Veikko rolls his eyes, but there’s only affection in the Finn’s icy gaze as he looks at Felix.
“Oh!” Lane exclaims. “How about we have a goalie face-off. Felix vs. Hudson.”
Felix’s eyes go wide. He practically idolizes Hudson. Felix is usually unflappably confident, but it’s not hard to read the intimidation in his eyes.
Hudson shrugs, looking at Felix. “Think you can handle it, kid?”
Felix’s brow lowers. A competitive smirk tilts onto his face. The intimidation in his eyes washes away in response to the direct challenge. “Okay, unc. Let’s do it.”
Hudson glowers while everyone else cracks up.
“I feel like maybe we should be offended, too, since we’re the same age,” Rhys says to Lane as Felix hops down the porch steps.
“I’ve got my money on Felix,” Tuck says.
“What the hell!” Hudson turns to his best friend.
Tuck shrugs.
Veikko moseys over to watch the shenanigans. “I’m taking Hudson.”
“What!” Now Felix whirls to face his boyfriend, face stricken with betrayal.
Veikko lifts his shoulders. “I am just being objective. Hudson has proven himself in the pros. You haven’t.”
Felix sighs. “What happened to loyalty?”
Carter joins us, having stepped inside for a minute. “What’d I miss?”
“Felix and Hudson are having a goalie-off,” Lane answers.
After discussing the best way to do it, we agree that they’ll both take turns filling the goal while the rest of us take turns trying penalty shots.
It’s close, but when the smoke clears, Hudson comes up with the win. Despite the trash talk, they shake hands afterward. Hudson’s clearly impressed by his successor, and Felix is obviously thrilled to have competed with some of the NHL’s best. I’m pretty sure he’s going to brag about blocking one of Lane Larsen’s shots until he graduates.
I turn when I hear a large group approaching us on the sidewalk. A goofy smile instantly takes up most of my face when I see Carmen. My heart skips a beat once again, just like it always does, just like it always will. She’s in the middle of laughing about something with Harper next to her, and the sight has warmth curling around my heart.
Summer and Olivia joined Hudson and Tuck on their visit, so all the girls are hanging out together.
About a month and a half ago, Carmen decided to self-publish her finished book. She didn’t want to jump through all the hoops of the gate-kept world of traditional publishing, especially since she had no connections and no established reputation as a writer yet. The first couple weeks were slow as she learned the ins and outs of promoting her work, but as of two weeks ago, it’s taken off.
She’s actually making money, and getting amazing reviews. Word is spreading, and more and more people are downloading it each day. She’s started looking into getting paperbacks made. When she had her first day making over one hundred dollars in royalties, she was over the moon, and insisted she pay the whole bill when we went out for dinner to celebrate.
Seeing my girl find success makes me so happy. And I know that it’s just starting for her.
After a long day of us all hanging out together, reminiscing, goofing around, and laughing our asses off, I head home with Carmen to spend a quiet night in her apartment.
She yawns, stretching against me after we finish an episode of X-Files while lounging on her couch. “I really love the girls,” she says, nestling her head on my chest. “I hope we stay in touch after we graduate.”
“I bet you will. And I’ll still be in touch with all their boyfriends, so if you think you’re getting rid of me anytime soon, you’re mistaken.”
She looks up at me with a grin. “Is that so?”
“Yep.” I tuck her closer. “I’m going to be hanging around for averylong time. So get used to it.”
Her eyes catch the warm lighting of the room and take on that maroon glaze that makes me want to drown in them. “A long time, huh?”
“That’s right.”
She hums, like she’s considering the idea. “How about forever?”
Emotion cracks behind my chest. I kiss her, knowing with utter certainty that she’s where I belong.
“Yeah. I like the sound of that.”
