“Baby, let’s go back to bed. I want you. I want to be inside you; I swear, Kenni, I trust you,” he says, trying to tug me from the shower.
Despite my tears, I can’t stop the smile creeping across my face at his willingness to give up everything for me.This man.I drag my feet, pulling him to a stop.
“No, no, no. That’s not how this works. I know you trust me. I trust you, too. But we’re not pity fucking because I’m crying. I’m not upset because you didn’t want to go there tonight. I’m just…overwhelmed.”
“You’re trapped in a glass case of emotion like Ron Burgundy?” he teases through a sniffle.
I can’t help but laugh. He has a pop culture reference for everything. “Yes. Exactly like Ron Burgundy.” I cup his cheek, “Hey…you know what I just realized?”
“What?”
“You planned a nice, fancy date for me, but I never planned a date for you. Since you have an off day, let’s have a date tonight. Okay?”
“You, Kennedy Kramer, are asking me, Jordan Boucher, out on a date?”
“I am. But only if you go back to bed and cuddle with me. I’ve heard that helps your tears dry faster.”
He smiles through another sniffle. “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better, but I’m not going to turn down cuddling with you. And I read a very scientific study confirming that about snuggles and quality sleep as well.”
“Good.” I grin. “Then it’s a date.”
The date where I’m going to tell him I love him too.
55
jordan
“Heard you got reamed by Coach again,” EJ grunts as we do a quick conditioning skate. Even though we have an off day, most of us like to keep our muscles warm. “I thought this whole Kennedy thing would help you not have as many issues, but now he seems even more pissed off.”
I shrug. “Meh. He’ll get over it. I had to get to her. I had to let her know I was okay and make sure she was too. That’s more important than hockey.”
“Not in the fucking playoffs, it’s not,” Tay chimes in. “You couldn’t have just sent her a text?”
I flash him a wicked side-eye. “Tay, she wascrying. Jordan Boucher does not let his woman cry. He performs the grand gesture of running to her through an entire arena with Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith playing in his mind to show her what she means to him.”
“You’re comparing this incident to saving the world from a giant asteroid when your girlfriend was just upset you faked a hit to get us a power play?” Tay scoffs, shuffling a puck around with his stick. “Whipped.”
“What? It’s basically the same thing.”
“Bro,” EJ says. “You’re lucky Vladi didn’t murder you. You should have seen his face when you ran out. He. Was. Livid.”
“He’s my friend. We talked it out on the plane last night.”
“Yeah, you and Kennedy also ‘talked it out’ on the plane last night,” EJ says. “Man, I need to find someone to do that with after a game. What a way to release some energy. You think that Mara girl is available?”
I shiver. “She’sdefinitelytaken. Also, she gives off a weird vibe. Besides, what happened to Natalie?” I ask.
He shrugs. “It didn’t work out. She was nice, I just wasn’t into it.”
“I didn’t realize you two broke up,” Tay says with a catch in his throat.
“Yeah. It, uh…just happened a couple of days ago. It was mutual.” EJ shoots a puck down the ice. “But, Bougie, you and Kennedy seem to really be going well!”
I smile at the thought of other people seeing us as an item. “Yeah, really well actually.”
“I still can’t believe you settled down with one woman. I’ve been living through your adventures, bro!” EJ shouts. “Now I have to watch it on reality TV, and that’s not nearly as fun.”
“Yeah…that lifestyle isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be. Trust me. And Kenni is…she’s everything.”
