“Get rid of you so we can be done with this conversation? Maybe I should be more subtle.”
“Okay.” Nan stops Eve and heads back toward the pumpkin patch.
“Did you get the same lecture?” Bode asks, sitting next to me and setting a warm glass of apple cider in front of me.
“About how we’re no fun?”
Bode laughs. “I don’t think they’d understand, but this is the most fun I’ve had in years.”
“Me too.”
“Good.” Bode clinks his glass to mine. “This is the kind of fun I want to keep having.”
“Same.”
Because sitting by Bode’s side in the cool fall air, life finally feels like it’s looking up. Like I clawed my way out from rock bottom and the sun is finally shining again.
The perfect day.
ChapterTwenty-One
BODE
“Hell yeah!” Marcus jumps on top of me as the horn blares through the arena. The fans are on their feet as we celebrate a goal late in the third.
The grin on my face spreads as I skate by the bench, bumping gloves with my teammates. “Way to go, Adams!” Coach yells as I skate back to my starting position for the puck drop.
Damn. That one really felt good. We’re leading Dallas 4-1 now with only a few minutes left. The home crowd doesn’t sit for the remainder of the game as the energy flows down onto the ice.
Even with Dallas pulling their goalie, they can’t get another goal. Defending our end of the ice, I send the puck flying toward their zone and land it in the center of their net.
The red light flashes across the ice as I skate toward the bench.
“That’s what I like to see.” Coach Andrews claps me on the back as I grab my water bottle and take a swig.
“Maybe next time you’ll go for the hat trick.” Noah laughs, elbowing me in the side.
“Sorry to disappoint.”
By the time the final horn sounds, we’ve put the game away, 5-1. We’ll be heading into the All-Star break soon, and going on a winning streak feels fucking amazing.
Plus, if we keep winning, it’ll make it that much easier to secure a spot in the playoffs. No one is saying it, but we’re all thinking about it.
We don’t want to jinx ourselves just yet.
“You want to grab a quick drink before heading home?” Marcus asks, as I come back to my stall after talking to the press and a quick shower. “Harper is taking the kids over to my mom’s tonight so we can have the evening to ourselves.”
My gut reaction is to say no. I want to go home and hang out with Stevie and Caleb. The idea of going out no longer holds the same appeal that it once did.
But now? I wouldn’t mind going out to celebrate a great win with the guys.
“Sure, why not?”
“Wow. Way to sound excited,” Jasper chides.
I not so subtly flip him off before I grab my suit jacket and toss it over my arm. “Hey, Caleb comes first now.”
Marcus claps me on the back as we all stand and start to head out. “He should. But it doesn’t mean you can’t hang out with your teammates.”
