Chapter Thirty-Nine
THIRTY-NINE
Aidan
I take a sip of my beer and glance over at Micah sitting next to me in the stands of the arena.
She stares ahead at the ice, watching the players fight for control of the puck. “Wow. Your brother is really good.”
I watch him take possession of the puck from a defender on the opposing team, then speed down the ice. “Yeah, I guess he’s okay.”
She elbows me and chuckles, then grabs the beer from my hand and takes a long sip.
We both watch as Liam closes in on the goalie and sinks the puck at the back of the net. We jump up and cheer along with the rest of the home crowd.
Micah hollers “Woo-hoo!” and pumps her fist.
When I chuckle, she turns to me. “What?” she asks.
“I think it’s really cute that you get so into it.”
Smiling, she shrugs. “Sports are fun.”
“You a big hockey fan?” I ask as we sit back down.
“Not really. But I can go to most sporting events and have a good time.” She raises the plastic cup of beer, and I laugh. “Except for golf. So boring.”
She hands me back the beer, and I take a sip. “You’re right about that.”
I run my gaze over the outfits she’s wearing. She’s in dark yoga pants, boots, and one of my hoodies with Liam’s team logo on it.
“Thanks again for letting me borrow your hoodie.” She smiles at me.
My heart beats faster in my chest. This the first time I’ve seen Micah in casual clothes, and I really, really like it.
She always looks beautiful no matter what she wears, but it feels different seeing her like this—drinking a beer, relaxed, letting loose, having fun.
I love that she’s letting me see this different side of her. I love that she’s comfortable being herself around me.
And I love that she’s wearing my hoodie. That she feels comfortable wearing something of mine in public, in front of everyone.
That familiar pull in my chest hits yet again.
My brain pictures Micah sitting with me at all of my brother’s home games, wearing my hoodie. I picture waking up with her in my bed every morning. I picture cuddling her on my couch after a joint writing session. My chest aches.
I want that. All of that. So bad.
I take another long sip of beer and quietly scold myself for get carried away and picturing a future with Micah. This is temporary. We’re just messing around, having fun.
But even as I tell myself that, it feels wrong. Because that’s not how I feel at all.
When the first period ends, I ask Micah if she’s hungry and she says yes. I offer to run to the concession stand and grab her whatever she’s craving.
She shakes her head. “I’m hungry, and I don’t know what I want. I have to see what my options are.”
I laugh as we stand up and head up the stairs to the nearest concession stand. She settles on popcorn and nachos. As we stand off to the side and wait for our food, I freeze.
There’s my dad walking by.
He spots me when he’s a dozen feet away. He stops suddenly, and the person behind him runs into him. My dad apologizes and walks over to us.
Micah loops her hand in mine. I look over at her.
“You okay?” she asks.
I nod and turn back to him. “Hi, Dad.”
He flashes a sad smile. “Funny running into you here.” He laughs.
I try to smile, but it feels so weird, joking with him. “Yeah, I guess.”
He stands there, shuffling his feet, clearly waiting for me to say something.
“Liam’s playing well tonight,” I finally say.
He blinks like he’s surprised. “Yeah. He is.”
I stand there, taking in the look on my dad’s face. I can tell he’s eager to talk to me, but he’s scared too. Like he’s worried he’ll say the wrong thing.
He hesitates before aiming a pained gaze at me. “I just wanna say, Aidan, I’m really sorry for what I said to you all those years ago. I was a jerk.”
I’m quiet as I process the shock of his apology. I wasn’t expecting that.
“I was wrong to make you feel bad about giving up hockey. I should have supported you.” His eyes turn glassy with unshed tears. He quickly blinks. “I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to realize that I was the one in the wrong. You’re doing what you love, you’re happy, and you’re a good person. That’s all that matters to me. Your brother tells me all about your work as a professor. I’m so proud of you.”
That pain in my chest morphs into an ache. “You mean that?”
He nods. “Absolutely. Look, I know one apology doesn’t make up for what I did. I missed a lot of years of your life because I was a stubborn jackass. But I’m different now. And I’d love it if you’d like to have me in your life again. Though I’d understand if you decide that you’d rather not.”
He lets out a shaky breath. He looks at Micah and offers a sad smile before looking at me. “Bye, son.”
I watch as he walks off, getting swallowed up by the surrounding crowd.
And that’s when I realize I don’t want things between us to stay this way. Yeah, he hurt me. But he apologized to me. I can tell he regrets what he did. And that’s enough for me to at least try and repair our relationship.
I turn to Micah. “I have to go to him.”
She flashes a sad smile. “Of course.”
I make my way through the crowd, apologizing as I bump into people. After a minute, I finally spot him as he’s about to head down the stairs to a different section.
“Dad, wait!”
He stops and turns around, eyes wide with shock when he sees me. “Aidan?”
I walk up to him. “Do you want to go to the next home game together?”
He blinks, like he’s not sure if he heard me right. After a second, he starts to smile. His eyes light up. “I’d love that.”
Before I can talk myself out of it, I hug him. He wraps his arms around me so tight. Emotion rushes through me as my dad hugs me tighter than he ever has.
When we finally break apart, his eyes are misty again. He claps my shoulder. “Thank you.”
I nod and walk back to Micah, that ache in my chest gone.