“I like the sound of that, baby.”
We waited for a while outside the locker room with other family and friends who were gathered to wait for the players. The team started coming out, one at a time, hands in the air as we all cheered. There were media and photographers there, and from what we heard, everyone was going crazy out in the street.
I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.
When Clark came out, holding himself up on a set of crutches, a deafening cheer left the crowd. He held his hand up and searched for us before the crowd made room for him to make his way over. My mother hugged him and then asked if he was okay. It wasn’t the first time we’d seen Clark in crutches, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was in pain, even if he was doing a good job of acting like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Yeah. Just tweaked my knee, and I don’t want to make it worse, so I’ll keep the pressure off for the next few days.”
“You did it, brother,” I said. “Congratulations.”
“Yeah, glad you were here, man. This is a once-in-a-lifetime,” he said as he leaned down and kissed Lulu’s cheek. “Glad both of you are here.”
“You’re a stubborn ass, Chadwick,” a woman with long, wavy blonde hair said, and my brother narrowed his gaze.
“How about we just enjoy the moment?” Clark hissed, not hiding his irritation.
“A wheelchair was advised until we know what’s going on, and you blatantly ignored me.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “It’s your career, so you have no one to blame but yourself.”
She stormed away, and we all gaped at him.
“Who is that?” Lulu asked.
“Coach’s daughter, Eloise. She just joined the team as our official trainer and physical therapist, and she’s making a big deal out of a knee injury I’ve sustained more than once.”
“Dude, you weren’t able to skate off the ice. Perhaps a wheelchair isn’t a bad idea,” Easton said, keeping his voice low.
“She’s been here for all of two weeks, and we just won the fucking Stanley Cup!” Clark shouted, as the crowd started cheering again. He was handed a bottle of champagne, and he tipped his head back and chugged it as Easton and I both moved closer to make sure he was stable on those crutches.
Everyone was caught up in the moment, but I didn’t miss the way Clark’s gaze moved to his coach’s daughter when he passed the bottle to his teammate. She glared at him, and he winked before turning his attention back to a reporter who was shouting questions at him.
He assured Easton and me that he could stand just fine with his crutches, and he fielded questions for the next twenty minutes.
I wrapped my arms around Lulu, her back to my chest, as we stood and watched the guys continue to pop champagne and shoot it at the crowd.
I glanced around to see everyone that I loved standing here, watching him with pride.
And then Lulu tipped her head back and looked at me. “Paris is great. But I can’t wait to be back home this time next year to cheer them on again.”
“Home is wherever you are, Wildcat.”
She turned in my arms and pressed up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “Love you, Rafael.”
“Love you more.”
The End
