Down At The Dock Chapter Eighteen

My father was able to come home almost a week after I got into town and between making sure that he was taken care of and spending time with Jordan the time passed quickly. We had been invited up to Cole Harbour to spend the weekend celebrating Sidney Crosby's birthday and I agreed to go only after my father insisted that he would be fine. We boarded the plane and I flopped in the seat with a sigh. I knew that a bunch of his teammates would be there and the thought of meeting them made me nervous, even though he insisted that they would all love me. I laid my head against his shoulder and thought about what the past few weeks had brought. We were enjoying being able to spend time together and we hadn't talked about the future yet just like we agreed. What really bothered me is that we hadn't talked about what had happened between us at the end. Everytime I tried to bring it up he either changed the subject or distracted me with kisses. I'm not sure why he was avoiding the subject but I was really starting to feel like the only way we could move forward was to make sure that the past didn't come back to bite us in the ass. The plane ride wasn't horribly long and in no time we were in Cole Harbour. Jordan went to grab our luggage and we headed to the small counter to rent a car. We made small talk as we made the short drive and I spent most of my time looking at the beautiful scenary that we passed. We finally pulled in front of a large house and pulled into the driveway. The house was beautiful and pretty much what I expected from what I knew and had been told about Sidney. We got out and the first person that we saw was none other than Max Talbot. He walked down the driveway and greeted Jordan. He turned his attention to me afterwards and grinned at me. He grabbed my hand and kissed it.





" Hello. You must be Melany. I can see why our little Staalzie likes you so much. You are very beautiful."




I knew the reputation that the furry french man had but I couldn't help but blush at his comment.




" Hey Talbo. Keep your hands to yourself. This one is mine." Jordan gave him a playful shove




We made our way inside and I spent the next hour being introduced to various people including the birthday boy. Everyone was really nice and I quickly felt at ease. The actual party started later that night with a big bonfire and lots of food and booze. At some point during the night I got seperated for awhile and I ended up drinking with Max and a few other guys. Before I knew it I was drunker than I intended to get. I made my way to the kitchen to get another drink. I grabbed a cup and was pouring myself another drink when I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist.

" Hey babe. You having fun?" he asked as he kissed the top of my head.

" Yeah I am. Everyone is great."

He spun me around so I was facing him.

" How much has the guys given you to drink?" he asked with a laugh as I started to tilt a little to one side

I shrugged my shoulders and threw my arms around his neck. He nuzzled his face into the side of my neck and I could feel his hot breath on my skin.

" Jordan I need to tell you something."

He mumbled something into my skin and I started to get annoyed. I just wanted to explain what was going through my head when I refused to move in with him the last time and he didn't seem to think that it was important.

" Dammit. How can you expect us to work out if you can't even listen to me." I yelled at him. I pushed him away and tried to make my way out the back door. He opened his mouth and was about to say something but I didn't give him the oppourtunity

" Save it. If you can't listen to anything that I have to say then I sure as hell don't want to hear anything that you think you need to say."

With that I turned around and slammed the door on my way out. I could feel eyes on me as I made my way around the bonfire but I didn't care. I wanted to be alone and I saw the lake and the dock that was hanging off of it and thought that it would be the perfect place to go to get my thoughts in order. I walked down to the end of the dock and took off my shoes and slid my feet into the water. I sat there for a little while before I heard someone coming up behind me. I turned my head and expected to see Jordan but was surprised to find Max walking up behind me. He took off his shoes and rolled up his pants as he sat down beside me. He slid his feet into the water and I expected him to defend Jordan but instead we sat in silence watching the water. He slid over closer to me and put his arm around my shoulder and I couldn't help but lean my head on his shoulder as I started to cry.

" It's okay." he said gently as he rubbed my arm in an effort to be soothing

I don't know why but I found myself pouring my heart out to this man that I barely knew. I felt a little bit bad telling my issues to him since he was a friend and teammate of Jordan's but he was a good listener and easy to talk to.

" I'm just afraid that if we don't talk about what happened now that it's just going to come between us in the future and that's the last thing that I want."

" If you don't mind me asking what happened?"

I procceded to tell him the story of what had happened the weekend that we broke up.

" I guess I realized that I didn't want to be one of those girlfriends that was dependant on their boyfriends for everything. I knew that I needed to fufill my own dreams before I could be the person that was deserving of him. "

" Did you tell him that at the time?"

" Yeah I did but all he heard was me telling him that I didn't want to be with him. I suppose I hurt his ego."

" I believe that you have to learn from the past but not hold on to it. He loves you and I can tell that you love him. The past will only cause a problem if you let it."

I pulled away so I could look at him.

" How did a guy with your reputation get so smart about this stuff?" I asked in a teasing tone

" First of all you can't believe everything you hear and I can't really help it that I'm so fantastic"

I punched him in the shoulder as he let go of me. He smiled as he offered me his hand so I could get up.

" Now let's go back in the house so you can make up with your man."

He offered me his arm and we made the short back to the house. I found Jordan sitting in the living room talking to Sid. He turned his head and looked at me. I felt stupid that I had thrown such a fit over something that in the end. I motioned for him to follow me and I was happy to hear him get off the couch and follow behind me.

" Look I'm sorry about freaking out on you."

" No you were right. I should have listened to what you had to say."

I took my hand and put it over his lips to silence him

" Someone smart told me that we should learn from the past but not hold on to it. We can't changed what happened and all we can do is move forward."

He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I had one more thing that I needed to tell him before we went back to enjoying the party

" There is something that I want to talk with you about though. I realized something tonight. I want to be there when you come home from a long roadtrip. I want to be there when you win and when you lose. I want to be there whatever your going through and I can't do that in Toronto.

I looked at him as I waited for a response. It took a few seconds for what I meant to sink in but I could tell that he finally got it as a smile spread across his face.

" Do you mean that?" he asked as if he was afraid that he had misunderstood me

" Yeah I do."

I let out a screech as he yelled and grabbed me. He carried me outside to the bonfire and announced to everyone that I was going to be coming back to Pittsburgh with him at the end of summer. Everyone started to cheer and clap as he kissed me. Soon after everyone started to go to their rooms and I was tired so I told Jordan that I was going to lie down. On the way back into the house I ran into Max.

" Looks like I'll be seeing you around."

I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as I thanked him for the help

" No problem petit ami. If you ever need anybody to talk to you can always call."

I agreed and headed inside. Max was a great guy and it was nice to know that I had someone other than Jordan to lean on as I made the scary move to a new city and a new life.