Unrequited

"So, do you get what happens on the power play?" Liam drilled Jolene as she was brushing out her hair. "Stop looking at these, what are these about? Ultra Vires? What the hell is this?"
Jolene grinned. "Is it my turn to teach you? Awesome. Sit down buddy its time you really learned about what Ash and I do."
"Liam! Leave her alone!" Ashley cried. "She needs to get ready! Let her read Hockey For Dummies-not that you're dumb Jolene. Here, I've got some nice earrings you can borrow. Tell me if Briana chokes when she sees them."
"It's alright," Jolene assured her. "I don't need to flaunt anything over Briana."
Ashley closed her eyes. "Oh. Maybe we should back off."
"I'm fine. I probably won't be here long so its not like I'm expecting some magical relationship with a famous hockey player and a ring," Jolene replied nonchalantly. Someone knocked on the door so Jolene got up and let Sean in.

"Good. You just saved Liam from me teaching him law. He says its torture," Jolene joked.
Liam shot out to the hallway. "You don't teach me the fun stuff! The only thing I've learned from her that sounds remotely interesting is a few Russian words one dude told her about!"
"Actually my Boston cop cousins told me that," Jolene laughed and grabbed her purse. "Let's go before Liam causes more trouble."

As they drove, Sean asked, "Want Tim Horton’s?" She lifted a shoulder and nodded. "Or have you had it yet? I know you Americans like your Starbucks."
"Honestly as long as its not the garbage I've had to drink while working on cases," Jolene admitted.
"Long hours, shitty coffee, los of studying..." Sean listed off. "Sounds like I picked the better career."
He handed her a drink and she protested, "Oh no! I knew I'd be a lawyer as a kid. Same with my older brother Will."
"I'm just teasing," he grinned and played with a curl. "Maybe I'll meet him sometime."
Her brain started to hurt when entertaining the idea of having Sean meet Will. Not good.
Once they got there, Sean started introducing to unfamiliar guys. So far, she had met the captain, Jiri Hudler and Josh Jooris and Matt Stajan before a newcomer came in. "This is Johnny Gaudreau. American like you."
"It's very nice to meet you," Jolene said and went to shake his hand.
Lance clapped Johnny on the back as he passed. "Kid's quiet. Good luck getting full sentences out of him," he joked and winked at Jolene.
However Johnny was staring at her curiously. "Have we met before?"
Smiling politely, she apologized, "Oh I have no clue about anything hockey. Sorry."
He looked like he was about to say more when there was a sudden shouting. "Looks like Briana's guy broke off the engagement," Lance noted. "As if she wasn't cheating on him with Joe so it looks like she's here for good."

Jolene unslung her purse. "Here I'll calm her down," she said and went to Briana's side. "Hey. We'll go talk," she said and lead her into the women's bathroom.
"You must've thought it was hilarious!" Briana spat. "Just because I may have spread one or two teeny tiny lies about you..."
"Hush," Jolene said and started to dig in Briana's purse. "You have some cover-up or foundation? We can fix you up."
"Oh yeah? And then what?" Briana snarled.
Jolene shrugged. "Go watch the game? I figured it would be better for you to calm down and compose yourself. Southern thing I guess."
For a moment, she paused but then Briana laughed. "Aren't you interesting. Don't you ever get mad at anyone so badly that you'd scream?"
Musing, she said, "Not so much. I'll admit once I kicked a soccer ball at my ex's head." As Briana laughed, she continued on, "No usually I just say bless your heart to them."

After Briana composed herself and fixed her makeup, she nodded once and said a soft thank you. "Game will be starting soon. I'd better get you there so we can drill you with hockey terms so you're not lost."
Some of the wives glared at the both of them suspiciously as they took their seats. Kim however gave her a hug and said, "So is Sean finally taking you on a date after the game?"
"I guess so," Jolene nodded. "Hang on, so...who exactly are we playing again? I need to study so I know what the hell's going on."
Kat sighed and switched seats with Briana. "This is my fault. I'll tutor her. Fucking Lance and his big mouth."

As the players flew around the ice, making passes, checking each other, making cracking slapshots against the other team's goalies, Jolene kept her phone out so she could follow each of the unfamiliar players until she memorized names and numbers.
"So. For the blue team's goalie," Jolene said.
Kat smiled. "The New York Rangers you mean."
"Yeah. That one. The number 30 guy is the regular. Is that whose in goal?" Jolene asked.
"I...uh, oh! Ha you mean Lundqvist! Doesn't look like it," Kat giggled. "Here. Why don't we put this back in your purse-oh my god! What are all these notecards?"
Briana took a stack and went through them. "Law. Interesting."
The girls laughed as Jolene playfully snatched her notecards back. "Leave me alone!" She said and realized there was a goal that was just scored and the number that did it. Ignoring the girls elbowing her, she watched the replay of him tapping in a backhanded goal.

The other team quickly answered with a goal from Ryan McDonagh. Tied. Jolene mostly kept quiet unless it was to talk about the plays with some girls while the rest of them gossiped about their daily lives.
"Look at her. How cute is she being all focused in on her boyfriend playing," the Captain's wife giggled.
Glancing over, she said casually, "Oh we're not dating. I just met him a few days ago."
Helpfully, Briana joked, "But soon enough they'll date Am I right?"
"Not sure. I'm only living in Calgary for a bit," Jolene said. "After all I still have to graduate Harvard."

In her purse, her phone buzzed so she dove for it and found it was her police contact. Good work on Wilheim. We appreciate it. No new news from your FBI friends or your law firm. Hope you're enjoying Calgary.
The game ended soon as Jolene silently pouted about the lack of news from home. However she remembered her manners when Sean finished up his interviews and took the hand he offered out. "Nice goal," Jolene said as he bent to kiss her.
"Thanks. I got us a reservation," he said as Jolene noticed the Johnny kid from earlier. "You ready?"
She smiled and followed him as it bugged her. Despite not having a thing to do with hockey, she knew Johnny was right. Somewhere, somehow, Jolene knew him from somewhere.

At the restaurant, Sean ordered them food and drinks and then laughed at her. "What's with that smile?"
"Oh the very specific diet. Specifically this amount of chicken breasts, veggies this way..." Jolene listed off. "I couldn't do it."
"Oh yeah?" Sean asked. "So tell me about your family. I hardly know a thing about them other that you're mixed and have an older brother."
Ticking off, she said, "Dad was married before so I have an older half brother, Will and Claudine, then once he met my mom in California they married and had me, and then Jackson and Mason. Dad's into architecture and Mom is a dental assistant."
Sean grimaced at her Mom's job. "I'm really boring compared to you. Just my parents and my sister Jacqueline. I think I told you I'm from Brampton."

"Excuse me?" A girl around their age cut in. "Can I have an autograph?"
Sean without question took her permanent marker and scribbled on her phone case. As he did this, the girl shot Jolene such a venomous look that made Jolene glance around and she noticed other women were giving her smoldering glances. Instead of being insulted or hurt, Jolene laughed.
"You keep laughing? What's so funny?" Sean demanded.
"All these stink eyes," Jolene said. "Guess it comes with you being a star athlete."
Sean flagged down the waiter. "Can we please get some privacy?" He asked and glared at the latest girl that gave Jolene the dirty look.
The restaurant manager made a beeline over to apologize as staff shooed out the Flames fans. "It's okay, actually they were funny! I've ran across worse people than a couple of pissy groupies," Jolene promised as a nearby waitress grinned at her. "She gets my humor."

The food finally came which was good because Sean's mood was soured by the fan girls. "The game was fun though," Jolene said. "Thanks for inviting me."
"Briana didn't give you a hard time?" Sean asked. "I heard she was spreading lies about you."
Jolene speared some salad as she laughed. "No, she calmed down. I've had a worse time with people we were prosecuting. Or confidential informants. We have this human smuggler guy that I somehow got stuck with dealing with. Singapore guy. I'm surprised he hasn't figured out my new number to mouth off at me like this past summer."
Sean blinked. "Human smuggler?"
"Yeah, he's doing some heavy community service we'll say. I guess that's what you get for being involved with Snakeheads and Triads," Jolene said.
"But I thought you were doing business stuff with Liam's girlfriend for good," Sean said.
Shrugging, she said, "I've interned for both criminal and business law firms but I need to graduate first and pass the bar exam of course. Who knows after that. I haven't decided on what branch of law I'll settle on. Or what US state I'll practice in."

When they finished, Jolene did her best to fight for at least half the bill but Sean won and handed over his credit card. "You should've let me pay some," Jolene grumbled as he helped her with her coat.
"What sort of guy would let his future girlfriend pay for the first date?" Sean asked as they walked to the car. "Why? Did some ex make you pay?"
Despite her and Luke being done, she snapped defensively, "You don't need to know about what my ex did. As if we'll date. I think I want to go home."
He caught by the waist and cuddled her close. "Hey I was just being a dick," he said. "Kat and Lance are at my place waiting for us. I said we'd watch a movie with them."

Of course when Sean lead her into the condo Lance called, "Sup America? Heard you had fun watching the game."
"Yeah your girlfriend's making sure I learn so I don't have you yelling at me all the time," she retorted and playfully chucked a nearby magazine at him.
"Hit him in the face next time," Kat said and then looked directly at her. "I'm driving home after the movie so you can come with me."
Feeling like that was a command, she nodded. "Sure."
Bickering started to go on: the boys wanted an action sort of movie and Kat wanted a romantic comedy so Jolene took initiative and scooped up all the movies. "I'm putting these all in a pile, closing my eyes and picking one out," Jolene said. "Since you children can't behave."
"Can we bribe you?" Lance asked.
"I wouldn't be talking after all the harassing you've done to me," Jolene joked back and set the movies down. Closing her eyes, she mixed them, felt around and then picked one up. "Man of Steel it is," she announced as the boys shrugged. To Kat, she said, "Hey. Henry Cavill. Enough said."
Kat had started to protest but then smiled. "Never mind. I can take an hour or two of eye candy."

She settled down on the couch next to Sean and swore in Vietnamese. Kat glanced over curiously so she said, "I think I'm stuck on this couch forever."
"Yeah?" Sean asked and wrapped an arm around her.
Feeling slightly guilty for overreacting about the dinner bill earlier, she nestled into his hard lean body. Shifting, she tried to get used to the different smelling guy that didn't have the body type of a backup Boston University football player.

For awhile, they sat quietly as the movie played but then she heard whispering. "Is she asleep?" Lance whispered. "Stop pinching me Kat!"
"Leave her be," Sean warned and held her closer. However she smiled into Sean's chest and gave Lance the middle finger.
"Hoo! So much for all this southern niceness," Lance snickered.
Lifting her head off Sean's chest, she smirked, "I'm Irish too."
"I told you she's the lightest sleeper ever," Kat giggled.
Glancing at the screen, she noted, "Movie's done."

"Right. I've got filming tomorrow," Kat agreed and got up.
After she got up and stretched, Sean tucked some curls out of her face. "I might be busy tomorrow but maybe I can come by on one of your breaks and I'll bring coffee or something."
"That should be fine," Jolene said and let Sean kiss her goodnight before leaving with Kat.

Notes

Dropped a little teaser for the next chapter. Hope everyone's liking it so far