Finding Love /Jordan Knight FanFic/NKOTB

XIV

Caroline

"HOW DID YOU find this place?" I ask, removing my hat and laying it under my chair. Jordan stands and lifts his arms to adjust the umbrella over our table, angling it to keep us shaded, and his T-shirt rises a bit, giving me a nice peek of his smooth, muscular stomach. I imagine my fingers tracing over each muscle, dipping up and down. I know I shouldn't be thinking about what he would look and feel like with that shirt off, but I can't help it. He is incredibly handsome. 

"Billy brought me after I joined the team." He sits back down in his chair and runs his hand over his hat to pull it down a little then picks up his menu. "He said it's the best place in town to get served fresh fish, and he's right. The menu changes daily based on what they caught earlier that morning." 

"That's so great. Savannah has a few places that serve fresh-off-the-dock food, too. I'll have to show you my secret places next time we're there." 

From behind his sunglasses, his eyes jump to mine. Feeling a little like a deer caught in headlights, I realize how that sounded and start backtracking. 

"Not that you'll be in Savannah with me. I wasn't implying that we'd still be together longer than the two months, just that the food is good there and I think you'd like it. Gah, you know what I mean." Embarrassment climbs up my neck and heats my cheeks. I dig my sunglasses out of my bag. He's wearing his, so I'll wear mine too and hide behind them. 

He chuckles and one side of his mouth tips up. "Deal. Next time I'm in Savannah, we'll eat at your favorite places." Reaching over, he tucks a few strands of hair behind my ear, runs his thumb down the column of my neck, and then squeezes my shoulder. 

"Okay," I mutter. I can't seem to make any other words form. 

Dropping the conversation, we both look over the menu, the waitress takes our order, and pretty quickly, our drinks and the food come out. 

Jordan is very easy to be around. I don't feel any of the added pressure that comes with constantly being surrounded by people who are just looking for you to make a mistake so there's fuel for gossip. He's laid back, quiet, and genuinely seems like the nicest person I've ever met. 

"Tell me something about you," I blurt out between bites. 

He quirks a grin. "All right. Yeah, I guess we really don't know much about each other, and that makes this normal date-like conversation. Let's see . . ." He rubs his chin as he stares across the table at me. "My favorite food is barbeque ribs, but I don't eat them very often because they're slathered in brown sugar. My favorite color is blue. I hate the snow. I didn't even know I hated it until after I moved here and got to experience a winter without it. I've never been skiing, so it's not like I miss the sport side of it, but last year I went home for Christmas and it was miserable. There was dirty slop everywhere. So, unless I change teams and end up back up north, I'm never living in snow again." 

"A Northerner turned Southerner." I smile at him and watch as the breeze sends the trim around the umbrella waving back and forth. Shadows play across his face, a face I could stare at all day. 

"Call me what you want, but I understand now why people move south." He picks up his drink and takes a sip. His hands are so large they cover the entire glass. 

"I didn't mind the snow so much, maybe because I had never lived in it before, so it was a novelty, but I thought it was pretty." 

Setting the glass back down, he leans back in his chair. "Pretty to look at on my phone while I'm sitting next to the pool." He grins. "I am a Patriot's fan, and there's nothing quite like Gillette Stadium in the summer, but now that you mention it, I don't think I could ever fit the mold of a Southerner. There is always Phoenix, though."