Chapter 16
sixteen
SEBASTIAN
“Dude, I can’t believe you got cockblocked by a frisbee.” Griffin laughs gleefully as we suit up for the game. Despite our loss in game four, the locker room is calm. We’re going to win this series, and we’re going to do it tonight.
“Yeah, me neither. I was so close.”
“But she wanted you to kiss her, right?” Ryder tapes up his socks, then tosses the tape to Logan.
“Seemed that way.” I’m frustrated that our moment was interrupted, but at least now I feel emboldened to make a move again.
Indie Bloom can pretend she’s indifferent all she wants, but the way her body gravitated toward mine gave her away.
“Are she and Lola coming to our place after the game?” Maddox asks.
“Yeah, they said they will.” I’d be a little nervous that Indie would back out if not for Lola, but I think Lola’s on team Sebastian, so she’ll force Indie to show up.
“Okay, men, listen up.”
Everyone shuts up and pays attention as Coach Fry strides into the room.
He’s looking dapper in a gray suit with a matching shirt.
His tie is Rogues’ yellow, and it brings out the warm undertones of his amber skin.
Coach Fry radiates calm confidence as he surveys the locker room, his rich brown eyes landing on each of us for a moment.
He’s a great coach. He was amazing as an assistant, but he’s really shone as a head coach since Lexi’s dad was fired after a scandalous, public rant and shoving Ryder during a game. Coach Fry inspires with quiet assurance, not the chaotic ramblings and shouts of a more volatile man.
“I want you all to enjoy the game tonight. Play hard, play smart, but enjoy it. Because once we win, we’ll be heading into another round of intense play.
The next couple of months will be long and brutal.
Pace yourselves.” He smiles at us, the expression fatherly, despite the fact that he’s only in his early forties.
“I’m proud of you. I couldn’t ask for a better group of men.
Now, finish getting ready and let’s go win this game in front of a home crowd. ”
Everyone lets out a whoop, and the room grows loud again, filling with cheers and jokes and guys getting dressed. The energy stays buoyant throughout warm-ups, rising with the palpable excitement of the sold-out home crowd.
In between stretches and warm-up exercises, I look up at the family box and search for a shock of pink hair.
I can admit I’m distracted until I see her.
Pink hair curled and a little wild, the biggest smile on her face as she talks to Lola and the ladies.
She’s beautiful. And she fits in with the people in my life so seamlessly, I’m convinced she was made for this. For me.
“When are we taking you ring shopping?” Griffin asks, a cocky smirk on his face as he comes to a stop by the goal.
How many times have I laughed at our friends when his particular brand of romantic optimism was aimed their way?
Probably more than I can count. But now that it’s pointed in my direction, it makes me squirm.
Luckily, I’m covered in so many pads and so much protective gear, he won’t be able to tell.
“It’s a little early for that.”
He shrugs, smile growing. “When you know, you know.”
“Sure, but it helps if she knows too. And if you’ve at least kissed her.”
Griffin laughs. He throws his head back and nearly loses the helmet he hasn’t buckled on. “Details, details. That woman is completely in love with you. I wouldn’t worry.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“He’s right,” Logan says as he attempts to slap a shot between my knees.
I stop it. “Just because you guys want her to be doesn’t mean she is.”
“I get that it’s scary because you have ten years of feelings riding on this, but trust us. She’s into you. Kiss her tonight. You’ll see.”
I’d love to kiss her tonight, but I’ve waited this long. I won’t force it and have our first kiss be some awkward, public thing. When I finally kiss Indigo Bloom, it’s going to be perfect.
When warm-ups end and we wait for the ice crew to resurface the ice and get it ready for play, my mind is on Indie. On kissing her. On making her mine.
It should be distracting, but it’s not. Indie Bloom and her perfect mouth are the best inspiration as I vow to play the best game possible.
She’s in the building. I need to impress her and show her that the faith she’s apparently always had in me hasn’t been misguided.
And then, when the time is right, I’m going to kiss the hell out of her.
With ten minutes left in the third period, we’re up by two, and I’ve blocked every single shot Denver has sent flying my way.
I don’t have a clear line of sight to the family box from the crease, but I know Indie’s been cheering for me with each save.
The guys have told me every time they see her jumping in the air and hugging one of the women.
I want every game to be like this. With her in the box, laughing and having a good time as she cheers me on with the women who have become family. I want Indie to be family too.
The world narrows down to Denver’s approaching offensive line. They pass the puck back and forth smoothly and quickly, hoping to fake me out or catch me off guard.
They won’t succeed.
The Stags’ center taps the puck to the left wing, who swings his stick back like he’s going to take a shot, but I track his eye movements, and he gives himself away by glancing at their wide-open right winger.
I’m already shifting my weight when he passes it.
The right winger doesn’t hesitate. He thinks I’ve left him an opening, and he’s going to take it.
The puck stings when I catch it in my mitt. Every Rogues fan in the arena goes wild, and Maddox rubs the top of my helmet before the ref grabs the puck and instructs both teams to line up for another face-off.
Denver makes another ten shots before the buzzer sounds, and the arena erupts into cacophonous cheers. I stop every single one.
“Holy shit, dude,” Griffin cheers as he slams into me for what would be a bone-crushing hug if I wasn’t covered in protective gear. “Another shutout. And in the playoffs. Fucking beast, man!”
The rest of the team converges on me, and I’m pelted with slaps on the back and the helmet. My eyes keep darting toward the section containing the family box, even though I know I won’t be able to see her.
“You’re a damn wall,” Logan cheers, pressing his forehead to mine. “Your girl’s cheering her head off.”
Hearing that snaps the last of my self-control, and I push through the teeming mass of my celebrating teammates toward center ice so I can see for myself.
And sure enough, I spot Indie jumping up and down, hugging Lola and the other women, the brightest smile I’ve ever seen illuminating her face.
She’s so fucking beautiful, it steals the air from my lungs.
Then she turns my way, catches me looking up at her, and somehow, her smile grows.
“Holy shit,” I whisper.
“We told you she’s in love with you,” Logan says, coming to a stop beside me and slapping me on the back before he lifts a finger and points to his girlfriend, Blair, and her little brother, Reed.
I flip my helmet back so the cage is no longer covering my face and stare up at the woman I thought I’d never see again. She mouths I knew you could do it, and I’m gone.
How will I ever survive without this when she goes back to California?
“Come on. Let’s go shower and change so we can get our girls.”
I don’t even bother protesting and telling Logan that she’s not my girl. Because she is. She always has been.
And I’ll do whatever I can to show her.
“Oh my god!” I brace myself as Indie jumps up and throws herself into my arms when I walk into the family room behind the rest of the guys.
I grab the backs of her thighs to keep her supported as she wraps her legs around my hips.
“You pulled off a fucking shutout in a playoff game. I can’t believe I got to see that. ”
She’s laughing and more uninhibited than I’ve seen since she showed back up in my life, and it takes me back to summer days when we were teenagers.
I fucking love her like this. Which is why I do something that is potentially incredibly stupid.
But I’m riding the high of a playoff shutout, clinching our place in the next round, and seeing Indie celebrate like she was meant to be doing exactly that.
With Indie still in my arms, surrounded by teammates and their friends and family, I slide a hand up her neck and tangle my fingers in the hair at the back of her head and slam my mouth down on hers.
It’s not a gentle first kiss. It’s ten years of pent-up longing and even more years of loving this woman without telling her.
The rest of the room—hell, the rest of the world—falls away as she gasps against my lips, then opens for me. Her arms tighten around my neck, and I groan when her tongue flicks out and brushes against mine.
I’m kissing Indigo Bloom, and she’s kissing me back.
The only sounds I can hear are the whooshing of my blood in my ears and the soft little moan Indie lets slip into my mouth as she wraps her legs around my hips and presses impossibly closer.
She tastes like wine and sweet candies. I can’t get enough.
Then she rolls her hips, and I feel the warmth of her against my rock-hard dick.
“Okay, you two. As happy as we all are that you’re finally kissing, there are kids in the room, and this is starting to get a little X-rated.”
I barely register Maddox’s words until his hand lands on my shoulder and squeezes. Only then do I force myself to pull away from the woman I’m in love with.
Her cheeks are flushed the prettiest pink, and her lips are slightly swollen.
They hang open, her chest heaving as she sucks in quick, shallow breaths.
Wide-eyed and breathless, she glances around the room, finally registering the fact that we seem to be the center of attention, and then she buries her face in the crook of my neck.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, her breath puffing warmly over my skin.
“Sorry,” I reply softly. “Indie, I—”
“All right, I think it’s time we blow this popsicle stand,” Griffin shouts. “I need food and at least three beers. And fifteen minutes alone with my wife, so I can burn off some of this adrenaline.”
Mira smacks her husband’s chest, but she’s laughing. “God, you’re the worst.”
“You know that’s not true, sunshine. You give me a glowing performance review every time.”
“Jesus.” Maddox pinches the bridge of his nose while Isla snickers beside him. “How many times do I have to ask you not to say stuff like that about my sister around me?”
Griffin shrugs. “Probably at least another thousand times. But I gotta be honest with you, bro, I’m never going to stop. Your sister is hot as fuck, and she’s my wife. You’ll have to get over it.”
“And you’re going to have to pay for my therapy,” our captain quips.
Indie and Lola share a look and giggle. I want to get my girl alone and kiss the hell out of her again.
The urge to drag her out of the room and find some dark closet where I could get her naked and worship her body the way I’ve always dreamed of is strong, but she deserves better.
She deserved a better first kiss, and she sure as hell deserves a better first time than that.
Because after that kiss? I’m positive we’ll get a first time. She seemed just as ready to rip her clothes off right then and there as I was.
“Okay, let’s get out of here before these two idiots get into it,” Logan says.
He has one arm wrapped around Blair’s waist and the other resting over Reed’s shoulder.
Watching him change from someone completely terrified by the idea of intimacy and vulnerability into a guy who’s gone for his woman and willingly stepped into the role of surrogate dad to a teenage kid he genuinely loves has been amazing.
I wish I could say I’ve only been happy for him, but that would be disingenuous. Because I’ve also been jealous. Logan never wanted a relationship, and he found one. I’ve been pining after the same woman for a decade, and I was certain she’d remain out of reach.
But here she is, at my game, cheering me on. And she kissed me back. She really kissed me back.
Maybe I won’t be the only one who ends up alone.
“Does everyone have rides?” Isla looks at Indie and Lola.
“I’ve got them.”
Isla beams at me. “Great. Then we’ll see everyone at our place.”
I try not to overthink it as I lead Indie and Lola to my car. I kissed my Rosebud in front of everyone. I kissed her, and it was so much better than I ever thought it could be.
Now it’s even more important that we talk about what happened that summer. Because one kiss won’t be enough for me. I want all of Indie’s kisses. I want her to stay. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.