Jordan took the quickest shower on record, wanting to get to the bar. Since she had already picked out her clothes before she’d left for the game, she didn’t have to waste time rummaging through her closet. She was ready to walk out the door after a mere fifteen minutes. Alex, however, was a different story. She had insisted on finishing her beer, and Jordan was quickly becoming irritated.
“C’mon, Alex. Shit, I’ll buy you a beer when we get there. Let’s go.” She felt almost light-headed from thinking about being able to spend some time with Kirsten. Since Kirsten was no longer her patient, there was nothing stopping them from being friends.
“Christ, who lit a fire under your ass?”
“Nobody. I just want to get there to get a table.”
“I already told you Kirsten and Brenda…ah, I get it.” Alex laughed.
Jordan frowned as she locked the door after Alex finally stepped outside. “Get what?”
“You’re anxious to see Kirsten. That’s why you’re rushing me.”
Jordan took off at a fast clip, forcing Alex to jog a few feet in order to catch up. “I’m not anxious. That’s ridiculous.”
“Bullshit. I know how you feel about that girl. We’ve been friends too long for me to not notice. Just don’t ignore me the whole night.”
Jordan slung her arm around Alex’s shoulders. “Like you won’t have some poor, unsuspecting woman in your sights the second we walk through that door. I’m the one who should be worried about being ignored. Besides, we’re just friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be.”
“Ha! I think you’ll be quite occupied. I really like Kirsten. She seems very down-to-earth, and my God, she’s beautiful.”
“I know, right? Why do you think I was in such a state of shock that first time I saw her? Did you see the color of her eyes? I’ve never seen eyes that shade of blue. And the first night I treated her? I don’t know what it was, but I felt an instant connection, like a kindred spirit. The more time I spend with her, the more it seems we’ve always known each other.”
“Be careful. I know you said you’re just friends and that she’s straight, but I get a vibe from her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just that she couldn’t keep her eyes off you during the game.”
“How could she? I played like a beast tonight.” Jordan knew she could talk shit, and Alex would know she was just playing around. “Look, Kirsten is cool, and I want us to be friends. I have a feeling she’ll become a great friend. Like you.”
“You’re such a sweetheart.”
“I know.”
“And modest.”
Jordan and Alex were still laughing as they rounded the corner and walked into Lucy’s. Jordan’s eyes were drawn to Kirsten, and she grinned broadly. Kirsten waved them over to the table they’d snagged while Brenda went to the bar. She led Alex over to the table, then walked over to Kirsten as she stood, and they hugged hello. Kirsten’s familiar scent tickled her nose, and her pulse quickened.
“Hi, Kirsten. You look great.”
“You don’t look too shabby yourself, Jordan.”
“Thanks.” Jordan was inordinately pleased by Kirsten’s statement. She spotted Brenda on her way over to the table with a pitcher of beer and hurried to the bar to get four mugs. She paused to give Deb—who was once again behind the bar—a quick kiss hello before returning to the table with the mugs and some extra limes and took her seat across the table from Kirsten.
“Alex Taylor, this is my very good friend, Brenda Lewis,” Kirsten was saying as Jordan sat down. “Brenda, this is Jordan’s friend, Alex.”
They reached across the table and shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Alex.”
“Same here, Brenda. That was a good game you played tonight.”
Brenda chuckled and shook her head. “I’m just in awe of this one here,” she said, pointing to Jordan. “I don’t know how anyone can notice the other players with this one lighting it up.”
Jordan shrugged. “I just get lucky sometimes.”
Alex snaked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Oh, Jordan, what did I tell you about being so modest?” Alex looked over to Brenda and Kirsten. “You should have seen her in college. She was just amazing back then. Of course, she’s much older and more decrepit now. She doesn’t have the sense to know when to hang up her high-tops.”
Kirsten and Brenda seemed to find Alex hilarious, but Jordan felt as if her head were on fire because of the embarrassment. She took a few big gulps of her beer and leaned closer to Alex. “You’re in so much trouble later.”
“Promises, promises,” Alex said, grinning.
Jordan headed back to the bar to order another pitcher, but once she returned, she pulled Alex onto the dance floor. The DJ had been playing a good mix of songs, and she had noticed Alex occasionally chair dancing. She knew it would only be a matter of time before they made it to the floor, so she decided to have mercy on Alex and make it sooner rather than later.
Kirsten watched them dance, once again astonished at how well they moved together, with familiarity of two lovers. A twinge of jealousy tickled her insides, but she quickly tamped it down. She had to look away, had to force her attention on Brenda, otherwise she would feel like a voyeur again.
Kirsten caught the wry look Brenda gave her. “What?”
Brenda smiled. “You seem very interested in Jordan. Is there something I should know?”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”
Brenda raised an eyebrow. “I think you know exactly what I mean. What’s going on between the two of you? I’ve noticed you staring at her and pretty much hanging on every word she says.”
“Can we talk about this later? Please?”
“No problem. We don’t have to talk about it at all if you don’t want to. But if you do, I’m here for you.”
Kirsten nodded. “Thanks.”
She tried to keep the conversation with Brenda going, but she kept getting distracted by Jordan’s dancing. She couldn’t help but notice how well Jordan danced, how fluidly she moved to the beat, and how incredibly sexy she looked while doing it.
“You two are terrific dancers,” Brenda said when they finally returned to the table.
Kirsten was feeling a little uneasy after witnessing Jordan and Alex on the dance floor moving as one with each other. She kept her head down and her eyes averted as Jordan refilled her nearly empty glass and then headed back to the bar. With the distraction of Jordan gone, Kirsten was able to reflect on the emotions that had been stirred up while watching her dance. Even though she found Jordan to be very sexy, especially while dancing, she was still very interested in being friends with her. She wanted to get to know Jordan better, to know what made her happy, what things she liked to do, what made her tick.
Jordan returned, interrupting her train of thought, and refilled the other three glasses before taking her seat.
No time like the present. Kirsten leaned across the table to talk with Jordan. “So, what do you have going on tomorrow?”
“I thought I’d go to the beach and do a little surfing. There’s supposed to be a decent swell tomorrow.”
Kirsten felt a flicker of disappointment. She had hoped that maybe they could get together for lunch or just hang out. “That sounds like fun. It’s supposed to be beautiful weather, too.”
Jordan cocked her head to the side. “Would you like to go with me? I was going to head down around eight in the morning.”
She couldn’t help but smile brightly. “I’d love to. Do you want me to meet you there?”
“I could pick you up if you’d like. I was planning on being there until early afternoon, but if you have other plans, we can drive separately.”
“No plans tomorrow, other than to relax.”
“Well, there’s no better place to do that than at the beach. I’ll pack us some food and drinks.”
She gave Jordan her address and cell phone number. “What time will you pick me up?”
“I’ll be there at seven thirty.” Jordan looked at her watch, then she leaned over to Alex. “I think it’s time to go. It’s getting late.”
Kirsten was jealous that Jordan was leaving with Alex, which also made her feel stupid because they’d arrived together, so why wouldn’t they leave together. Alex had told her at the game that they would walk to the bar from Jordan’s house. It only made sense that they would leave together. She wondered again if Jordan and Alex were a couple, but hadn’t Brenda said Jordan only had one-night stands? Maybe they were friends that took advantage of the benefits. It puzzled her, though, because Jordan and Alex seemed much more intimate with each other, at least on the dance floor. But when they talked, there didn’t appear to be anything romantic. They sounded like buddies.
They stood to leave. When Jordan held open her arms, Kirsten stepped into the hug, wrapped her arms around Jordan’s waist, and held tight.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Jordan said softly.
The vibration of Jordan’s husky voice next to her ear sent chills throughout her body. She let go and smiled up at her. “Good night, Jordan.”