Page 101 of Switching Skates

“That was … really fucking hot,” she whispers as I reach into the tote and grab a towel that I stored in there just in case.

I clean her up, then wipe myself off before tossing the towel to the grass. I grab the jersey and signal for her to lift her arms, which she does. I pull it over her head, and she slips her arms through the sleeves.

I grab her chin, kissing her quickly. “I love you too, Daph. Always have. Always will.”

Kneeling away from her, I grab her panties and toss them to her, keeping the leggings where they are as I pull my boxers and sweats back up, opting to keep my shirt off.

She happily wiggles herself upright and slides beneath the top blanket before eyeballing the charcuterie board. Reading her mind, I grab it for her and set it in her lap.

Reaching over, I snatch the laptop before sliding into place at her side beneath the blanket. “All right, Sunset, what movie are we watching?”

She taps her chin and looks up and over at me. “I don’t know.”

I cock my head to the side and stare at her like she’s crazy. “You don’t know? Ms. Girl with a Movie List.”

She shrugs. “I usually watched those to feel all the love and swooniness that I always craved. But I have all of those feelings right now, being here with you.”

Leaning down to my side, I kiss her softly. “You are such a softy.”

She grabs her heart and acts playfully offended. “I know.”

“But I love that about you.” I throw my arm over her shoulders. “Come on. I know you’ve got a title locked and loaded in that mind of yours.”

She thinks for all of a single second before uttering, “Pretty Woman. It’s really one of my all-time faves.”

“Deal.” I quickly search it up and log in to the streaming site it’s available on. “Got it.”

She happily snacks away at her food with a big smile on her face as the movie starts. I set my laptop on the tote lid between us as Julia Roberts comes into frame.

“You’ve really set a high bar for yourself. You know that, right?” she asks sassily, biting into a cracker with attitude.

I chuckle and steal the other half of her snack, popping it into my mouth. “It’s a good thing I’m a pro between the pipes. I’ll hit that top bar every time.”

She kicks her feet gently beneath the blanket, and I have to restrain myself from having cuteness aggression and mauling her.

“I have something to tell you,” I murmur to her, and she looks up at me worriedly. “Don’t be scared. It’s good news. At least I hope you think so.” My heart hammers in my chest.

This is the moment. I mean, a lot of moments recently have felt this way. But this one is different because I changed everything about my future for her in hopes that we’d end up here.

I take a shaky breath. “I won’t be going to play for the Avalanche after graduation.”

Her eyes fall, a look of sadness flashing across her face. “Wait, what? But playing pro is your dream. Mason, you can’t give that up for me.”

I smile down at her, and her shoulders relax slightly.

“I’ll be playing for the North Stars.”

Her face lights up. “What?! Are you serious?”

Love blooms in my chest at her reaction. “Yeah. I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. I’m staying right here. With you.”

She grabs my face and pulls it down to hers, kissing me roughly. Her voice is thick with emotion, “Thank fucking God.”

We stay like that for a moment, just holding each other and basking in our love and the hope for what’s to come.

Julia Roberts says something that catches her attention, and she turns, watching the movie while curling up tightly into my side.

“Mason, look!” she shouts and points up in the sky. “A shooting star.”