Page 91 of Yard Sale

I lingered where his pulse was still hammering, though that was also starting to slow down, and I arched into him when he ran a hand up and down my spine.

“Are you alright?” I asked in a near whisper.

He curled his free hand around me. “Yes. That was a lot, but I think I needed it.”

I shuffled us around until his head was lying on my chest, his ear directly above my heart, and I pushed fingers into his hair. “You are so perfect. Do you know that?”

He huffed. “I think you might be biased.”

“Ask me if I give a fuck,” I said, and he laughed. “I’m serious. I don’t care if I’m biased. Tiago, you are maybe the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I need you to know that I am going to work hard not to fuck this up.”

He lifted his head. His eyes were on my face, but I had no idea if he could see anything. Then he reached up and traced a touch over my jaw. “You’re not going to fuck anything up. Whatever we decide, we figure it out together. And if you choose to take this job and I decide to stay with the Legends for another season, that doesn’t mean we lose each other. It just means we’ll work hard.”

“You’re such a fucking hockey captain,” I muttered.

His grin widened, and he pushed up suddenly, dragging me beneath him until he was hovering over my torso. He leaned in and nuzzled his nose against mine. “I will give you a pep talk every fucking day until you’re ready to believe in us.”

Warmth spread from my chest to the rest of my limbs. If I hadn’t spilled every ounce of come I had left in my body, I might have gotten hard again. I liked bossing him around, but I also liked when he took charge of the emotional parts. Those were where I felt weakest.

“You really think we could do that?” I asked. “Make it work even though we’d literally never see each other all year?”

“I think we can do anything,” he said. After a moment, he settled down against me and let his hand rest over my sternum. “I think if we want it enough—and I know I do—then it doesn’t matter where we are.”

Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to feel his words, almost like a physical touch. They were so different from when Leon and I spoke about our future. He was so insistent that I give up what I wanted to follow him because his job was more stable. His was more important. I was the one who should twist myself around to fit his shapes.

And if I wasn’t willing, it meant that I didn’t love him enough.

It was hard to accept that he was the exception and Tiago was the rule. Or maybe it was neither. Maybe Tiago was just it for me.

“Can you carry a bit more of the faith for us while I figure myself out?” I asked.

He tilted my head toward him with a single finger and kissed me. “Yes. I can.”

Yes, I can. Just like that.

I still had no idea what the rest of our lives were meant to look like, but at least for now, the path forward was alight with hope.

In the morning, Tiago kissed me and then told me he was going to his appointment alone. “It’s going to be a long wait for no results,” he’d said as he sipped on the coffee I brewed. “And I think I’m going to stop by my parents’ after.”

I bristled. “Honey, do you really want to be around them alone?”

He took in a deep breath, then closed his eyes and nodded. “There are some things I wanted to say to them, and I feel braver now. But I want to do this on my own.”

“If you need me, even at the very last second,” I started.

He set his mug down on the counter and then held his hands out, sweeping me into a kiss the moment he had me in his grasp. “I know that. And I love you for it.”

I stood there, stunned for a moment, because I didn’t expect him to just say it like that. We’d tiptoed around our feelings, and he’d gently touched on the words, but to use them like they were solid?

Like he meant them?

Like there was no hesitation at all?

“Just for that?” I pressed.

He laughed and pinned me to the counter, his teeth going for my neck. “Do you want me to make a list of all the reasons?”

“Yes,” I said, gasping as he bit down. “I fucking love lists.”