Page 107 of Reach Around

It hits me like a wave, hot and sharp and overwhelming. This isn’t a crush. It’s not a fantasy. It’s him.Brogan.My best friend. My first love. My always.

And somehow, impossibly, he’s mine.

We sit there a while, the warmth of the room wrapping around us like a blanket. My bear claw’s half-eaten, coffee gone lukewarm, and yet I don’t want to move. Don’t want to shift the moment. Brogan’s thumb is still brushing the side of my hand, like he’s memorizing the shape of me.

“So…what now?” I ask.

His brow creases. “You mean us?”

“I mean… everything.” I motion vaguely with my hand, careful not to jostle the pill bottle or the stack of ice packs he brought with him. “The team. The future. You said we’d talk more today.”

He leans back slightly, the air changing just enough that I can tell the weight of it’s been pressing on him.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about that,” he says, voice low. “What happens when hockey’s not the whole picture anymore.”

“You’re not done,” I say quickly, before I can stop myself. “You’re getting better. You still have it.”

“I know,” he nods, “but for the first time, I’m not terrified of what happens next. Not because I have a backup plan but because…” His voice catches. “Because I’m not alone in it anymore.”

My throat gets tight again. “You mean me?”

He meets my eyes and everything about him softens. “Of course I mean you. When I was trying to figure this all out before, it was like staring down an empty rink with no net, no goal. Just skating in circles. But now?”

“Now?” I breathe.

“I’ve got you,” he says simply. “I’ve got a soft place to fall.”

I blink, feeling that familiar wave crash again, steady and slow and so full of emotion I’m not sure I can hold it all in.

“I know coaching’s probably in the cards,” he adds. “I’ve been helping out with the Mega Mites more. I like it. I’m good at it. And maybe it’s not glamorous, but it’s real. And it matters.”

“It matters a lot,” I whisper. “You light up around those kids, Brogan. They adore you.”

His lips tug into a smile. “You think so?”

“I know so. And if it’s what you want… I’m behind you. All the way.”

He reaches for my other hand, both of ours now cradled between his.

“You’ve always believed in me,” he says, eyes shining. “Even when I didn’t.”

“Someone had to,” I whisper. “Might as well be the girl who’s been doodling your name in hearts since grade school.”

He laughs. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

And just like that, the future doesn’t seem quite so scary.

Not when we’re facing it together.

He rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile tugging at his mouth like he secretly likes being needed.

“You’re fussing,” I murmur as he fluffs my pillow for the third time.

“I’m nurturing,” he counters. “Big difference.”

“Is this what I get now? Full-time Brogan Foster treatment?”

---