Chapter 28 - Theo
Theo
The knock rattled against Reese’s door like it carried every nerve in my body with it.
I lingered a second, hand pressed to the wood, willing myself to do this right, to say the right thing, to not make it worse.
The soreness in my shoulder reminded me of everything we’d come through. I knocked again, firmer.
“Go away, Theo,” her voice floated through the door.
“No.” It came out quieter than I expected, almost swallowed by the silence of the hallway.
I knew she wouldn’t want to see me. Not one day before the last game, and after she’d been suspended.
But I couldn’t walk away.
The door cracked open without me having to knock again, Reese’s sharp gaze cutting through the gap.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“We need to talk,” I said, stepping inside despite her glare. I was running clean—no tape or painkillers—and it showed in my tight posture. I caught her gaze lingering. Calculating.
But instead of saying anything, she just folded her arms across her chest, and I felt the weight of that silence pressing me into corners of guilt I couldn’t escape.
“I take it you heard I’m in the line-up for tomorrow’s game?”
Our eyes met, and so many things passed between us in that one look. Her guard faltered the tiniest fraction.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” she asked, tilting her head. The question wasn’t just about hockey. It was everything.
“I want the last game I’ll ever play to end without me being carried off the ice.” I let out a lifeless laugh. “Luckily Coach gets it.”
“You don’t know it’ll be your last.”
I didn’t argue. I just looked at her, letting the truth land for what it was. “I’m done lying to myself and everyone else, Reese. That ended after Game 6. I know I’m not fine, and probably won’t be fine again. That’s okay. At least I have one more shot to make things right. It’s all I wanted.”
She gave in then, gesturing to the couch. “I’ll make coffee. Not fancy Ethiopian beans, or anything…”
It split the tension coiled inside me, and this time my half-hearted laugh held some weight. When she came back a few minutes later, a faint smile tugged at her lips.
“I swore I wouldn’t talk to you before the game,” she said, sinking into the couch beside me. “I don’t know why, but…”
I gripped the mug, letting the warmth seep into my hands, and decided I wasn’t gonna let her derail my reason for coming.
“I lied to protect you,” I said, finally letting myself feel the words, letting them carry the weight they had been holding inside me. “I thought if you didn’t know about the blockers, it would be easier. But I was wrong. It wasn’t easier. It hurt you. And it’s killing me knowing I did that.”
Her eyes softened, but the worry didn’t leave her shoulders. “Theo…”
“I don’t expect forgiveness,” I said, ignoring the shot of pain in my shoulder as I twisted to face her fully. “I don’t even know if I deserve it. I just… I want you to see all of me. The stubborn, broken, selfish parts too. I want you to know the truth, even if it scares me.”
Her knuckles went white around the mug. “I’m listening,” she said finally. The words were simple, but it was all the invitation I needed.
“I’ve been pretending for too long,” I said, my truth falling like boulders.
“Pretending I was okay, pretending I didn’t feel fear, or pain.
Pretending… I wasn’t afraid of losing you.
I’ve been lying to everyone. But not anymore.
Not to you. Not to myself. I love you. I have for a long time.
I just… I didn’t have the courage to say it because I was scared I’d ruin everything.
But I can’t hide it anymore. I can’t lie anymore. ”
Her lips parted slightly, eyes glimmering. “You love me? I lied to you too. For the same reasons, but it happened. The world has gone to shit, I’m a disciplinary hearing away from losing my job, and you… you love me?”
I nodded, a slow smile creeping onto my lips. “Yeah, well, you love me too, so there.”
Her eyebrows shot up and a light, sparkling laugh fluttered out of her. “Is that so?”
“That it is, Hopper. I don’t care what you say. I know the truth.”
“Theo…” She didn’t finish, but she didn’t need to. I could feel her leaning into me even before she moved.
I crossed the remaining space, mugs forgotten on the table, and took her hands in mine. “I’m done playing hide and seek with the most important things in my life. I want us, Reese. I want you. I’ve waited too long to admit it, and I can’t wait any longer. I won’t.”
“I… I love you too,” she said, voice trembling. “I just… I don’t think I’m good for you.”
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat almost choking me. Relief, longing, fear, and joy tangled together. I cupped her face, feeling the heat of her skin, the tremor in her body. “Let me be the judge of that.”
The moment broke, a tidal wave of emotion, and I pressed my lips to hers.
Urgent at first, desperate, releasing months of suppressed feelings.
She kissed back with equal intensity, her hands pressing into my back, pulling me closer, grounding me in the reality we’d both just decided was ours. No more lies or secrets. Just us.
When we pulled apart, we were both breathing hard, eyes locked. My hands lingered on her waist, her fingers brushing over my chest.
“I want you at the game,” I murmured.
“Wasn’t planning on missing it,” she said, certainty threading through her words.
I let a shiver of exhaustion roll through me, shoulder aching but manageable because of the anchor she was.
The mugs on the table sat forgotten, cooling in the dim afternoon light.
Outside, the city moved on, indifferent.
But inside, the space between us was electric with all the confessions, all the pain, all the love we’d finally acknowledged.
I pressed her to me again, slower this time, letting the kiss carry everything—the regrets, the longing, the raw truth.
We found each other in the darkest place, and somehow it had brought us to this. To the truest form of connection I’d ever had.
“I want you,” I said against her lips. “I need you, Reese.”
She blinked up at me, her chest rising and falling with her heavy breaths. A flash of concern clouded her gaze, but I caught it, cupping her face in both my hands.
“I can handle being with the woman I love.”
The worry melted beneath an easy smile, and Reese leaned in to trail warm kisses up my neck. “Take off your clothes.”
The twinge in my shoulder didn’t hold me back as I stood up and peeled the layers off me. My cock sprung free, fully hard and flushed with arousal. I let out a shuddering exhale as cool air met my overheated skin.
Reese was on the edge of her seat, her gaze drinking me in, fingers resting lightly against my hip. She bent down to press a kiss just below my navel.
My entire body tensed at the contact, my hands coming up to cradle her head. My fingers threaded gently through her hair as she looked up at me from her new position, her face level with my exposed erection.
“Your turn,” I said, my voice thick with desire.
Something flipped inside me with the way she tore her clothes off, discarding them on the living room floor.
First her shirt, and her breasts bounced free.
No bra. Stiff, pink nipples teasing me. Then her pants and underwear.
My cock twitched dangerously in my hand.
Her cheeks were already flushed, and now she looked at me with such unabated hunger in her eyes.
I got back on the couch and captured her jaw in my hand, pulling her closer to me, my lips almost touching hers before I paused. Reese looked at me with wide eyes.
“Let me show you what my tongue can do,” I murmured, then pressed my lips against hers.
Reese’s eyes fluttered closed, and she brought one hand to the back of my head, my tongue sliding along her lips before pushing past them and into her mouth. My lungs burned for air as I explored her depths, drinking in one delicious moan after the other.
She tugged my hair, and I pulled back to look at her, eyes open in time to see silver strings of saliva breaking off.
“Theo…” she whispered, out of breath.
My lips pressed against her jaw, leaving a trail of wet kisses along her neck as I worked my way down to her collarbone.
“You like this?” My tongue was back on her skin, licking and sucking over the curve of her breasts.
I didn’t wait for an answer before moving lower, teasing her nipple with my lips and teeth while massaging her other breast. A low moan shuddered from deep inside her throat, and she rolled her hips once.
“So good,” she breathed, leaning back so I could take her fully.
My thumb rubbed slow circles over her nipple, while I flicked the other with my tongue, watching her arch into the sensation, feeling her get even harder for me.
I got harder too.
My dick throbbing and full, aching for release.
I sucked her in one last time, holding it until she squirmed beneath me, a whining mess. Then I let her go with a light popping sound, and she fell back into the couch pillows.
Her pussy opened as her knee dropped, and the sight of her—wet and ready—was almost too much. Pre-cum coated my tip as I fought for restraint.
I leaned in, dragging my tongue between her breasts and over the flat plane of her stomach, pausing when I reached her mound. Inhaling deeply, I let her sweet scent fill me up, mouth watering as I pushed her knees further apart.
Reese gave a shaky moan as my lips made contact with her inner thigh, kissing my way to her pussy. But I didn’t go there. Not yet. She groaned, rocking her hips to try and lift herself to my mouth.
“So needy,” I murmured, moving my attention to the inside of her other knee, then down her thigh. Back again.
Her hands shot out to tangle in my hair, fingers curling for a desperate hold. “Theo, please…”
My control trembled low in my crotch, cock throbbing with my own need that was set to betray me.
“You know I love hearing you like this.”