Riley was quick to lighten the mood. “This isn’t goodbye. It’s Packy switching jerseys so we can chirp him twice as hard.”
“Damn right,” Holky said. “Condors are fair game now.”
I shook my head, smiling through the bittersweet ache. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Back at our house, I locked the door behind us and watched Nix kick off his shoes and stretch his arms over his head, punctuating it with a satisfied groan. When he caught me looking, he grinned. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, but I couldn’t stop staring at him.
We showered to wash off the lake water and summer sweat, then went to bed. We took our time, moving slower than ever before. There was no hurry.
Afterward, Nix curled into me, resting his head on my chest and hooking a leg over mine. I draped an arm across him and traced slow, absent-minded circles on his back with my thumb. His breathing evened out, but he kept moving, never settling.
“Hey.” I patted his back.
He moved, then looked up to meet my eyes. In the low light, I could barely make out his soft, serious expression.
“I know this is right,” he said. “Us and everything we’ve decided.” He paused, and his throat worked as he swallowed. “But sometimes I still can’t believe it actually worked. That we’re together.”
I tightened my arm around him. “Me too.”
He huffed a quiet laugh. “That’s not exactly reassuring, babe.”
I kissed the top of his head, breathing in the lemon scent of our shampoo. “What I mean is, we’ve been through a lot. We don’t have to be sure all the time. All we have to do is keep choosing this.”
He was quiet for a moment, and then he shifted, moving up the bed so we were face-to-face. “You’re right. This is the best thing we’ve ever done.”
We kissed slowly, taking our time. When we finally pulled apart, we kept our foreheads touching and our legs tangled together. His breath was warm on my lips.
“Tomorrow will be chaos,” he said. “Once the trade announcement drops, our phones will blow up, and social media will go nuts. We only think we’ve seen Packo mania before.” He smirked. “I still can’t believe I only got the O in Packo.”
I sighed. “Relax. Packo’s a brand. We can renegotiate your share later.”
He mumbled and waved me off. “Prepare for a Condors invasion. I told Kai, and he’s sure they’ll all be on the next plane here as soon as the news breaks.”
I laughed. “Maybe Holky and Dog will let us use their place for another cookout. We’ll have two HFNA teams giving us shit all day long.”
“I can think of worse things. You?”
“Since I’ll be a Condor now, I should get to know my new teammates.”
“That’ll happen soon, either way. Remember, we’re going to Theo’s party in New York next weekend.”
We settled, chest to chest.
“You nervous?” he asked after a while. “About the trade? Playing together?”
“A little, but mostly I’m excited. We’ll be good together on the ice. Really good.”
“Damn right we will.”
“Hope you don’t get sick of me,” I said. “From being together all the time.”
“I’ve been waiting almost ten years for that.” He traced a finger along my collarbone. “Do you ever think about how we got here?”
“Only all the time.”
He sighed. “It’s been quite a ride. Best friends in college, then enemies for years. Now this.”
