Page 110 of Elite Player
“Really?” I turn, finding Malcolm sitting in the stands, and I smile. Because he really did know this whole time how this would turn out.
When I face Nico again, he goes on, “I’ve also started therapy to help me understand the correlation between what happened to me and how I’ve treated sex and relationships. Because I want to be better for you. I need to be able to offer myself fully to you.”
Words catch in my throat, so I settle for a simple, “I’m proud.”
His answering grin is like a kid on Christmas, and it suddenly strikes me that I’m not sure anyone has ever told Nico they were proud of him. This sweet man has been bulliedin his life too, but in a different way, and maybe I was too blinded by my own past to understand his. “I’m so proud of you, Nico.”
I blink away the wetness building in the corners of my eyes. “I started therapy too. I don’t think it’s fair to you or me that I’ve been using you as a crutch. I love that you stand up for me, and I appreciate you so much, but I need to be able to stand up for myself. I don’t want to have to rely on you for confidence. I want to be confident in myself.”
He lowers his forehead to mine. “Look at us. Two kids going to therapy and getting healthy.”
I give in to a laugh and lean in to kiss him, but he stops me. “There’s more.” He licks his lips and takes a breath that makes his shoulders rise. “I told Fitzgerald the truth about you, about us. He thought it was ridiculous, but he said it showed how much I want to stay in Philly, which is something, I guess. I still might be traded, but I’m hoping you’d come with me if it came to that.”
“You want me to come with you?”
He brings my hands to his mouth, kissing the backs of my fingers. “Yes, of course. I love you, Jo, and I don’t want to hide any parts of myself with you. I don’t want to hide any parts of my love for you, and I want you to know that when I say I love you and choose you, I mean it. There are no secrets left.”
My heart beats in my eyes, and I know the entire Iron team is watching. Hearing every bit of this.
We are out in the light. Center ice. And while Nico has never treated me like a dirty little secret, we had too many between us for what we had to ever feel right.
But this, the hope in his eyes and the unshakable promise in his words, I know it’s right. “I came here today to tell you that I don’t need any more time. I know I love you and that you love me. You’ve always been waiting for me, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to say it… I love you, Nico.”
He inhales sharply, almost surprised, his eyes wide, mouthpulled into possibly the biggest smile I’ve ever seen out of him. Then he bends down to one knee. “Josephine Atkins…”
I gasp.
Oh god.
Not again.
“I think I can speak for both of us when I say we’ve found our place with each other. I’ve found my home in you, and hopefully you’ve found one in me. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you’ve made me, so will you please?—”
“Nico.”
“Date me?”
“What?”
“Will you date me? I want to start over with you, build a foundation that will last, and then eventually, when we’re both ready, I’ll buy you a better ring.”
“But…” I sniffle and cough out a laugh, my cheeks damp. “I kind of like this one,” I say, holding up my left hand and the ring I hadn’t been able to take off.
“Whatever you want, but can I take that as a yes?”
“Yes, I’ll date you.”
He shoots up, lifting me around the waist and spinning me in a circle before putting me down to face his teammates. “She said yes!”
A cheer goes up, and they all converge, congratulating us, but it doesn’t last long because Coach Elliot skates out with the assistants, shouting to “stop fucking around and get your heads in the game.” Though he does make his way to me, remarkably sweet-looking for a man with the mouth of a sailor and a history of being a bruiser when he played. Now he offers me a tight nod. “Glad to see Tremmie has his good-luck charm back.”
Then, shockingly, he smiles. It lasts exactly 2.5 seconds before he points to the bleachers. “Now, please, get the fuck off my ice.”
“Oh. Y-yes, sir.”
“Nice, Coach,” Nico says with a chuckle and guides me to the tunnel, where Malcolm is waiting with the bag of clothes Ibrought to change into, with the hope that everything would turn out the way it has. I inform Nico that I’ll be in the stands tonight and not behind the camera. Naomi will be saving me a seat.
“It’s a date,” he agrees and boops my nose. “I’ll score one for you tonight.” Then he presses one single kiss to my mouth.
