Page 100 of Tough Guy and the Show Off

Shaking my head, I glance over at him. “There you go again. Being romantic.”

“You bring it out in me.”

Once we’re in the car, I lean over and kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Everything you’ve done for us. I don’t take it for granted.”

“I know.” He smiles, reaching out and brushing his thumb across my cheek. “But I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Someday, I won’t have hockey anymore, and none of us know when that day will come. But I will have you, and that matters more than anything.”

My throat tightens with emotion. “Take me back to the hotel. I need you.”

“You’ve got me, baby. Forever.”

“Forever is good.”

“Hell yeah, it is.” He puts the car in drive and pulls into traffic. “We’re gonna be hockey’s first power couple. One day, maybe we really shake things up and I’ll wife you.” He laughs. “Wait. That’s wrong.”

I laugh too. “Maybe I’ll wife you.”

He turns to me briefly, a gleam of amusement in his eyes. “I’ll husband you?”

I can barely get the words out. “We’d get married?”

He falls silent for a few seconds, clearly lost in the same emotion I am. “It could be nice.”

“Yeah, it could be.”

The sentiment hangs in the air between us, and while he finishes the drive, I imagine a future where me and Trav are actually husbands. I like it.

“We’ll figure it out,” Trav says. “Together.”

Exhaling slowly, I squeeze his hand. “Together.”

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER - CHICAGO HUSKIES VS. TORONTO ROYALS

Nikola

Travis Show-Off Showalter is being a real pain in my ass tonight. He skates into the defensive zone, a.k.a. my house, with that shit-eating smirk on his pretty boy face. Vikrum is a good few strides behind him, which just leaves me between him and the goalie. Bialek has been playing like shit tonight, letting in goals a well-trained labradoodle could have blocked, so I’m not about to take any chances.

I try for a sweep to steal the puck, but Showalter takes a dive, splaying himself out on the ice and smothering the puck. Asshole. I roll my eyes as the ref’s whistle blares and Bozy Bozeman abandons his position in the Huskies’ defensive zone to charge down the ice and check if Showalter is okay.

No big surprise that Show is already getting up and dusting himself off, no harm done and clearly no lasting injuries. That doesn’t stop Bozy from checking though, and I can feel the crowd eating it up from here. Guaran-fucking-teed there are going to be a dozen videos going viral in the next few hours of Bozy checking Show for injuries and not-so-subtly glaring at me. They’re everyone’s favorite hockey duo. I thought fans were going to declare a national holiday when the announcement hit social media that Showalter signed with the Huskies and #ShowBeau-t was going to be resurrected.

My stomach churns uncomfortably and I scowl a little harder, both because I know that the ref is about to give me a two-minute penalty even though I didn’t touch Showalter, and because I kind of hate the two of them. It’s become an open secret in the league that they’re more than just best friends and teammates. They haven’t made an official announcement, but they never deny it when they’re asked directly either, and they don’t do much to hide it. Case in point—their coach is shouting at Bozy to get his ass back into the defensive zone and he’s taking his sweet-ass time making sure Show is okay first.

“Two-minute penalty,” the ref says, pointing me towards the box. I roll my eyes again and fight the urge to take a swing at Showalter when he grins.

“Two-minute penalty because Showalter can’t fucking skate?” I mutter loudly.

“Suck my dick, Bruiser,” Show responds, not bothering to keep his voice down.

My face heats and I hope like hell no one notices. No, I don’t want to suck Showalter’s dick, but the taunt hits way too close to home.

“Fucking fairies,” Liam Mueller, second-line defenseman and all around fucking skid mark grumbles in solidarity with me as I stomp into the box and throw my stick down.