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Chapter Fifty-Four

Alex

It’s nearing nine pm by the time the opening has dwindled down to just the guys, Austen, and Cameron.

“We need to do this again,” Hudson says with a smile. “I don’t want to wait another year to see you guys.”

Trey looks sad at those words, but he’s not the only one.

“Hudson’s right,” Paul adds. “I could use a weekend trip once in a while.”

“Ditto,” Andre says as he drains the last of his champagne.

“Just… maybe not Vegas,” I say, winking at my brother.

Jordan slaps me in the chest and tells me to shut the fuck up and I laugh. Austen catches my gaze, laughs, and then he looks at Jordan before he narrows his gaze back on me.

It makes me a little nervous, because the knowing look in his eyes makes me think he’s more observant than I give him credit for. I’m not sure how Jordan is going to react to that.

“Definitely no Vegas,” Hudson agrees, shaking his head. “New York is nice, though.”

I look at Jordan and decide not to look away when I smile and say, “New York is great.”

I offer to stay and help my brother clean up, but both he and Cameron tell me they’re good.

Honestly, I just think they want to get rid of us, probably so they can fuck in that office.

Which makes me feel weird, considering what Jordan and I did in there earlier, but not weird enough that I wouldn’t do it again.

That was fucking hot.

But then again, sex with Jordan is always hot as fuck.

I’ve definitely missed it and would be lying if I said I didn’t think about him in that way, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

We’re the last to leave, our goodbyes taking forever. As soon as we get outside, I turn to Jordan and say, “Are you hungry?”

His gaze roves over me and he smirks. “Depends. What’s on the menu?” he asks with a lazy smile .

I can’t help but grin, because the way he says the words makes me think he definitely isn’t talking about food. I fight the urge to blush, but I fail.

“Have you had a New York slice yet?” I ask. “I heard there’s this delectable pizza place not far from here.” I motion towards the direction of the shop. It’s a couple blocks away, long enough for us to walk and… talk.

At this point, the champagne’s well worn off for both of us and now I’m starving.

Bacon wrapped scallops and florentine tarts were not fulfilling in the least, and neither was the grilled chicken salad I had before the opening.

He smirks as he nods. “I have not, actually. Funnily enough, I’ve spent most of my time doing things that don’t revolve around food. I could go for some pizza.”

I take two steps forward to lead the way. Austen said it’s a favorite spot of his and I’ve been dying to try it.

“Great,” I say, sliding my hands in my pockets. I need to keep them occupied or I swear I’m not going to keep my hands off of him.

We walk slowly, the sounds of the shops and bars filling the air. These last two days have been perfect. Better than I could have ever hoped for. Most of me thought he’d want nothing to do with me. After all, until yesterday, we hadn’t even spoken to one another for a year, and now …

Now it feels like no time has passed at all, and somehow we’ve picked up right where we left off before I ruined everything.

He told me he missed me.

He wants another chance.

But he’s not the only one who needs a second chance.

“When, uh… when do you have to leave?” I ask as we walk side by side. There is a sliver of space between us and I’m dying to touch him. But I won’t. Not until I say what I need to, anyway.

Jordan is not the talking type, and neither am I. But this—us—it won’t work unless I tell him how I really feel. It won’t work unless I can meet him where he is.

I just hope he feels the same. I hope he’s willing to meet me halfway.

If the past year, the past forty-eight hours, have taught me anything, it’s that he’s worth the wait.

So I’ll wait if I have to.

However long it takes, I’ll wait because I love him. I never stopped, and I don’t think I could ever stop.

“Tomorrow. Early afternoon if I want to escape the New York traffic,” he says.

I notice he’s shifted closer. Close enough our shoulders touch, even though his hands are also stuffed in his pockets. “You?”

I move a little closer and close the gap .

“I have a game in Michigan on Tuesday, so I leave Sunday.”

He nods nonchalantly, and I can’t take it. I remove my hand and grab him by the arm and turn him towards me. He looks down at me with narrowed eyes.

“I have five games left,” I say and he stops on the sidewalk. People bustle past us, but this little town is much quieter than the main city, so no one runs us over.

“That’s what my parents were pissed about,” I say.

He looks at me curiously. “That’s not new news. There are five games left in the season—”

“No,” I say, sliding my hand down his arm. I find his hand has left his pocket and so I slide my fingers between his and squeeze.

“ I have five games left,” I say solidly.

It takes him a minute to process what I’m saying, and when he does, his eyes widen in shock.

“You’re quitting?” I don’t miss the surprise in his voice.

I nod. “Yes. My contract is up.”

“But you love hockey,” he says, his voice full of awe. “It’s your life.”

My chest tightens. The twinkling lights of the shops and warm glow from the windows light him up, and I lick my lips, sucking in a breath.

“I mean, I’m thirty-two. I’m not going to do it forever, and…” I let out a heavy breath as the words fall out of th eir own volition. “There are things I love more than hockey,” I say softly. “Well, technically it’s more of a someone than a something , but—”

“Alex…” His voice is breathless as he stares down at me, and I say the words because they are the easiest thing in the world to say—and the truest. I never thought I’d get the chance to say them again.

“I love you, Jordan. More than hockey. More than pink donuts with extra sprinkles.”

Hope fills my chest as he stares at me. I don’t think I can handle it if he tells me I’ve imagined all this back and forth between us. That this isn’t more than just a quick hookup in an office. It has to mean more.

Before I know what’s happening, Jordan’s lips are on mine.

I panic for a second, thinking I kissed him, out in public, and he’s going to get mad.

But… I didn’t do this. I didn’t move. He’s kissing me, and I’m just…

standing here. I snap out of that real quick, and I settle my hands on his jaw and kiss him like tomorrow doesn’t exist.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned playing hockey, it’s that you have to take the shot, even if you don’t think you’re going to make it. There’s always the one percent chance that you will. You have to trust your instincts.

And my instincts are all I have as I lose myself in his scent, his kiss, his arms.

He groans, his tongue sliding against my lips as he grabs me by the hips. It’s like the world doesn’t exist .

There’s only this. Only us.

When I break away, I see the glistening look in his eye as he whispers, “I never stopped loving you, Alex. And I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

He kisses me again, pulling me against him and fuck, it feels so good. So good I forget we’re in public, in the middle of New York. His hand settles on my back.

“Fuck, Jordan,” I whisper as I kiss him again. And again. It feels like we’re standing here forever.

“Want to get that pizza to go?” he asks, his voice dark and smooth. It makes my brain melt a little.

“Absolutely,” I say as I slide my hand in his. He laughs, shaking his head as I open my phone with my free hand. “But we’re getting it delivered.”

The whole way to his hotel, my heart races. There’s still more I need to say, but right now, I am just enjoying walking with the man I love. Who still loves me, too, apparently.

I never stopped loving you, Alex.

Same, Mackenzie. Fucking same.

I put in a delivery order for a large pizza with cheesy breadsticks and a liter of soda-pop.

He leads me through the hotel, up the elevator and into the hall.

He opens the door and I step in without question. The minute the door shuts, my back is slammed against the wall. His mouth latches onto my neck, his tongue pressed against the throbbing vein, and I groan.

“You know what I love?” he teases, his voice a heady mix of humor and seduction that makes my dick throb.

“What?” I ask as I slide my hands beneath his shirt, my fingers deftly working at the latch on his belt.

I rip it off as he grabs my throat and squeezes.

All my fucking wires cross. My brain malfunctions.

The tone of his voice, the way he’s looking at me, the rough squeeze of his hands against my throat… fuck. It’s too much.

My eyes roll back in my head, and I thrust my hardened cock against him.

“When you fuck me,” he says darkly. One hand slides between us and he squeezes my hardness at the same time he squeezes my neck. He thrusts against me, hard.

“Oh, is that so?” I taunt him, removing his jacket and shirt as slowly as possible.

He gets my pants off in record time before tearing my jacket off and throwing it across the room.

His fingers make fast work at unbuttoning my buttons and I’m not all surprised with all the heat burning between us, that we’re naked in less than five fucking minutes.

“Yup,” he says as he squeezes my throat before pulling me by the hand towards his bed. I follow him until he’s pulling me on top of him. I grab his wrists, sliding his hands above his head. He looks up at me with so much love it’s impossible to ignore. It makes me grin.

After all this fucking time.

He never stopped loving me.

“You know what I love?” I ask as I straddle his hips, pressing my leaking cock against his. I slide my hands down his arms until I settle them on the sides of his chest.

“What?” he asks, thrusting up against me.