Erin was starting to wonder if something was really wrong. Jordan was gone five minutes and they were running out of things to pretend to talk about. Darcy shifted her weight, making only the shortest eye contact with anyone. She was clearly worried that she’d really screwed this whole thing up. Just as Erin was about to put her arm around Darcy or reach for her friend’s hand, the door opened and they all jumped.

To her surprise, Ryan led the way in. He was blushing, of course, two high spots of hot pink on his pale face. But he walked right to Darcy’s side, smiled at her first, then at everyone else.

“Hey guys, sorry I took so long,” he said.

Darcy looked ready to faint with relief. It was still early, so Taylor quickly suggested they go for dinner. Everyone agreed before he was done speaking, eager for a less awkward setting. Ryan opened the door for Darcy to go first. In the hallway, Jordan slowed his pace and tugged on the arm of Erin’s sweater. She did not need to be asked twice. Without a sound, she bumped him into an alcove, up against the wall and kissed him.

“Mmmppphhh,” Jordan said.

“What?” Erin barely pulled her lips away.

“I was going to say that Ryan’s fine now but hell, who cares!?” He pressed his mouth back to hers, till she pulled away.

“You sure he’s okay?”

Jordan loved that Erin cared about his friends as much as her own. With a nod of assurance, they want back to kissing. His stomach promptly growled. Erin laughed and peeled herself away with agonizing, taunting slowness. “I can eat fast,” he said.

“No game tomorrow,” she smiled. “We’ve got all night.”

They were the last to arrive at TapWerks Ale House, but happy to see that Ryan was squeezed in next to Darcy while Taylor sat across from Amanda. The girls ordered beers and the waitress gave Taylor a dead stare that said he’d better not even try it. In solidarity, and since he’d just played, Jordan ordered two waters.

“So,” Taylor said like he’d been waiting for the chance, “We were thinking we should have a Halloween party.”

“Invite the whole team,” Ryan added. “Now that we know them.”

“And since we can’t have it at a bar,” Taylor dragged out the last letter as he turned toward Erin. Ryan did too. Darcy and Amanda looked away like they’d had no part in it.

“You want to have it at my apartment,” Erin said for him.

“Your last party was great,” Taylor said quickly. “And we’ll pay for everything. Whatever you want.”

She cut her eyes toward Jordan, who just shrugged as if he had not been consulted. The idea sent Erin’s mind racing toward endless possibilities for him in costume. She didn’t even try to hide was she was thinking.

“Jordan always ends up in really tight shorts on Halloween,” Ryan said with a completely straight face. Darcy and Amanda chimed in with agreement that all their girlfriends would certainly appreciate the invitation, and bringing all those girls around would surely make Ryan and Jordan the most popular guys on the team.

“Hey, it was my idea!” Taylor said indignantly while no one listened.
____

Jordan kept his head up even as Erin snuggled into his side on the walk from the restaurant to the parking lot. They’d spent a long time at dinner but it was still early and Jordan didn’t want anyone to make other plans. He wanted to take Erin home right now and not look at a clock until the morning.

She was so natural. Watching her talk and laugh over a meal, joking with Ryan and Taylor like they were any old friends, was something Jordan could not stop noticing - even though there was nothing to see. The only people Jordan knew who treated each other that way were his teammates, family and a few close friends. Even with family and friends things sometimes got a little weird, like when he signed a six million dollar contract. There were moments when Jordan felt like the biggest catch of the day and everyone wanted to be photographed standing on the boat.

Darcy and Amanda had the same quality; Jordan knew that Ryan and Taylor were drawn to their easygoing natures. To find someone who’d never seen them on TV was not unusual in the US. They were not superstar athletes by the definition of this place, nor were they celebrities at all. Derek Jeter was a celebrity, Lebron James and Peyton Manning. No hockey player, not even Crosby, came close in the US. It was one of the many reasons Jordan loved hockey - the measure of anonymity that it retained. But to live amongst it like a normal person was something he’d never experienced in Edmonton.

Jordan liked it. More than he should. Ryan’s little meltdown in the locker room had reminded him of what he’d almost managed to forget. If he caught Erin’s eye, he’d give away how nervous and upset Ryan had been earlier. Ahead, Ryan and Darcy walked side by side without touching; though her posture was relaxed, Jordan could tell Ryan was a little tense. The kid was on his own and Jordan didn’t even know what he hoped would happen - or not happen.

“‘Night, guys!” was all Erin said as they turned toward Jordan’s rental car. Their friends waved back and walked on. “Is that weird?”

Jordan swung himself into the driver’s seat and closed the door. “I don’t know. What did Darcy tell you?”

“What did Ryan tell you?” Erin asked back.

“Oh no,” Jordan started the engine. “You’re not getting anything out of me, Gossip Girl.” Erin just put her head back and laughed. They both knew she’d get whatever she damned well wanted out of him.

It didn’t take long. Jordan parked in front of her house and they climbed the stairs to the living room. As he was hanging his suit coat over a chair, Erin came up behind and stood with her cheek pressed to his neck, just hugging his waist. Jordan was so used to the aches and soreness of hockey season he hardly felt the day-to-day stuff anymore. Except when it was gone, which happened almost every time Erin put her arms around him. Her arms were small but strong, her breasts lifted against his back with every deep, even breath. Jordan sighed and leaned into her.

Finally, Erin said, “Sorry it was so empty tonight.”

Jordan smiled, out of her sight. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not. You must be used to all those fans and the noise...,” she trailed off. He turned to face her, never breaking the embrace, and saw Erin’s sad little smile.

“I don’t want you to hate it here,” she said.

If she’d kicked him it would have felt the same. A million words sprang to his tongue then dried up just as fast, he didn’t even open his mouth to speak. Instead he kissed her. It was a soft press, lips closed, like a tiny spark. Then his hands were moving up her arms, lifting the hair from her shoulders and tilting her head as he deepened the kiss. Erin parted her lips beneath the insistence; Jordan swept his tongue over hers.

Things happened without thinking. For all the nervous and deliberate actions of the night before, tonight they moved silently to Erin’s bedroom on barely picked-up feet. Jordan’s tie was gone, his collar opening as Erin’s sweater came up her back. Then her bra was open. He tossed his own shirts away too. She was already working on his belt, then fly; his pants were another crumpled mess on her bedroom floor. This time Jordan worked too, his thumb bigger than the button on her jeans. Unzip and push and they were moving up the mattress together nearly stripped. Jordan stopped short and put his lips to Erin’s stomach. He carefully traced kisses over the ticklish spot at her side, felt her suck in a breath and hold it, but he didn’t take advantage of the weakness. He was already feeling weak himself. Her side ran out so he followed soft skin across the top of her panties to the other side. When his mouth was again busy with the curve of her waist, he ran his fingers over the silky material at her hip. Erin exhaled sharply, defining the already flat stomach beneath him. Jordan traced the lace edge right down between her legs. The fabric was warmer there, and he smiled to feel it already wet. He rubbed one knuckle along the covered slit.
___

Erin would be damned if she was going to ask Jordan to go faster. She wanted to flip him over and spit herself on what better be a raging hard on at this point, for how amped she was feeling. But it was delicious to feel him go slowly, confidently around her body like a car that knew it’s way home. He stroked again, the width of his knuckle just parting the opening. She raked her hands through his hair and moaned softly. That finger slipped beneath her underwear and right into her slit.

“Hmmmm,” she whispered. Jordan pressed another kiss inside her hip bone and pushed a second finger deep. Erin parted her legs wider and give him a gentle push in that direction. Jordan went like he’d been awaiting permission. The hot breath that had been on her skin flashed across her still-covered cleft before he pushed his tongue against the soaked fabric. Erin sobbed out a breath but still didn’t speak.

Jordan ground his own lap into the mattress and pulled off the last scrap covering Erin’s body. She might have been even better than he remembered. He licked gently once before kissing her body like he’d kissed her lips. She arched her back, gasping. As he was flicking her clit beneath his tongue, Jordan pushed two fingers back into her slit.

She felt dizzy. Surely to bed was moving beneath them because there was no way Jordan was causing all that on his own. One of Erin’s hands twisted blankets while the other kept Jordan’s head right where she wanted it. He responded by going harder and faster right over her hot button. Risking a glance down, past where his face was buried between her legs, Erin could see that Jordan was grinding against the mattress too. Her brain screamed to pull him up and take them both at once. But she was really, really close. Erin shifted his mouth slightly and Jordan made a twisting pattern with his tongue.

Erin really wanted to come. She wanted to do it on the end of Jordan’s cock as he held her down over a pile of pillows. But mostly she just wanted to do it right now. Her hips bucked themselves, driving Jordan’s fingers deeper into her pussy, and he got the message. He gave her one more deep kiss before pulling back and letting his tongue gently brush her feverish skin. Already her body was clenching.

Jordan took a moment to admire his work - the mess he’d made of Erin in minutes. It hardly matched the mess she’d made of him since the night they met, but it still felt damned good. The only things that would feel better were unstoppable now. He feathered his tongue, tightening her like a screw until she was shaking. Another five seconds and she was there. He kissed her hard and suddenly, stuffed his fingers deep and felt her break.

Erin cried out. She could have levitated off the bed if Jordan weren’t draped all over her. He held down fast as she came under his tongue. It bent her back, shuddering through her stomach, over and over until she was completely spent. Only then did Jordan drag his tongue a last time over her hyper-sensitive skin and lick his lips. Her hair was tossed out, her face flushed but her eyes were clear and Jordan hurried to obey.

He barely got his shorts off before Erin’s hands were closing around his shaft. He was hot to the touch, stiff as a board and Erin knew he’d barely survived this long. Two tugs of her fist over his smooth, taut skin and Jordan was cross-eyed.

He groaned as he sank inside her. It was a completely unglamorous noise that sounded exactly like a horny frat guy finally getting to fuck the girl of his dreams. So not inaccurate. He focused on the drag of friction between them, gritting his teeth as his body fought to stay as far inside as possible. Slow was almost worse, exaggerating every second of intense pleasure as he teetered on the brink. Erin barely moved. She waited just long enough, feeling his heart pound against her chest, then kissed him hard as he came.

He burst like a balloon - that initial zip of sudden energy, then the slow, lazy drain of every last drop. Finally they were still. No one had spoken. Erin wrapped her arms around Jordan and closed her eyes.
____

When she woke up, it was fully dark outside. Jordan had turned on a small lamp at her desk and thrown his undershirt over the shade to dim the light. He padded into the room carrying two glasses of water. “Stop,” she said.

He did, in the middle of her room. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I didn’t want to miss the show.” Her eyes had barely reached his face, she was busy admiring him fully naked.

Jordan flexed comically, but it still made water slop over the side of one glass. He wiped at it with the bottom of his foot, then set the glasses down on the bedside table. Erin slid over and lifted the blanket. When Jordan was in, she settled her head against his shoulder and draped an arm across his chest. He was quiet for a minute - she’d have thought he was sleeping except that he twisted a lock of her hair.

“I don’t hate it here,” he finally said.

Erin winced. She hadn’t meant to say that. She hadn’t meant to look so distraught over Ryan and Darcy either, but the ground beneath her feet felt thinner on some days. Days when it was glaringly obvious that few people in OKC cared about the Barons, or hockey at all. High school football games here drew more than four thousand people and Erin knew Jordan was worlds beyond that level of talent. “You must miss it,” she traced the outline of his ribs.

Jordan shrugged. “I miss playing there. It’s so crazy, Er, the energy in the arena. It must be like a football game is here, I bet, only it’s all contained between a roof and some glass.”

“Like a snowglobe.”

That made him smile. This little life in Oklahoma City felt like something he could hold in one hand, peering in on a place where he could never actually live. But for now, it was very real. “There are some other things missing here.”

“Things like...?” As Erin said it, she slid her hand down toward his abs.

“Blizzards.”

“We had one last year!”

“Okay. Moose? You don’t have moose.”

“No,” Erin rubbed a finger against the trail of course hair that started below his navel. “I’ve seen one though, at a zoo. They’re cute.”

“Everyone in Canada has one. We ride ‘em around town when the cars are snowed in,” Jordan said. She tugged at his happy trail in response. “But we don’t have Buffalo Wild Wings.”

Erin made a face. “You do too. They’re in Ontario, like ten of them, and they’re planning forty more. We got a memo about it at work.”

“Oh,” Jordan had not known that at all. “Any in Alberta? What about Saskatchewan?”

“Where?” she asked sarcastically. Jordan opened his mouth to tell her, then shut it when he saw her expression. Erin stuck out her tongue. “I Googled you, remember? But honestly I may never heard of Saskatchewan before that. Or I thought it was some kind of Chinese food.”

Jordan lay there laughing, thinking again how much he loved staying in bed and just talking to someone he felt close to, someone he’d let inside. Or in this case, Erin had let him inside - into her house, her heart, her life. As much as Jordan enjoyed the privilege, he knew he hadn’t paid it back at all. And he probably never could.

“Well Canada doesn’t have you,” he finally said.

Erin’s heart thumped so hard she was sure Jordan could feel it. Or it had stopped dead because he was so fucking perfect that she died. Even if this was all they got, it was worth it to know that he would feel as bad about it ending as she would. But Erin refused to dwell on the unknown. Instead she smirked at him and said, “Eh, I’d rather have a moose.”
____

Crazy thoughts: Jordan’s head was full of them. Plans to have Erin visit Edmonton, plans to return to OKC for the off-season. If the lockout took all year, he could stay here until Erin agreed to move to Canada. He’d been over every plan all so many times they were worn smooth from use. Jordan didn’t have the NHL, but he had Erin. Right now home didn’t have anything. The waiting was messing with his head - he hated the fact it must be messing with hers too.

“Today in the locker room, Ryan called you my girlfriend,” he said.

She didn’t move. “What did you call me?”

“I didn’t. But I would like to.” Jordan carefully watched Erin’s blue eyes, to make sure his meaning was clear. They pinched slightly at the corners, same as her mouth as she resisted the urge to smile.

“So what you’re saying is, you want to be my moose?”

He tickled her and she screamed, until the thrashing around dissolved into kissing and moving and stroking. Once again they started and finished without speaking; just breathing and kissing, holding each other close until she came, then he came so soon after it was almost the same time. Jordan held Erin’s slender thigh in one hand and kept it hitched over his hip.

“Was that a yes?”

Erin gave him a lazy grin. “Good thing I found Ryan and Taylor new people to date.”
_