70. CORA
CORA
Tonight, I’m finally going to see Lane. He spent all of his free time with Oliver and his old coach, including tonight where he scored a hat trick and the Otters added to their winning record. Second game in the series and Great Lakes took both, including a shutout tonight.
I smile, thinking about him looking for me in the stands at the game. Knowing we’d meet up tonight. The butterflies flutter and make me catch my breath.
The wind off the lake cuts straight through my coat. I’m starting to lose feeling in my fingers.
“Cora—”
I turn and see Lane. It’s impossible to stifle the grin that breaks out over my face.
He starts to run. Not jog—runs like he’s been waiting his whole life to get here. His breath is coming in sharp clouds by the time he reaches me, skidding a little in the frozen sand.
“I’m sorry,” we both say at the same time.
For a second we just stare at each other, and then Lane lets out this breathless laugh that fogs the air between us.
“I was reckless with something that wasn’t mine to mess with. You deserve better than that.” My words fall fast.
“Hey.” His hands land gently on my arms. “I could’ve handled a lot of things differently. Starting with Oliver and my time in Ohio. This is also on me.”
The wind howls around us, cold and wild, but somehow standing this close to him makes it disappear.
“I love you,” Lane says, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. “I honestly do. In a way that I didn’t think was possible.”
My chest aches in the best way.
“I love you too.”
He pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me so tight my feet nearly leave the ground. I bury my face into his jacket, breathing him in like I can finally catch my breath.
“Thank you,” he says, his mouth close to my ear. “Even when I shut you out, you still showed up.” He squeezes me and we sway side to side. “I don’t know what the future looks like but I want you there. For all of it.”
Fuck, that’s what I want. Lane is easy to show up for. He doesn’t believe it but it’s true.
“It’d be a privilege to show up for you, Lane Maxwell.”
And I mean it. There’s something amazing about making someone a priority—friends, someone you love, even yourself. I have a lot of work to do when it comes to that last one, but maybe that’s the point.
Maybe showing up for yourself isn’t something you figure out alone. Maybe it’s something you learn alongside the people who refuse to let you disappear.
Lane leans back just enough to look at me, the wind pushing his hair in every direction, his cheeks pink from the cold.
“You really mean that?” he asks quietly.
I kiss him, long and deep, like I never want it to end. “Of course I do,” I answer
His thumb brushes across my cheek before he pulls me back against him, tucking me under his chin like it’s the most natural place in the world for me to be.
Lane studies my face for a second before that familiar smile spreads across his. The one that lights him up from the inside. Then he kisses me, slow and warm despite the cold wind whipping around us.
And standing here on this freezing beach, in Lane Maxwell’s arms, I realize something. Somehow, we both ended up exactly where we belong.
The wind tugs at us, the lake roaring behind, but Lane pulls me closer.
Somehow the future doesn’t feel like a question anymore—it feels like a promise.
One I can’t wait to keep.