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“About?” he asks.
“Me quitting. Stupid, right?”
He grins as he shrugs. “Doesn’t matter what I think.”
Making a face, I say, “Yes, it does. I want to know.”
“The truth?” he asks, his brows coming up, and my heart sinks to my stomach.
“Truth.”
Looking down at our hands, he kisses the back of my hand as he holds it with both of his. Biting into his lip, he looks up at me and I can see it in his eyes. He’s hesitating because he’s worried I’ll get mad, which means he wants me to quit.
“You want me to quit,” I supply, and he shakes his head.
“No way. I want you to do what makes you happy. Hockey is that, and you’ve worked hard, Bay. But I do I want you safe.”
Holding his gaze, I think that over before asking, “But if you had a say?”
“I’d beg you to quit and I’d wrap you in bubble wrap, but that’s just me being overprotective. It’s part of being the boyfriend guy,” he says with a goofy grin, and I smile back.
“Yeah, I get that. It’s the same with the dad thing too, I guess.”
“For sure, we care about you. We don’t want anything to happen to you, and it’s hard to remember that you’re the strongest girl in the history of ever.”
“I just don’t want him doubting me,” I say, letting out a breath. “Or you.”
“I’d never doubt you,” he promises. “You don’t want to quit, right?”
“No fucking way.”
“Then don’t,” he says simply. “No one can control you but you.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
“Come on, control freak, you should know that,” he teases, lacing his fingers with mine before sending me a small grin. I smile back as he says, “But no matter what you choose, Baylor, I believe in you and stand behind you, one hundred percent.”
Yup, my heart just exploded in my chest. But wasn’t that what my dad was supposed to say? I’m not sure how that makes me feel, but soon I’m pulling him to me and out of his seat. He grins as our lips meet, and as I kiss him, I can’t believe how important it was for him to say that to me. For him to believe in me. Dragging back, I cup his jaw while my finger swirls through the scruff on his jaw.
“Thank you,” I whisper, and his eyes darken as he looks deep into my eyes.
“For?”
“For believing in me.”
Leaning into me, he brushes his nose against mine before sucking in a deep breath. He wants to say something, I can see it in his eyes, but instead he kisses my top lip and whispers against it, “Always, Baylor.”
Slamming her bag on my bed, Delanie looks over at me and shakes her head. “Only you get a concussion the week we come to visit!”
I laugh as Mandie hugs me tightly. “Really though, what the hell?” she teases, and I roll my eyes.
“I’m fine, completely fine, been skating all week,” I say with my hands up in a calm-down motion.
“Still, that’s dumb.”
“’Cause I wanted to get knocked the fuck out by Wilkie! You guys should yell at him.”
Delanie sets her eyes on me, her hands on her hips as she nods quickly. “You know I did. I even told everyone he has herpes, but it didn’t matter, he got suspended for the rest of the year. Bye-bye, draft,” she sings as she lies down on my bed.
