Page 88 of Offside Attraction

Jordan’s eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Never?” She shook her head, her heart beginning to pound. Jordan pushed his chair back, then stood and walked toward her. He held out his hand, and Rhonda took it, allowing him to pull her up next to him. He tugged her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her so completely, that she was swallowed up in his warmth, the soft cotton of his shirt, and that same cologne she’d smelled on him when they’d met at the hotel.

He didn’t let go. He held her there, not saying a word, his hand curling behind her neck, his fingers resting behind her ear, in her hair. Cradling her. Protecting her.

Rhonda sank into him, her heart swelling until she wondered if light was shooting from her fingertips. Was this what it felt like?Could you do this?Tell someone the worst things about yourself, your biggest insecurities, and then have them . . . still want you?

A lump formed in her throat, and she worked to swallow. To breathe. Jordan held her until it passed, then slowly released her. He smoothed her hair from her cheek, then turned and settled back in his chair.

She swayed a little on her feet, trails of heat still buzzing on her skin from where he’d touched her. Rhonda sat, and they both continued eating like nothing had changed. Even though inside of her, everything had.

_____

After sharing a delectable flourless chocolate torte, they stepped out into the night. Rhonda’s body hummed with an energy she hadn't felt in a long time, and now that they’d started talking, they didn’t seem to be able to stop. They talked about everything, from where they bought their clothes to what they ate on Sunday mornings. They talked about potential pets, gifts they were getting for friends for Christmas, places they wanted to travel, and their least favourite things about their jobs.

Rhonda slid into the driver's seat, sad that for two seconds Jordan was outside while she was in, then exhaled with relief when he got in and she turned on the engine. The heater blasted her legs as she pulled out of the parking lot.

The streets were mostly empty on the way back to their hotels because everything shut down early in Lethbridge. Jordan brushed her arm when he saw a church sign that read, “I’m also making a list and checking it twice. God.” They laughed, and then Rhonda nearly choked on her spit when Jordan ran his fingers over her wrist and twined his fingers with hers on the console.

She pulled into Jordan’s hotel parking lot, breathing like she needed a ventilator, and turned off the engine.

Rhonda turned to him, her grip on his hand tightening. “What if I’m crazy?” Jordan laughed, but she tugged on his arm. “I’m serious. I’m basically a toddler here. I’m—” She pursed her lips.

“You’re what?” He looked like he was staring at a baby kitten in the window of an animal shelter.

Rhonda groaned and dropped her head back against the seat. “You think I’m pathetic.”

“No.” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her skin. “I think you’re sexy.”

“Jordan—”

His fingers brushed her chin, and he turned her head to look at him. “I have no experience with this either. I told you. Every relationship I’ve been in, I’ve done wrong.”

She blinked, struggling to think with his thumb burning a hole in her jaw. “That’s not comforting.”

His smile widened. “It should be.”

“Why?”

“Because we can do this however we want. If we don’t know how it’s supposed to be, we can’t do it wrong.”

“Was that the problem? Your past girlfriends had expectations?”

Jordan’s throat worked. “Yeah. And I didn’t know them.”

Rhonda wet her lips. She twisted her hands in her lap. “But . . . did we already do it wrong?”

Jordan’s eyes dropped to her mouth. He exhaled, his fingers moving just enough that her heart forgot its rhythm. “Maybe doing it right wouldn’t have worked for us. Misfits, remember?”

“Mmm.” She felt pinned to her seat like a moth on a corkboard. Jordan’s gaze the pins holding her wings stretched wide and on display.

“I had a nice time tonight.”

Me too. The best time.Rhonda tried to form words, but they wouldn’t come. For the first time in her life that she could remember, she wasn’t hoping this moment would turn into anything more.

She revelled in the exposure. The nakedness. It was perfect, just as it was.

“Are you heading back tomorrow?” Jordan asked, his hand dropping from her face. She felt the loss like throwing off the sheets on a December morning.

Rhonda nodded. “I need to be back for?—”

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