Epilogue
Theodore Knight
L ife is good.
I am on the verge of starting my senior year of college with my best friends and girlfriend, while my relationship with my dad has been repaired.
It’s hard to believe how far I’ve come from not only junior year, but my very first day at Lakewood University—which was four years ago.
I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Jazmine and I decided to find an apartment together after Athena and Austin said they were doing the same.
It is a big step to take, however, in a couple months it will be our one-year anniversary. Even the thought has me grinning. After graduation Jaz and I would be living together, so it made sense to start now.
I look across the room to find Jazmine, who is bossing Colton and Austin around. Her hand movements are crazy and chaotic, forcing a silent chuckle to leave me.
Today is move in day and with the help of some of my teammates, we are nearly finished. Jazmine, ever the perfectionist, can’t help but correct the position of anything that was placed in our apartment.
The best thing about our new place is its proximity to everything else. Campus is a short drive away, as well as Athena and Austin’s apartment. The boys grunt and shake their shoulders as they place the last piece of furniture onto the lounge room floor.
“Thank god that is done,” Austin says.
“It looks great,” Jaz says, her smile never fading.
“Did you find a place yet, Colt? You know you are welcome here,” I say.
Colton was the odd one out when Austin and I decided to get our own places. We both have offered for him to stay but he refuses.
“Not happening. The last thing I want to hear is you and Jazmine having sex,”
Jazmine and I laugh. “Fine,”
“You should talk to Sofia,” Jazmine begins. “She has a spare room in my old apartment. She said she found one girl but is still looking for someone else. ”
Colton raises his eyebrow. “Would Sofia and this other girl be okay with a guy living there?”
“I think it would be fine. Sofia knows you and you aren’t a creep.”
Colt chuckles. “Good to know I align with the criteria,”
Hours later, Sofia turns up with takeaway. Everyone gathers around the coffee table. Athena is sitting in Austin’s lap and Jazmine is next to me. Sofia lays back, taking up one whole couch to herself while Colton has the single couch.
The night is filled with board games and laughter. It’s crazy to think this is how my nights are spent and there is no end in sight.
I tug Jazmine closer to me, placing her on the floor in front of me and between my legs. My hands wrap around her waist while Jaz’s head falls back onto my chest.
Jazmine is excited for senior year to end, which made me laugh the first time she told me. Classes haven’t even started but she is counting down the days until we can walk across the stage in our caps and gowns.
Over the summer, Jaz completed her internship with Cooper and Byrd and they loved her. There was never any doubt in my mind that she would be offered a full-time position once she graduates from Lakewood.
And after a lot of conversations with Jaz and my dad, I’ve decided to declare for the draft at the end of senior year. It is one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make but the football field is my home.
Austin is also declaring so this could be the last year of being teammates. Lakewood has a chance to do what hasn’t been done in decades: win three football championships in a row. With most of the players being seniors who aren’t declaring for the draft, everyone wants nothing more than to go out a winner.
Looking around the room, I realise Jayden is missing. For our housewarming party, Jaz and I wanted to keep it small. So, inviting our closest friends for dinner, drinks and game night, seemed like the best course of action.
“Princess?” I begin. “Where is your brother?”
Jazmine looked around, confusion pulling at her features. “Oh, I’m not too sure actually. He said the ice hockey team has a new player, so they were doing introductions.”
Suddenly, the front door bursts open. Speak of the devil and he will appear. Jayden stalks into our living room. Anger is written heavily across his features—Jay’s eyebrows are scrunched together, while his face is beginning to turn red.
What the fuck is going on?
“Did you know?” Jayden grits, his fists tightening.
Jazmine looks at her brother, her eyebrows are squashed together. I’m assuming she has no clue what Jay is talking about.
“What?” she replies.
“Willow fucking Rogers is moving to Lakewood University. She is our new winger,”
Jazmine’s eyes widened, her head turning towards mine. This is not good. Jayden and Willow have some sort of rivalry that has been going on since they were teenagers. Putting them on the same ice hockey team is a disaster waiting to happen.
Jayden’s rant doesn’t stop. “And she is moving into the fucking Hockey House,”
I take it back. Senior year is going to be treacherous.