AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My footsteps were light as I walked over and pressed the button. The car was already at our floor so we stepped inside. Thor brushed up against my leg and I reached down to pet him. The silence between Mac and I was borderline suffocating. I wanted off the damn elevator as soon as possible. I let Thor distract me until we reached the ground floor and the doors were sliding open again.
Mac stepped out first, leading Thor with him, and I followed after them, walking through the building until we were walking out the front door. As we reached the sidewalk, I fell into step beside him. The tension was thick in the air and silence enveloped us. We walked about fifty feet before I reached for his hand and pulled him to a stop.
“Mac, stop.”
He slowly turned around to face me, his eyes searching mine. “What’s wrong?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “You tell me. You’re acting really strange and I don’t particularly like the way it’s making me feel.”
“We need to talk about last night,” he said softly, dropping his eyes to the ground before looking back at me. “I spoke with your father tonight.”
Based on the conversation I had with my father, this wasn’t adding up and I didn’t like it at all. “And what did he tell you?”
“That I can date you and still play for the Vipers.”
I stared at him for a beat, feeling my heart beginning to race in my chest. “Is that not something you want?”
He tilted his head to the side. “It’s everything I want.”
“So, then what is wrong?”
He shifted his weight on his feet. “That’s a lie. I want more than that.”
My breath caught in my throat. “What?”
Throwing me off guard, he closed the distance between us and reached out to cup the side of my face. “I don’t want to date you, Juliette. I want you to be my girlfriend. I want this to be official, not just some fucking fling. Or like we’re going on dates to get to know each other. I know what I want, and it’s you.”
I was still so goddamn confused. “Why the hell were you acting so weird then? Why were you acting like you were going to end things with me instead?”
“Because I fucking love you, Juliette,” he said in a rush, his tone half angry. “I’m not the best with intense emotions like this and I was still trying to figure out how I was going to tell you, so there you go. I’m in love with you, Juliette Anderson, and I want you—all of you. Today, tomorrow, every day until you decide you don’t want me anymore.”
My eyes widened and my lips parted as his words seeped into my bones. “You love me?”
“Yes.” He let out a breath, like he was taking a weight off his chest just by admitting that out loud to me. His eyes were soft and gentle as they shifted between both of mine. “If you’re going to reject me, can we just do it now?”
There it was. The truth behind why he was acting the way he was. Not only was he having trouble deciding how to tell me he loved me, he was also afraid to tell me. He was afraid to tell me because he was worried I didn’t feel the same way.
And I never wanted to assure him more than I did in that moment.
“I’m not going to reject you, Mac.” Reaching up, I laid my hand over his and stared up at him. “I’m in love with you, you idiot.”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You are?”
“Is it not obvious?”
“I mean, I don’t know,” he said with a shrug and a chuckle that was laced with a sigh of relief. “I knew you had feelings for me, but I wasn’t sure if I was being delusional by thinking you felt the same way I did.”
“Well, you’re not being delusional, because I do.” I laughed softly, reaching for his waist with my other hand. “I love you, Mac Sullivan. Even if you are annoying and get on my damn nerves. Since you’ve entered my life, I don’t really care to experience it without you anymore.”
“Good,” he said with a smile as his mouth dipped down to mine. “You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me now.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I said, but my smile fell as I remembered that it was my turn to share a truth with him. It was time that I fully opened up to him and let him in. If I shared my past with him, it would really prove to him that he wasn’t delusional. “I’m ready to tell you about why I don’t play hockey anymore.”
He pulled back, his gaze colliding with mine. “You don’t have to do that.”
I nodded. “Yes, I do. I want to let you in completely, Mac. Not half, not three quarters. This is how I let you in fully.”
“Okay,” he said quietly, as he stroked the sides of my face with the pads of his thumbs.
