by Amber Lynn
“John?” Jasmine yelled a little louder than her original calls. She’d rewrapped her makeshift dress around her and was trying not to trip on it as she made it back out to the bedroom.
There was no response. Jasmine glanced next to the bed where John’s phone had been and noticed her phone was alone with an envelope next to it. She knew her phone had been in her jeans pocket, but she didn’t remember it leaving her pocket.
As she walked closer, she saw her name was on the envelope. The position of it next to her phone made it pretty clear it was for her. It also told her John probably wasn’t still in the apartment. That realization was a bit surprising, because he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who let someone wander around his place without him around.
Thinking he wasn’t around and knowing it were two different things, so Jasmine had kept one eye on the door as she made her way over to the table. She hadn’t expected to spend hours at his place, and being left alone there felt strange.
For an apartment – really a condo, but John kept calling it an apartment – it was homey. You could tell a bachelor lived there, the black silk sheets screamed a guy living alone, but at the same time it felt like a person actually lived there. Unlike the barren monstrosity she called home. She spent about two nights at home a week when she was in town, so other than the closet and master bath, the place barely looked lived in.
Maybe if she didn’t have someone who came in and cleaned up after her, things would look a little more like the unkempt mess that was John’s bedroom. Who was Jasmine kidding? The mess would drive her crazy.
For some reason she was delaying the inevitable reading of John’s note. The lingering tenderness of certain parts of her body made her think he had a good time, but she was afraid the note was some kind of Dear John letter. Jasmine didn’t generally let insecurity sneak in, but she needed John to make sure Meemaw wasn’t causing herself pain for Jasmine’s sake.
Jasmine took a deep breath, a little thankful John wasn’t around to watch her acting like a fool as she stood there staring at his bed. She could imagine the jokes he’d make. While they’d exercised on most of the surfaces in the room, he’d shown his sense of humor along with his passion. Jasmine needed to stop thinking about him naked, because he wasn’t around to put out the fires it lit in her body.
She reached over and snatched the envelope. Whatever was in the note would at least keep her from calling John up and asking how soon he’d be back home.
The whole room smelled of the pine scent that lingered on John, but that didn’t stop Jasmine from running the envelope under her nose quickly to see if it also picked up his scent. Jasmine didn’t usually dig a woodsy scent. After being satisfied so completely by the man behind the smell, she didn’t mind it one bit. And, yes, the envelope had the subtle smell of a forest.
Jasmine carefully slid one of her long nails underneath the tape holding the flap down on the back of the envelope. The tape seemed unnecessary, and she wondered what it meant for the contents it secured. What did an extra three seconds to add a piece of tape mean? She could go back and forth whether it was hiding good news, bad news or no news, but the few moments she’d already started agonizing over it was too much.
Out of the envelope came a normal-sized sheet of printer paper folded in thirds. The black ink of a pen showed through to the side that didn’t have words scrawled on it. Jasmine took another deep breath and unfolded it.
Princess,
Sorry I couldn’t be there when you woke up. I thought about waking you before I left, but you looked so cute curled up with my pillow.
Anyway, you may remember me mentioning that I have a game tonight, or maybe you don’t because of the way we spent the morning. It would’ve been fun to just spend the day in bed, but I’m starting, so I don’t have that luxury.
If you’re up before six, it’d be nice to look up in the stands and see you cheering me on, since we’re dating. I know I didn’t leave your shirt in great shape, but I believe your bra is still up for the task of holding the girls in and you can grab one of the jerseys from my closet.
I’ll leave your name at the VIP entrance and they’ll take care of you if you show up. If my bed proves to be too comfortable to leave, I’ll be back around eleven or so. Go ahead and make yourself at home.
Hope to see you soon,
John
By the way, you’ll probably want to call Meemaw. Your phone kept ringing and I finally decided to answer it. She sounds adorable and I can’t wait to meet her.
Jasmine read the note three times before she thought the words really started to set in. She let out a breath she was surprised to find she was holding. No bad news, other than maybe the fact that he’d spoken to Meemaw and was calling her by that name. Jasmine wished she’d been awake for that conversation. Between it being hilarious to hear how the interaction must have gone, she’d loved to know exactly what all was said so their stories were straight.
Without knowing what was said, calling Meemaw was going to be a little dicey, but if she’d been calling enough that John finally broke down and answered, something could be wrong. That led Jasmine to put the note down and pick up her phone to see just how many times her grandma called before John decided to answer.
Seeing that there were a dozen missed calls, she supposed he hadn’t been overreacting to the calls. If his phone had been ringing that much and he wasn’t answering, Jasmine would be inclined to answer. She hit the button on her phone to return the call and lifted the phone to her ear as she sat down on the edge of the bed, letting the sheet she had clutched around her fall as she did.
“It’s about time,” Meemaw said before the phone had a chance to make it through a full ring. She had a habit of doing that.
“Sorry. I fell asleep and lost track of time.”
“One does tend to do that when they fall asleep. You weren’t here when I got up this morning. I thought you’d be waiting to make sure I made it through the night.” There was a bit of sarcasm laced in the last sentence.
Jasmine had made sure a fresh glass of water was by the bed, along with all the pills on the table. Since she couldn’t sleep, she’d looked up what the pills were for on her phone. Each list of uses and side effects only made things more real.
“I meant to be back before you got up, but my errands took longer than I expected.”
Meemaw laughed at the statement, causing Jasmine to worry whether another coughing fit was about to begin. Knowing about her condition changed how Jasmine viewed their interactions. She needed to keep her calm and try not show how utterly scared she was about the future.
“I spoke to at least one of those errands an hour or so ago. I guess I can see why you’d want to get such an early start on your day. I was going to ask if the photos I saw of the two of you kissing were created with a computer, but having him answer your phone cleared that right up.”
A groan echoed out of Jasmine’s chest. “How did I know you were going to see that picture?”
They’d talked the night before about Meemaw’s obsession with the internet and photos of Jasmine. She’d been foolish to think she’d keep John a secret until birthday day.
“You say that like there’s only one. There’s a nice gallery of moments between the two of you from last night. Him dragging you around a dining room, you two standing close together talking, and of course a few pictures of your lips locked together. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about the two of you. You know how much I adore Klinger.”
“Klinger?” Jasmine managed through another groan. She knew it was John’s last name, but it sounded weird when she’d been saying, and sometimes yelling, John for part of the day.
“Yes, Klinger. It’s what everyone on the team, and many of his fans, call him. I know you don’t know a lick about hockey, but since you’re dating a goaltender, I thought for sure you’d at least know about nicknames.”
Jasmine didn’t need to be in the room with Meemaw to know the other woman was shakin
g her head disappointedly. At least she believed Jasmine was actually dating John, even if she hadn’t officially made an announcement.
“I know about hockey,” Jasmine quickly defended herself. Not knowing anything about hockey would make the notion of her dating a hockey player seem unrealistic.
“Don’t lie to me, Jasmine. He already told me he’s still trying to talk you into private lessons. I may be old, but I know exactly what kind of private lessons that boy has in mind. Please tell me you haven’t been taking your pill or whatever it is you use for birth control. You two would make some beautiful babies.”
It was like Meemaw knew exactly what to say to make sure Jasmine couldn’t stop groaning. The idea of letting John and her meet started to sound horrible.
“I get shots for that, so don’t get your hopes up.” Jasmine was willing to pretend to be with a guy, and maybe even play around with the idea of a prolonged engagement, but throwing a kid in the mix wasn’t happening.
“By the snippy tone in your voice, I’m guessing your aren’t willing to see if there’s an anti-venom shot.”
A hand flew to Jasmine’s face to cover her eyes before she slid it down her face. “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t bitten by a snake.”
“Well, maybe you should be. It may wake your sleeping eggs up.”
“Look, Meemaw,” Jasmine said before the conversation could disintegrate any more than it already had. “John already left for the game and I have to be there in about an hour, so I really should get in the shower.”
She’d decided before the call that she’d at least make an appearance, but the phone conversation seemed to make it even more important that she show up. Learning some terms and getting a few more pictures taken would help with the charade Jasmine wanted to pull off.
“You’re going to a game? You haven’t made it through a single game sitting here on my couch, but I suppose it’ll be different in person. You probably won’t even have to watch the game if someone in the stands recognizes you. You’ll be too busy taking pictures and signing autographs.”
Since Jasmine only did those things if her agent told her she had to, she wasn’t too worried about her time being diverted from the game. Most people realized quickly from the glares she gave that she didn’t want to deal with fans when she was out. There’d probably be a bunch of pictures in social feeds, but they wouldn’t be her posing for the camera.
“Just keep your eyes peeled when they start showing the crowd. I’m not sure where I’m sitting yet, but I’ll try to find a camera and wave at you.”
“You do that. So, are you going to come over to have the conversation I thought we’d have this morning? At the very least I wanted to talk to you about how much your mother knows, which is nothing, and I want to keep it that way.”
Any talk about the cancer wasn’t something Jasmine wanted to do over the phone, even just talking about who knew what. “I’m not sure I’ll make it back over tonight, but I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
Jasmine didn’t know how long a hockey game lasted, but if John planned on not getting home until eleven, it was going to run later than she felt comfortable showing up at Meemaw’s. She’d wandered in later than that before, but she still needed to get all her stories straight with John before dealing with a face to face Meemaw grilling.
“What are the chances of a certain hockey player following you home?” It was another moment Jasmine didn’t need to see Meemaw to know she was winking.
“I thought we were talking about your health. You want him there for that?” Jasmine didn’t know if she could promise an appearance, since she had no clue what was on John’s schedule, but having a buffer sounded like a pretty good idea.
“Honey, frankly I don’t know if I’m going to wake up to see the sun in the morning, and if I have a chance to meet my favorite hockey player before it’s lights out for me, I’ll tell him my whole life story to get him over here.”
Something about her words didn’t make the experience sound appealing, at least not in a way John would probably find appealing. Jasmine would love to hear her grandma’s life story, and it hurt a little she seemed to be auctioning the opportunity off to a complete stranger.
“I’ll see what I can do. I should have asked the second you picked up, but I felt some explaining was in order. Are you doing okay today?” Jasmine hadn’t done much in the explaining department. It didn’t sound like Meemaw was too concerned about that, though.
“I feel great today. I got to talk to John Klinger and miraculously my granddaughter has somehow been able to keep the fact she’s dating him from me.”
Neither of those things spoke to her health, but Jasmine didn’t want to push. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night and try not to yell at the TV too much.” There was some wishful thinking.
Meemaw said a quick goodbye and Jasmine set the phone back on the table. She didn’t remember a time she’d had a conversation with her grandma without a lick of clothing on, but evidently there was a first time for everything.
Jasmine wasn’t clear on when exactly the game started, so she’d have to look it up eventually, but John had mentioned her waking up by six, so she was guessing the game started around seven, maybe even eight. Collecting her bra, underwear and jeans, she headed towards the closet to find a jersey to wear. It was time for her to take a quick shower and figure out if she could pay attention to a hockey game instead of spacing off through it.
Chapter Seven
Klinger’s mind remained on the woman he left in his bed right up until puck drop. Even during warmups he wondered whether she was up and about. He didn’t think she’d actually take him up on his offer to come to the game, based on the fact she seemed to loath the game. Every time he mentioned something hockey related during their short time together, she told him to shut up and settled her lips on his to make sure he followed the instruction.
Figuring out whether that was because her grandma loved the game or Jasmine really despised hockey was something John had on his plate. He wanted them to spend time together, but if it made things harder on Jasmine because all she could think about was Meemaw, then their fake relationship wouldn’t last long.
As he pondered the newest twist in his life while taking a few warmup shots in net, a voice rang out in the half-filled arena. It erased a few of his questions, but at the same time added a handful more.
“Please tell me you aren’t going to let those half-hearted shots in during the game, Klinger.” If she didn’t want him letting them in, distracting him was obviously an odd choice. Two pucks flew by him as he waited to hear if she had anything else she wanted to critique.
When she didn’t say anything else, John looked over his shoulder to see Jasmine standing on the other side of the glass behind his net. That wasn’t where he expected to find her, but he was excited to see she’d made it. Realizing Casey was standing next to her, the words coming from Jasmine made more sense. Casey was known for yelling at games. It started when her husband played, and every once in a while she could be heard voicing her own special way of coaching.
John nodded at Doug to let him know he was ready to let him take a few shots. Even though Klinger was the starter, they both warmed up. Doug eyed the women and shook his head as he made his way over.
“I knew something was up with you when I heard you were one of the first guys here, but I would’ve thought you’d give me a heads up. I’m guessing she didn’t pick up one of your jerseys from the gift shop.”
“I hope not. I told her to grab one from the closet. I wasn’t sure she was going to show, and I certainly didn’t expect her to come down to ice level, which is why I didn’t mention it to you.” Klinger moved to skate away, but Doug’s arm reaching out in front of him stopped him.
“I’m not always the quickest person in the world, but did you just imply she was at your place without you there?”
The shock and confusion on Doug’s face wasn’t a surprise. It was well known to people close to Klinger
that his privacy was one of the things he valued most. If it was up to him, the hook ups he’d had over the years would’ve been in hotels, so no one got a behind the scenes look at his life.
“We’ll talk later. If you don’t get in the net and take some shots, coach will throw one of his tantrums.” John patted him on the shoulder and skated around the arm still sticking out in front of him.
“I’m going to hold you to that. Are you busy after the game, or can you stop over?” Doug called after him.
John was just skating behind the net, so it wasn’t like he needed to raise his voice. Doug did anyway, like he wanted to make sure no one missed Klinger skating over to talk to Jasmine. It worked out in their favor to be seen together, so John didn’t even bother glaring behind him.
His eyes were too busy taking in the vision of beauty in front of him. He’d seen women in the stands wearing jerseys with his name on them, but none of them made him feel like growling. It wasn’t a normal reaction John had, just some instinct that came from within him that wanted to bite and mark Jasmine as his. He’d been careful not to do too much marking while they were in bed, since she claimed she was filming something that week, but it’d been hard to keep his teeth to himself.
“Hey, Princess, I see you’ve found trouble.” John lifted his mask up as he nodded his head over to Casey in case Jasmine wasn’t sure what he met.
Jasmine smiled brightly, showing off her perfect teeth. John tried to keep his eyes focused on her face, because seeing her in his clothes caused a little excitement to swell a certain part of him that needed to stay asleep for the game. Her face looked clean and refreshed from the flushed version he had etched in his mind. There was minimal makeup highlighting her natural beauty and with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, she almost looked like she was in a disguise compared to the way she looked when they first met.
“Well, I figured you wouldn’t be answering your phone, and I needed to know where in the world I was supposed to be.”