Chapter 7-How I Feel

The Penguins win 4-1 and Jordan plays a really good game and has an assist. Ann and I head downstairs after the game and wait outside of the Pens’ locker room, but we’re only down there for a few minutes until I hear someone call out, “Maddie!”
I turn around and see Eric walking towards me. I run up to him and give him a big hug, and he returns it.
“Tough loss,” I tell him after we break apart. “But you did a good job.”
“Meh, I could have done better,” he tells me. We walk up to the outside of the Pens locker room, and Jordan’s not out yet, so I introduce him to Ann.
“Eric, this is my roommate Ann. Ann, Jordan’s brother, Eric.”
“Nice to meet you,” they say to each other and they shake hands.
“Good game,” Ann says to him.
“Thanks, but it wasn’t that great,” he says. “Wish we could’ve won it.”
“Hey how’s Tanya?” I ask him, asking about his wife.
“She’s good, everything’s going well. How’s that guy you started dating last month, Ryan?”
“Uh, I broke up with him on Monday, actually. It wasn’t really working out.”
“I thought he was a good guy?” Eric asks me.
“Yeah, he is, but he just isn’t the guy for me. He was a little needy too, and that’s annoying.”
“There’s nothing worse than someone that’s needy. Speaking of that, Jordan! How’s it going?” Eric sees Jordan behind me and walk up to each other and hug.
“What about me?” Jordan laughs.
“We were just talking about how needy you are,” Eric laughs.
“I am NOT needy,” Jordan jokes, giving Eric a little punch in the arm.
Ann and I move over and let them talk for a little bit, and we talk to a couple of the guys while we wait. Soon though, Eric has to leave, and Jordan, Ann, and I leave too. Jordan signs a few autographs on the way out and then comes back to our apartment and hangs out for a little bit. The guys are leaving tomorrow for a road trip that won’t have them back for about a week and a half, so we want to hang out before he leaves. We have a couple of beers and just talk for over a couple hours, and then he has to go, since they have practice in the morning, so I walk him out.
“Hey,” I whisper as I close my apartment door and we head out to his car, “did you talk to Heather today?”
“Um, yeah, I talked to her after the morning skate. I apologized to her, and she did the same, but something still isn’t right,” he tells me, and I can see the sadness in his eyes. “I don’t know what it is.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, but I don’t know. Maybe we just aren’t working out anymore.”
That really grabs my attention. I thought everything had been working out so well between them. I don’t know what to say. I shouldn’t say anything about it.
“Well, if you need someone to talk to, you know I’m always here.” I give him a hug, and he gives me one too.
“Thanks. I might take you up on that.”
“Anytime, anywhere, you know it.”
We stand there in silence for a minute, and Jordan breaks the silence.
“I guess I should get going; we have practice in the morning and then fly up to New York.” He gives me a hug and tells me thanks, and then he gets into his car, and I walk back in as he drives away. I make it back to my apartment and into my bedroom before the tears start to fall. I know he doesn’t like me as more than a friend, and that he never will.