A New Connection

Hannah

An older blonde woman was sitting at the reception desk when I came into the studio. I’d never seen her before, but she looked vaguely familiar.

“Hi, there!” she smiled as she looked up from the computer. “Are you here for an appointment or a weigh-in?”

“Hi.” I smiled back. “An appointment. Is Jordan done with Tatum yet?”

“She just left a few minutes ago. I think he stepped into the office to check on Mollie.” She nodded toward the hallway. “What’s your name? I can check you in.”

“Hannah. Hannah Daniels.”

She looked down at the logbook and checked something off. When she looked back up, she gave me a devious smile, and I felt a little startled by it.

“So you’re Hannah?”

“Yes…” I replied quietly. I was sure I hadn’t met her before, but she obviously knew about me.

“I’m Cynthia Mathis.”

Mathis... ~oh~... was this Jordan’s mom?

“Are you...?”

She interrupted me with a laugh. “Mallory and Mollie’s triplet?”

Wait, what?

“I’m just teasing.” She laughed, and I smiled with her. “But yes, I’m Mallory and Mollie’s mom.”

“Oh, that’s a small world that you and Jordan have the same last name. I didn’t realize that the twins’ last name was Mathis.”

“It’s not,” she laughed. “They have their dad’s last name. I took my husband’s when I got remarried. Jordan is my stepson.”

I just blinked at her for a moment as I processed this new information. I was a dumbass.

No wonder Tatum reacted so strongly when I implied that Mallory would know things about Jordan’s junk. She was his little sister. This explained so much.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cynthia. I’m on Jordan’s challenge team.” I offered my hand to her.

“Oh, I know who you are, dear.” She smiled and winked at me as she gave me a firm shake.

Oh my God. What? Which one of her children had been talking about me? The possibilities were apparently many.

“You shook things up a little this year. Normally we just have a little bit of a sibling rivalry going on, but you made things interesting.”

“Uh…” My face felt like it was on fire.

“Cynthia? Is Hannah here ye—? Why yes she is.” Jordan came out of the office with his head down. He looked up and saw me standing there. “Hey there.”

I was about to burst into flames with the shy smile that he gave me when he saw me talking to his stepmom.

“She’s not embarrassing you, is she?” he asked as he gave a warning look to Cynthia.

And now my cheeks were on fire.

“No, she just said I’ve made things around here more interesting this year.”

Cynthia winked at me and then smiled innocently at her son.

“Well, I can agree with that,” he nodded. “Can I steal her now? I need to get our session started.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it now?” she laughed.

“You be nice,” he warned, pointing a finger in her direction. “Don’t scare her off.”

“If your sister hasn’t done it by now, then I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”

He walked around the corner and grasped my hand, tugging me down the hallway.

“I look forward to seeing you another time, Hannah,” she called after us as she peeked her head around the corner.

Jordan pulled me through the studio door before I could respond.

“You never told me Mal was your sister,” I accused.

“I didn’t realize it mattered.” He frowned as he looked over at me.

“It doesn’t. But I thought she didn’t like me because you and her…” I trailed off, and he started laughing.

“On what planet does she seem like my type?”

“I don’t know what your type is,” I defended.

“I think you’ve got a pretty good idea, Hannah.” He gave me a loaded look, and I averted my eyes bashfully.

“Trust me, even if I didn’t remember her being a toddler when I started middle school and she wasn’t semi-related to me, she definitely wouldn’t be my type.”

“But she’s gorgeous and tiny, and fit…”

I knew those were all superficial things, but weren’t all initial attractions we developed for people superficial at first?

He stepped toward me and placed a hand on the side of my waist, one of his long fingers slipping under the bottom hem of my tank.

“She’s also more stubborn than you, totally into herself in a negative way, and she quits if things get too hard.”

I knew my insecurities were showing again, but I was always subconsciously waiting for the other shoe to drop. My dating history was mediocre at best.

There weren’t any great loves, and subsequently, no great heartbreaks either. It just never happened for me.

The feelings that were developing for Jordan worried me. I liked him. He irritated me with the protective streak, but I genuinely liked him.

He was focused and driven, passionate, funny, thoughtful, competitive, and the outside package didn’t hurt either. If I wasn’t careful, he had the potential to break my heart.

“We need to get to work. I promise I’ll tell you more about my family later. You still owe me that second date.”

“All right, do your worst. Might as well torture me so I’m too tired to focus on the numbers on the scale.” I sighed dramatically.

He took a step forward, pushing me up against the wall out of sight of the door and the glass wall to the lobby.

“The numbers on that scale are going to show that you’ve worked your ass off for the last two months. Please don’t let them discourage you.”

“Oh, I already know it’s going to show progress. I think my new shorts—which you’re never getting back—proved that, but I’m wondering if it’s enough,” I replied.

He laughed. “This... this is why you’re my type, you made huge strides toward a goal and knew you had success, but you want more.”

“You know I’m competitive,” I shrugged. Sometimes it was to my own detriment, but I’d always liked to compete.

“I’ve seen you and Parker get each other wound up during class. Sometimes I’m almost jealous he gets to share that side of you,” he said tenderly as he rubbed my fingers.

“You don’t need to be jealous of Parker,” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m jealous that I put this unnecessary distance between us,” he heatedly explained. “I’m jealous that I have to hold back from interacting with you like I want to when I’m here.”

“I never wanted to jeopardize your job…or flirt with Ty, for that matter,” I told him honestly.

“I know you wouldn’t have. And I appreciate that you’ve not pushed for more than I could give.”

“Where do we go from here?” I asked, a little afraid of his answer.

“Well, I would take you out tonight, but someone would rather do secretive things with her friends,” he teased.

“They asked first,” I shrugged.

“You’re still not going to tell me?”

I bit my lip and tried fruitlessly to fight the blush.

“Is it dirty?” he whispered as he leaned in toward my ear.

“It’s a secret,” I replied quietly.

“I won’t tell,” his warm breath fanned out over my neck, and I shivered in response.

“Maybe I’ll send you a hint later,” I whispered breathily.

“I look forward to it.” He placed a lingering kiss at the corner of my jaw and stepped back.

“All right. Enough slacking.” He clapped loudly and smirked. “To your knees. You owe me push-ups.”