Page 95 of The Girlfriend Goal
"The girl, huh?"
"Woman. Love of my life. Destroyer of my defensive walls." He tilted my chin up. "Keeper of my jersey."
"It's pretty comfortable," I admitted. "Might keep it."
"It's yours. I'm yours." Simple statements that remade my world.
Chapter 36: Lance
May arrived in a blur of finals, NHL combine preparations, and stolen moments with Rachel between our increasingly hectic schedules. The reality of impending separation loomed, but we'd gotten better at acknowledging it without panic.
"Vancouver wants a second interview," I told her over breakfast, scrolling through emails. "And Seattle's scout mentioned their AHL affiliate needs defensive depth."
Rachel's head snapped up from her own laptop. "Seattle? As inmySeattle?"
"Same metropolitan area, yeah." I tried to sound casual despite my racing heart. "Tacoma's about forty minutes from the city. Would mean AHL salary and bus leagues, but—"
"But we'd be in the same state." She abandoned her laptop entirely. "Lance, that's amazing. The Thunderbirds have a great development program, and the Kraken are building something special."
"Don't get too excited," I warned. "It's just one option. Calgary and Nashville both seem interested too."
"Right, of course." She visibly reined in her enthusiasm. "Any option is good. This is about your career."
"Our careers," I corrected. "And our life, which matters too."
She kissed me soundly. "Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"
"Not in the last hour."
"Slacking. I love you." Another kiss. "And I promise not to influence your decision. Even though Seattle has great coffee and no humidity and would mean waking up next to you sometimes."
"You're terrible at not influencing."
"I'm enthusiastic about possibilities."
Her excitement was infectious. I'd been trying not to get attached to any particular outcome, but the thought of being even relatively close to Rachel?
"The money would be tight," I said carefully. "AHL salary barely covers rent in a market like that."
"I'll be making intern wages, so we'll be broke together." She grinned. "Very romantic. We can eat ramen and complain about our bosses."
"Already planning our poverty?"
"Planning our adventure." She straddled my lap, breakfast forgotten. "Though I should mention – if you pick based solely on me and end up miserable, I'll feel guilty forever."
"Noted. Same goes for you turning down better opportunities to stay near me."
"Deal." She sealed it with a kiss that led to us being very late for class.
The week before graduation passed in a whirlwind. Parents descended on campus, mine thankfully not including Richard.
Rachel's family arrived en masse – parents, two brothers, and her sister, plus various aunts and cousins who'd made the drive. Their warm chaos enveloped me immediately.
"So you're the hockey boy," her father said, his handshake firm but not crushing. "Jared speaks highly of you."
"Jared's biased," I said. "But I try to live up to his praise."
"He mentioned you stood up to your father about Rachel." His expression shifted, becoming protective. "That takes courage."
