Chapter Sixteen
Emma
“I feel like we’ve lost so much time,” I said, laying in his arms, my head on his chest.
“I know, but all we can do is move forward.”
“What ever happened?” I questioned, lifting my head to look him in the eyes.
“What didn’t?” He sighed.
It wasn’t something I wanted to talk about, but I needed to know how we went from talking every day to nothing.
“Tell me.”
“Well, after I moved away with Dad, things became hell. That was when he started drinking. At first, he allowed me to do whatever, and then as you know he cut my cell phone. Then one night, when I’d gotten home from school, he’d mentioned something to me at dinner about something you’d written in an email, something I’d never told him.
He sat there slurring his words, and that was when knew we needed a different way to communicate. ”
“Yes, we were going to write letters.”
“Yes, and I got the first couple you sent, and I responded to you.”
“I never got them,” I said.
“Yes, and those were the only letters I received from you as well were the first couple. With all that went on with school, practice and my Dad’s abuse I figured maybe you decided to walk away from me.
I struggled with a lot of things during that time and I didn’t have the guts or the heart to find out the truth, so I just let you go, thinking you’d come back to me eventually.
Years later, after my father passed away, I found out that he’d hid your letters from me.
I found them all in the back of his closet, buried under a pile of boxes.
Some had been opened, most were still sealed,” he said.
“Why would he have done that?”
“My dad changed after we moved. He kept his word to me, but after he broke up with his girlfriend and lost his job, he became a monster. The only thing I was allowed to do was work and play hockey. He stole from me all the time, taking the money I earned at work.”
“I don’t understand, why you didn’t come see me when you came back to visit your mom? We could have talked it all through and…”
Colton let out a sigh. “It was a mistake, Emma. I should have, but I was so stressed dealing with hockey practice, and then my dad, that when I had time away from him, I just wanted to decompress.”
“I’d have understood.”
“No, you wouldn’t of. I would never have expected that from you anyway.
I guess at the time I didn’t understand things myself.
My dad turned into an abusive monster, and there would have been no way I’d have allowed you to be around that.
Just when I was getting ready to move out on my own because I couldn’t take things anymore, that was when he gave me the last letter you ever wrote, with your goodbye attached. ”
“Oh, Colton, had I have known, I never would have written that letter.”
“Maybe in some strange way it was supposed to be this way. I mean, maybe, had we of gotten together when we were younger, perhaps we wouldn’t have survived.”
“Maybe.”
“So you read all my letters?”
Colton nodded, and then looked at me, a heaviness in his eyes.
“What is it?”
“Yes, I read them. It was only six years ago or so that I found them. My dad had just died, and my mom was going through cancer treatment.”
“How is your mom now?” I questioned, drawing circles on his chest.
“Sadly, Mom died eight months later. Guess they can’t cure stage-4 cancer, no matter how much money you throw at it.”
“Oh, Colton, I’m so terribly sorry. God, I loved your mom.”
“Thanks, but you should know, it was your letters that helped me get through that time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You were the only other person I let into my life long enough to mean anything to me. All your letters, the stories, even though I read them long after they were supposed to get to me pulled me away from the pain of losing my mom. I will say they did remind me of the pain of losing you and that was far different than the pain of losing my mom.”
I pressed a tender kiss to his lips. “Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome.”
The room grew quiet as I rested my head back on his chest. We’d been through so much because someone else rewrote our story-, it was hard to be angry now. Now I just needed to accept what had happened to be able to move forward.
“Is that why you got so upset about the cancer foundation?” I asked almost afraid to ask him after his outbreak the last time.
I felt him tighten his hold on me, pulling me against him, like he was afraid I’d leave him once he told me his reasoning.
“I started the cancer foundation. It’s named after her.
When my mom was diagnosed, she couldn’t afford her treatment, so I took it upon myself to pay for it.
I’d seen so many people at her treatments, crying because the treatment they were on was no longer working and needed to be changed, but the person couldn’t afford the cost. What got me was watching the parents of a three-year-old suffer while their child died because their benefits didn’t cover the cost of the drugs he needed.
So, after my mom passed, I donated almost eight million dollars and opened up the foundation.
I donate half my salary per year to the foundation, and I go there each month to spend time with young kids who are dying. ”
I lay there listening, not wanting to interrupt, but at the same time wanting to shake the man who’d given me the greatest orgasms of my life only a few short hours ago. He didn’t want recognition for what he was doing; he simply wanted to do it and be left alone about it.
“Wow, Colton, that is amazing. You should be so proud of this.”
“I know, you are probably wondering why I won’t allow you to share this right?” He sighed.
“Yes, I am, but you obviously have your reasons.”
“Yes. When Mom died, she asked me to promise her that I’d do something good with the money I earned. She also asked me not to boast about it, to do something that only I knew about so I could feel like I was making a difference, just like I’d done for her.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, my mom, she never wanted my help. She told me that if this was the way it was supposed to be, this was her calling, but I did what I did anyway. I wanted to save her, to have her with me forever. She was the only one who truly cared about me anyway. When she went to thank me, I told her I didn’t want the thanks.
So, since this was her dying wish, for me to help others without receiving accolades for it, that is what I do.
Pamela knows, as do most of the guys, and they respect what I wanted. ”
“I’ll give you that. I asked Pamela and she strongly cautioned me to watch my back.”
I felt Colton’s chest rise and fall as he chuckled. “Still think you need to watch your back?”
I lifted my head and met his eyes before bringing my lips to his. “No, I don’t.” He shifted, rolling up onto his elbow and laying me back against the pillow, kissing me hard.
“What do you say we go for another round before I have to leave for tonight’s game?”
I couldn’t help but start to laugh as he brought his hand down between my legs, gently stroking my already throbbing and sensitive center.
Two Weeks Later
The crowd roared as the Dominators were announced and began skating on the ice. I sat up behind their bench beside Aurora and Lorelai. The moment they announced Dylan, Knox, and then Colton, the three of us stood up and cheered.
We’d barely left the house the past few weeks, aside from games and interviews. We’d created a little love nest in Colton’s bedroom and had been happy just spending time wrapped up in one another.
I waved as Colton came skating by holding a jersey in his hand.
Tonight, each of the guys in the starting lineup were giving away their jersey to a lucky winner.
When he saw me, he skated around and stepped into the players bench, handing me his jersey.
He winked and then waited while I lifted his jersey into the air.
The crowd went wild again as I leaned down and kissed him.
I slipped his jersey on over my T-shirt, thankful that he’d decided to give it to me. I’d underestimated how warm I’d be tonight, even with the heat lamps on overhead.
“My god, that was so romantic,” Aurora cried.
“Sure was.” Lorelai smiled.
I could barely wipe the grin from my face as I pulled the jersey up over my nose and inhaled, the scent of his cologne surrounding me.
“You look so happy,” Aurora said, pulling me in against her for a side hug.
“I am,” I said, watching as Colton skated past, this time blowing a kiss at me.
“Things also look like they are improving for Colton. Knox wants to know how he can become the next Puck-Lit-Love favorite.”
“Him too?” Aurora asked. “Dylan is obsessed with that stupid thing now.”
“Sorry, ladies, I feel like that might be my fault.”
“No way,” Aurora said, giggling.
“Who wants some popcorn and a drink before the game starts?” Lorelai asked, stopping the snack vendor.
We both raised our hands and then sat down together, popcorn in our laps, and watched the game.
The two of us sat, curled up on the couch together, watching some TV, when Colton looked over at me.
“What is it?” I questioned.
“Stop me if you think this is a dumb idea.”
“Okay.”
“Well, I was thinking, I really like what you’ve done with the place, and it feels like home, so I’d like to purchase all the furniture.”
“Okay, that can be done,” I said, grabbing my phone and making a quick note to call and put the purchase order through.
“I was also thinking that maybe we could turn the spare bedroom into an office or something.”
“Sure, we can do that. After I am gone, of course,” I said, smiling over at him, making a note to look into some office furniture. “Did you want a pullout bed or a Murphy bed for when little Mia stays over?” I questioned.
When Colton didn’t answer me right away, I looked up at him and saw he was staring at me intently.
“What?” I questioned. “It’s an easy answer.”
“Um, well, yes, I’d like too, but why do you need to wait until you’re gone?”
“What do you mean why? That is where I sleep,” I answered.
“What if…we changed that?”
“Colton, I don’t think I’m understanding. Where would I go? Or god, are you thinking that it’s time for me to leave, because we still have at least one more interview.”
He looked at me, a sly smile on his face as he watched me. “That wasn’t what I was thinking,” he said.
“Okay, well, I guess I can always sleep in the Murphy bed. At least—”
“Whoa, I’m not asking you to sleep in the Murphy bed. I’m saying that we turn the spare room into the office, with either a pullout couch or Murphy bed, and you move in my bedroom with me.”
I raised my head and looked at him. I had so many questions running through my mind about what he’d said.
“What do you think?”
I hadn’t slept in that room since the night in the kitchen. In fact, I’d already brought all my clothes into his room, and I’d moved out of the other bathroom and into his. I swallowed hard as I looked at him. It was almost already official, but this would confirm what we both already knew.
“I’d like that,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
He shifted on the couch, making space for me to move in beside him, which I did. The moment I was in his arms, his lips were on mine.