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“Don’t baby me, Aiden. You overstepped.” She jabs a finger at my chest. “This is my problem!”

I take hold of her violent finger. “My girlfriend was crying in my arms, and you expect me to stand by and do nothing? Fuck, no. Your problems are my problems too.”

She lets out a heavy groan as if I’m the one being difficult. “You could have been expelled.”

“But I wasn’t. A suspension isn’t that bad.”

“It is when you’re the captain! Why am I the only one concerned about this?” A look of exasperation takes over her angry one. “You have to retract your confession.”

I move to touch her, but I think better of it. “I can’t do that.”

“You can. Come with me, we can explain. They’ll understand.”

“I’m sure they would, but I stand by my decision.”

She appears indignant. “This could ruin things with Toronto.”

“I’m already signed. But if they want to take action, I’ll deal.”

The crease in the middle of her brows and her glare are hard enough to crack me in two. “You’re being ridiculous. Think about what you’re doing for one second.”

“I don’t need to because it’s the right choice. I’ll be okay.”

“This isn’t—” She inhales. “You can’t make decisions on my behalf because you want to save me. I can save myself without putting you in jeopardy.”

“And I think if I can help my girlfriend with a problem, I will.”

“You’re being stubborn.”

“And you’re not? Summer, I did this because I wanted to. Because I love you, and I don’t want anything messing with your dreams.”

She blinks away the moisture welling in her eyes. “What about your dreams? I care about those too, you know?”

It’s hard not to grab her and kiss the lights out of her. “I know, and thank you, baby, but this won’t affect my future as much as it would have affected yours.”

She pushes me again, not nearly as hard as before. “You’re crazy. I’m dating a crazy person!” she exclaims. “Who does that?”

“Your boyfriend. Your hot, sexy, kind boyfriend.” I grin, making her glare harden. “Yell at me all you want, Summer, but I wouldn’t change what I did.”

“This is your career!”

“And you are my future.”

Summer falters, eyes searching my face.

“I told you that you come first. That hasn’t changed. It won’t ever change.”

“But you’ve worked for this your whole life. You don’t potentially fuck that up for a girl.”

A pang of irritation hits my chest. “Why are you fighting me on this? I’m not changing my mind.”

“Because you can’t miss the final. Coach is probably pissed.”

“He is. I’ve been getting angry voicemails all morning because he was too pissed to speak to me in his office. But we’ve already won a Frozen Four. It gets boring after a while.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

I take a step closer. “Is it working?”

“I’m mad at you, Aiden,” she says, trying to keep her distance.

I clasp her wrists. “Okay, but come a little closer and be mad at me where I can hold you.” She doesn’t protest when I tug her forward, and her hug makes the burn in my chest cool. “You smell like me,” I say, noticing she’s wearing my hoodie.

“I’ll have to shower immediately, then,” she mutters.

“What’s the point if I’m showering with you?”

She groans, pulling away. “Where is your hockey stick?”

“Why? You wanna test out a new kink?” I smirk.

“Yeah, let’s experiment by shoving it up your ass.”

“Eh, I'll have to pass on that one. Though, I do have plans for your ass.” I pull her in, and she rests her head on my chest. A perfect concoction of peach scent and me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I don’t regret a thing if it means you’re happy,” I say.

“I am happy. Always happy with you.” She tiptoes to meet my lips. “But I don’t like that you have to suffer to make that happen.”

“I’m not suffering. The team’s doing great, and Sampson gets to captain a final.”

“You’re okay with that?”

“He’s not so bad.” Finding out he helped with the break-in had pissed me off for all of three seconds. Eli told me about that night, and I couldn't blame them. They all had Summer’s back when I couldn’t, and that alone is reason enough to take the blame.

“That’s not what you were saying a few weeks ago.”

“People change.”

“Not all people,” she mutters, and I raise a brow. “I slapped Donny. But he deserved it,” she admits.

The reveal isn’t nearly as shocking as it should be. The guy had it coming, he’s just lucky it wasn't my fist. “I don’t doubt that.”

Her head tilts, assessing me. “What happened to never losing?”

“I’m fine with it if you’re the one winning.”

She sinks her hands into my hair and kisses me so deeply, I melt into her embrace. “I’m sorry, too. I should have told you about the plan,” she says sheepishly.

I rub my nose against hers. “It’s fine, my little criminal.”

She rolls her eyes. “So, you forgive me?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

“And you still mean all that stuff about the future?” she asks, toying with the strings of my hoodie.

“I fully intend to spend the rest of my life with you, Summer.”

“I love you.” She scrunches her nose. “Like, a lot.”

“I love you, too, Preston. Like, a lot.”