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“Mark me all you want, baby,” I said with a smile, “I want them to know.”
He found a dirty towel to clean us up with, then pulled the pillow out from under my ass, flipped it around, and put it under his head as he snuggled beside me. He pulled the sheet over us. “I still can’t believe you did that at the game,” he mused, “You didn’t have to come out in front of everyone all of a sudden like that. Like, you could have done it gradually.”
I turned onto my side to face him, flinching a little. Damn. I knew I was going to be walking funny the next day. He touched my face. “Did I hurt you? Are you ok?”
I smiled at his concern and moved my head to kiss his fingers. “I promise you baby, it’s a good hurt.” He grinned. I went on, addressing his previous statement. “I told you I wanted to come out, I was just scared. When I thought I lost you, I couldn’t…Jamie…I don’t want to live without you. Ever.”
He kissed my face gently, all over it. “You don’t ever have to,” he whispered.
“I realized in those weeks how badly I regretted hiding you, and how ridiculous it seemed to have done so when I was faced with the thought of losing you. You’re the only thing that matters. I want them all to know I love you. I want the whole world to know that you’re mine. I don’t care if anyone doesn’t like it. I’m so proud to have you, and I’m so in love with you. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and the most amazing person I’ve ever met. If someone or something tells me I shouldn’t have you, then I don’t want that person or thing in my life.” I knew he was aware I was partially speaking about hockey. If a recruiter had seen it and decided I wasn’t right for their team, then so be it. Jamie was all I wanted. Period. I learned that the real hard way.
“I love you so much, Caden,” he whispered, “But I don’t ever want you to give up anything you love for me. I’m right here. No matter what. And I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
I touched his hair and gave him another kiss, smiling at him as I laid my head back on my pillow. We fell asleep holding each other.
???
I woke up to the sun streaming through my window, Jamie still in my arms, and Jesse asleep in his own bed beside us. I was glad Jamie had covered us with the sheet before we fell asleep. I hadn’t even heard Jesse come in. Jamie’s head was buried in my chest, but he must have felt me wake up. “Caden? Can you help me to the bathroom? My crutches are…somewhere over by the door.” He pulled his head back and looked at me hopefully.
I chuckled. “Of course. Come on.” I sat up and rummaged around in the dresser at the foot of my bed, finding a pair of sweat-shorts and pulling them on before standing beside the bed. I moved too quickly, though, and cried out more loudly than I meant to. “Ow.” Maybe I needed help too, actually.
Jamie was sitting up in bed, pulling the sheet around his waist. He gave a little laugh even though he tried to cover it up. “Sorry,” he said.
“Worth it,” I replied, limping a little as I moved to get in front of him and help him up.
“Oh…my…god.” I rolled my eyes as Jesse spoke up behind me. “Caden Conner! Did you get your cherry popped last night?”
“Shut up, Jesse,” I said, as I leaned down to help Jamie up, refusing to flinch or let a grunt of pain slip out as I did so. Jamie, grinning, put his arm around me and held the sheet around his waist as we both hobbled to the bathroom.
I stayed outside the door waiting for Jamie, and after several long seconds of feeling Jesse’s eyes on me, I finally looked at him, exasperated. He was grinning at me. “Sorry I missed that,” he said, “I should have come home early last night.”
I laughed at his absurdity. But I said, “Well, I can tell you, it was something.”
He clapped in excitement. “Ooh, something good or bad?”
Jamie opened the door and hopped back out, the sheet back around his waist as he reached for me. “Something amazing,” I said, gazing at the love of my life. “Mind blowing.
“Earth shattering,” Jamie put in, still grinning at me.
Jesse chuckled from his own bed. “You two are just too adorable and sweet to even mess with. You give me a cavity every time I try. It’s disgusting, really.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I said, reaching my bed and letting us both fall back into it. Jamie was still smiling at me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and snuggled closer. His arms. I could stay in them forever.
Epilogue
Jeff stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. I looked up and he grinned at me, reaching out and straightening my tie. “Man,” he said with a smirk, “back when we started school, I never thought you’d lock it down at twenty-four.”
“Yeah, neither did I,” I admitted, “But when you find someone and your entire world suddenly revolves around them, you have to put a ring on it before you let them get away.”
He laughed. “Naw, man. I don’t think Jamie ever would have gone anywhere. But I’m happy for you both.” He dusted off the shoulder of my jacket. “You ready?”
“Born ready,” I replied, and honestly, that was the truth. When I was young, I wondered if I’d ever meet someone who literally completed me, my other half, a person I would never want to live without. I doubted it back then. I knew that some people found that person, but others never did. I didn’t think it was even possible for me. But I’d found mine, and I was more than ready to tell him, “I do.”
Jeff and I stepped into the narrow hallway. Amber was coming out of a door ahead of us. “Oh!” she cried when she saw us, quickly shutting the door behind her. I smirked, knowing Jamie was behind that door. “You can’t see each other yet!” she cried, “It’s bad luck.”
“He already sent me a picture,” I said, still smirking. He’d tossed around the idea of wearing a dress, but he wasn’t feeling it. He wanted us to be seen as equals, so we were dressed similarly. The picture he’d sent was a mirror selfie, but he’d cropped his head out of the picture, because that apparently satisfied his superstitious side. He was shirtless in the photo, his tuxedo pants almost on, but still low enough for me to see that he was wearing those damn pole shorts with the mesh stripes he still had. He only wore them when he really wanted to get me hot and bothered. The record number of times I’d made him come in one night was holding at five, and those shorts were involved in that record breaker. Can’t wait for our wedding night, he captioned the photo. With a wink emoji. He’d be lucky if I didn’t drag him out of the crowd and into a dark corner before we made it to our wedding night.
Amber just snorted. “I’m sure he did. He’s almost ready. Caitlin is trying to help him with his hair.”
