Page 10

NINE

Owen

THEN

Senior Year

I t was the end of the third period, and we were up by two. My entire family sat in the stands, watching what was probably one of the most important games of my junior hockey career. I knew that there were talent scouts here tonight watching me. Despite that, my focus was on the blonde sitting three rows up from the bench, who I knew was wearing my name on her back. My jersey.

My girlfriend.

Ellie and I had officially been dating for a year, and things were going great. Nothing had really changed, except now we were free to hold hands in front of our families. And as a bonus, I got to sneak her off alone and take her on dates. Thank fuck our parents trusted us to have time alone.

Not that I was going to do anything to jeopardize that trust. We were taking things slow. While the rest of my teammates might have been bragging about sleeping with their girlfriends, I was perfectly content with the fact that we’d only kissed. Whenever we were both ready, I wanted to make it special for both of us. Though there was no pressure, no rush.

I liked the fact that her smiles were for me. That I could call her mine .

Taking another shift on the ice, I tried to put all of that out of my head as I just focused on my role, keeping the puck away from our goal and defending against the opposing team. With less than a minute left in regulation time, we worked the puck down the ice towards the opposing team’s net. Seeing an opening, I passed it to my teammate, and he hit a snapshot, burying it in the net.

The buzzer sounded, and—“GOALLLL!”

“Hell yeah!” I screamed, skating over to my buddy to wrap him up in a hug. God, I felt on top of the world. Like nothing could bring me down.

Turning my head, my gaze caught on Ellie, who was out of her seat and screaming. For me.

The five of us on the ice skated over to the bench, high-fiving our team members.

We’d have one last face off, and then we just had to run the timer out and we’d officially have won the game.

Settling back onto the bench, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. The buzzer sounded, and we won the game.

For once, I wasn’t worried about anything else. Not when my team had won the game, my girl was in the stands, and my future was bright.

After a shower and a post-game meeting with the team, I headed out of the locker room to find my family waiting for me, including the blonde girl beaming in the front standing next to my sister. Everyone had Wolves apparel on, which felt meaningful, especially considering my dad’s favorite animal was a wolf. Even Penelope, my younger sister, was beaming in a dark gray sweatshirt with purple accents, even though she was always dressed in bright colors, often with paint covering her hands since it was her favorite hobby besides reading and writing.

“Hey, guys,” I said, smiling.

“Great game, son,” my dad said, slapping me on the shoulder before pulling me into a hug.

We basically stood at the same height now, thanks to my last growth spurt. Just another sign that I was growing up. “Thanks, Dad.”

I threw an arm around my girl after hugging the rest of my family, dropping a kiss on the side of her head.

“Hi,” I said, brushing my lips against her ear.

“Hey.” She gave me a beaming smile as she nuzzled in close to my side.

She was sunshine. My Ellie. The girl who loved daisies and yellow and who radiated happiness whenever she was on the ice.

Heading out to the parking lot, my parents started heading for their car, and I interlaced my fingers with Ellie’s.

“Ride home with me?” I asked, my voice low.

She nodded. We hadn’t spent any alone time today, and as much as I loved my family, they’d get me back at home. Ellie had a figure skating competition this weekend, so I wouldn’t even get to see her then. It sucked when we had overlapping events, because as much as I loved her coming to my games, I loved going to see her skate even more.

“We’re going to head home,” Dad said, nodding at me.

Penelope smiled, tucking her book under her arm. I resisted chuckling—I hadn’t even noticed she’d had it on her earlier. Of course, my sister would read at my game. Everyone in our family was a voracious reader, though, so it wasn’t anything new.

“Be safe,” my mom said, looking between Ellie and I.

My cheeks warmed, and I shook my head. “ Mom,” I muttered, rubbing my free hand over my face and through my damp strands. It wasn’t like that.

Ellie buried her face in her hands, and when my family was gone, I peeled them back away from her eyes.

“You okay?” I asked, chuckling.

She nodded. “I just… don’t want them to think we’re doing anything bad, you know?” Ellie scrunched up her nose. “It’s not like we’re having sex.” She let out a little groan.

We walked to my blue truck, and I held her hand again, interlacing our fingers before squeezing it reassuringly. “Our families love us. So yeah, they’re going to tease us. Besides, they, uh… know we’re not actually doing it, El.”

“Oh.” She grimaced. “It’s always going to be like this, isn’t it?”

“Probably.” I laughed, opening up the door for her and helping her inside. When she was buckled in, I leaned over, bracing one hand on the frame of the truck. “Our moms are best friends. Of course, they talk. But we’re best friends too, Daisy.” My voice was low. “And it doesn’t matter what they think.”

My girl blinked, her hand bunched in the hem of the gray and purple jersey. “Doesn’t it?”

“No.” I shook my head. “It only matters what we think.”

“And what do you think?” Ellie whispered.

“That I want to spend time with my girlfriend.” I pressed my lips to her forehead- before closing the door and walking around to the other side.

She turned her head, watching as I slid into my seat, resting my hand on the gearshift as I prepared to turn on the car. Instead, I moved it to her thigh, letting my palm engulf most of her leg. There was something in her eyes—a spark of desire. Heat. “Owen…” Her voice was breathless.

I pushed my seat back, patting my lap. “Ellie,” I murmured. “Come here. ”

She bit her lip before climbing over the truck console, sitting in my lap.

“Hi,” she whispered, looping her arms around my neck.

“Hi.” I brushed a piece of hair off her forehead. “You looked so beautiful tonight.”

Her cheeks were pink. “Thank you.”

There was just something about seeing her in the stands, wearing my jersey. “I love having you at my games.”

Ellie smiled. “I love coming to them. Watching you on the ice… God, Owen. You’re going to do incredible things. I can’t wait to see it.”

Did she have any idea how much her faith in me meant to me?

“I couldn’t do it without you,” I answered, the admission coming out without me meaning for it to. “You’re the only person I want to celebrate with when I get a goal. When we win the game.”

Her hand ran up my chest, settling on my pecs. While I wasn’t the biggest guy on my team, nor did I have a six-pack, I was in great shape from the time I spent on the ice, and working out to keep up while playing hockey.

“We’re not having sex until we’re both ready,” I said, one of my hands resting on her lower back as I cupped the back of her neck with the other. “But I really want to kiss you right now.”

She looped her arms around the back of my neck, brushing her lips over mine. “Then what are you waiting for, Hockey Boy? Kiss me.”

I leaned forward, pressing our lips together, slowly at first. Just light presses. And then, I swept my tongue over her lips, and Ellie opened her lips for me, giving me entrance into her mouth. With fingers combing through the back of her hair, I got my first taste of her. Sweet, like the taste of the candy she’d been eating during the game.

It had never been like this before with us. We’d always shared such innocent kisses, but tonight… something inside me needed more. Maybe it was the way she was positioned on my lap, maybe it was the way she kissed me back with as much enthusiasm, the fervor running through us demanding it.

I’d never kissed anyone like this. And maybe neither one of us knew what we were doing, but it felt right. I squeezed her hip, pressing her core against my front.

“Owen,” she murmured as I trailed my lips down her neck.

“I know, baby,” I groaned. The endearment just slipped out. I’d never called her it before—my nickname for her had always been Skater Girl or Daisy. Because she was my Daisy. “I know.”

I shifted her off of my lap and into the passenger seat so I could start the truck before either of us would do something we would regret.

But damn, I liked the way she looked, lips pink and a little swollen, cheeks flushed and eyes unfocused as she stared out the window. I turned my attention to the road behind us as I backed up, one arm reaching back to grip her headrest.

Ellie bit her lip, and if I flexed my arm muscles a little, well, who could blame me?

I chuckled, and she blinked, looking over at me. Once I’d straightened out the truck and gotten us onto the road, I rested one of my hands on Ellie’s thigh. She interlaced our fingers, letting our adjoined hands rest on her leg.

“I like this,” she murmured, her lips tugging up into a small smile.

And damn, she had no idea how much I’d liked it.

“Me too, Skater Girl.”

Damn, did I enjoy kissing her. Being with her. Holding her hand. Knowing she was my girl.

I couldn’t imagine a life without her. Not now… Not ever.