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“ I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”—William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Three years later

Trinsky

A sea of boxes flooded the great room, ruining the view of the yard on a perfect summer morning. Fluffy white cotton ball clouds dotted the blue sky and a gentle breeze flitted through the willow trees’ graceful branches. It was nice to be home.

Jake clapped and pointed at the stack of boxes labeled “office.” “I cleared out the room next to ours for your trophies and awards and stuff. Did you want to look at it again or just schlep these upstairs?”

“No, I want to lay on a blanket outside and eat ice cream. I bought mint chip yesterday,” I added, waggling my brows.

Jake’s lips curled in amusement. “It’s not even noon.”

“This is brunch ice cream. It’s supposed to be consumed before the sun hits its apex. I read it on the container.”

“Is that right?”

“For sure. Besides, we’ve got all day to empty boxes,” I reminded him.

Jake checked his watch, though like the perfect boyfriend he was, he was already striding toward the kitchen. “Okay, but we’re supposed to be at the diner later this afternoon.”

I fished two spoons from a drawer, then wrapped my arms around him from behind and kissed his nape. “Love you, but I’m not going.”

“You have to go. The town made a big-ass banner to celebrate your season. You can thank them with a short speech and buy everyone a milkshake.”

“It is a pretty sweet banner,” I conceded.

“And it’s huge.”

“Like my dick.”

“Right.” He turned in my arms and licked my lips, holding two pints of ice cream above his head. “Grab a blanket. I’ll meet you out there.”

I had Tweety Birds and stars circling my head, but that was a regular occurrence these days. I was home…with Jake, and after three long years, the entire world knew that he was my most important person. Although, to be honest, we hadn’t bothered hiding much over the past few months. It hadn’t felt necessary. Everyone knew we’d gone from enemies to friends. We’d been photographed at restaurants in LA and Denver, attending a Patriots game in Boston and had even taken turns cheering each other on during the playoffs.

They knew Jake was bi and the summer after he came out, I stole his thunder and announced that I was bi too. It was a matter of seconds before online sleuths were speculating that there might be more between us. We let them think what they wanted, but we’d decided to keep the truth to ourselves until one of us retired. Neither of us wanted attention to be taken from our games. We’d worked too hard to let trolls feed off our private lives and forget our contributions to the sport. Fuck that.

But Jake had announced that this past season would be his last. A significant concussion in a game against Ontario was the final straw. He was thirty-five and felt that it was best to go out on top and hopefully avoid long-term symptoms from multiple brain injuries. He wanted to be there for our kids someday and yeah…we were definitely going to have kids. Not tomorrow but eventually.

We had other things happening first. Jake had a coaching job lined up with a college team in Denver, and my contract wasn’t up for another year. So for the first time ever, we were living in the same city…together. And everyone knew. I guess you might say the cat was let out of the bag when I kissed him after the Condors lost our conference championship game last month. Oops.

The headlines were immediate and epic.

A New Power Couple Takes a Shot at Romance!

Trinsky and Milligan Are Hockey’s New Goal!

Trinsky and Milligan are BFs? What’s Next? An Alien Invasion?

Okay, they were kind of hokey, but they could say what they wanted. We were done hiding, and every day that we had of living out loud and proud made me a little sorry we hadn’t spilled our secret earlier. Except…not really.

We’d needed those few years to grow as a couple. The long distance and the pressure had been stifling, but we’d found inventive ways to spend time together and figure out what we wanted.

I wanted forever with Jake. Such a corny thing to say, but it was true. I wanted to marry him, adopt kids, raise a family, and make a difference after I hung up my skates. I had a feeling we’d do that here…in Elmwood. He’d sold his townhouse in Boston after he’d been retired for a few months and had officially moved into my Denver condo and my Hermosa Beach house.

And today, I’d moved to Elmwood. Home.

My mom and Eddie were scheduled to arrive later this week for a monthlong visit. I’d been slowly weaning them into the idea of relocating, though I knew it might not happen for a few years. Eddie loved his school and his friends and his routine, but he was beginning to fall for Elmwood too.

He loved riding horses at Hank and Denny’s ranch, playing bingo at Town Hall, and bellying up to the counter at the diner for milkshakes and a chat about history podcasts with JC. He loved being around the hockey players who seemed to know him even though he didn’t always remember them. He wasn’t shy here. He came out of his shell and thrived.

And I think my mother really enjoyed the mellow pace and the friendly folks who’d embraced us all. So yeah…I hoped one day they’d stay for good.

I spread the red-and-white checked blanket on the grass and handed Jake a spoon, thanking him for the pint of ice cream goodness. We sat shoulder to shoulder, soaking in the warm sunshine and sweet summer air, lost in thought.

“Your mom isn’t going to remodel the office for me, is she?” I asked out of the blue.

“You never know, but I think she’s more concerned about remodeling the LA house,” he replied.

I snort-laughed. “I wish we’d gotten her reaction on camera. That was fucking priceless.”

His family had descended to LA for a game on a weekend I’d happened to have off. We’d hosted the Milligan-Paluchek crew, including his mom and her husband. It had been a blast, but Piper’s stricken reaction to the gaudy chandeliers still made me laugh.

“What’s the matter? A little tacky?” I’d teased.

Piper had wrinkled her nose. “Is the pope Catholic? Oh, honey, you’re my son now too. Let me fix this.”

Okay, I liked that sentiment. His family was my family, and mine was his.

“My mom loves you. So do my dads,” Jake commented as if reading my mind.

I kissed his shoulder. “I know. We’re lucky. Both of us.”

“We are.”

“Thanks for loving me and letting me be part of your world.”

Jake beamed at me. “Are you going soft on me?”

“Yeah, maybe a little. I love you, and I love our life. Today feels like a beginning.”

“How so?”

“We have a plan, you know. We know what we want, we have a solid home base and people who care about us, and I don’t know…I guess the future doesn’t feel so scary anymore.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah. Did you ever think we’d be here—living together, building a life?”

“Fuck, no. I still think I’m dreaming sometimes. If I am, don’t wake me up. I want to be here forever. With you. I love you, Jakey.”

“I love you, too.”

Our spoons clinked as I reached in to steal his ice cream. He pushed me away, and I pushed back till he resorted to straddling my lap and confiscating my container. A short wrestling match ensued, and it was definitely going to continue in the bedroom.

I knew better than to take a single second of this ride for granted. I’d been given a shot at a lifetime with my worst enemy turned best friend, the guy I loved more than anything in the world. This was real and I’d do whatever it took to make him happy…forever.

Thank you for reading Jake and Trinsky’s story!