When he lets me go, I look around at the high schoolers laughing and celebrating with their friends, just like we used to do. “When did we get so old?”.
“I don’t know, but let’s get home. This suit is so damn uncomfortable. I need sweats, the couch, and my girl.”
I laugh and follow behind him, grateful for the road that led us back to each other.
Chapter 25
It’s the night of Cole’s first home game as an Ice Dragon, and I can barely contain my excitement. I’m wearing Cole’s new jersey in the black and electric blue team colors. Talon and I came to the arena together tonight because Foster had mandatory team practice. We find the seats Cole arranged for us on the home side of the ice, a few rows up from the glass.
“These seats are great. I’ve never been to a game here,” Talon says as we sit.
“Really? That seems odd with a hockey coach for a dad. I’ve been to a few games here with Cole’s family.”
“You know I’m not much of a fan of the game, mostly to spite my dad. He would come with his friends, but I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m sorry. Have you been in touch with your stepmom? Does she even know you’re staying in town?”
“I haven’t talked to her recently. After the funeral, she messaged me several times, asking if I wanted some of his things. I never responded.”
“You two don’t get along?” I ask, curious. I remember him calling her his step-monster once or twice in the past, but I knew very little of their relationship.
“Not as well as she wanted us to.”
I raise a brow but wait him out. He sighs and continues. “After I turned eighteen, her interest in me turned extremely friendly. She would make suggestive comments, of course, when my dad wasn’t around. She’d find ways to brush up against me or touch me somehow. It was creepy.”
“Ew, that’s yucky.”
“Exactly. That’s when I became hyper-focused on the band. I spent more and more time practicing and less time at home.”
“I don’t blame you. Do you know how your sister is doing?”
"Tiffany says she's good, with no specifics. I feel like I’ve missed so much of her life and don’t know how to rebuild our relationship. She barely remembers me.”
“We could take her out. Both of us together, if that would make it easier for you? I can make sure Tiffany stays away from you.”
He laughs at the mean mug I make. He reaches out and grabs my hand, “Thanks, Kitten. I would appreciate that. I know nothing about relating to a tween girl. She is not the little ball of energy and sass that I remember. She barely said two words to me.”
“I’m sorry. We’ll work it out for both of you. You two deserve to be in each other’s lives. I always wished I’d had siblings, especially after the accident.”
He squeezes my hand, “Thank you.”
Loud music begins to play, and the team comes to the ice for pregame warm-ups, ending our conversation. I try to find Cole, who now wears number 11, but he finds me first. He skates to the boards and places his gloved hand on the glass. I hop down the stairs to meet him and put my hand with his on my side of the glass.
“You two are so cute,” Talon teases when I return to my seat.
The game begins with fanfare. The crowd goes wild when Cole is announced, and so do Talon and me. Watching the game with Talon is a lot of fun. He may claim he doesn’t like hockey, but he’s up cheering for every goal we score and on the edge of his seat whenever the other team has the puck in our zone. Watching him might be more entertaining than the actual game.
The game ends with the Ice Dragons winning by two goals and Cole getting one of the three MVPs of the game.
Talon takes my hand as we head into the crowd, “Come on, I need to deliver you to him. He has a surprise for you.”
He leads me down an elevator to the ice level of the arena and through a series of hallways until we are outside the locker room along with some other people, probably press and other players’ families. “We’ll wait here for him,” he tells me.
We stand quietly, waiting when I hear my name being called. I see Mrs. Thorne and a well-dressed gentleman walking up to us.
She stops and hugs me, “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”
“I didn’t either. Where were you guys sitting?” I ask her.
