Page 95 of Switching Skates

Toward each other. Toward our love and future. Toward everything we’ve been so scared of.

I rush down the last few steps, and she pops out of the aisle, blocking my path.

There she is.My girl.

“You’ve made your decision then?” I murmur breathlessly, fighting my restraint every second until she answers.

She chuckles softly, her voice barely audible as she rises up on her toes. “Come here.”

I don’t waste another second.

I thread my hands into her hair, and she fists my jersey and pulls me closer as I tip her head back, and my lips collide with hers.

We melt against one another, pushing and pulling. My tongue parts the seam of her lips, deepening the kiss. And I can’t get enough of her. But the truth is, I never fucking will.

The arena around us explodes with applause, louder than I’ve ever heard.

Her hands slide up my chest, cupping my face as she kisses me unabashedly and passionately.

This kiss iseverythingbecause both of us are finally done hiding. And nothing is ever going to change that.

Securing one hand around her waist and the other around her back, I lift her up and hold her weight in my arms.

Her tongue dances with mine, and the softest moan vibrates into my mouth, the sound lost in the sea of ever-growing praise. I pull her tighter against me, if that’s even possible.

I roll my forehead onto hers, and we pull apart, our breathing heavy and ragged. My ears ring from the continued cheering around us.

My voice is raw with emotion. “I love you, Sunset.”

She claims my lips with hers before leaning her head back and looking at me with tears in her eyes. “I love you too.”

“You’re sure?” I ask with a smirk on my lips, not loosening my grip on her in the slightest.

A twinkle flashes in her eye, and she nods, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“One hundred percent,” she murmurs right before her lips find mine.

The crowd roars once more as I kiss my girl in front of thousands of people, Lifehouse’s “You and Me” playing through the speakers, and I’ve never been surer that in her embrace is where I’m always meant to be.

Lowering her safely back down to the step, I plant a kiss on her forehead. “Wait for me after the game?”

She smiles, her face as red as her beautiful hair. “Only if you win.”

I attack her with tickles, going for her sides, and she giggles until I stop.

I bend down and steal a soft kiss from her lips. “I will. Just for you.”

She rolls her eyes and pushes my chest lightly. “Good luck.”

Knowing that I’ve been gone for far longer than I probably should’ve, I glance down to the ice and see my team lifting their sticks in the air.

They shout and yell, showing their support.

They showed up for me, and now it’s time for me to show up for them.

“I’ll see you after,” I tell her, slowly stepping back up a stair.

She nods and blows me a kiss, and I catch it as I stride back up to the top, holding it against my chest.