“And thankfully you said yes.” I try to laugh off the seriousness of the moment. “Because we’re here now.”
Graduation is coming on sooner than I want. Before, I wanted to be done and picked up by any team that would have me. My dad and mom wanted to make sure I got an education because hockey wouldn’t last forever.
I was angry with them when I first came to SDU. Hockey was everything to me. I wanted to be in the big leagues. To bypass college altogether.
Now, I can’t help but wonder if it was all part of some bigger plan for me. Because if I left early, I wouldn’t have met Angie.
Slotting her into my life plans has been easy. Wherever I end up, I want her by my side.
“Where do you want to end up?” she asks me again.
“Colorado. I’ve wanted to be a Black Diamond since high school.”
“Denver. Interesting choice.”
“Why’s that interesting?” I nudge her side.
“I’m hoping to end up in Denver. Fancy that.”
“Huh. I had no idea,” I say with a grin.
“What do you think would happen if we both end up there?” she asks. “Do you think we’ll still be together?”
“That’s up to you.”
She spins in my arms, facing me now. “Why me?”
I guess it’s time to put everything on the line. Not like we haven’t talked about the future before, but it’s always been in general terms—something so far away, we didn’t really have to think about it.
Now? Now it’s here. It’s coming whether we want it to or not. I want her to know exactly how I see my future.
With her in it.
“Angie, I love you. More than I ever thought possible. But this thing between us? There’s a very big bump in the road if we plan on staying together.”
Tears gather in her eyes as her shoulders slump forward. “My dads.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
Tilting her chin up with my knuckle, I force her to look at me. “I want to be with you, Angie. This future I’m thinking about? I want you there with me. But I don’t want to come between you and your family.”
Her lip quivers, and it damn near breaks my heart.
“I love you too, Troy. I love you and I want to be with you so badly it hurts. But I don’t know how to do that. How do I tell the two most supportive parents there arethat I am with the son of someone who caused them so much pain?”
Those are the words I wanted to hear so badly from her. I wish they weren’t fraught with so much emotion.
“Why don’t we figure it out together?”
“You make it sound so easy.” Her voice breaks, and I pull her into my arms.
“If it means I get to be with you, I’d walk through the gates of hell and back.”
“Okay, I don’t think it’ll be that bad. Well, maybe.”
The last rays of sun hit the beach, and it’s then I decide to break up the heaviness of the moment. Lifting Angie into my arms, I run toward the water.
