Page 106 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
“You’re my boyfriend.”
The way he grins, like he’s never been so excited, turns me on even more. “And you’re my girlfriend.”
“I love the sound of that.”
Love
I’m aching to tell Theo that I love him, but I hold back. This has been an exciting morning on its own with Theo finding out that he’s back on his team and the two of us deciding to be relationship official. I don’t want to overwhelm him by dropping the “l” bomb too.
I slide onto him and groan at how big he is. He lets out a curse as he digs his fingers into my hips.
As we writhe and kiss and grope each other in bed, I decide to tell him after his first game back. I smile against his lips, savoring the way he tastes, the way he touches me.
I’m vibrating with pleasure and anticipation. I can’t wait to tell Theo I love him.
Chapter35
Theo
My lungs are on fire as I sprint across the ice. I’m chasing after Luca Markov, the fastest forward on Seattle’s team, who just got possession of the puck and is headed straight for our net.
Our goalie Blomdahl straightens up, ready to block his shot. And there’s a good chance he will, considering Blomdahl has the reflexes of a goddamn cat. But I don’t want him to even have to. I want to take that puck from Markov. I want to show my team, the other team, Coach Porter, the fans in the arena, and everyone watching tonight’s game that I belong here. That even though I’ve been gone, I’m still a solid player who can hold my own on the ice.
Adrenaline rockets through my body as I speed ahead, closing in the space between Markov and me. He’s just a dozen feet from Blomdahl now and sets up to take his shot, but I race forward and hit the puck away. Isaac appears and takes possession of the puck and skates off. The home crowd cheers.
I smile despite Markov shoulder checking me and cursing at me. As I race ahead, I inhale, relishing the cold air filling my lungs. I take in the deafening screams of the crowd. Damn, it feels good to be back.
Isaac aims for the Seattle net but the puck bounces off the post. We scramble with the Seattle defenders for a few seconds before Xander manages to grab the puck. Some giant Seattle rookie defender is on his ass, so I skate over into Xander’s line of sight. I’m the only one near him who’s open so he passes the puck off to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that defender barreling toward me so I hit the puck. A split second later, it lands at the back of the Seattle net.
The entire arena is on their feet, cheering and screaming. My teammates crowd around me, hollering and smacking me in celebration.
We break apart and head back to center ice. As I get ready for the puck drop, I catch eyes with Maya, who’s sitting near the Basher’s player box. She’s grinning wide as she looks at me. Next to her are Tyler and Tori. Eyes glued to me, she mouths “Amazing.” My stomach feels like it’s flipping somersaults. As good as it felt to have my team and Bashers fans supporting me, seeing Maya cheer me on feels fucking incredible. The woman I love is watching me play, celebrating with me, supporting me. She’s sharing one of the most important moments in my career with me. I feel like I could fucking fly.
I zero in on the white number eleven that’s emblazoned on the red Bashers jersey she’s wearing. My jersey. My number.
A fiery flash levels me on the inside. Like adrenaline but more raw, more powerful. There’s something so primal about seeing the woman I’m crazy about wearing my number, my jersey. It’s probably silly, but I don’t care. I fucking love it.
The ref drops the puck and play resumes. When the game ends, we won, two to one.
While the rest of the team heads back to the box, I take a second to skate over to Maya. She hops up from her seat, beaming as she looks at me. Her eyes are sparkling. She’s looking at me like she’s in love with me, and god, it’s doing a number on me. All I wanna do is take her back home to the cabin and have my way with her.
“You were incredible,” she says.
“I was okay,” I joke.
Still smiling, Maya rolls her eyes. Tyler walks up next to his sister.
“Dude, that was insane. What a comeback.”
Tori nods excitedly in agreement.
“Thanks, guys,” I say. “After I get cleaned up, you wanna hang out up in the team box? Most of the guys will be there.”
Tyler’s eyes go wide like he’s a kid seeing Santa with a sack full of gifts on Christmas morning. “Are you serious?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. I just gotta debrief with the team and shower after the game, but I’ll meet you up there. I’ll give security your names.”
Tyler and Tori thanks me. I turn back to Maya and do a slow scan of her in that jersey. “Hot.”
