Keno smiles and takes my hand, slipping the ring on my finger. He stands and I yank him into my arms, gripping him so fucking tightly that maybe I hear his ribs crack.
“Not gonna lie,” I say, “that was super swoony.”
He takes a step back. “Yeah? I did okay?”
“Perfect, Keno. Pretty sure I just fell in love with you a little bit.”
A grin splits his face and I pull him against me again. The sky around us explodes in dazzling colors. The ocean rocks us gently. My heart beats against the only person in the world who has a rhythm just like mine.
This year is going to be epic. I know it is.
CHAPTER 16
KENO
I can’t help myself.It’s a reflex to take out my phone and open ShareIt to doomscroll. Even when I’m not seeing what’s on the screen and flipping too quickly to actually see what’s going by. It’s a compulsion in my downtime. Impulse to have that artificial glow from my screen and mindlessly look at the pretty pictures.
Rarely in this state of online boredom does much catch my attention. The one thing that does have me pausing and moving the feed back until I’m looking at a picture of me and Etna. It’s the ‘official’ engagement picture we posted online.
After we told our friends, we announced it to the team after practice one day, including our coach. Coach asked for us to give him a day to inform management before making it public.
I nearly shit myself when some higher-ups called us into their office. It felt like I was back in high school getting in trouble for wanking off in the bathroom. Okay, I didn’t do that, but a friend of mine did, and boy, did I laugh.
They had concerns. Of course they did. They didn’t want a romance on the team to affect team dynamics. They were concerned about a distraction. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Etna told them we’ve been together since the summer when I drunk kissed him and no one’s known. In fact,the teamloves playing up our bromance. Clearly, we know how to remain professional at work.
I mean, it was only a little stretch of the truth, right? But it meant they had no argument and no leg to stand on, so the conversation was dropped. We left triumphant, but I had an uneasy feeling later. One of us was going to get traded. I could feel it.
But not right now. Right now, we’re both playing for Arizona and we’re getting married.
The picture that makes me stop scrolling is of us on the ice. We got permission from Coach to take a few pictures there. We didn’t hire a photographer, Julian took pics for us. The one we chose was of me jumping on Etna’s back, my arms hanging around his chest. One of his hands is hooked under my knee. The other—the one with a ring on it—is over mine.
My smile is huge. Like I just won president of the universe. I’m obviously so fucking proud. Maybe a little smug. Etna’s smile is softer. Confident. Beautiful. Just like he is.
We made the post two hours ago as a collaboration, so it showed up simultaneously in our primary feeds. There are only three words in the post: ‘He said yes!’
Our discussion about what to write went on far longer than necessary. We had a whole long explanation to post, then we went with no words at all. At one point, we even had a quote. In the end, these three simple words about summed it up.
There are already over 3,000 likes, 294 comments, 84 shares. I click on the comments and smile. There’s a variety of congratulations. A lot of “I knew it!” comments. And everything in between.
But my smile fades when I see the first nasty one today.
This is sick and gross.
My gut twists and I close the app entirely. Why are people nasty? Why do they have to choose to share their gross opinions? I wish there was a way to turn off comments entirely. I love the nice ones, but at the expense of seeing the nasty ones? I’d rather not see any at all.
Maybe there’s a way and I don’t know what it is. Etna will. “Etna?” I call as I walk through the small house. We’re back at mine since his is currently being packed. You know, slowly. Since we’re here, we’re not putting much effort into packing. It’s only the first of the year. The listing doesn’t go live until tomorrow. We have some time.
I find Etna outside, watering the plants in the flower bed. The backyard has beautiful landscaping. No thanks to me. It would likely be dead if it were left to me to maintain. Which is saying something because they’re desert plants. Taking care of the foliage outside that makes the backyard an oasis is something Etna’s just done. The first day he stepped into the backyard, he picked up the hose and gave them a little water. He pulled a weed.
The next thing I knew, he was bringing in stones and mulch to refresh the beds. He told me the tall cactus was a saguaro. The fact it has three arms means that it’s well over a hundred years old. He also warned me it’s illegal to cut them down in Arizona.
I hadn’t known that, but it makes sense that there’s a dedicated perimeter around it, as though the previous owners treated it like a shrine. I swear, they worshiped this thing.
It’s pretty cool, to be honest. I’ve always thought about decorating it, but since he told me it was illegal to kill it, I’m afraid of hurting it. They survive in the desert, though. How fragile can they really be?
Nope. Not taking my chances.
