Page 14 of Seal the Deal

What happened, Charlie?

I don’t have the right to ask, not yet. So instead I practically beg her to come for drinks, hoping she’ll say yes. Hoping she’ll let me into her world for just a bit longer. But when she says no, I see it. The walls she’s built, the fear she’s carrying. The responsibility that weighs on her.

And I hate that I wasn’t there to help carry it.

I should’ve been there.

“Maybe another time?” I try to keep my voice casual, though it’s harder than I expected.

Her smile is soft but there’s distance in it. “Maybe. It’s just… a lot right now.”

It’s not a promise. It’s a real maybe. The kind that feels fragile, like it could shatter if I push too hard.

But I don’t wantmaybe. I want yes. I want more.

I want to hear about the last twelve years in all their messy, beautiful detail. I want her to tell me everything. The highs, the lows, the dreams, the fears.

Did you ever think about me?

Zoe pulls her away, but my eyes stay glued to Charlie as she moves toward the exit. I force myself not to follow, even though every part of me screams to. She glances back, and there’s something in that unguarded look that's unmistakable.

Her lips part slightly, and her eyes catch mine like she’s trying to make sense of it all. Like she hasn’t just remembered me, but everything we left behind.

It tugs at something deep, a familiar ache I haven’t felt since the morning I watched her leave all those years ago. A thread still hanging, waiting to be pulled.

And God, I want to pull it.

***

I lean back in the booth, letting the cold beer soothe the adrenaline still running through me. Partly from the game, partly from seeingher.

The bar hums with the familiar post-win energy, but I can’t shake the image of Charlie. She’s been on my mind since that second our eyes met on the ice.

“Dude, you’re miles away.” Chase nudges me, scanning the VIP section. “You should be celebrating. That was a killer game.”

I force a grin, taking a sip of my drink. “Yeah, just… thinking”

“Thinking about something orsomeone?”

I don’t answer right away, my mind drifting back to that moment on the ice when I first saw her on the Jumbotron. She looked out of place in the best way, like she didn’t quite belong but was still the most captivating thing in the entire arena.

“Charlotte.” Chase teases. “Pretty, huh?”

Pretty doesn’t even begin to cover it. I nod and take another sip of my beer, letting the image of her settle deeper. Fuck, she’s stunning.

The memories hit me with surprising clarity, pulling me back to that summer. I was on the edge of the draft, looking for something that felt real. Working with kids in sports felt meaningful, especially after years of feeling like my own goals didn’t matter to those around me.

On the last night, we hiked up to the highest point in camp, where the Milky Way felt close enough to touch. I can still hear her laughter, feel the warmth in her words that made me feel like I belonged, like I mattered for just being me.

I wanted to kiss her that night but held back, knowing we’d soon be worlds apart. I told myself it was better that way, yet in that one night, she made me feel more important than I ever had.She was glad I existed. Not for my skills or potential, but just because. No one had ever said that to me before.

Life moved fast after that. She went back to New Zealand, I got drafted, and everything turned into a blur of training and games. But the promise we made to follow our dreams stayed. Maybe that’s why I’ve pushed myself so hard all these years.

Ryan gives me a look. “How’d you know her again?”

I take a sip. “We met at a sports camp in Boulder, both eighteen, just before the draft. She was only here for the summer. Was one of the best summers of my life.”

“Were you guys…?”

---