Chapter 65
Chapter Sixty-Five
RILEY
“Say that again?” I balk, staring at Nat’s pale face.
My brain must have short-circuited or maybe I heard wrong because there is no way those words came out of his mouth in that particular order.
He wipes the soup dripping from my lips with a napkin and says in a serious tone, “You heard me, Riles. I’m hanging up my skates.”
I plop my spoon back in my dish. “But why? The doctors said your leg is going to be fine after surgery.” A terrifying thought hits me. “Is something else wrong? Are you in pain somewhere else?”
“No.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?”
“Because I made you a promise,” Nat says simply.
My eyes dart back and forth as I search my mind for this ‘promise’ he’s referring to.
“Is this about what I said before? About going to the doctor or else you and I…” I wiggle my fingers between us.
“No, I knew you were only trying to help me. The problem was me. I wanted to play hockey no matter the cost. Even if the cost was my health.” His eyes slowly slip away. “Even if the cost was you. It was foolish of me.”
“I was the foolish one. I shouldn’t have given you that ultimatum, Nat. I was too reactionary. I could have been calmer or at least heard you out.”
“You were worried. You had every right to feel that way. I was the one who needed a wake-up call.” Nat sets his spoon down. “I haven’t forgotten what you told me the night of April and Chance’s proposal. You said you wanted a man who would sacrifice for you.”
I can’t believe he remembers that.
“I’ll be honest. When I made up my mind to play tonight’s game, I fully believed I’d go to the hospital after and the doctors would tell me I couldn’t play again.
Thinking that hockey was out of the picture meant choosing you was not much of a sacrifice.
But I want to do it right this time. I want you to know that I choose you.
And this gives me the perfect opportunity. ”
I stare into his face, in total shock. There’s not a hint of the playfulness Nat is so well known for. He’s dead-serious. He’s about to throw it all away for me.
Moved, I choose my words with care, knowing this heartfelt confession deserves just as weighty a response.
“Nat, that is so sweet, and a huge gesture, but I don’t agree. I don’t want you to sacrifice hockey for me. I love watching you do what you love. As your original psycho fangirl, seeing you happy fills me with so much joy.”
Nat drops his head and laughs.
I grin too. “I don’t want you to give up doing what makes you happy. Really. That’s not what I want.”
“You make me happy, Riles. You’re the most important person in the world to me.”
“So are you.” I put my hand on his. “Someone very wise told me you need two pairs of hands to make a relationship work. One pair won’t save it, no matter how hard they try.”
Nat tilts his head, pondering the thought.
“I think she’s right. We started this relationship by hiding a lot of things from each other. Instead of having a hard or awkward conversation, we kept one hand behind our backs.”
Nat slips his fingers into mine. “From now on, it’s all cards on the table.”
“Same here.” I hesitate. “Which means I should probably tell you that I took a picture of you while you were sleeping.”
Nat snorts.
“I know. I’m never beating the psycho fangirl allegations.” I grin from ear to ear. “But it was worth it.”
“Since we’re being honest…” he clears his throat, “remember I said I’d rewatch Death Note with you?”
“Yes…”
“I watched five episodes without you.”
My jaw drops. “What?”
“I was missing you and I thought it would help distract me.”
I shoot to my feet and slam my hand on my hips, smarting at the betrayal. “Did you only watch up to episode five?”
Nat scrunches his nose.
“Nat!”
“It ended on a cliffhanger! I had to know what happened next.”
I toss my ponytail over my shoulder. “Wow. So much for treating me like your number one. You can’t even wait to watch a show together.”
Nat grips my hands and coaxes me back to his side. “I didn’t think you were that interested. You kept grumbling about how cheesy the premise was.”
“I was being funny.”
“I’ll happily watch all those episodes again with you.”
I narrow my eyes.
Nat pumps his eyebrows. “And I’ll give you a massage too.”
“Deal.”
He mimes wiping sweat from his brow.
I grab the remote. “We’re watching it now. I’ll save the massage until you feel better.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As the show starts, I find I can’t concentrate on it and I stare at my soup instead.
Nat’s arm winds around my waist and he drags me closer to him. “Are you still mad?”
“No,” I admit. “I’m just… I’m stunned you were thinking of giving up hockey for me.”
“That’s because I love you, Riles. You think you’re my biggest fan, but that’s not true. I’m even more obsessed with you than you can imagine.”
“I could tell from the poorly written poems.”
“You read my poetry?” Nat looks excited.
“It was even worse than mine.”
“I love your poems. I want to frame them and hang them everywhere.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Nat’s laughter rings through the warm room as we enjoy the food, our show, and each other’s company.