Chapter 53 Cole
Cole
After I shove the cupcake right in John’s face, there’s a lot of yelling.
Mostly from the crowd, erupting into screams of shock and laughter.
John stares at me, looking frankly ridiculous, with pink frosting in his eyebrows.
“Message received,” he mutters under his breath before he turns back to the other broadcasters and starts weakly laughing it off as a big joke. “Cole and I go way back,” he insists pathetically. “It’s just a prank between old friends. Everyone calm down!”
My lips tug into a smirk, and I head back for the tunnel.
The cupcake thing wasn’t exactly my smartest play. But it might be my favorite.
I’m supposed to be staying out of trouble, but this felt like the perfect balance. It was the Cassie method with a Cole twist.
Yeah, we make a good team.
When I walk back through to the players’ area, the team cheers, cracking up.
“You’re a lunatic,” Landon grins, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I cross the room to talk to Cassie alone.
She smiles up at me. “As a professional sports agent, I just want to be on the record here. That was ridiculous and you shouldn’t throw baked goods at anyone.
But as your girlfriend…” Her eyes shimmer.
“That was the funniest and most satisfying thing I’ve ever seen, and you’re kind of my hero. ”
“He got the message,” I grin. “And for the record, you’re definitely my hero, baby.”
“Seriously, Taylor?” Coach says, striding over.
For a second, I think he’s about to blow up at me for causing one final public scene this season. “That was the last one,” I say. “I promise you that.”
But Coach just shrugs, a reluctant smile on his face. “Novak sounds like a real piece of work. You know I like Cassie, and anyone who would mess with her deserves a cupcake to the face in my book. I won’t let the front office give you shit for this one.”
I smile. “Thanks, Coach.”
MY BOYS ARE WICKED SMAHT
MILLER
Rented a karaoke bar for the night
No games for the next two days so no excuses
Anyone who doesn’t come to celebrate the W is lame as hell and a TRAITOR to the good city of Boston
NOAH
What if we can’t sing?
MILLER
Anyone can sing if their heart is pure
COLE
What if we refuse to sing?
MILLER
EVERYONE IS SINGING.
LANDON
When did you make this booking?! What if we’d lost tonight and didn’t feel like karaoke?
MILLER
We’d still do karaoke but only sad songs DUH Cap
ROMAN
I’m still only going to do sad songs.
MILLER
Okay emo. I’m going to do Britney and you boys are going to eat it up
After we get the win, the team heads out to a karaoke bar that Miller has rented out for the night.
The streets of Boston are alive with energy, and I can feel the hum of electricity between us too. We talked it over last night and decided it was time to tell the Nor’easters about us. Outside the bar, Cassie grabs my wrist before I can open the door.
“So, we’re still doing this tonight? Telling the team about us like we planned?”
I catch the flicker of apprehension in her eyes. I push away the disappointment in my chest, because god do I badly want to tell the whole world about us. Still, it needs to happen on terms that we both feel good about. This is a partnership.
I softly run a thumb over the smooth curve of her face. “If you’re not ready, that’s okay. I know it’s been a crazy day. I just want you to be happy and comfortable.”
“Not ready? Pshht.” She smiles up at me.
“I’ve been ready to tell everyone about us for ages now.
But I guess it’s the agent in me. I’m always trying to manage people’s reactions before anything happens.
” She bites down on her lip. “I think we should tell people one by one, starting with Landon and going from there.”
If being strategic about it makes her feel better, I can do that.
Even if I want to yell it over the speaker at a game: hands off everyone, because that woman is mine, holy shit can you believe that woman is mine?
“Of course, baby. We can tell them however you want to.”
She gives a determined little nod, and I push the door open into the dimly lit bar with its bright neon lights.
“There they are!”
I flinch at the echoing sound of mic feedback. Miller is on stage, holding a beer in one hand and a microphone in the other, the lyrics to Toxic by Britney Spears flashing up on the screen in the back. “We thought you two bailed on karaoke.”
The team, who are all crowded around the stage, turn to face us and erupt into slightly drunk cheers.
“Hey, Freeze,” Landon calls over, “glad you made it out!”
I glance over at Cassie and smile. “Ready to talk to Landon?”
Her eyes go wide. Before I can react, her hands press against my chest and she’s close against me, standing on the tiptoes of her sunflower-yellow heels to reach my mouth and drag me into a kiss.
Her soft lips press against me, and I groan at how good it feels, basically forgetting for a second that the whole team is staring at us.
Right. The whole team is staring at us.
She pulls back a few inches from my face, dropping back down on her heels.
There’s silence for a second, and then the bar goes fucking nuts. The team is whooping, laughing, and whistling, but I can’t even drag my eyes away from Cassie’s face right now.
“Whoa, sunshine,” I mutter, unable to contain my stupid grin. “Not that I’m complaining, but what happened to your strategic agent’s plan for telling the team?”
She giggles, her fingers coming up to wrap around my jacket.
“I don’t know. I suddenly really wanted to kiss you, so I did it.
” An adorable blush kisses her cheeks. “Recently I’ve learned that sometimes you have to put down the carefully organized plan and just…
throw the iced coffee. Metaphorically speaking. ”
“Happy to be your metaphorical exploded iced coffee. So fucking happy.”
I grip her face with my hands and kiss her harder, savoring the soft sweetness of her kiss. I want everyone to know. Everyone, everywhere. This woman is mine.
I only stop kissing her because Miller rushes up to us and nearly tackles me. “YOOOO!” he yells. “Holy shit, you guys are together!” I try to stifle a laugh as his voice chokes up a little. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
He’s joined by Landon, Roman, and Noah, all of them grinning like crazy too. Damn if it doesn’t warm my heart to see that they love Cassie and me as a couple nearly as much as I do.
“This is fantastic news.” Landon slaps my shoulder. “I’ve been hoping for months now you two were going to admit you’d be perfect for each other.”
Miller’s eyes light up. “All right, enough mushy bullshit! Who won the freakin’ pool?”
“The pool?” Cassie asks. “Oh my god, did you guys bet on whether Cole and I were going to get together?”
“Yup, like a dead pool,” Miller explains, smirking, “except less morbid and more sexy. A sex pool.”
“For the love of god, never use the words sex pool again,” I grumble, but Cassie collapses against my chest, laughing.
“I guess we were less subtle than we thought,” she says.
“Okay, who had March?” Miller yells over at the rest of the team.
“Damn, no one had Cassie kissing Cole in front of the team at a bar. We suck at this.” He frowns in concentration, scrolling through a spreadsheet on his phone.
“We’re going to need a lot more deets from you guys.
How long it’s been going on, who initiated, if you ever did it on the team plane—”
“You made a spreadsheet?” I ask in disbelief. “You, Miller, made a spreadsheet?”
“Yup. Landon had a hundred bucks on you getting together before the playoffs start.”
“You too, Cap?” I mutter, crossing my arms.
Landon grins, rueful. “I’m not saying I approved of it. But seemed like easy money.”
“I thought it was suspicious when the rookie over here recused himself from betting,” Roman says, nodding his head at Noah. “He knows you both so well. Had to know something he wasn’t admitting.”
Noah looks smug. “Just proves I can be trusted with a secret.”
I want to be annoyed, but it’s hard when Cassie is laughing pressed up against my body like this, all warm and casual in front of the whole team. I slide my hand around her shoulders, her neck against the crook of my elbow. It feels more right than I have words to explain.
“How long are you going to be mad at them for this?” she murmurs up at me, while the team devolves into bickering about who won which specific bet.
“I think I’m over it already. Because betting pool or not, now I get to do this in front of everybody whenever I want.” My fingers chuck under her chin, tilting her head up and kissing her again. “You’re mine, baby,” I murmur, “and I’m yours.”
After that, Miller rounds everyone up to get back to karaoke.
The night is a blur of laughter and terrible singing.
Cassie even drags me up on stage to do a duet with her, which Miller tries to film on his phone before I give him a glare that reminds him I’m not always this nice and will kick his ass if that footage ever makes it out of the team group chat.
Later that night, I’m pouring a glass of water at the bar, watching Cassie laughing with Noah, Miller, and Roman across the bar.
My sunshine girl, lighting up the room, leaving a trail of sparkling joy wherever she touches.
I look at the grinning faces of the men I’ve grown to call my brothers as they chat with her.
Feels like it couldn’t get much more perfect than this. I have the family I love, the one tied to me by blood. And I have the family I’ve built over my hockey career. It makes my chest tight, just how easily Cassie fits right into that family.
Landon leans against the bar next to me. “Cole Taylor grinning his head off over a girl. Never thought I’d see the day. How’s it feel being in love?”
“Pretty damn great, Cap,” I admit. “You should try it out sometime.”
He shrugs one shoulder and gives me a sly smile. “I dunno, Freeze. Tried it out once and got my heart busted up pretty bad.”
I groan. “Don’t make me be the one to argue for the power of love and all that shit. That’s not my job on the team.”
“True. Your job is to keep blocking shots like a madman and to keep bringing Cassie around, ’cause the team needs some feminine energy. Plus, she’s a real gem.”
“Consider it done,” I grin. I push off from the bar, but I only take a few steps before I turn back.
“Hey, Cap.” I lower my voice. “If you feel like making some money off the boys, here’s an insider tip. Maybe it won’t be right now. But maybe you should start up that marriage pool sooner than you think.”
Landon’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, before a grin breaks out over his face.
I turn back and walk over to the group where Cassie is chatting, wrapping my arm around her and pulling her against my side.
After a year of everything in my life feeling so unsteady, I’m finally starting to feel like I’m standing on solid ground. There’s no bet in the world more certain than my love for Cassie.