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KAYDEN

I t took over a week for everything to die down.

For that short period of time, people were calling us America’s Couple.

I must’ve blushed every time I heard that.

It definitely sounded kind of weird, but a good kind of weird.

I’d never had to hope for acceptance before.

When so many people showered us with it, I didn’t know what to think.

Being the center of attention could be great depending on the focus.

I normally liked to keep private things private.

I didn’t regret a single thing, though. People really seemed to have loved the kiss, loved us .

Even though the sports networks had stopped playing the kiss, we’d been contacted by media outlets for interviews.

I’ve dreamed a lot of things, but sitting down for an interview with The Advocate hadn’t been one of them.

Ditto for pretty much anything that didn’t pertain directly to sports.

Okay, all right, I’ll admit I’d dreamed of appearing on The Tonight Show after my first (or sixth) Stanley Cup. I’d pictured myself sitting on the couch, engaging in witty banter with the host, showing America how hilarious I was. But that was different.

We’d said yes to all of the interviews. I found it amazing that I could have gone from being scared shitless of telling anyone who we were to actually baring our souls in interviews.

I still had my hopes and dreams but now understood that we all hit a fork in the road sooner or later.

Only we might not get to pick which road we take.

When that happens, it was best to go with the flow.

“So, what are you going to tell the interviewer?” Erik asked.

“About what?”

“I dunno…how we met, how we were going to pound each other’s brains in before, you know, we started pounding other body parts.”

I snorted. Obviously, something about me must have rubbed off on Erik, just like he’d rubbed off on me. If I’d told him that, he would’ve made some smart remark about how much time we’d spent rubbing against each other.

Real mature.

“Why don’t we just let them ask the questions, and we can give the answers?” I asked.

He gave a tiny shrug like he could accept that.

Deep down, I think he had a whole spiel in mind.

He wanted the interview to go a certain way.

I could understand that. I’d planned out so many things, only to see those things changed but not defeated.

Great things happened even if they’re not quite what you pictured.

Even still, I couldn’t help thinking my boyfriend had something else on his mind.

“Maybe we can talk about how hard it is to be a couple who wants to make it in the big leagues?” I asked.

Erik turned to me, as if I’d read his mind.

“You’re going to the Leafs, aren’t you?”

That wasn’t a question. He spoke like he knew it as a fact. His voice sounded flat for the first time since we’d won the championship, which had to happen sooner or later.

“I guess I am. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can’t pass it up.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything. These conversations had been a delicate dance at the best of times, and I didn’t want to cause problems. Not after so many awesome things had happened.

“You heard something?” he asked.

“It’s not a guarantee.”

“And you didn’t tell me about it?”

“I was waiting for just the right time. Besides, I didn’t want to get you worried about that when we had so many other things to be happy about. Like, I just wanted to enjoy the win and the glory and having all eyes on us. It was amazing.”

“I know.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like it. I probably never will again as long as I live.”

“Even if you win six Stanley Cups like you’ve vowed to do?”

I paused and said, “Yeah, even if I win six Stanley Cups.”

When Erik turned his head, I knew I hadn’t convinced him.

“Like I said, it isn’t an absolute guarantee. Leon Purvis told me that the championship pushed me as close to a guarantee for being drafted as I would possibly get. But you know, there are always complications.”

“And the entire sports world finding out that we’ve been a couple almost the entire season hasn’t changed their minds?”

I shook my head. We couldn’t have done this ten years ago let alone fifteen or twenty. But I didn’t know if saying that would do much to help Erik’s peace of mind.

“Look,” I said, “you know that I would never look down on you if I get drafted and you don’t. Besides, not getting picked up by an NHL team the first time around isn’t the end of the world. You know that.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about, Kayden.”

We paused again, and I knew my boyfriend was seriously concerned. Maybe I should’ve known this topic wouldn’t go away.

“You think it can never work?” I asked. Erik didn’t nod, but he didn’t have to. I knew that he was still hanging on to this idea that the arrangement would make it impossible for us to have a normal relationship.

“I want us to take the next step,” Erik said.

“What do you think the next step is?”

He didn’t give another tiny shrug like he had earlier. “You want us to get married.” I said it as a fact, not a question.

“I do, Kayden. I really do.”

I paused, wanting the same, but not knowing when that should happen.

“We don’t have to do it right away or anything,” Erik said. “If I don’t get drafted, I’ll have to finish school. And then you’ll be gone all the time. If I never see you then?—”

I put a finger over his lips and shushed him.

“Listen, we don’t have to worry about any of that stuff,” I said.

“How do we not have to worry about it? It’s going to be a nonstop problem.”

“But it’s a manageable problem when you look at everything we’ve already been through—and survived.”

He paused like I already had him on the ropes. Now I needed to land the knockout blow.

“We wouldn’t have made it nearly as far as we have if we hadn’t persevered,” I said. “Think about it. How many times could we have just called it quits and walked away?”

“Well, we did call it quits once.”

He half-smiled, like he knew he’d only said it to be a pain in the ass. I could take it. I would have to. After all, I would have a lifetime of that cheekiness ahead of me.

“You know what I’m saying, don’t you?” I asked.

“I think I do.”

“We won the championship, despite everything that happened, because we persevered. We got all this media attention because we persevered. I’m telling you to just stick with it. We can take anything the world throws at us if we just persevere.”

Finally, Erik nodded.

“We can take the next steps as fast or slow as you want,” I said, “but I do know that if I really am drafted, I’m going to buy us the biggest house in Buffalo.”

“Or Toronto.”

I smiled back at him. He smiled back. I pulled him in close and kissed his lips.

“Or Toronto,” I said. “Home is wherever you are.”