Page 37 of Tempting the Goalie (Riverside U #5)
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I sabelle
The house is loud, as it always is, with Hugh yelling at the screen while gaming in one room, Steve the freshman is tossing a Nerf football down the hallway, and Macklin singing to himself in the kitchen like it’s a concert.
Ruby’s pacing somewhere with AirPods in her ears, talking to a classmate, and Briar’s trying to get comfortable on the couch, even though she’s nine months pregnant and done with everyone.
Me? I’m at the dining table, laptop open, notes scattered, double-fisting coffee and trail mix.
I’m two case studies behind and I have a research proposal due Friday.
Luc sits across from me, headphones on, typing out a comm theory paper like it’s no big deal.
He looks up every few minutes to give me a crooked smile, and that’s enough to keep me going.
We don’t speak much during the day. Between my psych labs, his practices, team meetings, and our stacked class schedules, we barely see each other.
Then night falls and we come back to life.
Now it’s nearly 11:00 p.m. The kitchen has finally quieted down.
Steve’s passed out on the couch with a bag of popcorn on his chest. Macklin and Ruby went upstairs.
Hugh’s still gaming but at least he’s got his door closed.
Briar and Aaron are watching something in the family room.
I hear sniffles so it must be emotional.
We are three weeks into the fall semester, three weeks since I moved into the hockey house.
The accommodations are much nicer than the old house I shared.
Ruby and I have become friends. When she told me how Macklin was her brother’s best friend, we had a good laugh after I told her how having four older overbearing brothers wasn’t much better when it came to dating your childhood best friend.
She almost fell on the kitchen floor when I told the story of Luc and I getting caught after having sex in the loft.
I nibble on my lower lip. I need to stay focused and get this proposal done.
Luc shuts his laptop and leans back, stretching. “How much more do you have?”
“Two hundred words and a breakdown chart.”
He nods like he’s proud of me for surviving. “Want tea?”
“Please.” I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks that Luc and I can fall into a rhythm easily. Living together feels natural. Maybe it’s because it’s in both of our natures to take care of each other.
He walks into the kitchen and turns the kettle on. The normalcy of it, the little rituals we’ve built into this chaos, keep me grounded.
When he hands me the tea, he doesn’t sit. He hovers by his chair, like something’s heavy in his back pocket.
I squint at him. “What?” I know that look. Something is up.
He shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Coach told me after practice today… Philly’s offering again.”
My heart stutters.
Luc watches me carefully. “They want to sign me at the end of the season. It’s not guaranteed yet, but it’s solid. NHL track, development, the whole thing.”
I stare at my tea. “That’s huge.”
“Yeah,” he says, but his voice is soft.
“You want it?” I already know by his demeanor what the answer will be.
“I do,” he admits. “But I wanted to talk to you first. I won’t do anything without you. Have you thought about your plans for next year?”
If he’s asking, he cares. He isn’t walking away from me. From us.
I exhale my heart is pounding. “I don’t know what I want yet.”
Luc doesn’t flinch. He nods, like he was expecting that. He takes hold of my hand and looks me dead in the eye.
“Izzy, I don’t want you to give anything up for me. Not grad school, not your future, not one part of your dream.”
My breath catches.
“I love hockey. And I want Philly, yeah. But I want you too. You’re not a pastime for me, you’re my everything.” His thumb brushes against the side of my hand. “We’ll figure out something that suits us both. I’ll make it work, whatever that looks like.”
Warmth rises in my chest, the kind that settles deep and doesn’t leave.
“Okay,” I whisper.
Luc nods like we’ve made a pact.
We turn back to our laptops, but something’s shifted. There’s no longer a question of if just how . His leg rests against mine under the table, and this time, I lean in. We don’t need all the answers yet.
We have time and each other.