“Go have your drink. Then we’ll talk.” I nod to one of the empty tables.
He sighs again, like he’s exasperated and can’t make any sense out of why I’m asking him to do this. But he takes his cup and sits down.
My eyes stay fastened to him as he removes the lid and looks into the cup. I wait for the words he’s seeing to register.
His eyes move from his cup, back to mine. Shouldn’t I be nervous right now? Anxious, waiting to see if he’s going to respond positively or negatively? Waiting to find out if I’ve just made a fool of myself?
But I’m not nervous or anxious. A serene confidence glides through me. I know Jamie. I know how he’s going to respond.
Jamie gets up. He walks to the counter. He sets his cup down in front of me. “What is this?”
I look at the cup, where the wordsI Love Youstand out in foamy white against the rich coffee brown.
I tilt a shoulder. I can’t keep the smile off my face any longer. “Seems pretty self-explanatory.”
Jamie blinks silently, once, twice, like he’s still taking this all in. Then he plants a hand on the counter and swings his body over it in one quick, deft leap. He lands on my side, and before I can react, he’s pulling me close, straight into a deep kiss.
I melt into his touch. He drinks in my whimper of contentment. His hands skate down my sides until they rest on my hips, where his fingers press.
My arms loop around his solid body.Solid.That’s how Jamie feels. Not just because of his muscles. But because whenever I’m near him, I feel deep in my bones that I can rely on him, can trust him, can be myself with him.
Jamie makes me feel like Ibelong, like no one else ever has.
I’m not usually the kind of person who loses herself in the moment, but I’m drowning in this kiss with Jamie. I’ve tuned out the rest of the world and fallen headlong into the soft pressure of his lips, his anchoring touch. Until a pointed cough from beside us nudges me back to reality.
I pull back from the kiss and open my eyes. Cindy’s looking at us with an amused smile. Heat fills my cheeks.
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? It seems like you two have something to celebrate. And I think my customers might not appreciate seeing that kind of celebration near their food and drink.” She arches an eyebrow. “Well, some might, but I don’t want to know which of my customers has a weird fetish, so that’s another reason for you to take off early.”
“I don’t want to leave you short?—”
Jamie covers my mouth. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, babe.”Babe.My stomach is warm fuzz. “Thanks, Cindy. See you later.”
Suddenly, I’m off my feet, hoisted in Jamie’s arms, and he doesn’t put me down until we’re in front of my bed.
“I love you,” Jamie says after blanketing his body over mine and searing me with another kiss. “So damn much.”
“I love you, too.” Saying it feels a lot different than writing it on a drink.
I have a feeling that letting myself fall in love with Jamie is the best decision I’ve ever made.
EPILOGUE
JAMIE
“It’s a real dilemma,” Tuck says, resting against his stick. “Is playing on the same team as my best friend worth it when he sucks this bad? Ouch!”
Hudson punches Tuck on the shoulder as he skates past him on his rollerblades. It’s summer. Sebastian just graduated. Our old roommates came back to attend the ceremony and decided to stay for a couple of days, so we could all hang out like old times. Today, we’ve set up two empty hockey nets in the street and we’re playing three-on-three street hockey. Me, Rhys, and Lane, against Hudson, Tuck, and Sebastian.
“I’m used to playing goalie,” Hudson answers gruffly. “The thinking man’s position.” Sebastian scoffs. “I wasn’t meant to be skating around chasing after the puck like you knuckleheads.”
Rhys guffaws. “Tell me you did not unironically use the term knucklehead.”
“I did and I’ll do it again.”
Tuck shakes his head. “He’s a very mean best friend. You guys should hear the kinds of things he says to me when we’re alone.”
“Sounds hot,” Felix calls from the porch, where he and Veikko sit next to each other, sharing a beer. Even after a couple months of being out and together, they’re still deep in the honeymoon phase.
