Page 70 of The Pucking Kiss

“College,” I smiled. “With you. Maybe we can get an apartment together if we end up in the same city.”

Romai blushed. “I’ve thought of that. Honestly, your chances of getting into a great college are really solid. You are practically one of the top hockey players in the country in your league.”

“And because of you, my grades have improved drastically,” I told her. “I know that things are going to work out for the both of us.”

Maybe it was the joy of the victory, but I felt optimistic about what lay ahead of us. As long as I had Romai by my side, I knew that nothing was impossible.

Life continued to be on an upward trajectory for me. My dad decided that he wanted to move out to my city to be closer to me, and I could not be happier with that decision.

It felt like a firm step from him to fix our relationship for the better.

My relationship with Romai was better than ever, and we had a bond that was truly special.

It was the day when college decisions were going to be announced, and Romai and I sat together at our laptops, holding hands as we waited for the decision to be updated.

“What do you think it’s going to be?” I asked her.

With her help, I applied to some of the top schools in the country. My grades had improved massively, and I had passed all of my classes.

“I think you’re going to get in,” she said, giving me a warm smile.

“You have way too much faith in me, babe.”

“For good reason,” she reminded me gently. “Trust me, it’s all going to work out great.”

“You go first,” I said to her, urging her to refresh the screen.

She nodded, pressing the button. When the screen refreshed, we saw that she had gotten into all of the schools that she had applied to.

“Oh my god,” I wrapped her into a hug. “That’s huge news. Congratulations. I always knew that you could do it.”

She smiled at me warmly. “I know. But it’s not going to be good if you’re not there. It’s your turn now.”

Sucking in a deep breath, I refreshed the screen.

To my surprise, I saw the letters ACCEPTED written on the screen. I turned to Romai with an expression of shock on my face.

“Oh my god,” she yelled out in joy. “You got into UPenn! That was my first choice of school. This means we can be together.”

“Am I dreaming?”

“No, you’re not babe. You got in.”

She wrapped me in a tight hug, and I felt as though I was on cloud nine.

“None of this would have ever been possible with you,” I told her gently. “I hope you always remember that.”

The future felt bright, and with Romai by my side, I knew I had a lot to look forward to.

Epilogue

Romai

One Year Later

I woke up to Bryan’s arms still draped around me. We had made a habit of waking up entangled like this since we now lived together. Going to the same college came with benefits like that.

“Morning, sleepy head,” Bryan kissed the top of my head. He must have been waiting for me to get up. It was little things like this that made me love him even more, and he was always just so considerate with me.