Page 83 of Pucking Knox
Because I am.
Just like she's everything I never knew I needed.
"Take me home," she whispers against my mouth. "Also get me some food before I gethangry."
I chuckle. "Let’s get out of here."
Chapter 31
Epilogue
One Year Later
"The next speaker, graduating summa cum laude and this year's valedictorian, Kennedy Walters."
I rise from my seat among my classmates, catching Knox's proud grin from the audience. He sits between my brother and my father, looking devastatingly handsome in a suit. The bad boy enforcer turned NHL star, who now does charity work with troubled youth and gives interviews about love making him better.
We've both grown so much this year.
"Four years ago," I begin my speech, "I thought I knew exactly who I was supposed to be. The senator's perfect daughter. The campaign's ideal prop. Someone who followed rules and met expectations."
Knox's smile softens, knowing where this is going.
"But college taught me something important – that being perfect isn't nearly as valuable as being real. That sometimes the best decisions look like mistakes on paper. That love, real self-love, is worth every risk."
My father actually tears up in the audience. Because he knows – we all know – how close I came to losing myself in his campaign's perfect image. How finding Knox, loving Knox, helped me find myself too.
After the ceremony, Knox lifts me off my feet in a spin that makes my graduation cap fall off.
"My beautiful intelligent girlfriend," he murmurs against my hair. "Harvard Law won't know what hit them."
"Mr. Thompson," I smile and kiss him. "What would your fans say about their enforcer being so soft?"
"They already know." There was a magazine cover he did and they called the article:NHL's Bad Boy Contributes to Charity’s. "Pretty sure our story is public record at this point."
He's right. The media loves us – the senator's daughter and the hockey star, proving that love conquers all. They follow his games, my law school acceptance, our public appearances. Write articles about how he's changed, how we've grown.
The graduation party at the beach house feels like coming full circle. Same waves crashing outside, same family gathering, but everything’s different now.
Ace is back to being best friends with Knox. My father discusses NHL stats instead of polling numbers. Even Patricia, who once saw Knox as a campaign liability, asks for his autograph for her nephew.
"Remember our first time here?" Knox whispers as we sneak away to the pool.
"How could I forget?" I splash him playfully. "Pretty sure that was the night that scared you away."
"Look at us now." He pulls me close, water lapping around us. "God, you’re beautiful. I’m so fucking proud of you."
"No thanks to you constantly interrupting my studying."
"With good reason, Princess." His hands find my hips under water. "I can never control myself around you."
This past year has been a revelation. Watching Knox thrive in the NHL, protecting his team with controlled power instead of rage. His father's attempts at contact go unanswered now – not from anger, but from growth. He's broken that cycle, become his own man.
And I've found my own path too. Law school isn't about pleasing my father – it's about making real change. Using privilege for purpose. Building something impactful.
We made it work, between his games and my studies. He flies back for my important events, I travel to his away games when I can. But mostly we just... live. Cook dinner in his apartment. Study while he watches game tape. Now I’ll be in a different city, but it’s not like it matters with how much he travels.
"Dance with me?" Knox pulls me from the pool, music drifting from the party inside.
