BECKETT #4
For one frozen moment, all hearts had climbed into our throats and stopped. And then utter chaos erupted across the ice and through the crowd. I continued skating forward, then arched around and raced to where I had last seen Caden.
A few Vikings angrily threw their sticks as our Titans raised their arms in glory as the final buzzer went off.
My guys rounded on me, threatening to crush me under their collective weight as they gathered and cheered.
In the mess, I spotted Caden holding himself against the boards, getting his focus straight.
He was alone, looking around until he spotted me in the middle of a growing crowd.
The celebration was as rough as ever, threatening to engulf me, but I pushed through just as Caden skated toward us.
The cries of “We won, we won!” surrounded me, but they faded as Caden reached the outer circle of the Titans. I pushed between Asher and Paxton, then exchanged nods with Avery and saw Sawyer grin while taking his helmet off. But I ignored everyone until I was face to face with Caden.
I threw my helmet off. “Are you alright?”
He nodded as he freed his head from his helmet, too.
“So?” I asked. My breaths were shallow. My heart thundered.
Everything around me slowed down, almost stopping altogether, as I looked into my love’s emerald eyes.
They twinkled with tears. His nose was red with cold air and his cheeks with the heat that was flushing his face.
His brow was sweaty and his hair matted.
He had never looked better. “Will you go out with me? Will you be my boyfriend?”
His lips parted.
“Be my boyfriend. Now. I want everyone to know, Jones.” The plea in my voice was unmistakable.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at Uncle Nate.
I could imagine him celebrating our victory, but I couldn’t let myself witness it.
What if my true self was someone despicable to him?
But I wouldn’t be despicable to Caden. And that was all that mattered to me.
Caden’s lips worked for a moment before he found his voice. “You’re in love with me?”
“I am. I’m crazy about you, Caden.” My voice was unrestrained when I bellowed these words over the cheers. Hands shook my shoulders, inviting me to celebrate, but I only had eyes for Caden Jones. “You’re all I want. You’re the only one I want.”
He blinked. The mask of restraint fell. His face brightened and his eyes brimmed with tears. “Okay,” he said. “Okay. Yes.”
“Yes?” I nearly squealed that word. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” he said, and a laugh tore free from him. “Because I’m in love with you, too, Beckett.”
I broke free of someone’s grip and threw my arms around Caden. Our shielded bodies collided and my hands grabbed his sweat-damp hair. He held me around my waist.
For all to see, I kissed my boyfriend like I had never kissed him before.
It was gritty and passionate, but it had an underlying tenderness.
I kissed him roughly, yes, but I minded his lips between mine.
I bit him, but only as hard as I would have wanted to be bitten in return.
My tongue ventured out to meet the tip of his, playfully touching but turning me on to dangerous levels.
My fingers ran through his sticky hair and I felt every trace of the back of his head as I held him close.
Caden unashamedly pulled our bodies as close as our gear would allow.
Without planning it, we replayed the now-famous kiss Riley and Cameron had once shared on the ice.
But theirs had merely celebrated their teamwork and the victory it had brought them.
This…this was far more than a celebration.
It was a promise and a commitment. It was a leap of faith.
And when we pulled our heads away to look into one another’s eyes, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. “Is this real?” I asked. “Are you?”
“I really fucking hope so,” Caden said, pulling me back for more.
Every little bit of me seemed to flutter. Every sense I had heightened. As we kissed, our sweaty faces pressing together, my love for him brimmed within me. It was so deep and wide and strong that it nearly drowned me as it poured toward him.
“What happened?” Caden asked, pressing our brows together. “What changed your mind?”
“I can’t be without you,” I admitted. “It’s that simple, Caden.
I can’t imagine spending a night away from you.
” After I took a breath, I went on, even though I felt others glancing at us, touching us, commenting their unfiltered approval mixed with surprise.
“It was time to make some decisions. And it was time to grow up and be who I want to be. And this is it.” I pulled back to look into his eyes.
“Are you sure?” Caden asked, but it was almost as if he dreaded my answer.
I half-chuckled and half-sobbed. “I’m fucking terrified, Jones. But telling you I love you is the only thing I’m sure of.”
He yanked me closer and held me so hard it almost qualified as a wrestling match. “I love you too, Beckett. I love you, too. And I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
But we couldn’t stay like that forever. We had to part because the tornado of celebrations was pulling us deeper in. The mass swallowed us. Guys surrounded us and practically sang from the top of their lungs.
There were phrases like “I knew all along,” coming from Sawyer, and “Should’ve predicted it,” coming from Jordan.
Others voiced their surprise and yet others congratulated.
Maybe I would have found it redundant before, but hearing my teammate’s approval filled my heart with more joy than I could remember feeling in my whole life, minus the times I got to kiss Caden.
“Love blossomed again, didn’t it?” This was the nasal, almost metallic sound of Coach Murray’s voice.
“This rink’s a matchmaker, I think. And you are a team to make any coach proud.
” He said the last words to all of us, but his half-lifted mustache was for Caden and me.
He nodded his approval and my heart jittered in my chest.
There was still one I needed to see. I had to look into my uncle’s eyes and see what awaited me there. Would it be this pleasant, celebratory glint? Would it be shark-like deadness? The fact that I couldn’t tell terrified me the most.
Caden squeezed my shoulder as we all made our way off the ice after a few more minutes of celebrations. I glanced at the crowds, receiving more cheers from those still there, but too many people were moving around and I couldn’t find him.
We went back to the locker room. Guys were starting to ask questions, but my hearing was focused on Caden’s voice. “I’ll be there. I’ll be with you.”
I waved off Jordan and Paxton. “Guys, there’s plenty of time later, alright?”
Jordan winked at me. “A lot of things make a lot more sense, my friend,” he said.
He and Paxton went to their places in the locker room and I parted ways with Caden.
We showered quickly, eager to spend time at the Thinker once we were out.
Coach Murray would join us. Perhaps Uncle Nate would, too, if I found him.
Caden waited for me as I dressed. We were the last ones in the locker room. When I was ready to go, I leaned against the wall and watched him for a moment in the tranquility of the empty space that normally bustled with activity.
“Are you worried?” he asked.
He knew the answer, but something else dawned on me as he stepped toward me. “Not as much as I was before.”
He couldn’t help himself but smile. He was the source of my courage. “Let’s go, then,” he said, giving me his hand.
I was ready to take it. Wherever it took us, we’d go there together. “Do you realize we could have been together all along had I not had a crappy day when we met?” I told him.
Caden snickered and squeezed my hand. “Nah. It wouldn’t have worked out. I liked you, but I needed to get all the anger out of my system.”
I whistled. “Me too, actually. You wouldn’t have liked me for long if we’d hooked up right away.”
“What? The bratty, self-centered, cocky winger with an ego? Yeah, I doubt it,” he teased.
I glared at him threateningly. You’ll pay for that with your ass, my love, the look said. “And I’m not sure I would have fallen in love with the righteous prick you used to be.”
We reached the main exit before Caden would vow to have his revenge for these words.
Out in the cold air, I clutched his hand harder for a moment but then released him.
A dozen paces ahead, my uncle stood just outside the pool of light falling from the street lamp.
He was still like a statue, looking away.
I looked at Caden. “Could you give me a minute?”
He nodded without another word. I knew he was here if I needed him, but I had to face my uncle alone. No matter what the outcome was, I had to look into his eyes and discover it for myself.
I walked up to him with all my courage, most of which was fake, and cleared my throat. “Did I shock you?”
He jerked like he had been deep in thought until he heard my voice. “Shock me?” He chuckled. “I’m not so easily spooked, Beck.”
We faced each other and he stepped into the ring of light. There was something heavy and serious in his features. I couldn’t decipher it, but it was at odds with his words. It was odd because he evenly filled me with hope and dread.
“It takes courage to pull a stunt like that,” he said.
“A stunt?” I was offended before I could process it. “I love him.”
Uncle Nate waved his hand to stop me right there. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way, Son.”
I drew a sharp breath. He still called me that. So, he wasn’t disowning me, I gathered.
“It’s a brave thing you did,” he said. Still, his words clashed with the heaviness in his eyes. “Most guys my age wouldn’t have dared to come close back in the day. But I…” He shrugged. “I’m proud of you, Beck.” Regrets of a lifetime welled in his eyes and my breaths grew even shallower.
“Uncle Nate?” I asked, a frown wrinkling my forehead.