Falling for the Backup (Novella): The Assassins Series (12 page)

He was having a great time, and when he got a call from coach Baxter, things became a thousand times better.
 

“Yes, I’m ready.
 
Thank you.”
 
Jordan said before turning off his phone.
 

“Everything okay, honey?”

Jordan smiled over at Tully as he nodded.
 

“Great, I just have to call your daughter,” he said before dialing her number. He usually would have called his dad first, but he couldn’t wait to tell Aynslee his news.
 

“Hello,” she said quickly. “Are you calling to break up with me?”

 
“Hell no,
 
your family is awesome.
 
I’ve got something great to tell you.”

“AnWhat is it?”

“I’m playing tomorrow,” He said, the biggest grin imaginable on his face.
 

“Oh my god!!! Seriously!!! I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks, I’m so excited.”

“I bet, that’s awesome, baby. You’re gonna kick ass.”

“Damn right.
 
Can you come?”

“Shit, I don’t know. I’ll try but I have a meeting with some teachers for a new plan we are working on.”

Jordan’s smile fell.
 

“No, I completely understand. It’s fine.”

 
“No it’s not.I’m sorry, I suck. Let me see what I can do.”

“No you don’t,” he said with a heavy heart, “Corny as it may sound, you’ll be in my heart.”

“Oh that’s not fair!” she laughed, “Are you are least serving some pie with that guilt?”

Jordan snorted as he shook his head.
 

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty! I was trying to be romantic!” he said, his face turning bright red.
 

 
“Aw, I really do like you a lot.”

Jordan’s mouth pulled up at the sides as he closed his eyes wanting to tell her, that
like
was so far from what he was really feeling. He was completely and hopelessly in love with this woman.
 

“I feel the exact same way, I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, have fun.”

“Wish you were here.”

“Me too. Bye baby.”

Ending the call, Jordan let out a long sigh.
 

“You’re playing tomorrow?”

Jordan turned towards Aynslee’s mom.

“Yes ma’am, I was hoping she could be there.”

 
“I think she likes you a lot.”

“I love her,” Jordan admitted.
 

Tully smiled widely at him as she nodded.
 

“I can tell.”

“Things are a little crazy right now but I promise I’m doing everything I can to make her happy.”

 
“That’s all I can ask for.”

He didn’t know why it mattered so much to have Tully and Bowie’s approval but it did and his promise wasn’t an empty one.
 

***

Aynslee rushed down the aisle of First Niagara Center towards Jordan‘s position on the ice. She was late because she spent so much time making her sign and then she still had to hit up scalpers outside the arena for tickets. She managed to get decent seats but she knew she’d be out of Jordan’s range of sight and she wanted him to see her sign.
 

The Assassins were slamming pucks at him as they warmed up and she had no clue how to get his attention.
 

Holding the sign up on the glass, she pointed at him before pointing at the sign, hoping one of the guys would notice her. After what seemed like forever, someone finally spotted her calling Jordan’s name. He turned and even through the mask, she could see his smile. He lifted his helmet and she watched as he read the sign that said:
 

Surprise! Good luck. You’ll be great. I’m so proud of you.

Meet me at dad’s pub afterwards.

It was a little girly but he seemed to like it and nodded his head before waving at her. She waved back and blew him a kiss before he dropped his helmet and turned around, waiting to block the pucks from goal. Satisfied that he read her sign, she decided to watch him warm up, but then someone tapped her on the shoulder.
 

Turning and looking up into the face of an older man, she smiled as she asked, “Am I in your way?”

“No ma’am, I just wanted to read your sign.”

She held it up, grinning at him as he read it.

“He didn’t know I was coming. I flew in from Nashville on a redeye, just to make sure I made it here for the first game he’s played since we’ve been together,” she said and then she wanted to smack herself. She talked way too damn much.
 

The older man nodded as he said, “You are a wonderful girlfriend. What’s your name?”

“Aynslee Shaw,” she said holding out her hand.
 

He took it and smiled as he said, “I’m Bill Ryan.”

Oh, fuck
, she thought as her stomach dropped.

“Jordan’s dad.”

“Yes and, I’ve heard great things about you young lady.”

“Wow, thank you, Jordan talks about you and Mrs. Ryan all the time.”

Bill smiled as he asked, “Where are you sitting?”

“In the 200s. I had to buy it from a scalper.”

Bill nodded as he pointed to a glass seat beside an older couple.
 

“My friend offered me this seat. I came down here to thank him but I’m going back up in the stands to sit with my wife. How about you sit here, and we’ll meet with you later?”

Aynslee nodded quickly as she said, “Yes that would be great. If you are absolutely sure? Thank you.”

“No problem, honey. I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting to know you very well in the near future. ”

“Bye,” she said as she watched him greet his friend. When he flashed her a grin it immediately reminded her of Jordan’s. She returned the smile as he turned to walk up the aisle. All but bouncing into the seat he gave her, she looked out at the ice and grinned.
 
She’s was so excited to be here.

“Hey, you’re Jordan’s girlfriend, Aynslee? Am I saying that right?”
 

Aynslee looked over at the older gentlemen and nodded, accepting his outreached hand.
 

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Sean Rogers. This is my wife, Mallory.”

“Hi,” Aynslee said shaking her hand as Mallory said hello. They made small talk but it stopped once the game started. Aynslee was on the edge of her seat, the biggest grin on her face as she watched her amazing boyfriend kick ass in goal. He was saving goals left and right, pushing people out of his crease and just being fucking awesome. It was fantastic. When the first period was over, the score 2-0, Assassins. Aynslee leaned back in her seat releasing a sigh of relief.
 

“So what do you think of Jordan’s performance so far?”

Aynslee looked over at Sean and smiled.
 

“He’s doin great.”

“I agree.”

“Have you seen him play before?” Aynslee asked.

“I have,” Sean said with a nod. “But wanted to know what you thought.”

Aynslee smiled as she turned in her seat, looking into the older man’s brown eyes.

“I don’t know much about hockey and this is my first time watching him in person, but I’ve seen the YouTube videos and he is amazing. He has this fire inside him to be the best.”

Sean nodded, a grin playing on his face as he said, “But his injury has altered him a bit.”

“True, but he has learned to adapt. The Assassins are crazy for not playing him all the time. He is resilient, you know, and he can only get better with every game he plays. I’ve never in my life been so proud of someone.”

“So if you were the GM of a hockey team you’d take a chance on him and sign him right now?”

Aynslee was a little taken back by the question but she knew the answer right away. Not only did she mean every word she said, she loved Jordan, body and soul, and completely believed in him. He might be leaving her but she would always love him and he would always have a place in her heart. “In a heartbeat.”

After watching Jordan shut out the Sabras Aynslee made her way to her father’s pub and waited for him. It had been an exciting game and watching him was like foreplay to sex. He was so hot and so efficient; Aynslee couldn’t wait to get him home. When Jordan finally walked through the door dressed up in a sexy suit she hopped off the barstool and closed the distance between them.
 
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground.
 

Kissing himbreathless, she smiled against his lips before saying, “You were amazing killer on the ice.”

“Because you were there.”

She smiled as she shook her head.

“No, because you are awesome. Great game baby.”

“Thanks, it felt good.”

He put her on her feet and then took her hand, as they walked over to the bar to order a beer. He sat on the barstool and she sat in his lap, leaning her head against his neck.
 

“I have to leave tonight,” she said sadly after he took a swig of his beer.

“Really?” he asked with a disappointed look on his face.
 

“Yeah, my plane leaves soon, I’ve got school tomorrow.”

“That sucks. I wanted to take you back to my hotel room and see if you were wearing those panties you mentioned yesterday,” he said with a grin, whispering the last part.

She giggled against his neck, placing a kiss there before looking up at him.
 

“I’ll be at home, waiting for you.”

“In the panties?”

“And nothing else.”

“I can’t wait. Let me see this sign. I loved it, by the way,” he said as she slid it across the bar to him.
 

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a wide grin .
 

“I still need your autograph, Jordan, how about you sign the poster and I’ll frame it,” Bowie asked.
 

“Sure,” Jordan said grinning at Aynslee before taking the Sharpie from Bowie.
 

“It’s just a silly sign!” Aynslee complained, shaking her head.
 

“You’re lucky your dad wants it or I’d hang it at my house,” Jordan said before signing his name along the bottom. Aynslee grinned as she watched him write:

Jordan N Aynslee

Aynslee’s heart exploded as he gave her a shy smile. Leaning over, she kissed his lips and then teased, “You’re so corny, but so am I.”

Taking the pen from him, she wrote:

Forever

Chapter 10

Jordan should have been excited but he wasn’t.
 

After signing a hefty paying contract with the IceCats, things should’ve beenlooking up. He was going to be the starting goalie for them but it didn’t matter because Aynslee wouldn’t be there with him. He could have gone to the Predators but only as a backup there too and their GM didn’t want to do that to Jordan. It was the same story with all the other teams Jordan had shown an interest in.
 
.
   

Sitting across from Shea and Elli Adler, he listened as Elli told him about the new goalie they were bringing up to replace Jordan.
 

“Jep Klinsky, the starting goalie for the Rays. I’m happy with him, wish I could keep you though,” Elli said, smiling widely at him.

Jordan laughed before taking a swig of his beer. Putting it down, he said, “If I was starting I’d stay, you know that.”

“I know, I’m lucky you stayed this long,” she said with a sad smile. “We’ll miss you.”

“It’s going to be tough but I’ll come back to visit.”

A lot and hopefully Aynslee will still want to see him.
 

“Good, you gotta see the boys!” she gushed, rubbing her hands on her belly fondly. Looking up from his boss’s belly, he smiled. Elli Adler was a great person, and Jordan was going to miss her.

“I will. Text me pictures as soon as they are born.”.

“Definitely,” she said taking her husband’s hand in hers.
 

“I’ll make sure,” Shea said kissing her temple before reaching for his beer.
 

“Good.”

Jordan looked down at his food. Jordan loved spending time with the Adlers but at the moment, he just wanted to be with Aynslee. He needed to tell her about the contract so they could discuss what they were going to do. He was ready to go home and plan the rest of his life with her.

 
“So how’s your girlfriend? I was hoping to meet her at Erik’s thing but y’all didn’t show,” Elli said.
 

 
“Yeah, she had a headache that night and since we were leaving the next day, I didn’t want to leave her by herself. She’s great though, I would’ve brought her tonight but she had a teacher’s thing-”

Jordan stopped mid-sentence when he saw a flash of red out the corner of his eyes. Turning to see his girlfriend only a few feet away from him, sliding her jacket on, he called out, “Aynslee.”

She stopped and looked over at him, a full grin coming over her face. He stood up as she said something to one of the ladies she was with before coming over to him.
 

“What are you doing here?” she asked still smiling.
 

“Having dinner, you were here the whole time?”

 
“I was! We always go to J Alexanders. I love this place.”

He leaned over to kiss her quickly before introducing
 
her, ”This is Elli and Shea Adler, my boss and my captain.”

Still smiling Aynslee took their hands as she said, “It’s so nice to meet you, Jordan just adores you guys.”

“Oh, thank you. We love him too,” Elli gushed as Jordan pulled a chair out. “Join us please.”

“I’d love to! I already ate though, so I’ll just drink more wine,” she said as she sat down.
 

Jordan smiled and took a seat beside her, reaching for her hand. After ordering a glass of wine for her, Elli and Aynslee started to talk as if they were old friends. He always joked that Aynslee had never met a stranger in her life. He loved that about her and admired her for it. Soon she had the whole table in tears telling them about a kid who had covered another kid with glue and then threw glitter on her.