Chapter 3

Jordan held the door open for her as they slipped inside.  Jordan held her hand and led her to a table in the back, as he pulled out a chair for her, she looked around at the others at the table.  Her heart stopped when she locked eyes with the one and only Sidney Crosby. 


“I’m sitting with the team”, she whispered to herself in disbelief


Jordan sat down next to her and although she expected him to, he didn’t let go of her hand.  From across the table, Sidney spoke up.


“Who is the beautiful lady that is clearly out of your league Gronk?”


Jordan blushed and stuttered as he tried to reply. Cara jumped in, “I’m Carrianna, or Cara for short.”
Sidney extended his hand across the table, “I’m Sidney,” he said.  “And let me do the introductions, since Staalsy over there forgot his brains in the locker room.”
Sidney went around the table introducing the players, Cara laughed a little thinking that she didn’t really need any introductions, she had watched these guys in over 80 games last year.  Suddenly the beautiful young woman sitting next to goalie Marc-Andre Fleury spoke up.
“Since Sid seemed to skip me in the introductions, I’ll take care of it myself. I’m Veronique, Marc-Andre’s girlfriend.”
Cara glanced at Sidney across the table and he rolled his eyes, blushing, “I was saving the best for last Vero,” he retorted.


Veronique rolled her eyes and Marc-Andre leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.  Jordan leaned in and whispered in Cara’s ear, “What can I get you to drink gorgeous?”
Cara felt her face grow warm at those words, “Umm, I’ll take a Labatt if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all” Jordan replied, heading for the bar.  Cara realized that she was sitting with her favorite hockey players, and immediately thought of her father, a life long hockey fan.  “He would be so jealous”, she thought, “I can’t wait to tell him.”


Moments later, Jordan returned with two beers, and setting one down in front of her, he flopped into the chair next to her.


“Worn out from the game?” she asked.
“No, just tired in general, there was a beautiful woman in my dreams last night, and she robbed me of a good night’s sleep.” He said with a wink.


Evgeni Malkin snorted and rolled his eyes in Jordan’s direction, as the other guys broke into laughter and cat calls.


Cara sat at the table, enjoying her beer and listening to every bit of conversation she could catch.  The guys were so close that they seemed like a family, teasing each other and laughing out loud.  They really seemed to love Veronique too, treating her like a sister, part of the family.  Cara felt a surge of envy at this group, so close and tight knit, it made her feel even lonelier in her life.  All she had was work, school, and her dogs.  She was driven, and a hard worker.  She rarely went out and didn’t have many close friends.


A warm hand on hers jolted her from her own thoughts. Jordan looked at her with a concerned look in his eyes. “Are you okay? You seem quiet, is something wrong?” The concern was evident in his voice.


“No, nothing, just feeling a little overwhelmed.  I can’t believe I’m sitting here with you and these other guys.” Cara replied, blushing a little.


Jordan smiled, “Well, if I have my way, you’ll be seeing a lot more of me, and a lot more of them by default.”


Cara felt her heart skip a beat, “Are you saying you want to see me again?”
Smiling, Jordan replied, “I would like nothing more.  You are amazing and intriguing to me.  I knew when I met you last night that I wouldn’t be able to walk away and not see you again.  I’m so glad that you agreed to come to the game.”


“Jordan, I would love to see you again, I just can’t believe you want that.  I was so thrilled to get be at the game tonight. I just find it hard to believe that you really want to see me again, let alone get to know me.  You’re so out of my league and I don’t think I deserve to be with someone like you.  I just… I don’t know.”  She stopped, realizing she was rambling.


“So that’s a yes, you’ll see me again?” Jordan asked nervously


“Oh Jordan, I can’t believe that you’re asking me that.  I know I didn’t make sense, but yes I would love to see you again.”  Cara replied, holding back laughter.


Jordan looked around and seeing his teammates laughing and engaged in their own shenanigans, he offered Cara his hand, “Let’s get out of here, I should get you home.”


Cara tried to hide the look of disappointment, she didn’t want to leave this surreal night, sitting at a bar with the same players she watched and cheered for 3 times a week. Jordan seemed the sense her hesitation to leave, “I promise this won’t be the last you see of these goons, in fact you’ll probably be sick of them soon.” 


Cara stood and thanked the guys for a great game and said she hoped to see them soon.  Geno winked at her, “Anytime you want sexy.”


Cara blushed as the table laughed out loud.  Jordan swatted Geno playfully on the back of the head, “Keep your grubby paws off her, she’s with me.”


Malkin turned to Gonchar, “Could be tough, she’s a hottie.” He said in Russian.


Jordan took her hand and she followed him out of the bar and to his SUV.  He helped her in and then climbed into his seat.  Pulling out into traffic, he reached over and took Cara’s hand.  “Thank you for coming with me tonight, and for watching me play. It was great to have you there.”


“Why are you thanking me, I had so much fun, it was surreal, and wonderful all at the same time.”


Stopping at a traffic light, Jordan looked at her, “Cara I don’t think you understand.  Most women look at me, or Sid, or any of the guys for that matter, and they don’t see a person, they see a rich celebrity, or a hot guy that can raise their status because of his job.  You caught me so off guard last night, you’re so laid back and fun. I feel like you see me for more than just being a hockey player, that I’m just a regular guy to you.”


Jordan returned his eyes to the road as the light turned green, leaving Cara with her own thoughts.  A few moments later, he pulled up to the Mellon Arena, as he put the car in park, Cara gave him a strange look.  “Why are we here?”


“Cara, in case you forgot, I don’t know where you live, so I can’t take you home.” 


Cara blushed…  “Jordan, I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I didn’t think of this earlier, I walked to the game tonight from my office, so my car is there. I’m so sorry.”


“Where is your office?” He asked smiling


“Just a few blocks away” she replied, “I’ll walk there, not a big deal”.


Jordan shook his head, “I can’t let you walk, it’s dark and cold. I’ll drop you there.”


He pulled out into traffic, and much too soon he stopped in front of her building, putting his 4 ways on, he opened her door and helped her out.  As her feet touched ground, he gently kissed her hand. “I had a great time tonight with you Cara, I hope you had fun.”


“I did Jordan, I had so much fun.  I would love to see you again.”

“I’m so glad to hear you say that Cara, because I can’t wait until I can see you again.”


Cara started to walk toward the doors of the her office building, but stopped and turned back, seeing Jordan climb into the SUV and drive away she wanted to pinch herself.  She couldn’t believe that he would be interested in her, let alone want to see her again.  Sighing with happiness, she pushed through the doors, the events of the evening pasting a huge smile on her face.