Epilogue
CALEB
TEN MONTHS LATER
The night I’ve been waiting for all year has finally arrived—opening night for the hockey season. We have our first regular season game on home ice at the arena downtown.
I’m fired up to get out there and play with the teammates who have become like brothers to me over the last several months.
The Mayfield Mavericks team launch made a big splash across sports media outlets. This time, the PR frenzy didn’t send me into hiding.
The place is packed when I walk by the tunnel with Theo on our way to the locker room after warming up our muscles. He pauses, tapping my shoulder with his knuckles.
“Damn, sounds like the entirety of Mayfield showed up to watch us play.”
“Yeah. We better give them something to cheer about.”
He eyes me with a smirk, giving me a light shove. “I know that dopey ass look. You only care about one person yelling your name tonight.”
“Tonight and every night.”
He snorts. I grin, scanning the limited view of the lower bowl from the tunnel for my girl with the other WAGs.
Holly’s my girlfriend now, but there’s no doubt in my mind: she’s my future wife. Soon enough, I’ll finally give her the ring I bought months ago.
He grabs me by the back of my collar and drags me away. “Come on, lover boy. You’ll see her soon enough when we hit the ice.”
The other guys are going through their own stages of physical and mental preparation prior to a game. I pop a pair of headphones in my ears and sit on the bench at my locker to tape my stick while visualizing my goals.
Before Holly came back into my life, my visualization techniques focused solely on gameplay and running through the skills I worked hard to hone.
Now, I picture everything in my life I want to play for. I’m no longer dedicated to my job by my love of the sport alone, but driven by the good things that make me happier than I’ve ever been. It’s a way to unload anything I should let go of before the puck drops, leaving me focused.
Tonight might be my first game back since my contract was terminated midseason last year, but I’m playing better than ever. My reaction time is flawless and I chase the puck with everything I’ve got because I’m not holding back in my life anymore.
I’ve felt it in training this year, but I know it once I step on the ice—I’m unstoppable tonight.
I’m locked in, ready to win against our opponents.
Fans shout my name when I skate around the edge of the rink to get my legs ready. I wave, tossing a few pucks to kids with homemade signs.
At last, I spot my girl standing at the glass to watch warm-ups when I reach the section she’s sitting in a few rows up with the other players’ partners and Layla. My sister gives me a wave from her seat.
“Watch out. Hot heartbreaker alert,” Holly says.
She’s filming me on her phone and blows me a kiss. I catch it with my glove and tuck it against my heart, giving her a wink.
Pieces of her hair are pulled up in two spots, tied with blue bows to match the team colors. Best of all, she’s wearing my jersey. She sewed on glittery pink beads to add hearts to it.
I’ll never tire of seeing her wearing my name and number. She’s mine for life.
“You look good.” My gaze rakes over her.
She spins, showing off the back of the jersey. “Oh, you like it?”
“You in my jersey? Fuck yes.” My voice lowers just enough that she’ll still hear it through the glass dividing us. “I’ll like it even better when it’s the only thing you have left on later.”
Her cheeks redden and she plucks the material for emphasis. “I wanted to let everyone here know that’s my man scoring out there.”
“Yours and only yours. Know that every puck I put in the net is all for you,” I promise.
Theo skates by, busting my balls. “Game time, lover boy.”
Grinning, I hold up my glove against the glass. Holly puts hers against the other side.
“See you after.”
“You’ve got this!”
Her confidence in me fires me up. I push off the boards and ride the boost all the way to puck drop when the game begins.
I win the first face-off against Pittsburgh.
It feels damn good moving the puck down the ice passing to Theo and Howell as they flank me. Howell’s shot on the net gets blocked, but Theo picks up the rebound and out skates Pittsburgh’s defense.
His deke to me works in his favor and he sends a wrister across the goal line for our first point.
“Hell yeah!” He pumps his fist in the air, bumping it against mine between plays.
My line completely dominates the game every time our shift is up. I haul myself over the boards and don’t stop moving until it’s time for the next line to take over. When I’m out, I’m watching gameplay like a hawk.
We’re up by one point going into third period and I don’t want to give up the lead.
Pittsburgh fights us hard, not ready to call it quits during the last minutes of the game. We’re locked in a brutal back and forth that takes us from one end of the rink to the other. Neither team scores.
Howell and one of our D-men get the puck far enough out to give us an advantage.
“Go!” I yell, flying with them.
Howell flicks the puck to me before he’s checked. Pittsburgh’s center slams into me. I move the puck to Theo and get to the scoring zone.
Theo passes back to me when I’m open with seconds to spare on the clock. Defense is creeping in on my right to close off my options for an easier shot.
I don’t back down yet, my muscles burning with instinctive competitiveness. The goalie thinks I’m going left.
Smirking, I angle to make it look like I am, changing directions at the last second to drive the puck down the center when the goalie slides to the spot he thought I’d shoot from. The puck sails past him into the crease.
The lamp lights up and the crowd goes wild.
Dazed as adrenaline courses through me, I stare at the final score. 3-0. A fucking shutout for our first official game.
Holy shit. I haven’t played a shutout in—christ, I can’t remember. Not when I was on either of the other NHL teams I played for.
Theo crashes against me, followed by the rest of our teammates piling on us in celebration. I laugh with them, proud to be playing with each of them.
After showering and getting through postgame interviews and a debrief with the coaches, I meet up with Holly and Layla in the suite where family and friends hang out. The team’s having a private after party for opening night nearby.
Layla high fives me. “He’s back, baby.”
“I am.” And it feels fucking good.
“That was an incredible game,” Holly gushes.
The thrill that fires through me hearing her say that is almost strong enough to knock me down. Taking her hand, I lead the girls to my car to drive us over to the party. Our fingers lace together and they chat animatedly on the way to the parking lot.
My parents text their congratulations in the family group chat. Elijah’s team is still playing their game when I check for the final score.
The drive to the party isn’t long. A few of the other guys are already there.
“This place is nice,” Layla says.
Humming in agreement, my hand rests at Holly’s back. “The team’s owners take good care of us.”
A live band plays before a dance floor and the walls are lined with intimately lit green velvet booths.
We order drinks and my teammates flag us down to say hello to Holly. I’ve brought most of them around to the bakery and she comes to my night skates in the evenings after closing up shop.
Her cheeks turn pink every time I compliment her proudly.
We lose track of Layla when she goes for another drink. I scan the party, seeing her talking to Theo at the bar.
“Want to dance?” I ask Holly once we’re alone.
“Yes! But first…”
She hands me her cocktail and rifles through her purse, squinting in the low light. I set our drinks on a table and hold her bag, shining my phone inside to make it easier for her.
“Thanks. I got you a little something to celebrate tonight.”
She bites her lip, failing to hide her smile as she tucks the mystery gift behind her back in one hand. I lean around her to peek and she playfully keeps it out of sight.
“Yeah? You had so much faith in us winning? Shit, good thing we won.”
“Haven’t you heard? My guy, sixty-eight? He’s a total beast on the ice.”
Warmth fills my chest. “Your guy, huh?”
“All mine.” She beams.
I knead her waist and taste her smile, claiming her mouth in a hungry kiss. She giggles into it. While I have her distracted, I catch her hand, feeling something small and smooth.
“Here.”
Holly places a little snow globe in my hand. My smile spreads slowly when I see it’s hockey themed. After I gave her a snow globe for Christmas, we’ve started buying them for each other all the time.
A delighted puff of laughter escapes me as I hold it up. The hockey player inside is wearing Mavs blue and my number. He’s dipping his girl with pink hair and a bow in a kiss on an ice rink. The confetti snowflakes flip between white and yellow.
“Isn’t it cute? I had it customized to include us in it together,” she explains.
“It’s unreal how happy you make me every day, sugar.” I pull her into a bear hug.
Her sweet laughter is everything to me. I love hearing it and never want to go a day without it.
We’ve got a lifetime to look forward to—together.
Hugging her tighter, I lift my girl off her feet and carry her to the dance floor. I’m ready for all of it as long as I’m always with her.
Thank you so much for reading SAY IT ISN’T SNOW!