“You’re staying?” I asked, holding my hand up to his on the glass. I could feel all the splotchiness on my chest and neck. Even Guy’s face was a little red.
Guy nodded. I was overwhelmed. Guy had figured it out. He left Seattle forme. He changed teams to be withme. He was giving up his friends so we could be together. I pounded on the glass, wanting to be close to him. He laughed, elated, and pointed toward the tunnel. I tripped over myself running to meet him.When I got there, he lifted me over the railing and held me up, my arms a snug lock around the back of his neck. There was no way I could reach his face when he was in his skates anyway.
“You did all of this for me?” I asked as he nuzzled me.
“I did. All for you. Always. You’re everything, Kitty. My life isn’t complete without you.”
“But Seattle,” I said through my tears.
“Seattle doesn’t have you, Birdy,” he said sweetly. “I’ll still see them. The most important thing is you.”
I kissed him as both teams gathered around to cheer Guy on.
“One more thing,” he said as we broke apart and he dropped me to my feet. Oh, fuck, was he going to propose? There? At the arena? The last time he proposed was in the ultimate privacy. Would he really do it so publicly the second time? He wasn’t lowering to one knee, though. He leaned over me. “I don’t have anywhere to live yet.”
Realization and relief flooded me. “Hmmm,” I pretended to deliberate. “I guess you could use my spare bedroom until you find a place of your own.”
Guy brought his face closer to mine, danger in his eyes but a smile on his face as he gripped my waist. “Don’t make me spank you in front of all these people, Kitty Bird.”
“Fine, you want to be my roommate? I’ll give you a good deal on the rent.”
“Kitty,” he warned.
“You want to move in with me?”
“That’s more like it,” Guy said with a kiss. “And good, because the moving truck comes tomorrow.”
“I can’t believe you figured it all out, Frenchie. Thank you.”
He smooched my forehead and touched my bird necklace. “You’re about to get so fucking sick of me.”
“Impossible.”
Guy and I kissed some more, and then he pointed to the top of the tunnel. “Look up.”
My parents and Frank were there, wearing Guy’s new jersey.
“I figured they could keep you company while I have to go play,” Guy said, kissing my cheek. Wait, my family was there, but Guy didn’t propose? Well, moving in with me and changing his whole life for me was a big enough shift. Still, even though we’d only been back together for a number of weeks, there was no doubt that Guy was the permanent destination. He was The One and had been all along. I could have easily committed right then, even if it was in front of an embarrassing number of people. Who else would I be with if not Guy, the man who uprooted his whole life so we could both have what we wanted? The man who waited for me all those years?
Guy and I did a short interview with L.A.’s marketing team, and recorded a quick goodbye for Seattle’s fans. It isn’t every day that a player changes teams for love and well, we’re both a little famous. I didn’t blame them for wanting to market the hell out of us.
With a final kiss, Guy lifted me back over the barricade and went out to warm up.
I turned back to Mel. “You knew.”
“That’s why I had to take your phone. We didn’t want you seeing the news before he could tell you.” She smashed her body to mine and rocked me side to side. “We’ll miss him, but I’m glad he’s coming home to you. He isn’t him without you.”
“We’ll just have to visit y’all, and you’ll have to come here,” I said. “Okay, gotta go attack my family. Wanna come?”
We all moved up to a suite the Princes had reserved for us to watch the game. I felt weird cheering against Seattle after years of supporting Guy, whether quietly in the background or more fully as his girlfriend. So I cheered for both teams, which amounted to a lot of cheering.
My voice was hoarse by the time Guy met us after the game. He wasn’t the first out of the locker room, though. It was Mikey. I’d totally forgotten that he was with the Princes until that moment. There were too many players to look at when I tried to follow both teams.
“Hey, screamer,” he said, opening his arms and running at me.
I shouted his name as he swept me up in a big hug. “I forgot you were here!”
“Indeed I am. Can’t get rid of me now. I’ll be on your couch every morning, just like old times.”
