End Game

Two

"Jo!" Jordan can't help but grin as she steps it off the Uber, her sister running from the door to greet her with a tight hug.

"Hi, Jac." She laughs, moving to help her driver pull her large suitcase and carry on from the back of his car.

"Why do you go to Istanbul for months? I've missed you!" Her sister whines, taking the handle of her carry on from her.

"Money, and to keep playing ball in the off season." Jo laughs, following her up the walkway and into their shared house.

"Well, if you could stop, and just be home in the off season I would appreciate it." Jackie scoffs.

"I met a friend of yours this time." Jo announces, having hashed out the 'I miss you, stop playing foreign ball' argument with her sister a million times already.

"You did? Who?"

"In New York, at the airport this afternoon I was tapped on the shoulder by a very excited guy asking if I was you. His name was Michael, said he knew you from Gaming though he isn't a professional. He was really nice though."

"Michael what?" Jackie frowns, following Jo into her room.

"I didn't get his last name. Sorry. Um, he had soft green eyes, a bit of scruffy facial hair, shaggy blonde hair. He was wearing all black, sweats, jacket, and beanie. I'm sure this is not helping." Jo laughs. "Oh, he had some finger tattoos... um, an 'x' and an anchor, and something else I think too."

"Wow, were you checking out my friend on purpose?" Jackie smirks, her eyebrow lifting in surprise.

"He was kind of hot." Jo shrugs, "And super sweet actually."

"Hold on, I think I know who you're talking about." Jackie pulls out her phone as Jo starts unpacking her life from the suitcases she'd taken to Europe.

"Is this him?" Her sister holds up the phone after a minute, showing her a photo of the Michael in question, his hand in his hair as he leans over what she can only assume is the edge of a swimming pool.

"Ya, that's definitely him." Jo nods.

"Michael Clifford. He's in a band, Jo." Jackie laughs, "He is a nice guy though, at least as far as I can tell. I sent you that post so you can find his Instagram easier. Have fun stalking, I'm going to bed. It's good to have you home, sissy!"

"I need to go to bed. Camp starts on Monday and jet lag is going to knock me out if I don't try to normalize my sleep schedule. I refused to sleep on the flights so I would be tired, but mostly I think I've just messed everything up for myself." Jo laughs.

"Good luck with that. I'm doing a twelve hour stream with Brayden tomorrow, so I'll be in my office most of the day."

"I'll try to be quiet for you. I think Chelsea wants to do something before camp starts, I'll text you if I leave so you'll know."

"Cool! Good night, Jordan."

"Good night, Jac." She laughs, looking back down at the mountain of things in her suitcase, sighing as she closes it again, setting it on the floor to take care of tomorrow.

Finding some clean pajamas in the closet she changes quickly, crawling into her bed and relaxing against the pillows, reaching for her phone and charger from the pocket of her backpack. Once she gets the cords situated she taps the Instagram notification from Jackie, clicking into Michael's account and hitting follow.

Her curiosity gets the best of her and she taps the most recent post, her eyebrow raising in surprise as she reads the caption. He's not just in a band, he's producing their music too? Or at least some of it. Double tapping the post she begins to scroll down, glancing through his posts and captions, until a notification at the top of her screen distracts her, tapping it quickly.