Page 105 of Offside Attraction

He watched her initial reaction when she saw the gold tennis bracelet, waiting for the moment when?—

“Jordan.” She stared at the charms. One for Pucks Deep. One for the Snowballs. Rhonda looked up, her eyes glassy.

He smoothed a thumb over her cheek. “I’ll never make you choose. Your life can be whatever you want it to be. Just tell me I can be a part of it.”

Tears welled up, and he pressed against the corner of her eye, letting them spill over onto his fingers.

“I have a gift for you, too. I can?—”

“Give it to me in the morning.” Jordan grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom.

Rhonda laughed. “It’s a good one.”

He spun and pressed her hand to his jeans. “Morning.”

Her cheeks flushed. Her teeth scraping over her lower lip. “Morning it is.”

_____

Rhonda and Jordan pulled up to Anne and Tina's house, the warm glow of Christmas lights twinkling in the windows. Rhonda's breath fogged the air as she exhaled, her excitement palpable. "Okay, I need you to know why this is funny."

Jordan turned off the ignition and looked at her expectantly. "I'm all ears."

"On the group chat. Anne and Tina wanted to invite the mystery guy to a hot tub night.”

Jordan smirked and reached for the door handle. "So this is all women."

“Yes.”

“And they don’t know I’m coming?”

Rhonda shook her head.

“Fantastic.”

They walked up the steps to the house, and Rhonda knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Tina stood in front of them, laughing. “You actually brought him!"

Rhonda grinned. "You asked for it.” She scanned the room nervously. Jenna was the only wild card. She didn’t know how she was going to react.

Tina stepped aside to let them in, and Rhonda was immediately enveloped in warmth and the smell of spiced cider. Anne was already in her swimsuit. "Well, I’ll be damned."

Rhonda shrugged out of her coat and hung it on a hook by the door, then turned to face her friends. "Jordan, this is Tina, Anne, and—" She paused as Jenna walked in from the kitchen. “Jenna.”

Jordan nodded at each of them, his expression neutral. "Nice to meet you. Officially.”

Tina pointed to the back door. "Oh this is going to be good.”

Rhonda flashed Jordan a mildly apologetic smile as they walked to the patio. They stripped off their clothes—they were already wearing their suits—and Jordan climbed into the tub with four women. It wasn’t exactly how he saw this fantasy playing out, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The questions started instantly, but as the women got more tipsy, they forgot all about him and he got to sit back and enjoy.

Tina brought out pies around ten o’clock, and when she slipped back in the hot tub, she said, “Your story is way better than the one I made up in my head.”

Rhonda’s nose scrunched. “About Parking Lot Guy?”

“Oh, I still want to have an affair with my version of Parking Lot Guy.” Anne laughed. “Not you, Jordan. No offense.”

They laughed and ate, and Jordan mostly just watched Jenna. Her smile. Her laugh. He loved all of it. Her dark, curly hair framed her face, and he couldn't help but notice the way her cheeks flushed from the warmth of the hot tub, the pink on her cheeks. She was captivating. Magnetic.

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