Page 48 of Scoring Slater
Chest bare, he sat, nervous as hell, all too aware of the redhead two stalls away.
Vince walked by, stopped and did a double-take. "New ink?"
"Yeah."
His friend glanced at Slater. "Has he seen it?"
"He hasn't looked at me."
"I can fix that." He tossed a towel at Slater. "Head's up, Knoxie."
Slater snapped his head in their direction. He caught the towel one-handed and grinned. When his gaze landed on Noah, his smile faltered. When it dropped to Noah's chest, his blue eyes widened and whipped back to Noah's face.
They stared at each other, and Noah's heart beat so hard he thought it would pound right out of his chest. He slowly stood as Slater closed the distance between them.
Slater's brows knitted together as he studied the red tattoo. Bright and right in the center of his chest, the lone pop of color among the black ink covering his arms. Slater shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I don't…"
"I meant what I said, Slater. I want you. I'm committed. Nothing's going to change that. Not again."
Slater raised his hand to Noah's chest and paused with his fingers hovering an inch over the ink. "Can I touch it?"
"Just be careful."
A gentle fingertip traced the outside edge the heart and the shape of their first initials inside of it. S + N. The touch radiated out from the point of contact and electrified every cell in his body.
Coach LeClair strode into the room. "Gentlemen. We've got a big game tonight. Always tough when we play Toronto."
Noah's head buzzed as the coach continued to speak. Vince nudged him and jerked his head toward Noah's jersey. He reluctantly stepped away from Slater and finished getting ready.
The conversation with Slater would have to wait. But the way the redhead was looking at him, Noah let himself be optimistic.
He literally had put a claim to Slater over his heart. A statement for everyone to see. Time to prove to himself, to Slater, and to the world, that he meant it.
* * *
The game was a battle. Forwards and defense, all four lines were firing. While Rod was giving a stellar performance in goal, Toronto's goalie was having a bad night. The Bedlam were up four-zero by the end of the second period.
Slater scored one goal early in the first period, for his tenth of the season and Noah slipped two past the goaltender, both in the second period, bringing his total to thirty.
In the waning seconds of the third period, Noah raced down the ice chasing the puck. Every shift of the period, his line mates tried to get it to him. He wanted that third goal so bad…
Celek passed it to him and he fired through the sea of bodies in front of the net.
Score!
The buzzer rang out and his teammates flew in for the celebration. Noah's gaze locked on Slater as he came in for a hug. They had a lot to talk about. Slater's arms wrapped around him, and even though they were separated by layers of their uniforms and everything underneath, their first embrace in weeks felt amazing.
Overcome by emotion, Noah kissed his cheek, and Slater's head whipped to face him.
"Noah?"
Smiling, he leaned forward and brought their mouths together. Soft and warm, the touch and feel of Slater overwhelmed him with a rush of emotions. Love and longing, happiness and joy.
Slater's mouth slanted over his lips with a moan, and Noah tasted salt and sports drink and became aware of the crowd cheering and whistling and chanting their names.
Noah raised his head. "I love you, Slater, and I want the world to know it."
Eyes wide and damp, Slater smiled. "I love you, too."
