Page 122 of Hockey Boy
Lennox cuffs the back of my neck and forces her lips to mine, taking me in a rough kiss. As our tongues tangle and our breaths mingle, I get lost in her.
When she pulls back and smiles, swiping my lips clean from what I imagine is her lip gloss, I breathe out a curse. “Fuck, Lex. This is some way to come home.”
Her rosy cheeks lift, and her blue eyes sparkle. “Hopefully it’ll always be like this,” she says with that mischievous glint in her eye.
“You won’t find me complaining about that.”
Linking her fingers with mine, she leads me toward the fort she’s created. “Relax while I grab our dinner.”
I arch a brow. “You cooked?”
Her soft responding laugh has my cock growing impossibly hard. “Cooking would be grossly overstating what I did.”
I chuckle as I watch her walk away, craning my neck until she’s completely out of view. Then I lean back against the pillows she’s pulled from our bed and make myself comfortable.
“How was practice?” she calls from the other room.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, reminding me that it was blowing up as I was rushing to get home. The screen is filled with text notifications from my brothers, but for once, I don’t rush to read them. I have no doubt that whatever they’re talking about would make me laugh, but I just want her. I hit the power button, turning it off completely, and toss the phone onto the couch. Everyone else can wait. The outside worldcan fade away for all I care. Everything I need is in this room.
“It was good. I’ll probably need to get some extra time in with the rookies this week, but I just wanted to come home to you tonight.”
When Lennox reappears, a tray in her hand and a knowing smirk on her face, I know I made the right decision. “I appreciate that.”
As she approaches, I take the tray so that she can settle beside me. “Orange soda and sandwiches,” I muse as I take in the spread. Even as I tease her, my chest squeezes again, my heart trying to find a way out while my body pulls it right back in. I’d hand it to her on this platter if it was possible.
When Lennox is settled beside me, she turns those blue eyes on me. They’re tender rather than teasing.
“I thought that keeping things surface level with men would keep me safe. I knew I couldn’t survive another us, so I hid my true self behind my sass and loud personality. It was better that way. The only person who ever really got past the walls I’d put up was Sara, but she had her own walls—her own secrets. It was easier to sit atop them together than to break them down. So I flitted from job to job, casually dated, kept in touch with family and friends through text messages rather than making time for real connections, all because I thought that if I got too close, a man might worm his way into my heart, and I’d risk being broken again.”
I watch Lennox silently, understanding precisely what she means. Maybe I let more people in because I had—have—good relationships with my brothers. My sister and parents too. Teammates I’d fight for who’d also fight for me. I’ve allowed myself relationships, but like Lennox, when it came to love, I never truly gave myself to anyone else. Never let them see the broken pieces of me—or the real parts.
I gave the world a sugared version of myself, but for different reasons than she did. I did it because I was afraid if they saw the real me, they’d be disappointed. Different reasons, same outcome: we kept everyone on the outside.
“I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to feel. I want to risk. Iwant tolove. And I want to do it all with you by my side.” Lennox takes my hand. “I’m going to take the job with your family’s company. I’m all in, Aiden.”
This declaration feels a hell of a lot more permanent than even her acceptance of my proposal. Unconsciously, I stroke her engagement ring. It should be one hell of a sweet reminder that she’s mine. If not for the timeline imposed by her family trust, I’m not sure she would have said yes. But right now? It sounds like she’s saying yes to us.
Whatever that entails.
And in the meantime, she’ll become my wife, and hopefully one day she’ll be happy about that too.
“That’s good, because I’ve been all in since day one.”
With a soft laugh, she angles in to kiss me again.
“I like the spread,” I say, grabbing one half of a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich and handing it to her.
Lennox hums as she takes a bite. “Figure we have a lot of movie nights to make up for.”
I perk up in excitement as I pick up the other half of the sandwich. “Oh yeah? What are we starting with?”
Lennox just grins and nods at the remote control. “Have at it, Hockey Boy. Figured I’d start with one of our favorites.”
When I hit play and Bridget Jones’s voice filters through the space, I bark out a laugh. “Yes!” I pump one fist.
Beside me, Lennox giggles and snuggles closer. With a deep inhale, I sink into this feeling. Into the past and into the present. Into the good.
And I say a prayer that this feeling never ends.