Epilogue
BIRTHDAY GIFT
Clover
Strong arms wrap around my waist from behind, and warm lips sweep along my neck. I let my eyes flutter closed and angle my head, giving him access to more skin, should he want it.
And he does.
He nips his way up to my earlobe, and his fingertips find the hem of my shirt and glide under the fabric, drifting up my stomach to cup a breast.
“What are you doing?”
“Kissing you.” He slides a hand into my bra and grazes a nipple. “Touching one of my many favorite parts of you.” His other hand finds the button on my jeans.
“Your family and mine are going to be here in less than an hour.”
“I guess I better be quick then, huh?”
“I still have to prepare the appetizer platter.”
“Our moms and my sister will help you with that. It’s my birthday. I want one of your orgasms as a gift.” I don’t stop him when he flicks the button open and slides his hand down the front of my pants, cupping me over my panties.
“We had sex three hours ago.”
“It feels like days, not hours. Whose idea was it to invite our families over anyway? Why aren’t we going out for dinner?”
“Because we decided it would be nice to host them here. Remember?” My parents flew in from Florida yesterday. They’re staying with Maverick’s parents. Over the past few years, huge family celebrations have become a regular thing.
“We must have had this conversation after sex when my brain wasn’t really functioning.” He pushes my panties to the side, fingertips gliding over my clit.
“Are we really going to do this right here? What if someone shows up early?” I arch, my butt pressing against his erection.
“Hmm . . . Good point.” His lips leave my neck, and the hand down my pants disappears, as does the one in my bra. He dips down and picks me up, carrying me fireman-style across the room.
Herman, our two-year-old German Shepherd, jumps up and starts to follow us to the bedroom, but Maverick closes the door on him. He barks once and whines. When we come out, we’ll find him lying beside the bedroom door, all dejected and sad.
Maverick drops me on the bed and straddles my hips, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. I reach to take my glasses off, but he shakes his head. “Leave them on, Professor Sweet.”
I roll my eyes. “I was a professor for all of a year.”
“You’ll always be my favorite teacher. Every day I learn something new from you.” He pulls my shirt over my head and rids me of my jeans. He pauses, taking in my bra and panties. “This is new. Is this one of my birthday presents?”
“You like?” The bra is pale green lace, the panties the same. I flip over on my stomach.
“Oh fuck, yes. I love it when you get all naughty and pull out the thongs.” He grabs my ass and bites each cheek. “This is, like, my ultimate fantasy, right here.” He pulls his shirt over his head and drops it on the floor. His jeans and boxers follow.
He straddles my thighs and then stretches out on top of me. I turn my head, and his lips connect with my cheek as his erection settles against my lower back. “I want to do dirty things to you.”
“You better do them fast unless you want to spend the rest of the evening wishing you’d planned this out better.”
He chuckles and folds back on his knees, tucking a finger under the waistband and tugging gently. “So fucking sexy.”
I look over my shoulder as he slides his thick cock under the string and along the divide.
“I don’t care what birthday it is; you’re not getting in there with that thing,” I tell him on a low moan.
He chuckles. “Oh, I know. But I can tease you, can’t I?”
I answer with a hum, then moan softly when he stops.
I try to push my butt up. He presses a knee between my legs, and I part for him.
His fingers find my most sensitive skin as he kisses a path up my back.
When I’m on the edge of an orgasm, he covers my body with his again and enters me from behind.
It’s become one of my favorite positions. He’s so deep, and with every thrust, he strokes my G-spot. He takes my chin in his palm and turns my head gently until our lips meet. He keeps rolling his hips, a slow and steady climb all the way to the peak.
After I come, he pulls out and flips me over. He tugs my panties down my thighs and stretches out over me again. His hands curl around my shoulders. “I love you so much,” he murmurs against my lips.
“And I love you.” I wrap my hand around the back of his neck. “You gonna come for me now, Mr. Waters?”
One side of his mouth quirks up in a salacious grin, and his thrusts grow harder, pushing deeper, moving faster. After a moment, he comes on a low groan and collapses on top of me. “Can we play strip Scrabble after everyone leaves?” he mumbles into my neck.
“Absolutely. Now can I get dressed so I’m not scrambling when your family arrives?”
“Definitely. I’ll even help. That’s how much of a team player I am.”
I change into another new bra and panty set while Maverick stands there, still naked, biting his knuckle. “You’re gonna be the best dessert in the world. I’m actually considering skipping dessert entirely so I can cover you in chocolate syrup and lick it off your body.”
I pull my jeans on. “I made a cake. From scratch.”
“Right. You’ll be dessert round two.” He jabs his legs into his boxers.
He’s just pulled his shirt over his head when Herman starts barking.
“Oh my God. People are here. I need to make sure my hair doesn’t scream freshly fucked.” I grab my brush and yank it through, smoothing out knots at the crown. My cheeks are flushed, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
It could be from running around the kitchen as easily as it could be from sex.
The first people to arrive are Lavender, Kody, and River. Lavender and Kody flew in from New York this morning, and they’re staying at his parents’ place. It worked out well because he has a game tomorrow night in Chicago, and we’re all going to see him play.
Lavender pulls me in for a hug. “FYI, my mom is going to bring up a trip to New York for a girls’ weekend. She’s already got the whole itinerary planned, and she’s convinced your mom it’s a great idea. Sorry in advance, but I promise we’ll have fun, even if it will also be mildly embarrassing.”
Kody lifts his hand in a wave. He’s an interesting guy. Mostly quiet and pretty serious, but he lightens up a lot when he’s around Maverick, and it’s very, very clear that he’s painfully in love with Lavender. The sun rises and sets on her.
Our little cabin slowly fills with family.
All the parents arrive next, and his cousin BJ.
His brother Robbie couldn’t make it because he’s still out in British Columbia managing a crop harvest, but he visited this summer, and this morning he and Maverick had a video chat.
He also sent a giant bag of edibles that arrived last week. I put those in the freezer.
Over the past three years, Maverick and I have grown, both individually and as a couple.
He took classes part-time and completed a master’s in business administration.
I’m still working at the library, but only part-time now, because last year we opened Lavender House, a not-for-profit women’s shelter designed to give women in abusive relationships and their children a safe place to get back on their feet.
We’ve hired an entire team of counselors, including Sophia, and part of the program includes self-defense classes.
In addition, we’ve managed to grow the volunteer program of both professional and non-professional athletes who escort these women to court dates and help them retrieve their personal effects from their homes while we transition them into new housing.
None of it would have been possible without the help of Mav’s parents.
And part of our staff includes Queenie Kingston.
Her husband, Ryan, was the team’s goalie when Maverick’s dad was the coach in Seattle.
They’ve been friends with his parents for a long time, and their family moved out this way a couple of years ago.
She developed an art therapy program for children coming out of abusive homes, and I run their literacy program.
Every day I get to see Maverick shine his light on people who are struggling to find their way out of the dark. He’s a beautiful soul, and I’m lucky to have fallen in love with him.
We eat dinner, laugh, joke, and talk about our plans for the Chrismukkah celebration at Lavender House.
We’ve been able to secure donations from local businesses, so all the kids will have presents, as well as their mothers, and we have a huge dinner planned with a movie night for the kids.
Violet is a tremendous support, as are all the other women in their hockey family.
Being part of Maverick’s world and his family has opened my eyes to exactly how supportive they all are of each other.
And I love that my parents have been folded right in.
My brother and his girlfriend couldn’t make it this time, but they came and spent a week with us this summer, and they’re coming out this way again for Thanksgiving.
And I see now, in a way that I couldn’t before, exactly why hockey has been such an important part of Mav’s life and why choosing a different path was such a challenge for him.
Maverick opens his gifts after dinner. It’s almost a surprise when his mother doesn’t give him something embarrassing.
Instead, she gives him the Onyx Scrabble edition, which he gets irrationally excited about.
She seems pleased, and she doesn’t need to know that his excitement is more about the fact that we play by a very different set of rules.
“You have to come outside to see your gift from me,” I tell him.
“Did you buy me a star?”
I shake my head. “You’ll never guess. Come on.” We all put on our shoes and head out to the small garage. Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a project with some help from his family.
“Did you get me a riding lawn mower?”
“We already have one.”
“A tractor? We have two acres. We should definitely have a tractor.”
“No. It’s not a tractor.” I hit the button, and the door whirrs as it opens.
I thread my arm through his and watch as his expression turns from questioning to surprise.
“It’s a home office. I know how important it is for you to have space carved out for working, and the cabin isn’t really set up for it, so on the days you’re not in the office or on the ice, you’ll have this. ”
“Holy crap, Clover. How the hell did you manage to do this without me knowing?”
“Careful planning and a lot of help.” I look over my shoulder, smiling at his family and mine, who seem just as excited as me for this unveiling.
He takes a few steps forward, pulling me along with him.
“Holy shit, is that . . . are those my cranes?” He reaches up and touches one.
They’re hanging from the ceiling in a spiral design.
They’re every color of the rainbow, and some of them sport inappropriate and hilarious designs, which I found out from Violet was old wrapping paper from Christmas and other holidays over the years. She always held on to them.
In the very center of the spiral is the first crane he ever gave me. The one he left on my nightstand. It wasn’t until we moved in together that I realized there was a note inside that read:
Clover,
I wanted to leave my number, but I don’t think I could handle the disappointment if you didn’t call. 1000 cranes equal a single wish.
Mine is that the universe brings you back to me.
Only 999 to go.
~x Maverick
I put it in a special box and kept it safe, until now.
“Your mom brought a few boxes over from the house, and we spent a couple of days putting them up. There are a thousand. Exactly enough for a wish.”
He takes my face between his hands. “You are everything I never knew I needed.” He presses his lips to mine and wraps me in a hug I feel all the way to my soul.
“Thank you for this,” he adds. “I can’t tell you how much it means that I have all of you backing me.
” His voice cracks at the end, and he releases me to hug the rest of his family, all of whom helped make this happen, not just for him, but for us.
“I have something for you.” Maverick reaches into the pocket of his hoodie.
“For me? It’s your birthday. The presents are supposed to be for you.”
“It is for me.” He takes one of my hands in his and drops to his knee.
“Maverick?” I glance over at our families, who are all standing there like they knew this was going to happen. His mother smiles and then gives me her cringey face. It looks like she’s going to cry—but happy tears. I turn my attention back to him.
“Thank you for being my light in the dark, for opening my eyes and for taking a chance on us. For saving me from myself. The only thing I want for this birthday, and every single one yet to come, is to know I get to celebrate with you. You’re already my partner in every way that matters.
Marry me, Clover. You have my heart, I want you to have my soul too. ”
He flips open the box, and inside is a beautiful diamond ring—three stones arranged in what could be a clover.
My eyes well, and my lip trembles.
He nods toward his family and winks at me. “No pressure or anything.”
I laugh. “Of course I’ll marry you. I’m yours, until the end of forever and whatever comes after.”
Our families clap and whistle.
He puts the ring on my finger and stands to kiss me. And of course, because he’s Maverick, he slips me the tongue. Just a quick stroke and then he pulls back. “I’m really glad you said yes. Otherwise this would’ve gotten real awkward.”
We’re enveloped in a huge hug, one that speaks of unconditional love. I know that however unconventional our beginning, Maverick and I are supported and celebrated by the people who matter most to both of us.
I might have been the hand that pulled him up from the darkness, but Maverick is the light. And I get to watch him shine every day.