Chapter 36 The Best Thing
THE BEST THING
FORD
When I’m on the ice, I wear all sorts of protective gear—shoulder pads, a mouthguard, a cup. They help protect you from the hits.
In life, though? You can’t really protect yourself. Not with a stoic attitude or an emotional shutdown.
So, with no armor—just my heart on my sleeve—I walk into the middle of their live stream.
I’ve been watching it online from the driveway for the last fifteen minutes. About five thousand people are tuned in. Fewer than the number of fans who come to a Sea Dogs game, but far more than I ever expected to witness the hardest thing I’ve ever done: ask for another chance.
With a curious glint in her gaze, Skylar stands in front of the dove gray couch she picked out one afternoon last month, when I started to realize I could fall for her. Probably already had.
I square my shoulders, ready to say the hard stuff. I should’ve scripted this. But some things are better unplanned.
“I miss you,” I say, my voice steady even if everything inside me is trembling. “And I was completely wrong when I thought you distracted me from playing.”
Her bright eyes are fixed on me. I hope her heart’s still open, too, but it’s hard to tell. She’s saying nothing—just waiting for me to keep talking.
“It was fear that distracted me. The fear that you might not feel the same as me. The fear that you might not want the same things I do. And I let it masquerade as something else.”
Trevyn smothers a smile. Mabel rolls her lips together, trying to hide hers. They’re in on this too. I called and asked when they were going live, and they told me.
“I’m sorry,” I continue, my chest cracking open.
The fear’s still real, but I have to push past it.
She’s worth the risk. “I’m so sorry I didn’t realize this the other night.
I’m sorry it took me almost a week. But I know it now.
And if you’ll take me back…” I pause, my heart stuttering with hope.
“I’ll always put you first. Well, sometimes I might put your dog first, but I think that’s one and the same in your eyes. ”
Her eyes shine—hopefully from happy tears—as Mabel keeps the phone steady, capturing every word.
“It is the same,” Skylar says, her voice wobbly. Her lips quirk up and she can’t seem to fight off a smile.
“Good. Because I love you,” I say, and that was hard, but it’s also freeing.
Like getting back on the ice after an injury.
Like stepping out of an ice bath. Like finally, finally letting go of the past for real.
“I love you so much. When I met you and your dog humped my dog, I thought you were a complete pain in the ass. But I couldn’t stop thinking about you—and I haven’t stopped since.
And now I know that’s not a bad thing. It’s the best thing. You’re the best thing.”
She shakes her head slightly, and for a second, I worry she’s going to say no. But it’s more like amazement. She steps forward, grabs the collar of my shirt, and says, “You beat me to it.”
“To what?”
“To saying it,” she says, and I hope so hard her it means what I want it to.
“I realized I kind of ran away too,” she says, apologetic, but she hardly needs to be.
“I didn’t tell you that you were an idiot the other night.
I didn’t tell you that you were wrong. And I definitely didn’t tell you that I’ve fallen in love with you too. ”
My breath hitches. My chest warms, and I feel drunk in the best of ways. Those words are all I want.
“I want to be there for you,” she adds. “I want to take care of you. And let you know I’m not going anywhere. You can’t get rid of me.”
“Well…you are my next-door neighbor,” I say.
She smirks. “Exactly. Which is why you really better be nice to me. In every single way.”
I grin. “So will you take me back?”
She lifts a brow. “Only if you’ll eat a peanut butter dog biscuit live.”
“That’s all you’re gonna make me do?”
“Okay, fine. Get down on your knees and tell me I’m amazing.”
“That’s easy.” I drop to my knees, look up at her, and say, “You’re amazing. And even when you drove me crazy, I was falling in love with you. I want to keep falling in love with you. Every single day. Will you let me?”
She offers me her hand and pulls me to my feet, grinning that sassy, signature Skylar grin. “I accept your groveling. You may kiss me now.”
Nothing can distract me from the way this woman makes me feel. Happy. And happiness like this is worth it.
This won’t be our first kiss in public, but this one feels like the start of our forever.
Back at my house, she tugs at my shirt, her nimble fingers yanking it off. But then her eyes widen with worry. “I didn’t ask. Did that hurt?”
“Why would it hurt?”
“Your ribs, silly.”
I scoff. “You think I’m going to let some bruised ribs stop me from fucking my woman?”
“Ford,” she chides.
“Fine. You can be on top, okay?”
“Seriously. Did you ask your doctor?”
“No, and I’m not going to. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll seriously just lie there and let you bounce on my dick. Now, get on me,” I say, tipping my forehead to the king-size mattress in my bedroom, where she belongs right now, and really, all the time.
She gazes ceiling-ward. “Seriously. He’s so stubborn,” she says to the sky.
“I am,” I say, then kick off my jeans, skim off my boxers, and lie the fuck down, my hard cock pointing right at her.
With a playful shrug, she strips, then comes over and straddles me, sinking down.
I shudder out a ragged breath as I wrap my hands around her hips, savoring this connection that I’ve missed fiercely. Savoring her.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
I shake my head. “No. Everything is perfect.”
Because I’m sure she’s perfect for me. And sometimes you don’t get the girl right away. Just like you don’t get into the NHL on your first shot. But when you get her, you hold on tight and keep her.
As she rides me, I make a promise to myself—to keep her close and treat her like the gift that she is.
Later, as she settles in next to me between the sheets, with Simon testing out his new bed, Skylar runs a gentle hand over my abs. “Are you sure it didn’t hurt?”
“You can ride my dick again to make sure,” I suggest helpfully.
“I will.” She snuggles tighter, her auburn hair spilling across my chest. “Thanks for the gifts.”
“Thank you for taking me back,” I say. And as I stroke her hair, I add, “In case it wasn’t clear, the dog bed is for here. So Simon has someplace to sleep when you’re sleeping over.”
Her grin is electric. “Really?”
“Yes,” I say, dropping another kiss to her pretty lips.
She murmurs against my mouth, and when she breaks the kiss, she says, “Does this mean I can still spy on you from the catio?”
“I don’t think you ever stopped.”
“You’re right. I didn’t.”
“I didn’t stop checking you out from the hot tub either,” I admit.
“Good. Spies unite,” she says, then rests her head on my chest. But a second later, she lifts it again. “You didn’t eat the peanut butter biscuit.”
“Next time,” I say. “That’s a promise.”
“You’re just angling to come back on my podcast.”
“You are right.”
“My three favorite words,” she says. “Wait—actually, I think I have three new favorite ones.”
I’m pretty sure I know what they are, so I cup her cheek and say, “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Then she gives me a once-over. “By the way, you grovel well.”
As Simon thumps his tail, and Zamboni curls up into a tight dog ball on her bed, I blow on my fingernails. “I play to win, Skylar.”
And this win is better than any I’ve ever had on the ice.