Page 65 of Want You

“Yeah? Am I included in these future things?” he asked, slipping into the water and making his way around the tub to her.

“To my shock and ultimate delight, yes,” she admitted as he ran his nose along her jaw. “Nathan?”

“Yeah?” he asked, pulling back and giving her space to say whatever was on her mind.

Those words threatened to reveal themselves again. “Thank you again.”

“You don’t have to thank me every other hour, Autumn. I should be thanking you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know if I’d be willing to take a stand if it wasn’t for you. I’m not proud of that but…” He leaned back and sighed. “I don’t know,” he said again. “Maybe I would have eventually. This kind of behaviour was never something I liked or encouraged. Maybe I would have said something eventually if you weren’t here. I’m not a rookie anymore, I have influence in some spaces.”

Octavia slid sideways and rested her head on his shoulder, reaching for his hand beneath the water. “This isn’t a problem a single person can change, Nathan,” she murmured. “If you had spoken up years ago, what would have happened?”

“Nothing to the guys most likely. I may have found myself traded or bouncing around the minors. Hard to say, but regardless of my talent, if I was seen as rocking the boat or disrupting the norm, I wouldn’t have been given much of a chance to do it for long.”

“And now?”

“I’ve got three years left on my contract. Millions stashed away. Brand deals with companies that would likely support me speaking up and, above all, influence. But most importantly,” he said, turning to her. “I’ve got you, and with you I feel like I can do just about anything.”

“Relax.” Octavia climbed into his lap. “You’re going to get lucky. You don’t have to give me any credit.”

She expected him to smile, but he only looked more serious.

“I mean it, Octavia. You factor into every decision I make, whether I realize it or not. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I’ve liked women, but I have never been consumed by anyone the way you consume me. I’m a good guy, but with you I want to be even better. I don’t want my legacy to be that I was good at hockey. I want it to be for something bigger. You give me the confidence to pursue that. And I know this is all corny as hell, and I may be regretting sharing all these unfiltered thoughts as I’m trying to sleep tonight, but I⁠—”

“I love you,” Octavia interrupted.

“What?” Nathan stammered, his eyes widening in shock. “Wh…what did you say?”

The confidence she’d said it with the first time seemed to have disappeared as she reached for those three words again. It was odd considering he likely wasn’t going to be bothered by it. He was basically confessing that he loved her without saying it. But she’d never said those words to anyone before. She had been convinced she wasn’t going to say them first this time around. After all, Nathan had been the one who showed all his feelings first. He’s the one who had done all the legwork to get this relationship really going.

Maybe it was time for her to take the lead, though, so she inhaled deeply through her nose, took his beautiful face between her hands, looked him dead in the eye, and repeated herself. “I love you, Nathan Albertson.”

When he didn’t respond right away, she felt herself melting from the inside out. Was that something that could happen? Was it physically possible to do that?

He didn’t look upset, at least. She wasn’t even sure how to describe how he looked.

“I…” He paused and the melting sensation gave way to panic.

“You don’t have to say it back. I’ve just been thinking about saying it, and then I sort of just said it without thinking, but if you aren’t ready or⁠—”

“If I’m not ready?” He shook his head as if in shock. “Octavia, I love you. I love you in a way I didn’t even know was possible to love another person.” She felt not just her cheeks heat, but her entire body at those words. “I’ve been holding back those words for way too long because I was so freaked out I’d say them and scare you off.”

“Really?”

Nathan laughed, sat up, and gently took her face in his hands. “Octavia, how could you possibly doubt that I’ve been in love with you for an embarrassing amount of time? And how could I not be? You’re brilliant, beautiful, thoughtful, and you make me happier than I’ve ever been. I feel like I hit the fucking jackpot that you said yes to trying this thing with me.”

“So it wasn’t just my bedroom skills that hooked you?”

“Don’t get me wrong, those are a nice bonus, but I wouldn’t care about them if you weren’t all those other things. I love that we can fuck and then lie in bed having an intelligent conversation. I’m obsessed with the fact I can sprawl you out on the kitchen island and do wicked things to you, then sit down and enjoy my coffee while you talk about your latest book. The sex is nothing without all the other stuff. And I’m sorry you got stood up, but fuck, I’ve never been so damn happy that someone else missed his shot. His loss has been my gain.”

“You know, for a hockey player, you’re very well-spoken.”

“What else am I good at, for ya know, a hockey player?” he asked, kneading her ass and pulling her harder against him.

Mornings at the cottage were quickly becoming Octavia’s favourite thing. There was no sound of the city seeping in through the windows. No sound of neighbours vacuuming, closing doors, yelling at their spouses or children. The only thing she could hear was the soft sound of Nathan breathing next to her. She was aware that come summer there would be the sound of boats and various other water activities, but she remembered loving mornings at the cottage as a kid.