Epilogue
The ice was smooth as she glided across it, the familiar sound of her blades cutting into the glass like surface beneath her with every stride.
Muscle memory took over and the stick in her hands felt like an extension of her body.
As Jules rounded the edge of the rink, crossing one leg over the other to keep the turn tight, she fought with her lungs to take in air, pushing herself to commit in an effort to keep up with her brother.
"Cut me some slack!" Jules shouted as Cam switched into another gear, easily gaining an extra fifty metres on her.
Frankie had somehow convinced her to get on the ice before training camp started and she was regretting her agreement, even if it did feel good to skate like this again.
Her body moved with a sense of authority and familiarity, just like it had when she'd raced Frankie at the outdoor rink on Christmas and her eyes caught Frankie's near the bench.
Cam crossed the blue line with ease, barely breaking a sweat ahead of her and Jules dejectedly shook her head. She never stood a chance at beating him, but her pride mixed with a heavy dose of sibling rivalry spurred her on.
She came to an abrupt hockey stop once her own skates made it over the blue line and put one hand on her hip then glanced up at the roof of the Halifax Harbour's training rink, breathing in deeply.
When you take the time to look at the amount of average ice time a professional hockey player gets on any given night, it doesn't seem like a hard day at the office.
But hockey is a high-intensity interval workout full of sprinting and full body muscle activation, a sport where even fourteen minutes could feel like an hour.
Jules' entire body ached from just two laps around the rink.
Her core burned, her face slick with sweat, and it was a stark reminder of how out of practice she was when it came to being on the ice despite how natural it was.
Frankie skated up beside her and gave her a pat on the pack. “Nice try, champ. You gave it your best shot.”
“Next time I’m racing you,” Jules panted. “At least I stand a better chance.”
“Is that so? Because I distinctly recall beating you the last time we raced."
Jules pulled a hand free from one of her gloves and wiped the sweat from her brow. She shot Frankie a disbelieving look and smirked. “It’s not a win if the race was abandoned, Frankie. I almost had you.”
“True,” Frankie teased, and Jules watched green eyes flick down to her lips for a brief moment. They brightened with mischief and glanced back up. “Something else almost happened that day too.”
“I remember that part very well." Jules thought back to the moment when she and Frankie had crossed a line in their relationship, even if neither one of them were willing to admit it at the time, and she could almost feel Frankie's breath against her lips just as she had that day.
“Maybe we should try racing again? I promise to kiss you this time when we reach the finish line.”
“Quite an offer,” Frankie said, gathering a fistful of the Halifax Harbour hoodie Jules wore to tug her closer. She smirked and leaned in close, stopping when her lips were barely a centimetre away from Jules’ ear. “Especially coming from someone who was almost lapped by her brother.”
“Hey!” Jules shoved Frankie away and pouted. “That’s just mean. I tried my best.”
“Aww, I know you did, and it’s so cute. Can I talk you into some early morning skates with me next week?”
“Pfft, yeah right.” Jules shook her head and slipped her glove back on. “Not after that little stunt you just pulled.”
Frankie bit her lip and tugged on the Harbour hoodie again. Her red hair longer now and hanging well past the middle of her back. It gave Jules great leverage during a few of their extra curricular activities and right now strands of red framed her face in the most adorable way. “Baby…please?”
One word was all it took for Jules to cave and she felt a blush on her cheeks, unable to stop herself from bashfully smiling. She sighed and dropped her forehead against Frankie’s shoulder. “Fine, but only because you’re playing dirty.”
“You usually like it when I play dirty,” Frankie whispered in her ear.
“Hey! Lovebirds!”
Cam’s voice echoing around the empty rink grabbed Jules’ attention and she looked over shoulder. He was standing beside the net with a pile of pucks on the ice in front of him and he impatiently smacked his stick on the ground.
“Are we doing shooting drills or what?”
Jules rolled her eyes but she smiled at the sight of her brother eagerly waiting for her to join him. “You created a monster by getting me back on the ice, you know that right?” She said to Frankie as they both skated towards him. “He’s never going to shut about having me as a training partner.”
Frankie bumped her shoulder against Jules’ and nodded at Cam. “And you’re going to love every single second of it.”
“Maybe…” Jules skated in a circle, showcasing some of the edge work she could still manage before stopping right in front of Frankie.
She kissed her softly on the lips, tasting the mint chapstick Frankie always wore at the rink, then booped her on the nose with the fingertip of her right glove. “Not as much as I love you though.”
Sydney – 11:13AM
Guess who's coming back to the east coast!
Me, it's me. But…I'm bringing a plus one.
"I'm so glad she and Josephine were able to work out their relationship," Frankie said, handing Jules her phone to read the messages while she snuggled deeper into the bed and closed her eyes. "I'm really happy for them."
"Me too," Jules said, humming in agreement. "They're going to book a hotel though, right? I don't think they'll both fit on the couch and our place only has one bedroom."
Frankie blinked open her eyes and looked at Jules. She'd moved on from Frankie's phone and was looking at her own again, completely unphased by what she'd said. Frankie, however, was phased.
"Our place?"
"Hmm?" Jules typed out a reply to someone then placed her phone face down on the duvet cover. She looked at Frankie and quirked a brow. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
“Because,” Frankie said, sitting up against the headboard. Jules had her hair up in a small bun, her skin a slightly darker shade of peach from their time spent in the summer sun, her blonde locks a brighter shade of blonde. She was gorgeous. “You said our place.”
“Well, yeah, silly, this is our place.” Jules smiled and looked around the bedroom.
Frankie’s hairbrush and perfume were sitting on the dresser, her robe draped over a small chair in the corner by the window, and a collection of her chapstick and rings filled a ceramic dish sitting on the nightstand by her side of the bed.
Somehow Frankie never really noticed the way she’d casually started treating the space like it was her own.
“Unless you want me to move into your place and share a wall with my brother?
But I really, really don't want to do that. "
Frankie laughed, full bellied and unabashedly. "Jules," she said with a disbelieving grin. "You never even asked me to move in with you. I just sort of…did."
"And there's a problem with that? I love having you here with me.
I love falling asleep beside you and waking up together in the morning.
I love eating dinner with you every night, I love reading on the couch while you're working on game day notes, and I even love when you brush your teeth but always forget to put your toothbrush back in the little cup on the counter. "
But that's love, right? Two lives intertwining in the simplest of ways, like they were always meant to exist together this way.
"Jules, I don't even have a key and there are still clothes downstairs in my closet." Frankie laughed again at the absurdity of the situation. Who moves into someone else's home but doesn't clue in on it happening? She does, apparently.
Jules shifted her weight, swinging a leg over Frankie's waist to slide into her lap and blue eyes regarded her fondly, a soft grin toying at the corners of her mouth.
"Frankie," she said, sliding her hands around the back of Frankie's neck.
"Would you like to officially move in with me?
I'll even get you your own key and if you're lucky, I'll help you pack the rest of your things. "
Frankie slid her hands beneath the bottom of the tank top Jules was wearing and gripped her hips, her fingers palming soft flesh. There wasn't a single universe in which she would give this up – getting to be with Jules this way, building even more of a life together.
The new hockey season was right around the corner which meant new beginnings for the team and for them as a couple.
When the puck dropped in a little over a month, Jules wouldn't be watching from the stands, she would be part of the team.
If someone asked Frankie, she'd admit that Jules had been her favourite teammate for almost a year now.
They both knew a social media storm was brewing and ready for landfall but they didn't care. Each of them had been around this sport for a long time and nothing was going to change their love for it now, the only difference was this time they had each other to lean on right from the start.
"Are there conditions to your offer of helping me pack?" Frankie asked, skirting her fingers up the sides of Jules' torso, her teasing touch leaving behind goosebumps in its wake.
"That depends…" Jules arched her body into Frankie's and shot her a wicked grin. "Are you willing to wear a Halifax Harbour jersey and nothing else?"
It combined the two things she loved the most – Jules and hockey. How could Frankie refuse that ?
"Deal."