EPILOGUE 2
Conor
The final buzzer echoes through the arena and for a second… I don’t move. Thousands of people erupt in the stands, their cheers and screams ricocheting off the walls surrounding me.
My teammates spill over the boards, helmets flying as they rush onto the ice as they celebrate our win, but still, I just stand here.
Breathing.
Searching.
Everything disappears when I see her. Sasha’s there, waiting exactly where she’d been before puck drop. Her eyes are glassy and a smile stretches across her face, somehow brighter than every light in the arena combined. She’s breathtaking.
I smile before I can stop myself. No goals or assists or wins compares to the fact that this woman is waiting for me.
I close my eyes for half a heart beat and just let it all sink in. The ache in my shoulder, the sweat dripping down my neck, the weight of my skates digging into the ice beneath me.
Every miserable physio session, every sleepless night, all of it was worth it to be back here today.
“Matthews!” A pair of gloved hands slap against my helmet. Josh throws an arm around my shoulder, shaking me hard enough to nearly knock me on my ass. “You alright?”
I laugh, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Yeah, Cap. I’m good.”
He studies me for a second before the corner of his mouth tips up. “Are you crying?”
“What? No.”
“Liar.”
“I’m sweating.”
“From your eyes?”
“I sweat emotionally.”
Josh barks out a laugh before pulling me into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”
Four words and that’s all it takes. The dam breaks. I squeeze my eyes shut as I hug him back. “I told you you’d get back here.”
“I know.”
“You just refused to believe me.”
“I know.”
He slaps my back twice before stepping back and clearing his throat. “Now stop getting emotional before Ollie starts taking photos of this.”
I look towards where Josh’s fiancé is standing behind the glass.
Too late. She has a smug smile on her face as she lifts the camera in my direction, snapping a photo of me looking directly into the lens.
When she catches me looking at her, her smile turns genuine and she wipes a stray tear off her cheek. “Love you.” She mouths in my direction.
I huff a laugh, smiling back at her. “Love you too.”
My eyes drift to where my girl is still sitting, deep in conversation with Charlie. But once my eyes settle on her, it’s like she knows. Her gaze moves up to mine and another grin splits across her face.
I tap two fingers over my heart and then point them straight at her. I’m coming.
She laughs and then nods, standing from her seat and walks up the steps to come to me.
The team starts skating around the ice, a ritual that we do after a win, but I’m already peeling away.
“Where are you going?” Josh yells.
“My future wife is waiting for me.”
“Jesus Christ.” Knight groans. “You’ve become unbearable.”
“I’ve always been unbearable.” I don’t wait for his response as I skate straight towards the tunnel.
I don’t make it two steps before I see my girl running towards me. She throws herself at me hard enough that I almost lose my balance, but I catch her anyway. Always. Her arms wrap around my neck and mine lock at her waist.
“How did you get down here?” I ask as I set her back onto her feet.
“Otis and I have made a truce.”
“Who’s Otis?”
She laughs softly, those dark chocolatey eyes staring into mine. “It doesn’t matter.” She rises onto her tip toes, cups my face in her hands and brings my face down to hers, kissing me gently. “I am so unbelievably proud of you.” She whispers against me.
My eyes sting again at the sincerity in her voice. I pull back just enough to look at her. “You know,” I murmur, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “When I got hurt, I thought I’d lost everything.”
“You didn’t.”
“No.” I smile, pulling her tighter against me. “Turns out I was only losing the life I thought I wanted.”
Her brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“It means,” I kiss her forehead, “I thought hockey was my whole world.” I kiss her nose. “It wasn’t.” I kiss her lips. “You are.”
She rolls her eyes despite the tears. “That was so cheesy.”
“You loved it.”
“I love you.”
I grin. “I love you too.”
I lean down, capturing her lips in mine again, tipping her head back to deepen it. Someone whistles behind us. Someone else gags. But I don’t care. I just kiss her like nobody else is watching.
Almost a year ago, we stood in my kitchen making rules. No touching, no kissing, no falling in love. We broke every single one.
Every good thing in my life started with her. Not the fake relationship or the headline. Just her.
I tuck her into my side as we walk toward the locker room. My parents are waiting. Sasha’s family is here. The guys are already planning where we’re celebrating tonight. Life moves forward. It always does.
The difference now is I know exactly who I want beside me while it does. This is the woman I’m going to marry. This is the woman who will carry my children. This is the woman who I’ll grow old and gray with and not once will that life be boring.
I squeeze Sasha’s hand and she squeezes mine back.
For once, stepping off the ice feels better than stepping onto it. Because for so long I thought my greatest dream was being on that ice and wearing my team’s jersey.
It turns out that my greatest dream was agreeing to something I knew I shouldn't have, and I accidently found everything I had always been looking for.