28. Mer - Coming Home

After that weekend, there wasn’t a day that we didn’t see each other. Colt was consistently making plans for us every day, finding me at the rink dressed in his sweats with a backwards hat and an adorable grin on his face, asking if I wanted dinner with him and Lucy, asking if I wanted to stop by the cider mill with them, and inviting me to bonfires at his house.

Because of all his plans, I didn’t really have space to overthink everything, and I was barely spending any time at my place. My apartment had become a glorified closet at this point.

“Do you think that’s bad?” I asked Piper one day in the locker room. “That I'm spending every night over at his place? Like maybe I'm jumping in too quickly?” It just didn’t feel real, that we could have this much happiness again.

Piper sat in thought for a second. She maneuvered to lay down on the bench and she kicked her skates up on the locker room wall like she’d done millions of times as a teen back at Centre Ice. “Does it make you happy?”

“Yes.” I loved spending time with him and Lucy. I loved falling asleep in his arms.

“Then fuck the rest,” she said with a shrug.

“Yeah, fuck the rest,” I said, feeling a dopey grin take over my face.

Piper laughed. “Your face, Mer.”

“I know!” I covered my eyes with my gloved hands, feeling stupid for feeling so giddy. “I just didn’t think I could feel this way anymore.”

“I love it.” She gave me a kind smile. “You’re happy.”

I was … but my heart stilled as I studied my best friend. “Are you?” I asked gently.

“I will be.” A wicked grin overtook her face. “When I win that gold.”

“You will,” I told her with confidence.

She blew out a breath. “Yeah, Patrick just needs to get his butt back here so we can train.”

My eyebrows knit together in confusion because I thought Patrick was supposed to be back already. But looking at Piper, she didn’t seem too worried about it, so I pushed the concern aside.

Later that day, I went to the cider mill with the guys and Lucy. Colt held my hand while Lucy ran ahead in her cute overalls and boots to the playground. JP and Kappy flanked her sides.

“The little princess and her bodyguards,” I said with a laugh, hugging Colt’s arm.

“Yeah.” He arched an amused eyebrow at his buddies, who were seemingly having just as much fun on the playground as Lucy.

After purchasing donuts, cider, and other warm drinks, we all sat on a bench overlooking a little pond. Kappy was telling a story when he cut himself off with a shriek that sounded like it came from a little girl. He started batting at the air like a crazy person.

“A wasp! It’s a wasp, guys!” he yelled in panic as he ran away from us.

A second later, JP went still by my side.

“What?” My eyes widened.

With a frown on his face, Colt calmly reached out and grabbed something in my hair, then threw it to the ground before stomping on it.

“Was it on me?!” I yelped.

Colt smirked. “Not anymore.”

“That was…” I looked at his strong jawline and the slight curl to his hair, “very attractive.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed. “You mean you’re happy I’m not running away all scared like Kap?”

“Yeah, it feels like you’re not scared of anything,” I said with a laugh, leaning against him.

“Eh, there is one thing,” he said casually. He took another sip of his pumpkin spice latte and the foam stuck to his upper lip.

“Oh?” I smoothed my thumb over his lips.

He stared down at me with serious eyes. His palm went to the side of my face. “Losing you,” he whispered. “So don’t go anywhere, alright?”

His words pulled at my heartstrings, but I forced myself to roll my eyes. “That was such a line.”

“But did you like it?” He wagged his eyebrows.

“Ye–”

He leaned over and kissed me full on the lips, stealing my yes. I could feel the smile in his kiss and my hand went to his scruff-covered jaw. He tasted like fall and coming home.

Throughout that week, I’d catch Colt watching in the stands more often than not, and he’d occasionally stop by our locker room during zams holding hot chocolates for me and Piper.

“You know… I hate men, but you’re alright,” Piper mused, holding the steaming cup close to her red-tipped nose after a particularly cold session.

He chuckled, hauling me against his chest to warm me up for a second. “That’s high praise from you, thanks P.”

“Don’t let me down now,” Piper warned with a little grin.

“Never,” he said, holding a hand to his chest before dropping a kiss on my lips. “How’s the knee?”

“Not bad,” I said quietly, and that was thanks to him. He was consistently making me try new things, like it was his personal mission to ease my pain. Each night he was either giving me different wraps to try out, or bringing home different remedies– like red light therapy pads and compression sleeves, and I had a hunch that he’d been asking Ryan about massage techniques, all of which seemed to help keep the pain at bay.

“Good,” he said with a grin. “By the way, Lucy wanted me to invite both of you over for trick or treating later.”

I’d totally forgotten about Halloween. It was easy for holidays to slip your mind as an adult. That was kind of a hidden perk of having a child– that you got to experience all the holiday fun once again through their little eyes. I looked at Piper in hopes that she’d wanna join, but she shook her head against the idea.

“That’s alright. Dick will probably be there, won’t he?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain as she studied her perfectly manicured fingernails.

Colt grimaced. “I’ll threaten him? Make sure he’s on his best behavior?”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Piper waved him off. “You guys have fun.” She gave me an encouraging smile, but I couldn’t help but think that she was faking it. I hated that she was losing out on fun because she was afraid to interact with Kappy, but I didn’t know how to fix it.

Colt must’ve had the same thought, because we shared a worried look.

“I saw that,” Piper claimed. “I am fine , don’t worry about me. Seriously. I have a hot date with Carl, some wine, and Shock-tober movies, muhahah,” she evil-laughed like a mad scientist, making me laugh as well. No one loved scary movies more than Piper.

“Who’s Carl?” Colt inquired.

“Her cat.” I patted his chest. “Literally the nicest cat I’ve ever met. He’s so cute.”

Colt pulled a face. “You don’t want a cat, do you?” he asked hesitantly. “I mean,” he rubbed his forehead, “I’ll get one for you, but–”

“No, you’re safe.” I laughed. “But if Lucy meets him then you might have some trouble on your hands.” I paused. “Wait, you’d really get one for me?”

“Yes,” he hugged me tighter, “anything for you,” he dropped in a low voice.

Piper made a loud gagging noise. “Sorry, you guys are too much,” she said, making both of us laugh like idiots in love.

While I hoped Piper wasn’t lying about being fine, I couldn't get over how grateful I was for having both of them in my life again.

In just a few weeks, my life had completely transformed, and I felt like the luckiest person on the planet.

I could live every day like this, with him, forever. It felt like Colt and I were stealing time, flying down a highway in a getaway car, leaving all our real life worries behind and just loving each other.