Game Winner (The Penalty Kill Trilogy #3) (11 page)

“
You are not alone, Presley.” He places his fingers under my chin, forcing our eyes to connect. “Okay, technically, you’ll be here by yourself, but I’m only a few hours away and everyone else is a phone call away. If you don’t want your dad to pay for everything, then maybe get a part time job. You’ll make some new friends here too, you know. But no matter what, you are not alone.”

“
Oh, Levi, I know this going to make me sound like a spoiled brat, but I love my new apartment, and I couldn’t afford it without my dad.” I smile sadly at him. I couldn’t make it without his money, and I know that makes me look bad. “And you’re right about everything else. I guess I’m just nervous. I know that you’ll be nearby, you know, when you’re not traveling all over the US and Canada, playing hockey with the greats. So, I have one more question.”

“
And what would that be?”

“
Why didn’t you bite me? Since the very first time we had sex, we’ve always done that. Why not tonight?” I begged him to do it, and he still wouldn’t.

“
Just wanted to see what it would be like with you without the biting.” He shrugs. “What’s your verdict?”

“
The next time, I suggest you bite.” I point my finger right in his face.

“
God Levi isn’t the same without it, huh?” He smiles.

I throw my head back and laugh. “Exactly.”

Levi

Presley settles in next to me as I sit with my back leaning against the headboard with her head resting on my shoulder. I semi-avoided her question about marriage, but it was for good reason. I wanted to know where her mind was first. McCarthy buying an engagement ring definitely has both of us thinking about our future. I didn’t want to talk about our future yet because we wouldn’t have gotten to what was really bothering her. Maybe, now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time for us to discuss our future. There’s been a lot going on, especially lately, and I don’t want Presley to think that we’re not ever going to go anywhere.

“Smarty?”

“
Yeah?” She questions without looking.

“
Tell me what you want in life. What do you see for yourself, for us? I’m here and now seems like a good time to talk.”

Presley scoots to sit up like I am, turning her body to face me. “I want to graduate law school, become a lawyer, and be with you.”

I chuckle. “That’s it, huh? You only want three things?”

“
Well, if I get those, then everything thing else will fall into place. At least, I hope so.” She gives me a small smile. “What about you?”

“
My dreams have always been obvious, haven’t they?”

Smarty narrows her eyes. “Are you avoiding the question?”

I quickly kiss her. “No, I’m not. I want to play in the NHL, eventually finish my degree, and be with you,” I repeat her final words. “But-” Pausing, I realize what my main fear is.

“
What is it, Levi?” Presley presses when I take too long to continue.

“
I know we want to stay together, but I’m trying to go after what I’ve always wanted. It’s been hard on us both and we don’t know if I’ll ever make it in the NHL. Even then, I would be on the road a lot. Presley, I love you, okay? I was going to ask if you’re sure you want that part of my life in yours.”

Her lips lift a little in a smile. “‘I’d do anything, give everything, and lose it all if it meant having you in my life.’ That’s what you told me, remember?” I nod. “That’s how I feel about you too. I’m not going to give up on us.”

“Good. I wasn’t planning on letting you get away that easily anyway.”

She laughs. “You couldn’t get rid of me even if you wanted.”

I reach over to take her hand and hold it in mine. “So you want to get married one day?” I ask softly.

Presley nods. “One day.”

Gulping, I look down at our hands. “And kids? You want kids, Smarty? Way, way, way down the line.”

She laughs, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “Yes, eventually. I would like two at least, so they can have a sibling like I did.”

Her words are like a punch in the gut. Not that I’ve thought about this kind of thing before, but I’ve never envisioned myself as a father. Just the thought that one day I might be, makes me want to say, “Poor kid.” I don’t see myself in that scary role. Not now or further down the road. It isn’t that I wouldn’t want them one day, but I’m not sure that I would be any good at raising a child.

“
What do you want, Levi?” Presley asks, squeezing my hand as I bring my gaze back to her.

“
Honestly?” She nods, so I tell her the surest, most honest thing I’ve ever said. “I want whatever you want to the very last detail. That’s what will make me happy.”

Presley smiles before moving to snuggle against me. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Smarty.”

We fall asleep in the most perfect way, with Presley in my arms.

~ ~ ~

It’s taken some time, but the day is finally here. I’ve been working myself up to playing again and haven’t had any problems, thank God. Tonight, I’m back on the ice for a game. Jayson and Landon have been relentless with their jokes. I’m just glad none of them mention my injury directly. There’s no way I can handle a joke about that. Nerves are twisting and turning in my stomach. I’m almost pissed off about this.

But it’s my first game since “playing” with the Penguins, and I’m nervous. Presley nor Pops is here tonight, which is fine. In a way, I’m grateful. The locker room is buzzing with pre-game anticipation, and I quickly grab my phone, dialing the number I know by heart.

“
Levi?” She answers after four rings. “Is everything okay? The game is about to start, isn’t it?”

“
Yeah, in a few minutes. I wanted to talk to you for a minute.”

Presley is quiet for a second before she says, “Go play hockey, Levi. Don’t worry about anything else.”

She’s right. I need to
play
and not worry about anything other than that. “Thanks, Smarty. I should get going.”

“
Call me later. Love you.”

“
I love you too,” I tell her and then hang up.

“
Aw, Levi needed a pep talk from his girl,” Jayson mocks from behind me, and I hear Landon chuckling.

“
Shut the hell up.” I even laugh too because now, I’m ready to play.

I feel good during warm ups. Skating onto the ice before the game feels like coming home. The cool air and my skates slicing into the ice makes my blood pump faster, filling me with adrenaline. Time seems to be in slow motion as I stretch, warm up, and then wait for the minutes to countdown for the game. I can practically hear the ticking as the seconds pass until the puck drops.

The first hit I took didn’t phase me much, but I would be lying if a worried thought didn’t cross my mind. One thing is for sure. I’m not invincible. I keep pace with the game, focusing on my task, and that is to finish this with a win. After about halfway through the first period, my mind has surrendered itself to hockey completely, keeping tabs on where guys are and where the puck is. Jayson battles for the puck in the corner before passing it to Landon, who passes it to me. I slap it hard and it fumbles its way through the goalie’s five hole.

Score!

My grin is huge as my teammates slap me on the back. Presley can probably see it from back home. We’ve been doing great so far this season as it is and we’re up 2-0 at the end of the first. I’m energized and pumped. God, it’s fucking awesome to be back.

Early in the second, I score again and within a few minutes, so does the other team. 3-1. But it’s like a scoring frenzy zone for a while because soon after their goal, I have another. Fuck yes! A hat trick, baby! 4-1. I’m rolling even higher than cloud nine. When I prepare for a faceoff, I sneer at the opposing player. Might as well mess with his head a little.

We hold our own throughout the rest of the second and through the third as well. Our goalie doesn’t let another puck move past him either. My goal is met when the buzzer sounds loudly, allowing us to walk away with a 4-1 win. This is better than what I was hoping for, by a long shot. The guys want to go celebrate and I’m in a celebrating mood, so I don’t say no. We’re on our way to a bar when my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket.

I pull it out and see that it’s Pops.

“That was a fantastic game, son,” he says as soon as I answer.

“
Thanks, Pops.”

“
Are you going out?”

“
Yeah, the guys and I are heading out right now,” I answer.

“
Okay. Well, have fun, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

We exchange goodbyes and just as I go to put my phone back, Presley is calling. With a grin, I repeat some of what my father said, “Let me guess? That was a fantastic game?”

She laughs. “Yes, it was! I had to call and tell you.”

“
Thanks, Smarty. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? We’re all going to a bar and we just got here.”

“
Oh, okay. Don’t overdo it or anything,” she orders with concern, but I can’t help but laugh. “What?”

“
Pops told me to have fun, and you’re cautioning me. It’s funny.”

She giggles. “Bye, Levi.”

I chuckle at her avoiding to comment on what I said. “Bye, Presley.”

Thanks to her calling, I’m the last to get out of the car. Almost everyone came tonight, so we easily fill this place up. I’m starved, so I order something to eat. Landon grabs my shoulder and shakes it a little.

“Honestly, Levi, you played like shit,” he laughs.

I smile. “And that’s still better than you.”

“Hey,” Jayson interrupts, dragging his eyes away from a pair of girls across the bar. “Don’t be an ass. Look at what we did for you.” He reaches his hands into his big jacket pocket and tosses three pucks on the table.

“
Thanks, guys.”

“
One for you, one for your old man, and one for your girl,” Landon adds.

“
They’ll love that. Thanks,” I repeat, really meaning it.

“
We figured you deserved something for your first hat trick ever,” Jayson laughs.

“
It was not my first hat trick,” I defend, but it doesn’t really matter.

Food comes and distracts half of us, myself included. Jayson starts talking with one of the guys about the pair of girls. The constant movement of Landon’s eyes tells me that he’s listening to them and watching the girls too. But he still manages to make conversation with me.

“Think the NHL will come calling again soon?” He asks.

“
Do you?” I question, because I still don’t want to think about that just yet.

“
If you keep playing like tonight, no doubt that they will. We all just have to keep playing our best. You basically disappeared and we haven’t really talked about your-”

“
And I rather we didn’t,” I interrupt. “Things are better; let’s leave it alone.”

He nods with understanding. “I’m going running in the morning, if you want to come. Jayson can’t keep up.”

Jayson sends him a glare before leaving our table, walking confidently to the girls he’s been watching. For a moment, I wonder what he says because they seriously laugh within seconds of him opening his mouth.

“
Sure, I’ll go,” I finally answer. I need to be working out more anyway and make sure I’m in tiptop shape at all times. I’m even having only one beer tonight. A mental grin appears in my head because being in shape makes me think about Presley.

Sometimes, I can’t believe my life. I get to surround myself with hockey, play it every day, and live the dream. One day, I’ll be in the NHL and it’ll be unbelievable, I’m sure. Momma would have been proud of my accomplishments so far, but I know that she wouldn’t be entirely happy about my current school situation. I’ll finish my degree eventually because I know she would want me to do that and I want to too.

Then there’s Pops, and having a man like that not only be my father, but to put up with me when I’m particularly difficult too has been just a blessing. He’s been a mountain of strength, love, and support my entire life, and even more so after Momma died. I hope that one day I can be even a little bit of the man he is. My parents and Presley deserve that.

And Presley. She has brought something into my life that neither my parents nor hockey could. Without her, I would be a disaster and my injury wouldn’t have healed as well either. Presley has helped me be better, in every sense. There’s no questioning that she supports me, keeps me going, and kicks me in the ass when I need it. She wants to be with me in the future? Good. Because I need her to be.

Every single second that has yet to come I need her to be in my life. Good, bad, wonderful, horrible, sad, or happy, I want to experience it all with her. My life requires that Presley be there for every moment. When I’m old, retired, and sitting on the couch watching hockey, I want to look back and see Presley in every single memory. It’s the only way I’ll live a happy, fulfilled life.

My mission is to make that a reality.