Page 55 of Offensive Edge
They let silence hang around the two of them until Rowan thought he might fall asleep.
“I’m still scared,” Theo said, his voice quiet.
“Of what?”
“Of this falling apart again.”
“It won’t,” Rowan said. He couldn’t guarantee that. But he also couldn’t imagine living another second of his life without Theo.
Theo was quiet again, and now Rowan was a little freaked out.
“Teddy,” he said, looking up at him. Theo met his gaze with a worried look. “I love you. And I’m going to fight for you every day.”
“I know. I trust you. I love you, too. Life is just chaos. Anything could happen.”
“If anything could happen, then happiness could happen. Building a life together could happen.”
“Look at you with the pep talks,” Theo said with a weak laugh.
“If I believe in anything, it’s us, alright?”
Theo took a deep breath and nodded. “Us,” he repeated.
Rowan was exhausted, body beaten down by hockey, heart pushed to its limit by the man he loved. But he knew bone deep that Theo was the one for him, and that had to be enough for now.
They finally curled up together to sleep, all of Theo’s gorgeous skin pressed against Rowan’s back. He felt more like himself than he ever had.
CHAPTER27
THEO
If Theo thoughtthat watching Rowan play NHL hockey was incredible, he was utterly humbled by the show he was putting on in the playoffs. Rowan had more points than any other player in the postseason this year by a wide margin. He was already being talked about as being a prime contender for the Conn Smythe. Theo could easily imagine Rowan winning the MVP award.
As they hopped over the boards for their last shift in game six of the conference finals, he ran out the clock with Rowan on his wing and he had the overwhelming feeling of gratitude just to witness Rowan’s greatness. He would blame his simping on his feelings, or heart, or whatever, if the rest of the hockey world wasn’t also on their knees for number thirteen along with Theo.
As the clock ran down, the rest of their team spilled over the boards to join them, everyone throwing their gloves and helmets off. They lined up to shake hands with the Fame and put on the silly Western Conference Champions hats that Theo already knew would go directly into his pile of sentimental hockey ephemera.
He was buzzing, and even though they were on LA’s ice, there were plenty of Serpents fans there, staying to cheer them on as the Campbell Bowl was brought onto the ice and presented to Vic. The list of hockey superstitions was long, and Vic declined to touch the Western Conference Champions trophy as they were all arranged around it for a photo.
Theo had never felt this good playing hockey before. Every time he thought some change was going to fundamentally fix him, whether that was a change in team or league, the old saying, “wherever you go, there you are” haunted him. Even when things were good, they were always shy of being great.
Now he knew it wasn’t a team or league problem. It was a Rowan problem. And now that he had Rowan back, he could get on with the rest of his life. Part of him had always been waiting for Rowan.
The locker room was finally celebrating. They had a trophy. When they got home from their roadie, they would have their twelfth Stanley Cup playoff game-winning puck to put into the display board in their own locker room.
They only had four wins standing between them and the hardest trophy to win in sports. And while he was proud of the Western Conference win, and the banner that would go up to hang from the rafters in their building at the beginning of next season, he didn’t come this far just to come this far.
The equipment managers had started setting up Rowan’s and Theo’s stalls next to each other, and they barely got any time to themselves after they finally left the ice before there were reporters gathering around the two of them. Rowan had another four-point night, and Theo had a goal and an assist.
Theo wasn’t offended when Rowan was requested by the reporters that night. He was never surprised when people wanted to put the spotlight on Rowan, and while it bothered him in the years after the draft, it didn’t bother him now. His heart ripped open with the raw pride he felt whenever Rowan achieved anything.
“You get both of us,” Rowan told the reporters, nudging Theo to stand up too to face the phones and digital recorders. He hooked an arm around Theo’s neck, which only worked because Rowan was still wearing skates, and Theo had taken his off.
“You two sure are double trouble out there. Before Rowan signed with the Serpents, did you two strategize this move?”
“Honestly, we hadn’t been in too close of contact. You know what hockey does to friendships,” Rowan said, being graceful about the way the season started. “I chose the Serpents because I believed we would be able to do this together. Getting my best friend back was an incredible bonus.”
“You wouldn’t have followed Theo to a different team?”
