“Your car should be warm by now. I started it a little while ago. And there’s sushi en route to your house right now.”
Tears well in my eyes again, taking me by surprise, and a sob breaks free from my throat.
“Don’t cry. Is everything okay? I’m sorry if I pushed you too hard.” His voice is soft, genuine, and concerned.
I wipe my eyes. “No, it’s just … overwhelming. But good. You’re so …good.”
“I might have to quit my job just to fly home to you right now.”
I giggle, an uncontrollable smile taking over my face. “No, don’t. I’ll be okay. I’ve just never experiencedanythinglike that before. It’s new territory for me.”
“Me too,” he admits, and my heart skips a beat. “It’s only ever been like this with you.”
I’ve tried not to think about him having a relationship like this before, but hearing him say that warms me to the core—in other ways than he just did … repeatedly.
“You’re saying you haven’t stalked anyone before or wooed them with a creepy mask?”
He scoffs. “Creepy? I’ll have you know that I had this custom-made because Valentine’s Day is your favorite holiday, Little Cupid.” He pauses. He has a serious tone in his voice as he continues, “I did all of this just for you. I’ve never wanted anyone or anything the way I need you.”
“Really?” The desperation for reassurance surprises me. I’ve never been one to need it, but I think it’s because, like him, I’ve never wanted anyone in the way I want him.
I don’t know where we’re going or what our path looks like, but I know without a doubt that I want my future to have him in it, only him.
His voice is so clear, as if he were right here, whispering in my ear. “I promise it’s only you. It’ll only ever be you, Serena.”
The way he says my name, it strikes a chord deep inside me, like a faint hint of familiarity. Uneasiness settles into my bones, but I quickly force it away.
I’m not letting my mind get in the way of what he and I are building. I’m sure it only sounded familiar because I’ve heard him say it a thousand times before.
Ican’t wait for tonight, to push Serena past her breaking points even more, to bring her to life, exploring her darker side. But I have to get through practice first, and thanks to Cas and Kol being competitive assholes, it’s not too hard to focus because I need to beat them at everything we do.
“Lucky shot,” Cas chirps as I sink the puck past Jojo.
“Yeah, right,” I scoff, lifting my stick and smacking him in the thigh. “Let’s see you go.”
“Pshh. Easy.” He pauses. “No offense, Jojo.”
“None taken. Good luck,” he says, dropping into position as Cas takes the puck back up top to the blue line.
Cas stickhandles the biscuit as he approaches the right face-off dot—his sweet spot. Skating through it, he no-look shoots the pucks.
Cocky motherfucker.
He scores, the puck entering the net through the small gap between Jojo’s helmet and the post.
“Lucky shot.” I use his own words to mock him.
Skating over to him, I smack his back. “It was decent.”
“Fuck off, Finny.” He slaps my shin with his stick.
I grunt and hit him back. “Bitch.”
“Cocksucker,” I spit, unable to contain my laughter.
“If you’re offering.” He sticks his tongue out and shakes his head side to side.
Kol skates over with a shit-eating grin. “Cas, you handing out blow jobs? I’ll take one.”
