Chapter Twenty-Seven
After Arden walked in on me and Nils making out at Boots, we’re finally able to relax and enjoy our relationship. There are no more secrets, no more sneaking around, no more going back and forth trying to decide when to tell Arden.
Yeah, you could say it’s a huge relief that my brother knows.
Better yet, he fully accepts us as a couple.
Willow does too.
She called me the very next day, and we FaceTimed.
The first thing she said was “I’m so happy for you, Ellie. But I have to tell you that I knew all along you two would end up together. I felt the energy between you. You’re like two halves of a whole.”
She really is that tuned in. Nils and I are exactly that. It sounds corny, but we truly complete each other.
And Willow knew it all along.
Since she was so sure we were meant to be, I had to ask, “Did you suspect at any point in time that we’d fallen for each other?”
“I did,” she confirmed. “I could see a change in you both, one for the better. You and Nils just seemed more content.”
“I knew it!” I exclaimed. And then I had to ask, “Why didn’t you tell Arden?”
She blew out a breath. “I have to be honest. I thought about it. But I wasn’t completely sure. And more importantly, it’s always been your story to tell. Well, yours and Nils’s.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
The conversation changed, and she asked if I wanted to go with her to a game this week.
“It was actually Arden’s idea originally,” she shared. “He got us tickets in the players’ girlfriends and wives section.”
Ahh, now I knew he really had accepted my relationship with Nils.
Amazed, I murmured, “I’ve never sat in that section.”
It’s true. I’ve avoided those seats like the plague for fear that someone would realize Nils and I were more than just friends.
But now we can shout it out to the world.
We’re in love!
Everyone knows now, anyway, including all the Thunder players.
So I told Willow, “Yes, I’d love to go.”
We’re here now, walking into the arena to watch our guys. Willow is wearing jeans, ankle boots, and a black-and-silver Thunder jersey with Arden’s number on it.
I’m proudly—and finally!—wearing a jersey with Nils’s number, which I also paired with jeans but, unlike Willow’s, my boots go to my knees and fold over.
We find our seats and say hello to the other significant others in the section. Everyone is so friendly and nice. Some of the girls I’ve met before, and they congratulate me on having announced publicly that Nils and I are a couple.
I feel good, like I fit in.
I can’t believe that a few short months ago, I had no idea how the next chapter of my life would unfold. I came here to Atlanta to figure it out.
And, boy, have I ever!
I’m finally at a place where I feel at peace that I’m heading in the right direction. The best and most unexpected part is Nils. So much for a fling, huh? I knew there was potential; I felt it from the start. And now here I am—in love with the man I want to spend the rest of my life with and living with him.
I’ve also applied to a few law schools in the area. I have no doubt I’ll get in to all of them and have my choice.
When that time comes, though, I’ll make the decision with Nils.
That’s how we roll.
We help and support each other and celebrate our “wins” together.
That’s why I just started cheering like a maniac. It’s five minutes into the first period, and Nils just scored.
He took a beautiful shot from the blue line, one that was only meant to get the puck to the net so a teammate could hopefully shoot it in.
But the little bugger zoomed past everyone, including the opposing goalie.
Yay!
I high-five Willow, and Nils celebrates with his teammates.
I then see him scanning our section, looking for me.
I give him a little wave, and he smiles.
Even from a distance, I see his gaze soften.
I blow him a kiss, and he mouths, “I love you.”
Time stops, and for that beat, it’s just Nils and me in the whole arena, one man and one woman, so in love it’s not even funny.
My heart swells with emotion, and that’s when I know with every fiber of my being that we’re in this for the long haul, as in forever.
I see marriage.
I see children.
I see us growing old together.
Nils is my present and my future.
He is my life.