32. Merritt
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
MERRITT
I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but I think I actually like hockey now.
A lot.
It’s exciting and explosive, and my adrenaline is pounding.
Obviously, the main reason being that my boyfriend is the goalie. And seeing him in his element, blocking pucks that are speeding at him so quickly I can barely even track it, moving with power and grace that I can’t truly even fathom, is incredible.
And my God… it is so hot.
I can’t wait until we’re home and I can show him just how hot he is out there right now.
It certainly doesn’t hurt my newfound love for the sport.
But now that I’m starting to kind of understand it more, how it’s played, how they score and what certain things mean… it’s actually kind of addicting.
Bennett blocks another goal, and I shoot up from my seat, my arms flying into the air as I scream.
Hell yes!
I swear he must hear me even over the sound of the crowd going crazy around us because he looks back, and even though I can’t see it beneath the mask he’s wearing, I just know he’s got that grin that I love so much.
He lifts his stick in the air, and I giggle, blowing him a kiss.
When I flop back down in the seat, my heart is racing wildly with adrenaline.
Like holy shit, that was my fucking man who just made that play.
“Are they called plays in hockey?” I ask.
Not only am I at Bennett’s game tonight, sitting front row behind where he’s playing the net, but I’m also wearing his jersey for the first time.
Something I know he’s going to lose his mind over.
I also got to meet all of his friends for the first time tonight.
I mean, of course, I’ve already met Zach and Tyler because they’re his best friends and live with him, obviously.
And even though he’s talked about Maisie and Lennon over the last few months, tonight is the first time we’re meeting.
Maisie is apparently dating Bennett’s old assistant coach for the Hellcats, Wilder Hawthorne, and that information was slightly scandalous to hear. I want to know all about it. And Lennon is dating Saint Devereaux, another of Bennett’s best friends and the guy Bennett has literal heart eyes for.
They’re all here tonight.
Maisie, Wilder, Lennon, and Saint.
They came to surprise Bennett, and it honestly makes my heart squeeze because it’s not just a regular hockey game.
It’s family weekend, where the players’ families come in for a game, and they honor the seniors on the ice, followed by a dinner gathering at the arena.
When Bennett told me about it, he said it casually like it was no big deal, but it seems like it actually is.
He never mentioned if his family would be here tonight, so I’m really, really glad that his friends showed up for him.
“Yes, there are plays in hockey.” Maisie laughs and tucks a piece of her long, wavy blonde hair behind her ear. “And Bennett is killing it tonight.”
Lennon leans past Maisie and grins, waggling her eyebrows. “Probably because he has you here. He’s showing off for his girl.”
His girl.
I still can’t believe that I’m Bennett Legros’s girl.
Out of everyone on the entire planet, I could’ve never imagined he would be who I ended up with, but I think if this year has taught me anything, it’s that the universe is always in control, and we’re just along for the ride.
“Okay.” I nod with a small smile. I’m rubbing my hands up and down the front of my jeans because suddenly, I’m nervous that somehow we’re going to lose this game, even though we’re up by four points, and per the girls, that’s a really good lead to have in a hockey game.
When the puck goes flying down the ice, being chased by a guy on the other team, I leap up from my seat again, screaming, “Let’s go, Goalie! You… guard that net! Beat their asses!”
Okay, yeah, I’m getting a little too into this.
I just… I want this for Bennett.
Maisie giggles and glances at Lennon, sharing something in their expressions before looking back at me. “Yeah, I can see exactly why Bennett likes you. You are perfect for him.”
My cheeks heat as I sink back down into the seat, feeling the flush slowly creeping up my neck.
“He deserves someone passionate about him,” Maisie says softly.
I can’t believe I was worried about meeting her tonight.
He mentioned in passing that he used to have a crush on Maisie. That she’s part of what helped open his eyes to making a change in himself.
So, was I a little nervous about meeting her? For sure.
I wasn’t jealous or anything like that; I was just worried because I didn’t know what the dynamic was between them or how it would be between her and me.
And if I’m being totally honest, Blake kind of fucked me up when it comes to this. He cheated on me with a girl he swore was just a friend, like a sister to him, and is literally still dating her.
At least I think he is. I’m at the point that I’m doing my best to pretend he no longer exists. Number and socials blocked.
But, still, the insecurity is there and making me question things that I shouldn’t.
Within the first five minutes of meeting her, I realized that I had been worried, even if it was only a tiny bit, for nothing because she is so sweet, and warm, and funny. And truly head over heels in love with her man.
I honestly think I’m going to have to steal both Maisie and Lennon from Bennett.
I have zero doubt that they’d fit in perfectly with me, Stella, and Mads.
Honestly, sitting here with them now makes me miss my girls.
I hate that we’re so far away and don’t get to see each other the way we used to when we were just ten minutes down the road.
“You know, I have been trying to get us all together for like months,” Lennon says with an eye roll and a laugh, “but this guy has been traveling so much this season, and I’ve been trying to finish class here while he’s living part-time in New York when he’s not on the road.”
The man sitting next to her, with his dark hair and eyes, seems unnaturally quiet. Stoic? Reserved? Honestly not sure which word that I would use for him, but he has said a total of maybe four words sitting here with us, and there are only minutes left in the third period.
He feels like an enigma compared to his girlfriend. She’s loud and bubbly and has asked me a billion and five questions since I sat down. Not because she’s nosy, but it seems like she genuinely wants to get to know me.
“Yeah, between everyone’s schedule and everything that Bennett had going on, we just haven’t been able to make it happen,” Maisie adds, and I nod.
“I totally understand. I swear the last six months have flown by so quickly that I feel like I blinked and they were gone.”
Maisie sighs. “I feel like this is what it’s going to be like whenever we graduate from college, you know.
Like everyone is going to chase their dreams and do their own things, and I feel like it’s just going to be harder and harder to make nights like these happen.
” A small frown pulls at her lips, and the wide-shouldered, also ridiculously pretty man sitting beside her slips his arm over her shoulders and lowers his mouth to her ear.
I can hear him whispering but can’t quite make out what they’re saying. All I know is that her cheeks tint pink, and she swats at him playfully.
“Unfortunately, I think that’s kind of just what being an adult entails. But it makes you appreciate these days more, you know?”
They both nod, and we spend the rest of the game cheering on Bennett. And when the final buzzer sounds, I feel like I’ve gained two new best friends.
After the game, we wait for Bennett near the locker room, and I’m still buzzing over the win.
“Shit, I cannot believe that I actually like hockey this much,” I say to the girls, who both nod.
“That was kind of me too.” Maisie laughs. “I was not a hockey girl until Wilder.”
The guys are standing off to the side, talking quietly, or really just standing there being broody in each other’s presence, and Lennon starts telling me the story of how they met.
About how she’s a figure skater, and the only reason they ended up together is because they were forced to share the ice. One thing led to another.
Hearing this makes total sense with how opposite they are.
It reminds me of Bennett and me. On the surface, we’re different on nearly every level, but together, we just fit somehow.
Bennett walks out of the locker room a few minutes later, looking so devastatingly handsome in his dark, navy blue, three-piece suit and burgundy tie, with his blond hair darker from his shower, still wet, curling at his nape and over his ears.
My God, he is so fucking hot.
How is this man mine?
He scans the crowd of people near the locker room, and it makes my heart swell because I know that he’s looking for me. Finally, his gaze lands on me, and a broad grin overtakes his face.
He sees his friends standing beside me, and even from across the room, I can feel the happiness radiating off him as he strides over.
When he stops in front of me, I launch myself into him, tossing my arms around his neck and squealing when he lifts me completely off the ground.
“Holy shit, Bennett, you were incredible.” The low, sexy chuckle warms the inside of my neck, and I fight back a shiver that ghosts along my spine.
Who knew that seeing him play hockey could be so much of a turn-on?
He tightens his arms around me, and I pull back to look at him. “I’m so proud of you.”
The corner of his lip ticks up, and I lean down and press my lips to his, unable to wait another second to kiss him.
I could stay here all night, just like this in his arms, kissing him, but the giggling behind us distracts me from his lips.
I tear my mouth from his, and he laughs, his blue eyes light with happiness. “Thanks, baby. You look so fucking good wearing my jersey.”
His gaze drops to my lips, and I trace my tongue along the bottom. “Yeah? Just wait till you see what I’ve got on under it.”
A quiet, rough groan vibrates out of him, and he looks past me where Maisie, Lennon, and the guys are standing, then back at me. “Think they can find their own way home?”
I laugh. “Nope. They’re here to celebrate you, Goalie. Let’s go.”
Begrudgingly, he slowly lowers me back onto my feet, unwrapping his arms but then grabbing my hand, lacing our fingers together.
“You two are nauseatingly freakin’ adorable, and I love it,” Lennon says with a wry grin, her green eyes dancing between Bennett and me as we make our way over to them.
“You’ve got the nauseous part right,” Saint deadpans, and she lifts her arm, elbowing him in the side, telling him to shut up.
It’s the first time tonight I’ve seen even a hint of emotion on his face, a tiny smirk that seems only to be reserved for her.
Bennett barks out a laugh. “Pookie! You’re here.”
Saint narrows his eyes. “What did I say?”
“Which time?” Bennett retorts as he drops my hand and walks over to Saint, throwing his arms around him in a hug, squeezing him tight.
It’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen because Saint’s arms are trapped by his sides, a look of pure horror etched into the sharp contours of his face.
But it doesn’t deter Bennett in the least, even when Saint finally pushes him off and shakes his head, scowling slightly. “Don’t call me pookie, and stop hugging me.”
“Missed you too.” Bennett grins and then turns to the girls, giving them each a hug and shaking Wilder’s hand, who also looks like he tolerates Bennett’s chaotic, golden retriever energy at best.
“I can’t believe you’re all here,” Bennett says, dragging his gaze over the group. “I thought I saw you in the stands, but in all honesty, I only saw Merritt.”
Yeah, I think my heart just actually skipped a beat.
This is what I have been transformed into. A girl whose heartbeat directly coincides with the sickly sweet things her boyfriend says.
“We were thinking maybe Jack’s for a late dinner?” Maisie says, and Lennon adds, “Yeah, Saint’s flying back out on a red-eye tonight for his game tomorrow, sadly.”
Bennett glances down at me. “That work for you, baby?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Even if it didn’t, I’d make it work because right now, surrounded by his friends, he looks so happy, so content, that it makes my heart swell inside my chest.
“Good game. You were a wall tonight,” Wilder says to Bennett with a tip of his chin, and I swear I watch my boyfriend’s eyes shine with pride.
“Thanks, man.”
Saint sighs, a full-body exhale, before saying, “He’s right. You were fucking money tonight. I can see how much you’ve grown since last season.”
This has Bennett’s jaw falling open and a hush falling over everyone.
I look around them, confused. Okay… so clearly, Saint’s not in the habit of giving out compliments, it seems?
For a few seconds, Bennett just stares at him, and then he rushes forward, pouncing on him again. He grabs both of his cheeks and kisses him right in the center of his forehead.
“I fucking love you too, Saint Devereaux.”