Page 137 of Don't Puck His Best Friend
I stand and walk over to Cole, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I was serious about marriage and babies.”
He chuckles. “Me too.”
He spins and lifts me off the ground. “Let’s start now.”
I squeal as he runs down to our bedroom. “Cole! Cole!” I laugh. “Our food’s not going to cook itself.”
He drops me on the bed and says, “My girlfriend needs attention right now. It can wait.”
He lays me back like I’m something precious and says, “Let’s finish what we started in the shower earlier, shall we?”
I nod, stripping off my clothes. He nearly falls over removing his shoes, and I laugh as he catches himself on the dresser.
When he plunges into me, I moan his name as he kisses me everywhere.
“You’re so beautiful,” he moans, pumping into me. “You’re all mine.”
49
Common Ground
Cole
Iwalkintotherink for practice with my shoulders tight, expecting the worst. Expecting another confrontation, another fight, another layer of shit to deal with. But when I see Liam by his stall, lacing up his skates, he looks up and our eyes meet.
He stands and walks over.
I brace myself, fists already clenching at my sides.
He extends his hand.
I stare at it for a second, trying to figure out the angle, the trick, what he's playing at. But there's nothing in his expression except exhaustion and something like acceptance.
I take his hand. We shake once, firm, and that's it.
No words. No apology. No grand gesture or emotional breakdown. Just a handshake that says what we both need it to say: we're done fighting. We're moving on. We're going to be teammates for the rest of the season, and then we'll probably never speak again, and that's okay.
He nods once and goes back to his stall.
I go to mine.
Practice is normal. We run drills, work plays, chirp each other the way teammates do. Liam and I end up paired for a passing drill, and it's fine. Not good, not like it used to be, but fine. Functional.
After practice, Sirus catches up with me in the parking lot.
"What the hell was that?" he asks.
"What was what?"
"You and Liam shaking hands like you just closed a business deal."
I shrug, throwing my bag in the truck. "We're good."
"You're good?"
"Yeah. We're good."
Sirus shakes his head. "You two are the most emotionally constipated people I've ever met."
