“Fuck, baby, fuck.” Cole’s hands dug into my legs as he slowly stilled.
His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, and I might have whined when he pulled out of me. Seconds later, the trickle of his release leaked out of me. Cole did exactly what he said he would do and tried to push it back in. He smiled at me, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.
“That is sexy as hell,” he murmured. He smirked at me, dropped a kiss on my lips, and disappeared from the room.
I might have drifted off if he hadn’t come back in and cleaned me up with a warm cloth.
“You’re amazing,” I whispered as sleep pulled at me. “I love you so much, Cole.”
“I love you, too, baby.” The bed dipped beneath Cole’s weight as he climbed back onto the mattress. “I’m going to marry you someday.”
I hummed softly. “Me, too.” My eyes flew open. “Wait, did you say—”
“Yes, I did. I want to marry you, Reed.” Cole leaned over and turned off the light. “When we’re both ready, I’d like to have a small wedding with just our friends and family.”
My face broke into a smile that I knew he couldn’t see in the dark. “That sounds perfect.” I could see my parents there, with the WAGs and Cole’s dads. Everyone would be laughing and smiling as we said our vows.
“And then we’ll go on a honeymoon to Hawaii. We’ll have a couple of kids, a boy and a girl we’ll raise together. He’ll be a dancer just like his daddy.”
“And she’ll play hockey just like her daddy.”
Cole kissed me. “Mm, that sounds nice. Our parents will spoil them rotten. Maverick, too.”
“But they won’t spoil them too much. Maybe Maverick will, but that’s okay. Uncles are supposed to spoil their nieces and nephews,” I teased and snuggled closer to him. I didn’t call Killianuncle, but he had done the same for me when I was a kid.
Cole wrapped his strong arms around me. “We’ll live happily ever after,” he promised.
“Forever,” I whispered.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Reed
Isaid a tearful goodbye to Cole the next morning when he left for Seattle. I didn’t want him to leave. I even offered to pack myself in his suitcase so I could go with him. He laughed, but we both knew that was impossible. I watched as he got dressed from the edge of his bed, my hands clutching the jersey he had given me and tried to act like an adult. But it was hard to watch him leave. Even if it was only for a few days.
I went down to my mother’s studio and dragged Zach with me. We taught a class while Mom worked on getting some administrative things done. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Helping the kids as they tried to stretch and move like I could. Zach seemed to enjoy it, too, clapping his hands to encourage them. They all seemed obsessed with my best friend as he moved to stand on his toes, his arms raised over his head and a giant smile on his face. Zach was a brilliant dancer.
But now I was sitting on the Olsons’ back porch along with the rest of the WAGs, my parents, Killian, Archer, Carson, Jack, and everyone who could possibly fit there. And there were a lot of people. Both my father and Dean, Trish, who was chasing Rhodes around, and even RJ Shepard was there. We were all watching the game together, which was something I had never experienced before. Zach was next to me, Tate beside him, and they had their hands over their mouths as Wyatt threw down hisgloves, held up his fists, and started a fight with the captain of the Seattle team.
“Kick his ass, Wy!” Noel exclaimed. Seth giggled next to him and pushed his face against Noel’s shoulder. “There’s no blood, baby, you can look.”
Seth just shook his head and clamped his hands over his ears. “You know I hate this part.”
This was wild. The way everyone was together to celebrate the Panthers. Everyone was wearing a T-shirt or a jersey. Even little Rhodes had one on for his uncle Tommy. My stomach was twisted in knots the entire time. Whenever Cole stepped out onto the ice, I was afraid he would get hurt, but I beamed and cheered when he got control of his puck and made a goal or an assist. He was currently on watch for a hat trick. If he did it, I was pretty sure he would hear my scream all the way from North Carolina.
“I’m glad Oscar is the backup goalie,” Zach murmured. “I don’t know how Blake does this every night. My anxiety is through the roof.”
Blake grinned. “If I were there, I’d be the loudest person in the arena. Trust me, Tommy would know it was me. Besides, Oscar will get a chance to play tomorrow night. Then you’ll know exactly how it feels.”
“It’s scary as hell, but electric at the same time,” Tate commented. “What? I’ve been watching Oscar play since he was in Boston. Now I just get to tell everyone. When I’m ready, of course.”
Maverick popped a brow. “I’d better be first on that list.” He disappeared inside the house, then he stepped back out holding a container in his hands. “Dessert is ready!” He winked, popped open the top to reveal cupcakes decorated in red and white, the Panthers colors. He walked around to make sure everyone hadone before taking a cupcake for himself. Then he sat back down next to Tate and stared at him.
“Stop that.” Dean swatted Maverick’s arm. “Leave him be. He doesn’t have to tell us sh—anything.” He grimaced when he remembered there were kids around.
Maverick huffed. “He’ll talk.”
“I’m going to tell Mom,” Tate warned, but his lips twitched into a smile. Yvette wasn’t there with us tonight, having gone to a Paint and Sip event with her friends. She loved and adored her son-in-law, Jackson, but enjoyed girls’ nights out whenever possible.