His hands slid to my lower back, pulling me closer.
My fingers traced up his chest. I could feel the steady rise and fall of his breath. One hand drifted to his neck, then to his hair, threading through the strands. My fingers curled tighter, drawing him closer.
Why had it taken me so long to decide?
Standing here, pressed against him, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
I didn’t want this to end.
I wanted time to stop.
His hands moved to my waist. When he pulled back, his lips rested momentarily against my forehead. His voice was barely a breath.
“Riley.”
“Yes?”
His lips quirked at the edges. “I have to go to practice.”
I groaned. “Ugh. I always knew I hated hockey.”
He laughed, and this time, the kiss was softer.
I put my forehead on his chest. Then looked up at him “Go.”
He smiled.
Then he was gone, walking toward the entrance, leaving the air just a little colder without him.
Chapter twenty
Colton: Another Shot
Istared at the ceiling, still unsure how long I’d been awake. I hadn’t moved. Not really. Just blinked. Swallowed. Breathed.
But her voice was still there. I don’t want you to leave. It hadn’t stopped echoing—not through the night, not now, as I dragged myself out of bed and padded barefoot into the kitchen.
The fridge creaked open, cool air curling around my ankles. I leaned in, nudging a carton of eggs aside, searching for the pre-washed spinach. Blueberries or strawberries? I probably didn’t need to buy both, but here we are. Fine—no decisions today. I grabbed both.
Fruit, peanut butter, protein powder, spinach—everything landed in the blender. Let's see how this smoothie tastes. The blender roared. I stood there, palm flat on the counter, replaying everything.
Riley. Her arms around me. The way her voice caught when she said, Stay.
She saw all of it. Every flaw, every headline, every mess. And she still chose me. I wasn’t someone to tolerate. I was someone to choose.
I’d spent years trying to be whoever I needed to be to get by. The fighter. The comeback kid. The PR problem. The warning story.
But lately I’d been showing up as just me. Every time I showed up as just me, I got a win.
I poured the smoothie into a glass and took a sip.
Not bad. No, good enough for today. It wasn’t perfect. Neither was this new version of me I was learning to become.
***
On the way to the rink, I swung by the pet store. Janice was still out—flu or sinus thing, I couldn’t remember—but the dogs didn’t care. They had expectations. I grabbed two bags of the good stuff, the kind that made even the older rescues sprint to the front of their runs. The guy behind the counter raised an eyebrow. “That's a lot of treats, man.” I just smiled. "And the dogs will say that I didn't bring enough."
I pulled into the lot at the rink. Glanced at my watch. Good, I had some time to find Ryan.
