Page 28 of Defensive Zone (Chicago Thunder #3)

July - two and a half years later

Zach

“Mmm, fuck. Yes, Carter, just like that.” I throw my head back and bite down on my lip to muffle my moan as Carter takes me in quick but deep thrusts.

We don’t normally need to worry about being quiet when we have sex anywhere in the house, but we have guests staying with us for the first time since we bought this house in Hawaii, and we learned the first day that the shower wasn’t as soundproof as we thought. When we walked out the next morning, we found Elliot grinning at us around a mouthful of cereal with an amused expression.

It was the look of someone who had heard everything and was looking forward to giving us hell about it all day.

Since then, we’ve perfected having quiet sex, much to Carter’s disappointment because he’s quite the vocal lover. Not that I’m complaining.

He presses his chest against my back and digs his fingers into my hips. His hot breath fans against the side of my neck, causing a shiver to race across my skin down to my toes.

“I fuckin’ love being inside you, baby,” he murmurs and nips my ear with his teeth. “So tight. So good.”

Taking one hand off the tiled wall, I widen my stance slightly for balance and begin to stroke my cock to the rhythm of Carter’s hips slapping against my ass.

“I need you to hurry up because the others are going to be here any minute,” I say, my voice a mix of breathy and demanding.

Carter licks up the column of my neck. “Can you imagine if the first thing they heard as they walked through the door was the sound of you moaning my name while covering the wall with your come?”

“Not. Funny,” I grind out between clenched teeth. My balls are so heavy and so full that I’m a second away from doing as Carter said and painting the wall with my release.

Carter snickers and presses his lips to my shoulder in a tender kiss, then lifts one hand to cover my mouth. His breath tickles my ear as he takes me hard and fast, just the way I like it. His hand muffles my moan as I come, and he instantly follows me over the edge.

We make quick work of cleaning ourselves up before stepping out of the shower.

“Happy anniversary, husband.” Carter grins, then grabs my chin and takes my mouth in a heated kiss. His tongue slides into my mouth, tangling with mine, and my spent cock gives an appreciative throb as his delicious bergamot and clove scent fills my nose.

“Happy anniversary, husband,” I echo.

It’s been twelve months since we got married, and I still get goose bumps every time the word husband leaves Carter’s lips.

We got married in Lake Como, Italy, at a villa where they filmed part of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones . I was a little surprised when he suggested getting married at the same venue as Anakin and Padmé, considering what he said about them being cursed in his proposal speech, but it couldn’t have been more perfect. Not just because I’m a huge fan of the franchise, but because the venue was breathtaking. The photos online didn’t do it justice. There were picturesque views of the lake behind us as we promised to love and cherish one another for the rest of our lives, and we were joined by a small group of our closest friends and family. We even got to take pictures reenacting iconic scenes from the movie. Carter had them framed the moment we returned to Chicago, and I often find him simply staring at them while he drinks his morning coffee.

Once we’re both dry and dressed, we head out to the kitchen, and a rush of happiness sweeps through my chest to see the others are here and have made themselves at home.

As it’s only a four-bedroom house, we don’t have the room to host everyone, so the Kendricks and the Wildes rented a villa around the corner, allowing the kids to stay together, and they travel around on one of the resort’s golf caddies.

“Is this how you imagined it?” Carter asks quietly as he steps up behind me where I’m standing in front of the coffee machine looking out at the pool. He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder.

I lean back into my husband, covering his hands with mine and smile. “Yeah, it’s perfect.”

When we first saw this house a year ago, I knew it was something special, but it was the moment I saw the floor-to-ceiling windows that fold out to create one huge open space, all I could think about was having this .

Being here with Carter and having my friends here with their partners and their kids, relaxing, laughing, having fun. We invited Brody too, but he politely declined. He came to our wedding and had dinner with me and Carter when he was last in Chicago. The move to Toronto was definitely the best thing for him, and while our relationship isn’t fixed, it’s improved.

We weren’t looking to buy a house here so soon. We both thought we would wait until we both retired, and we hadn’t even decided on an island, let alone started looking for houses. But Carter found himself scrolling through listings one night while we were on vacation, and as he was showing me the photos for this very house, we turned to look at each other, and we were both wearing the same expression. Something felt so right in our guts about it, and it was too good to pass up.

Not wanting to waste time, we booked a tour for the next day and made an offer within an hour. It’s not on the beach, but it has the most picturesque views of the ocean. We have the best view of every sunrise and sunset, and we have the privacy we like as it’s in a gated resort. It’s so quiet and tranquil; I’ve never felt so relaxed. There’s also an infinity pool overlooking the ocean and a jacuzzi, and it’s located on a golf course, something Carter loves, as it’s a new hobby he’s picked up since he retired.

It’s perfect for us.

Carter ended up retiring after his contract was up in Denver. He had various offers from almost every city except Chicago. Some of them were incredible, an eye-watering amount of money, but despite me asking him on more than one occasion to rethink his decision about hanging up his cleats so soon, he stood his ground and kept his word. He now works with Ethan at his foundation, helping underprivileged kids get into sports. He spent hours creating a full proposal presentation on how he would invest in the foundation to expand it to include football—not that Ethan needed or wanted that, but Carter wanted to prove he was committed to the cause. Now he’s thriving.

We haven’t decided if children are in our future or whether we’re happy being the fun chosen uncles, but I know that Carter feels such an incredible sense of pride every time he gets to help a kid who wouldn’t necessarily have had the support or the means to play football before.

I haven’t quite figured out what my future holds yet. I announced my retirement at the end of our playoff run in early June. I took another big hit during the first round, and it made me nervous about getting another concussion. Every time I stepped out onto the ice and I was crushed into the boards or had a player collide with me, I was on edge, and I knew I couldn’t continue to play with that mindset.

The Thunder organization understood my reasoning, and the boys didn’t try to fight me on it, which was something I was glad about. But I haven’t figured out what’s next. I would still like to be involved in hockey in some form, but I need to make sure I don’t become a liability with my headaches, so I’ve decided to take it easy for now and see what opportunities arise.

“Here they are!” Jackson’s son, Ryan, shouts and rushes over to us, giving us both a high five. “Happy anniversary!”

We make quick work of grabbing our coffees, then head out toward the pool, taking a seat at the sectional we keep outside. Ethan’s in the pool with his and Jacob’s daughter Olivia. She’s sitting on an inflatable pool ring, giggling and splashing around excitedly. Jacob sits on the edge with his feet in the water, watching them both with love and adoration. They’ve taken to parenthood so well, and it’s been such an honor to be included in their chosen family to be able to see Olivia grow up.

“It’s about time you joined us!” Elliot calls out from where he’s lying on his own inflatable pool float that’s shaped like a pizza slice. “I was starting to wonder if we would see you today or whether it would be a private anniversary celebration.” He wiggles his brows.

“We had a nice, chill morning,” Carter replies and takes a sip of his coffee, not taking his bait.

Elliot raises a brow and smirks. “Oh, I’ll bet.”

“Don’t act like you’re all innocent, Olsen.” I wag my finger.

“Oh, I never claimed to be. Why else do you think I put your washer on to clean my sheets?” He winks before turning his float around to face his partner, who simply shakes his head with a soft smile on his face.

I’m glad Elliot finally has someone who loves him unconditionally. He deserves it all.

We chat with the Kendricks as they get their two kids ready for a day in the pool, and the Wildes as they get the kids covered in sunscreen. Blaine and Alex are in the cabana kitchen chopping some mangoes that I assume they picked from one of our trees. One of the other reasons why this house was so perfect. Fresh mangoes.

The only person who’s missing is Peyton. His life shifted slightly when he became captain once Ethan retired, and this summer he had to stay back in Chicago. We’ve spoken to him on FaceTime a few times because we’ve been missing him, but there’s always next year for him to visit.

The day is filled with laughter, dips in the pool, and amazing food, thanks to Elliot’s partner and Ethan, and by the time the sun sets, the kids are fast asleep inside, and the adults are enjoying a drink under the clear night sky.

These last few years have been the happiest ever for me. Yeah, I got injured, and it changed my life because I’m never going to be free of migraines; it also changed my life in a completely different way. It gave me and Carter the opportunity to explore a new version of us. A version where I can love Carter the way I always dreamed I would. Fiercely, with no limitations. A version where he loves me back, so purely and entirely. There isn’t a day that goes by where I’m not grateful for him and for the family we have around us.

I might not know what the future holds for me, but I know that as long as I have him by my side, I’ll be the happiest man I can be.

“Come with me a sec,” he whispers.

He stands up, and without a word, I follow him inside to our bedroom, where the moon basks the room in a soft glow.

“So, you know how our tradition has always involved Star Wars?” he begins.

“Yeah?”

“I wanted to do something special for our anniversary, and I was going through a few different ideas, then it came to me.”

I’m half expecting him to reveal another LEGO Millennium Falcon box seeing as we couldn’t bring the one we built while I was on IR as we didn’t want to risk breaking it, but instead, he grabs my hand and leads me around to his side of the bed. He opens his bedside table drawer and pulls out a large velvet box, and as he returns to his full height, I recognize the box as the one that held both our wedding bands.

A few weeks back, Carter mentioned getting our rings cleaned. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now I’m confused about what he’s done with them.

Luckily, he doesn’t keep me waiting. His eyes sparkle and his lips tilt up in a smile as he opens the box to reveal our wedding bands set in a cushion. They’re similar to the platinum engagement band he gave me when he proposed, as I wanted us to match, and I often wear the black engagement band on a chain around my neck.

I look at the bands, then back at Carter, unable to see the difference.

“I don’t get it?”

He laughs. “Let’s go into the light so you can see.”

We walk to the windows, and he holds the box up again, and that’s when I see it. Engraved inside one of the bands are the words I love you . Inside the other, it says, I know .

My throat becomes tight as my eyes burn. I look back at Carter, and his teeth are digging into his bottom lip, like he’s nervous, but he’s still grinning widely.

“You Han Solo’d our wedding bands?” I croak.

He nods. “Damn right, I did. I have been saying those words to you for as long as I can remember. It used to be because I loved you as my best friend, but now I say them because I love you.”

A tear falls down my cheek. I’m quick to wipe it away before taking Carter’s face between my hands. “I love you so fucking much, baby.”

“I know, baby.” He winks.

We both burst into laughter, and we slide each other’s rings back on, just like we did one year ago, before pulling each other into a kiss.

I was ten years old when I fell in love with my best friend. Over the years I had to watch as the one I loved shared his life with other people who weren’t me, but now…

Now, I finally get to call Carter Lockwood mine.

And if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that we were always meant to be together, in this life and every one after.

The End