Page 53

RILEY

Eight months later

“How are you feeling?”

I look up from lacing my skates and smile at Lexi standing in the entrance to the Comets’ locker room.

“You’re not supposed to be in here.” I sit up straight. I open my arms and sigh in relief when she marches toward me and drops in my lap. “You’re a rule breaker, Armstrong.”

“Girlfriend privileges. And I cleared it with Coach Thompson,” she tells me, mentioning the AHL team’s head coach. “Plus, you know I haven’t followed the rules a day in my life.”

“You haven’t, and that’s why I love you.” I rest my chin on her shoulder and wrap my arms around her waist. “You asked how I’m feeling, and it’s embarrassing to admit I’m fucking terrified. I don’t know why. I’ve played in more important games than this. It’s the AHL, not game seven in a playoff series.”

After months of intense strength training, skating every morning and every night, and getting reacquainted with the ice, Marcus renegotiated my contract to become on loan as part of a minor league conditioning assignment. It lets me swing between the AHL and NHL—which I doubt I’ll see again—and tonight, I’m making my debut with our affiliate team.

I’ve scrimmaged with my new teammates. I’ve been going to practice. Lexi stays at the rink with me until midnight while I work on speed drills and shooting on an empty net, but none of it is as important as this.

“You’re going to be great.” She reaches for my helmet and gently sets it on my head. “You’ve worked so hard for this, Ri, and you’re already a winner in my eyes. You always will be, even if you never play again.”

“Promise not to laugh if I trip jumping over the boards?”

“I promise.”

“You can laugh if my leg becomes detached during the game though.”

The prosthetic blade she had designed for me has worked well up to this point with its state-of-the-art technology, but I’ve never tested it in an intense scenario like game play. There’s a chance I could run into issues if I get slammed into the boards too many times, and I don’t want the boys to be assessed a bench minor because I have to fix the technology that’s allowing me to skate.

Lexi laughs at that, and she buries her face in my jersey. “I’m sorry. I’m picturing the logistics of that, and I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”

“It would be the funniest fucking thing. The meme accounts would have a field day.” I run my fingers up her spine and trace over the letters stretched across her shoulders. “Nice jersey, by the way.”

It’s my first time seeing her in it, and yeah. My friends are right. Seeing the woman you love rock your name on her back like she’s claiming you is hot as hell.

“I had to steal one from your closet because the merchandise store is sold out. The fight strap is annoying as hell. And it smells like death. Do you ever do laundry?”

“You should’ve worn some of my pants for the full effect.”

“Is that a scene you want to act out? Me in all your gear?”

I slip my hand under the front of her jersey and stroke my thumb across her stomach. She shivers under my touch, and I grin. “It might be. You’d have to keep still while I took every piece of equipment off of you. I’d go slow, Lex, just to torture you. To see how well you can behave.”

“You know I can behave,” Lexi whispers, and her eyes flutter closed. “But if we’re talking about fantasies, you in your gear is extremely hot. Maybe later tonight you can fuck me while you wear your helmet.”

“I’ll do you one better and wear the goalie mask I stole from Liam last year.”

“You have my attention, Mitchell.” Lexi kisses my neck and wiggles off my lap. “But you have a game to play first.”

Nerves sit in the pit of my stomach. I close my eyes and run through Dr. Ledlow’s meditation exercises, but I’m still jittery. Full of adrenaline and fear like I’ve never experienced before.

“What if they treat me differently because of my leg? What if they go easy on me because they’re afraid they’re going to hurt me? What if I’m fucking terrible and fall flat on my face?” I ask.

“Hey.” Lexi tugs on my arm and helps me stand on my skates. My legs feel like Jell-O, but when she rests her head on my chest, I’m steady and settled. At ease, like I’m landing on solid ground. It’s always like this with her. “If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to, baby. I’ll sneak you through the hallway in the back, and no one will know. But I want you to know it’s okay to be afraid. This is a big step and something new. No one is going to fault you for being nervous.”

I stroke her hair while my heart races. “That helps to hear. I just don’t want to let anyone down. Especially the team after all the money they’ve invested in me and you for all the work you’ve done with me. You’ve put so much time and energy into my rehab, Lex, and I want to make you proud.”

She frowns, and I pull down on her bottom lip with my thumb. “I am always proud of you,” she says.

“I guess it’s good our AHL team’s attendance is shitty. No one can see me fail.” I kiss the top of her head and grab my stick. “And I’m glad the boys aren’t getting back from their road trip until tomorrow. They won’t be able to chirp me for being slow.”

“Mitchell,” Coach Thompson calls out from the office attached to the locker room. “Let’s go.”

“Good luck.” Lexi stands on her toes and kisses my cheek, right above my chin strap. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Lexi baby.” I bend down and check my socks, smiling when my fingers brush against the folded paper shoved down near my skate. “I’ll see you out there.”

She disappears with a wave, and I join the team out in the hallway. A couple players bump my knuckles, and a few knock their helmets against mine. It’s not easy being the new guy on a squad that has a lot of camaraderie and friendships, but I’m starting to click with them.

I stare down the tunnel at the ice, and that fear turns to excitement. I spin my stick in my glove and nod at Dusty Pembroke, our goalie.

“Ready?” he asks me.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Protect my net, and we won’t have any problems.”

I laugh and tap his pads with the blade of my stick. He and Liam would get along just fine. “You got it, man.”

He leads the team down the hall and I bring up the rear. When I skate onto the ice and check out my surroundings, I freeze.

The arena is packed. Full to the brim with spectators from the front row all the way up to the nosebleeds, and I see dozens and dozens of fans lining the glass with signs.

WELCOME BACK, MITCHY.

WE MISSED YOU.

LIFE’S A BITCH, BUT WE HAVE MITCH!!!

“What the fuck?” I look around. “What are all these people doing here?”

“They’re here for you.” Brock Sidell, the Comets’ defenseman, grins. “You thought people would miss your comeback? Please. This is going to go down like Jordan’s flu game in sports history.”

My eyes prickle with tears. I squeeze them shut, and when I open them, I see twenty-six familiar faces right behind the Comets’ bench, all wearing my jersey.

There’s Grant and Ethan. Liam with Piper on his shoulders and Maverick with his arm around Emmy and their little girl resting against her chest. Hudson and Madeline and Coach. My parents, Marcus, and Lamar with his son. They’re all banging on the glass, and I can’t help it.

I let out a sob and skate over to them. A team official gestures for them to fill in the box, and they do, squeezing shoulder to shoulder until the entire team is there, with Lexi right in the middle.

“There’s our boy!” Grant screams, jumping up and down.

“What the hell are you all doing here? You’re supposed to be in California.”

I know Lexi got the okay to leave early after the Stars’ game yesterday afternoon, but everyone else wasn’t due back until tomorrow.

“We took the redeye home last night,” Hudson explains.

“Did you really think we’d miss your AHL debut?” Maverick smirks. “Fuck no.”

“It was Liam’s idea.” Ethan pinches his cheek, and Liam scowls. “Practically demanded the pilots get us back to the East Coast with whatever shortcuts they could find.”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Liam grumbles.

“Wow. I can’t believe you all are here.” I pull off my glove and wipe under my eyes. I glance over at Lexi, and she’s beaming. “You knew about this?”

“Why do you think I pretended to have cramps last night and slept in the spare bedroom? I was texting Piper nonstop to make sure they were getting in on time,” she says.

“You’re sneaky, Armstrong.”

“It’s for a good cause.” She reaches for my hand and gives me a reassuring squeeze. “Everyone wanted to be here to support you, and no matter what happens, we’re all going to have your back.”

“I love you.” I look down the bench at the players I’ve gone to battle with. At my brothers and sisters who helped pick me up when all I wanted to do was crawl in a hole and not come out. At the friends who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. “I love all of you. I’m a lucky bastard.”

“Give them hell, Mitchy,” Emmy says, and I pop in my mouthguard, ready to get to work.

* * *

I’ve only played six minutes, but it’s the greatest night of my professional career. Skating fast, chasing the puck, scooping up rebounds and setting up an assist that leads to a game-tying goal feels like I’m on top of the world, and I hope this elation never goes away.

My body aches in ways I’ve never experienced before. My right leg feels like it’s seconds away from giving out. My eyes burn with sweat, but every time my blades touch the ice, I tell myself Riley from a year ago wouldn’t believe how far I’ve come, and I push even harder.

I’m doing it for him and the demons he faced in the hospital bed. For the nights when he wanted to give up and give in to the pain, and when an opponent cross-checks me into the boards directly in front of where my friends are all sitting, I can’t help but laugh.

The final buzzer sounds, and we win three to two. After a quick huddle with the team at center ice, I tap my blade on the logo and skate to the locker room.

“Mitchell,” someone calls out, and a Comets’ team official is gesturing for me to stop. “You’re the first star tonight.”

“What?” I sputter. “I barely played. I did the least amount of work.”

“You worked harder than everyone.” He spins his finger in a circle, and I make a U-turn back to the barn. “Get out there.”

I hold up my hand to a roaring round of applause, thanking the fans and laughing when Lexi blows a kiss my way. I pretend to catch it midair, and she grins when I tuck it in my pocket.

As the spectators starts to leave, my Stars teammates step onto the ice. Coach Saunders gives Coach Thompson a handshake, and Hudson puts a hand on my shoulder.

“You looked sharp out there, Ri,” he says. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I need to soak in an ice bath for days.” I hold on to his waist while I adjust my prosthetic. Everything is out of alignment after those hits, but I’ll worry about that tomorrow. I’m glad to know no one took it easy on me tonight. “How was my stick handling?”

“Still infinitely better than Ethan’s,” Maverick calls out, and Ethan gasps.

“So fucking rude, Cap. But you’re right. That was pretty to watch, Mitchy.”

“Thanks, guys.” I turn my attention to Lamar and skate up to him and his son. “Hey, man. Thank you so much for being here.”

“That was something else.” We clasp hands and pull each other into an embrace. “You were so fun to watch.”

“You should’ve seen me last year. I was much faster. But I’ll get there.” I glance down at his son and smile. “How’re you Mikey?”

“This was my first hockey game!” he exclaims, waving a foam finger. “I can’t wait to come back.”

“I might’ve created a monster. Sorry,” I say to Lamar, and he brushes me off.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad we got to see you.”

“How’s Aliyah? And Destiny?”

“Both healthy and beautiful. She wishes she could be here, but I told her I’d have you over for dinner soon.”

“I’d love that. Anytime.” We exchange another embrace. “I can’t thank you enough for saving my life that night. I wouldn’t be here today without you.”

“I didn’t do anything except call the ambulance and then your friends.”

“You stayed with me. You stuck around when you didn’t have to. You didn’t try to sell the story to a media outlet, and I’m forever indebted to you.”

“We have to take care of each other, you know? Too much shit going on in this world to not have love in our hearts,” Lamar says.

“Amen to that, brother. You two get home safe,” I say.

I give my parents a quick hug and shake Marcus’s hand before I get bombarded with Lexi jumping into my arms. We almost topple over, but Liam catches us at the last second, and I hold her tight to my chest so she doesn’t get hurt.

“You did it,” Lexi squeals. “Oh my god , Riley. You really, really did it.”

“Thank you,” I say into her hair. “For not letting me give up that first day in the training room. You’re the only reason I got this far.”

“You would’ve always gotten this far.” She kisses me, and I set her down. “Grilled cheeses and milkshakes to celebrate?”

“Hang on. I have to do something first.”

I dig in my skate and pull out the small plastic bag I hid when I was getting dressed earlier. I open it, unfold the napkin that’s inside, and hand it over to her.

“What’s this?” she asks.

“My Life List. It needs some updating.”

We’ve added to it over the last eight months, and I can barely fit anything new on it these days with all we’ve accomplished. There are small wishes like being able to squat two times my body weight and running a mile. Bigger ones like flying her out to Chicago to spend a week with my parents and going to Florida to visit her mom. Other things we haven’t done quite yet, like helping her open a Pilates studio where one class a day is modified and designed for individuals with disabilities, but I know one day we will.

“What do you need to update?” she asks, and I tap her hand so she knows to turn it over.

“Playing in a professional game. Do you have a pen?”

“Of course I have a pen.” She pulls one out from the pocket in her jeans and takes the cap off with her teeth. “Okay. Playing in a professional game. Check.”

“Can you read the last three things I have on there?”

“Sure. Let’s see. Get Lexi to like me. Get Lexi to fall in love with me. Get Lexi to spend the —’” She jerks her chin up to look at me. “Riley.”

“Hm?”

“What does this say?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug and fight off my grin. “Read the whole thing.”

Her hand shakes, and she tries again. “ Get Lexi to spend the rest of her life with me ,” she whispers.

“It’s not a proposal. It’s not a ring, and I’m not going to get on one knee. Ever, if that’s what you want. But it is a promise I will be here by your side for as long as you’ll have me. It’s a vow that I’m not going anywhere unless you’re coming with me. I love you, Lex, and you have my word.”

She leaps into my arms again, legs wrapping around my waist. I stroke her hair and kiss her forehead, grinning like a goddamn fool who’s lost his mind.

“What do you say?” I ask.

“Yes,” she whispers.

“Yes to which one?”

“All three. To liking you. To loving you. To spending the rest of my life with you, however that might look for us. I want all of that, Riley, and more.”

“That’s a hat trick, Lexi baby, and that means I win.”

“Win?” She wrinkles her nose, and I kiss away her frown. “What the hell do you win?”

“You, obviously,” I say. “I don’t need anything else.”