45. JENSEN
45
T hat was my best game ever. It’s a weird statement since I just won the Stanley Cup, but playing this charity game, knowing Rae would be there waiting for me… well, it upped my game. I was flying on the ice, and I haven’t left that rush now that I’m freshening up in the locker room. Walking out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my hips, Hunter enters with a big grin on his face.
“Well, she didn’t hit you. That’s good, right?”
I open my locker to get dressed. “She still might. She’s too smart to have eighteen thousand witnesses around.”
“No, I saw the look on her face. She’s hooked, man. You’re good.”
“I hope so.” I put on my boxers, then grab my jeans.
Hunter takes a seat on the bench, a leg on both sides. “I see you got some more ink this week?” He points at my chest where a big compass was etched into my skin four days ago. “It’s for her, isn’t it?” He smirks.
“It is her,” I explain before he nods, understanding exactly what I mean.
“You looked good out there. And not just in a red jersey. You were on fire.”
“It’s the blonde.” I snicker, putting my shirt over my head. “I’m telling you.”
“Can’t blame you. I was always better with Charls around too. I want that Holy Grail in North Carolina next year, so keep her around, man!”
“I’m planning on it.”
When Hunter told me Karl Mitchels wanted me to join the Hurricanes next season, I was hesitant, because I always said I didn’t want to play on an East Coast team.
But Rae changed it all. She forced me to look beyond my comfort zone and pushed me to make choices I had been ignoring for as long as possible. I expected to feel empty when I’d tell my family to fuck off, but after realizing Finn and Della were on my side, I’ve never felt better.
Telling my mother how I was going to do what I wanted from now on didn’t gut me inside. It gave me a sense of relief. Like the world was lifted from my shoulders. She still keeps calling me every single day, sending hateful text messages to all three of us, but I don’t care anymore. I just laugh about it.
She can’t touch me .
“Alright,” he says, tapping the wood of the bench, “I gotta get my wife home. Let’s grab a beer when you’re all settled into your new place.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.” He offers me his fist, and I bump mine against it before he leaves the locker room, leaving me alone with my new teammates.
I get dressed while the other players praise my actions on the ice tonight, brightening my mood even more. And five minutes later, I walk into the hallway to find my girl. I don’t have to look far, because when I turn around the corner holding my sports bag, there she is.
Her back is pressed against the wall, her blonde hair covering most of her face while she glances at her phone. Releasing a content sigh, I close the distance between us with a smirk on my face. When I’m almost there, she looks up, our gazes colliding, making my heart race with a passion I have only ever experienced when she’s in front of me.
I drop my bag, and she launches herself at my chest, wrapping her legs around my waist like a damn koala. Her lips find mine in a breathtaking kiss before she presses her forehead against mine.
“Hey,” she speaks.
“Hey.”
“Is this real?”
I hold her tight against my body, almost crushing her into my chest. “As real as it’s about to get, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”
She pulls back, staring at me with her sparkling eyes.
“Your siblings are okay with all this?”
“Never been better. I wasn’t the only one ready to tell my parents to fuck off.” I snicker.
“What about the elections?”
I shake my head. “Not my problem.”
I hope my father wins. I’ll vote for him. I’ll even go to the election events with Rae on my arm if my parents ask me to, but I’m no longer going to be part of their campaign. I’m no longer going to be who they want me to be.
“What about your girlfriend ?” Her brows are skeptically pinched together.
She looks cute as fuck.
“You’re my girlfriend.”
Her eyes narrow. “Jensen.”
“I told her it was over, right after I pulled my sister out of the house, and told my mother she could go fuck herself.”
Her lashes flutter like they are about to take off. “You did not.”
“I did.” Okay, maybe not with those exact words, but the message was the same. My mother was livid. Emily was heartbroken, mostly because my mother had been feeding her lies for a week, telling her we’d be back together as soon as I got to New York. If I never went on that road trip, I probably would’ve taken the path of the least resistance and lived up to that lie.
But Rae burst that bubble and stole my heart. There is no fucking way I can ever pretend otherwise.
“And she was okay with that?”
“Emily gave less resistance than I expected, to be honest. I guess she already knew our relationship was based on a lie. My mother, on the other hand? Not so much.” Her long list of vile text messages and voicemails are proof enough.
“And you’re really moving to North Carolina? I thought you said no Metropolitan Division?” There is still a clear surprised look in her eyes that amuses me, and I bite her lip in reprimand.
“That was before you . The last five days were excruciating without you. I was lost. I have been for years, but not with you. You are my compass .”
Her lips curl, hovering above mine. “Your compass, huh? Sounds like a good reason for a new tattoo.”
My tongue presses in my cheek, mischief in my eyes as I hold her up with one hand, then stretch the fabric of my t-shirt with the other until my freshly inked skin is exposed. Her lips part, and her brows move to her hairline.
“You got a new tattoo? For me?”
I nod. “I want to wake up next to you and kiss you goodnight for the rest of my life. Hopefully, every night, but if you’re not ready to move in with me yet, I’ll settle for six nights a week.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time, hockey boy ,” she tells me, though I can see the excitement washing her face.
“I told you,” I continued. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
I lower her to the ground, then dip my chin and cup her cheek. She’s looking up at me with those gorgeous eyes holding a glint of hope.
“What made you change your mind?” Her voice is soft, like a calming song in my ears.
I push out a breath, a smile tugging on the corner of my mouth. “This blonde decided to leave me in LA, and I couldn’t have that. So I forced myself on her road trip.”
“Hmm, then what happened?” she purrs.
“I fell for her,” I confess.
In the last week without her, I’ve been thinking about when everything changed for me, and I keep going back to the same moment. I’ve always found her attractive. I’ve always imagined how she’d feel underneath me, but waking up that first morning with her in my arms, it changed me. I’ve had plenty of women in my bed, waking up exactly like that, but never has it felt like it has with Rae.
Like she belonged there. Like she is made for me.
Suddenly, I knew exactly what my true North would be.
“I’m still falling for her,” I add.
She keeps her face straight, and I can feel my pulse begin to throb nervously in my neck. I know love is hard for her to grasp, after everything she’s lost, but right now, I’ll take anything.
“Hmm, can I tell you a secret?” she muses, bringing her lips flush with my ears.
A flutter goes through my stomach when her breath fans the shell.
I let out a grunt in agreement, unable to voice anything.
She brings her head back, locking our eyes. “I’m pretty sure she’s falling for you too.”
“Yeah?” I chirp, relieved. “How sure?”
She nods. “Pretty sure.”
“How sure?” I repeat, tickling her side.
A shriek erupts from her chest, and she gives me a taunting look before it softens, and her eyes become laced with the love I’m looking for. The love I’m craving from her.
“Positive.”
“Are you in love with me?” I ask with a smirk, wanting to hear it. Her hands take a hold of my face, and she presses a crushing kiss on my lips.
“Madly, Jared James Jensen,” she clarifies. “I’m madly in love with you.”