Page 91 of Neo
“Not with me she doesn’t.”
“I just want to hold you, baby,” he says in a voice as if he’s actually in pain.
“Oh, stop it.” I mock. “I’m not doing anything in here, including snuggling with you behind a closed door.”
“Damn, Grinch, you’re getting on my nerves with this whole prude act.”
“Am I? Then I’m doing my job well.”
“Okay, I give in. Let’s go to the family room, cuddle on the sofa and find something to watch on Netflix. Can we at least do that?”
I think about it for a moment and figure that should be safe enough. “Sure, I’m fine with that.”
“Put on your sleep sweats so you can get comfortable.”
“Neo,” I warn.
“No funny business. I swear. I just want you to relax. I’ve never seen you this uptight. It’s cute how you want to impress my mom.”
“Fine,” I push him out the door. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
After an hour of us watching a movie I couldn’t remember the name of if you paid me, we fall asleep on the couch in each other’s arms, the events of the day weaving us even closer together.
It was more than just a visit; it’s a sharing of souls, a merging of past and present. And when my mother visits me for the first time since she died with a peaceful smile in my dreams, I know with absolute certainty that this is where I’m supposed to be.
epilogue
One Year Later
T-Mobile Arena
Violet
The large Las Vegasarena roars to life as I watch Neo skate onto the ice, now a star in the NHL, living out the dream he’s always chased. The energy is electric, and here I am in the VIP box, his number one fan, draped in one of his red and black Devils jerseys, which still carries his intoxicating scent.
“Cap is amazing!” Kennedy, my ever-enthusiastic roomy, yells over the crowd’s roar. Her eyes are alight with excitement. “Look at him go! I swear he’s faster than he was in the Suns’ championship win last year.”
Pride swells in my chest as I watch Neo, graceful and powerful on the ice. “He’s been in the weight room religiously,” I say, a wide grin plastered on my face, as he weaves through the opposition and scores with an effortless flick. “He calls me from there sometimes and makes me watch him work out.”
“Oh brother,” Kennedy pretends to stick a finger down her throat. “You don’t need to share everything with me.”
The crowd erupts as the puck hits the net, and I’m on my feet, clapping and cheering. Neo looks up, finds me in the crowd, and offers me a smile that makes my heart flutter.
After the first period ends, the kiss cam lands on us. I blush as the crowd erupts in cheers, and before I know what’s happening, Neo is clambering over the boards and jogging towards me. He reaches our box, pulls me into his arms, and plants a kiss that’s so movie-star perfect the crowd goes wild.
“You’re such a show-off,” I whisper when he pulls back, his eyes gleaming with that playful charm.
“I have to give the fans what they want, Grinch,” he says, and then he’s off, back to the locker room with the rest of the team.
“He marked you in college and now he’s marked you on national television. Nothing’s changed, I see,” Kennedy chuckles. “He seems happy, though.”
“He does, right?”
“Imagine how he’ll act once you graduate and join him out east.”
“That’s in almost two and a half years, though.”
“Which is your ridiculous choice. Neo makes an obscene amount of money, which he could literally use to buy you a degree or, at the very least, pay for you to transfer and go to school out there. I heard Villanova has a great pre law program that feeds right into their law school.”