossing it to the floor. Her eyes raked over him. The appreciation on her face was seductive, driving him crazy. He leaned down to claim her warm lips.
After both kicking off their shoes, they moved up the bed to the pillows.
The way she lay there, with her blonde hair flowing around her, she was sexy as hell.
He ripped his jeans off and quickly grabbed a condom package out of the pocket before dropping them to the floor. Then, still kneeling on the bed, he unzipped her jeans and slid them down her legs, then pulled her shirt over her head and added it to the pile of clothes on the floor.
Running his hands down her back, he unfastened her bra. He slid the straps down her arms, exposing her luscious breasts.
Sitting up on his haunches, he watched her bite at her bottom lip as he rolled on the condom. Nestling back between her thighs, he stared down into her hooded eyes. God, she was beautiful.
Slowing his movements, he eased into her. A soft moan escaped her lips as he buried himself inside her. He braced himself, and his pace increased. She wrapped her legs around him, intensifying his need for her. Tipping his head down to capture her lips, he drove deeper into her.
Between her sweet moans, and her nails scraping along his chest, he was so close. He pushed deeper and watched her close her eyes, gasping. He drove deeper until they both climaxed. Drained, he rolled to her side, pulling her with him. Brushing rogue hairs from her face, he held her tight in his arms. An unfamiliar emotion came over him, one that he couldn’t name. But the thought wound its way into his brain that this was everything he had ever wanted.