He obeyed, and the tingling sensation burst from my core, my muscles clenching around his cock, and I fell apart. Stars burst behind my eyes, my heart hammering against my ribcage as my orgasm knocked the wind out of me. Cal’s grip on my thighs tightened, and he barely let me come back to earth before going harder. His jaw was set in determination, his eyes burning. He grunted before completely losing it. He groaned, his head going back as he thrust a few more times.
Watching him lose control was the best transformation of his face. No more hard lines or frowning. His skin was smooth and relaxed and even a little red. When he caught his breath and stared down at me, I smiled. “You’re sexy.”
One side of his lips curved up, and he kissed my stomach. “Don’t get me started on you.” He went to the bathroom and quickly came back, the condom gone. He crawled into bed, pulling my back against his chest, and rested his nose on my neck. “I want this every night. Breathing you in, having your hair on my face. I’ve never felt this way about someone before, but I know you’re the one for me.”
“Cal.” I swallowed down the emotion in my throat. That was an intense thing to share with someone after agreeing to be together five seconds ago.
“Don’t say anything back. I’m just letting you know you can count on me to be around a long ass time. I’m gonna work every day to stay in your life.” His arms tightened around me. “I’m not a romance hero like in your books, but I work really hard at what I love. And that’s you.”
I kissed the back of his hand, my eyes welling up. “I don’t know. That’s a very romance hero thing to say.”
He laughed, the wonderful sound making me smile. He pulled me tighter, and his breath hit my neck, his pulse slowing down against my back. I relaxed into him. All this time, I’d convinced myself he wasn’t like the guy in the stories, but he was in his own way.
He showed love through actions, and I used words. He was gruff and rarely smiled, but I brought out the joy more and more each day. I smiled, snuggled deeper into him, and let my daydreams go wild. Us in a year, us at holidays. Us living together even. Traveling and me sitting in the stands while he played. Me wearing his jersey at his games and texting pictures to Charlie so he could show Lizzie. Us going to Lizzie’s dance recitals or school shows. Him and I visiting bookstores or greenhouses or decoratingourplace someday. I saw a future with us, with our friends and family, and I was a fool for thinking he wasn’t my happy ever after.
He definitely was, and we were only in the beginning of our story.
EPILOGUE
17 Months later, Thanksgiving
Cal
Snow covered the entire backyard, leaving no sign of the grass that was once there. It fell silently, the cold winter air unforgiving for an Illinois winter. It wasn’t even December, and it was already brutal.
My cheeks stung from the wind, but the moment of solitude was needed. Even just for a few minutes. My life was filled with people and noise now, but every so often, I escaped to the quiet for me. To reflect and think about my parents. Therapy helped, with Elle and Michael’s insistence that I continue, and they were right. I refused to tell Reiner that because he’d feel all proud, but I shared that with Elle. She was my other fucking half, and knowing she’d be by my side after graduation was the only thing keeping me sane. My wonderful, kick-ass girlfriend scored writing gigs online, was working on her second novel to be published, and was mentoring high school students who dreamed of being writers. Writing, she said, could be done anywhere, and she planned to travel wherever the NHL took me.
How had I gotten so fucking lucky?
“Hey.” Elle’s soft voice had me glancing to my right. “I figured you’d be out here. Can I join?”
“Of course.” I smiled, held out a hand, and pulled her to me. She leaned her head onto my shoulder, her shampoo tickling my nose. “It’s a madhouse in there.”
“Yeah, but it’s our people. It somehow makes it better?” She laughed and moved to stand on her tiptoes. Her hair was down today, straight and long. It blew in the wind around her face, her cute note and red lips so damn perfect. “I’m so happy you came.”
“You’re here.” I pulled her toward me and kissed her. She tasted like red wine and whipped cream. “You and Lizzie get into the desserts before dinner?”
“Desserts after dinner is really more of a suggestion, Calzone.” She used her thumb to wipe under my lip. “Red is a good color on you but maybe not smeared on your chin.”
I smiled, pulling her into a hug. She fit against me perfectly and patted my ass.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said.
“What? This snow? I know.” She glanced up and cupped my face. “Your skin’s cold. We can find you a nice quiet corner to hide in? I’m sure Naomi and Michael wouldn’t care if you sat in a closet.”
I shook my head. “No, not the snow. The people. Having a loud holiday. I spent three Thanksgivings alone, drinking, hating every second of every day. Now look at where I’m at?” I gestured toward the patio doors. I sucked in a breath, my emotions getting the best of me. “I’m lucky. That’s what I’m saying, but I’m shit at expressing it.”
“Thank goodness I wrote the Cal-Emotional-Handbook then.” She kissed me again, softly. “Come inside. Have a drink. Take in the fact we’re all family now, in some way or another.”
I nodded, grabbing her hand and letting her lead me back inside. The second we opened the door, warmth spread through my body. Lizzie, Charlie, and Alex sat at the kitchen table, playing some kid game. Alex laughed and even wore a sweater that wasn’t black. It was gray, but that was improvement.
Michael and Naomi looked like the happy newlyweds they were. She beamed as she showed Cami and Cami’s incredibly tall boyfriend Freddie their photos on the wall. I wasinthe photos. My face hung on someone else’s wall on one of the happiest days of their life. Michael’s sister Ryann, and her fiancé Jonah were visiting that week too. Jonah hadn’t wanted to steal Michael and Naomi’s thunder, so he’d proposed the day after they got married. They wanted to come see Michael coach and tag along for the holiday. Ryann sat on Jonah’s lap on a chair, the two of them discussing the best Thanksgiving movie.
It wasPlanes, Trains, and Automobiles,and no one could argue differently. Coach Simpson was there too, nursing a beer and chatting with Elle’s parents. Elle had insisted on having her family come down so I wouldn’t miss a holiday with Lizzie, and sure enough, the Van Helsings were here, at my assistant coach’s house. Gabe too.
Hell, I never thought I’d befriendswith Gabriel Van Helsing, but we got together every few weeks. Even now, he laughed with Daniella in the kitchen as they finished making a green bean casserole. Gabe met my eyes and nodded before tickling his girlfriend. We’d double-dated a lot since his girl was my girl’s best friend.
Again, my life was almost like a movie. There was so much joy and laughter. All aspects of our lives blended together. It was messy and sometimes annoying, but fuck, it was…wonderful. Elle tugged my hand, dragging me toward the garage. “Let’s get a beer before Gabe challenges everyone to a game or something. God, that guy needs more to do since he’s bored at his job.”
