“It wouldn’t have mattered if you’d been the one to help Corby on his first day; he was meant to be mine.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Emily sighed.
“I didn’t mean him, obviously,” Sarah declared, tapping her finger against her chin. “But now that I think about it, that plan wouldn’t have worked for me anyway. I don’t have enough patience to help out the office staff.”
Neither of us argued because she was right. Our conversation would have ended anyway since the ref was ready to drop the puck again. My attention shifted back to the game, and I heaved a deep sigh of relief when the clock on the scoreboard finally counted down the last few seconds of the game. The crowd who’d come to root for the Cougars got to their feet and cheered as the players lined up to shake hands. We remained standing while they handed out the trophies, and I screamed when they announced Corby had won Most Valuable Player for the game. “Way to go, Corby!”
He lifted his extra trophy high in the air, staring straight at me. I threw him another kiss and laughed when he grinned in response. Before he skated off the ice, Corby mouthed, “Meet me outside.”
I sent William a quick text to let him know the plan, and then we waited until the stands emptied before we headed outside. We hung out near the bus the team had taken to the rink, and about thirty minutes later, Corby walked out of the rink.
“You did it!” I ran down the sidewalk and threw myself into his arms.
Dropping his bag, he lifted me off my feet and twirled me around. “You bet your sweet ass we did, baby.”
“You played great.” I squeezed him tight. “Two goals and MVP.”
“It helped a lot to have my good luck charm in the stands.” He set me down and claimed my mouth in a deep kiss. “But you started a new tradition tonight.”
“I did?” I tilted my head to the side, trying to think of what I’d done differently and not coming up with anything.
“Yeah, I’m going to need a text from you before any championship game from now on,” he explained, pulling his phone out of his pocket to show me the message I’d sent a couple of hours ago.
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks heat. “I didn’t think you’d see it until after the game was over.”
“I saw the screen light up when Coach was giving us a pep talk and checked it really quick before we lined up. And I’m glad I did because your message was perfect, baby.” He brushed his lips against mine again. “The only thing that’ll change on that text at some point is the last word.”
I didn’t understand what he meant. “How so?”
“Because it’ll need to say fiancée or wife at some point.”
Holy crap, I was fairly sure my first boyfriend had just told me he’d be my last, too. Then again, we were already living together, so I probably shouldn’t be shocked.
18
Corby
It felt as though I was at the top of the world when we won the state championship. But I’d quickly come crashing back down to Earth when a girl at our school was killed only a couple of weeks later. It was a damn good thing Emme was so understanding because I’d barely let her out of my sight since then.
When the bodies of the cheerleaders who had tormented her for years were found the following month, I’d been filled with fear that Emme would somehow be next. She’d never hurt another soul in her life, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen to her. Keeping Emme close was the only thing that had gotten me through the days leading up to graduation, and I was so fucking glad it was finally here. I’d hooted and hollered when Emme had walked across the stage before waiting for my turn. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I was filled with pride when my name was called.
“Congratulations, Mr. King,” the principal said, shaking my hand.
I accepted my diploma and replied, “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. D.”
“It was truly our pleasure to have you as a student this year.”
His reply sounded heartfelt, and I assumed he was happy about the Cougars winning a hockey championship again. The school had gotten a lot of great press out of it and some interest from some skilled players who were thinking about coming to Black Mountain to play under Coach Carter next year. I wished the team all the luck in the world, but I was thrilled to be finished with high school.
Locking gazes with Emme, I made my way back to my seat to wait out the rest of the ceremony. As soon as we tossed our caps in the air, I muscled my way out of my row and headed over to hers. She smiled when she spotted me and sidestepped the two people at the end of her row. “We did it!”
“We sure did, baby.” I brushed my lips over hers in a quick kiss. “Congratulations.”
She did a little dance, and I had to grip her arms to stop her from falling over when Sarah crashed into her from behind. “We’re graduates!”
Emily hurried over and gave Emme a hug. “I can’t believe high school is over.”
“I so can,” Sarah disagreed, flinging her arm around Emily’s shoulder. “I’ve been ready for this day for-freaking-ever.”
“Yeah, but we won’t see each other every day anymore.” Emily sniffled, her bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “We’ve been going to school together since kindergarten. It didn’t hit me until right now how different college will be with each of us at a different school.”
I understood where Emily was coming from. It fucking sucked that Emme and I were going to be about a thousand miles apart from each other. I was used to having her in my bed each night, and it was going to be a hell of an adjustment to only see her on random weekends and breaks. A big part of me hoped that I’d get drafted by Boston and they’d want me to sign right away because then I’d only be a two-hour drive away from Yale, where Emme was going. The realistic side of me knew that wasn’t likely to happen since very few players made the jump from high school to the NHL. If I wanted to be a force to be reckoned with for the team that picked me up, then I needed time to mature as a player. Being drafted was a dream come true, but it was only one step in the process for most players. I needed to keep my focus on having a good season my freshman year while missing my girlfriend.
I had no doubt we’d stay strong despite the distance. Bigger obstacles had been put in my way before and none of them had ever stopped me. The stakes were higher now, and I’d bust my ass to keep the things most important to me—Emme and hockey.
“Damn, you’re right. That’s gonna suck. Maybe we should take a super-long girls’ trip this summer?” Sarah suggested, earning a scowl from me since the last thing I want is my time with Emme to be shortened. “Oh, crap. Sorry, Corby. You’re totally invited, too. It doesn’t have to be just the girls.”
“Um, yeah.” Emme bit her bottom lip, her gaze darting between her friends and me. “It would kind of need to be the other way around.”
Emily and Sarah tilted their heads to the side, looking as confused as I felt. “What do you mean, baby?”
Emme bit her bottom lip and sighed. “I’d planned on doing this later tonight when it was just the two of us, but I guess now is as good a time as any.”