Page 42 of Once Bitten
“Well, I can’t say I blame you....if that’s it,” Mrs. Lee sighed and crossed her arms, looking at Steve, who stood just a foot behind Jordyn, looking unsure of what to do.
“Um, this is Steve,” Jordyn said, reaching back to take his hand when she saw Mrs. Lee’s searching look. “He’s my boyfriend.”
When Jordyn said the word boyfriend, the Lees went silent. For as long as they had known Jordyn, she’d always been at Alex’s side, and this news was shocking, but it didn't take long for Cora to break the silence.
“He’s really cute,” Cora whispered loudly to Jordyn, without missing a beat.
“Cora!” Mrs. Lee exclaimed with a laugh.
“Well, he is,” Cora insisted, but her bravado vanished when she saw Steve smile at her. She blushed and looked away, hiding her face into Jordyn's shoulder.
“He really is though. It’s a terrible distraction.” Jordyn winked at Cora before turning to look back at Mr. and Mrs. Lee. “Alex and I aren’t together anymore. I’m not sure what he’s been telling you all at church, but that's the truth.” She reached back and took Steve’s hand, stepping closer to him, Timothy still latched onto her leg. “I won’t be going back to church or Sunday school, at least not for a while, but I’m glad you met Steve because he’s…he's very important to me,” Jordyn said, trying to keep her tone light, but she sighed, seeing their disappointed looks.
“So this does have something to do with Yvonne, then?” Mrs. Lee asked, and Jordyn nodded.
“I told you the new girl was weird,” Cora muttered sourly to her father.
Mr. Lee shook his head. “I’m not sure why Alex feels the need to lie about what’s happened between the two of you, but I’m pleased to meet you, Steve. Any friend of Jordyn’s is a friend to all of us.” He held his hand out to Steve with a friendly smile.
Steve stared at the hand for a second before he nodded and grasped it. “Nice to meet you too, sir.”
“I’m always happy to meet someone Jordyn thinks so highly of,” Mrs. Lee gushed. She stepped forward and threw her arms around Steve to hug him. Her hug, Jordyn noticed with a grin, was a little prolonged, and when the woman drew back, she was holding a hand to her chest. “You’re just solid all over, aren’t you?” she asked, her hand darting out to pat his arm.
Cora looked mortified.“Mom!”
“Well, he is,” Mrs. Lee said, parroting her daughter’s earlier statement, and Jordyn laughed, slipping an arm around Steve’s waist.
“I could always babysit for you if you realllllyyyy miss me that much,”Jordyn teased, patting Timothy’s head.
“We might have to take you up on that offer. We need a date night,” Mrs. Lee confessed. Cora made a face at her words, but Mrs. Lee ignored her daughter and turned to steer them all away. “Come on, Timothy! We said hello to Jordyn, but now it’s time to get back to the park and let Jordyn have fun with Steve.”
“Ugh,” Timothy groaned, taking his mother’s hand and giving Jordyn one last look.
“Have fun, you two.” Mr. Lee waved to them.
“Bye!” Jordyn waved back. She laughed when she saw Cora look back at Steve.“So when can I get a boyfriend?”
“When you’re thirty,” her father muttered, turning his daughter firmly around and marching her away.
“Sunday school, huh?” Steve asked, looking down at the open smile on Jordyn’s face as she watched the family leave.
“Yeah, I was the go-to teacher for the past four years.” Jordyn chewed on her bottom and lip and turned to go back to their bench, but Steve caught her in his arms.
“Why don’t you go back to it, then? You looked so happy with those kids.” He brushed her hair back from her face, trying to get a read on her expression.
Jordyn shook her head sadly. “I can’t go back there. I just can’t look at Alex and Yvonne, you know? I just...I feel so much anger, and then I wanna be sick.”
“Mm, yeah.” Steve's voice was suddenly quiet, and he let her go as they walked back to the bench.
Jordyn sighed and searched for the right words because she didn't like the tone in Steve's voice at what she said. “It’s not because I care about him. Just seeing him reminds me of all the time I wasted, and I just get so mad at the situation that I was too naive to see.”
Steve nodded, but said nothing and bit his lip while he fiddled with the cuff of his leather jacket. When he didn't meet her eyes, Jordyn reached out and touched his hand gently. Steve shook his head and finally spoke, turning his hand over to take hers. “I just hate that you can’t do something you love because of him,” he told her, but Jordyn just shrugged, smiling at him and looking shy.
“If I hadn't been angry with him, I would have never found you.”
Steve smiled and reached over, running a hand through her hair. “That’s true, sweetheart.”
“So…it’s really for the best,” Jordyn insisted, picking up her sandwich again and nodding to herself, though Steve saw that her eyes were still following the Lee family. The way she’d pulled him close and proudly introduced him, without hesitation, to people she cared about, made him feel overwhelmed because their status was public. It was official.
