Epilogue

KAYDEN

AUGUST - MAINE

I t didn't take much convincing to get Maddox to come home with me. This time. And for the entire summer, no less.

He was a bit overwhelmed about meeting my big family, but slowly, he came around. Rory was the first one he warmed to, as my brother was into everything tech, and my boyfriend was the same.

We got weekday jobs; me at a local tennis club and Maddox at a restaurant. The restaurant job was his therapist's idea. It was important for Mad to get out and meet people, and not isolate like he wanted to.

So, while I cleaned the clubhouse and took care of the courts, Maddox was busy managing delivery app orders. Maddox was fast, and he worked with a small team, so it worked out. And he was still taking freelance web gigs, so with all that, we had enough money for anything we wanted. Most of it went into our savings. We were planning a backpacking trip next summer to Italy and France. Maddox got interested in researching his mom's family history and discovered that his great-grandparents were from Normandy. Not only that, but he had distant relatives still living in northern France.

Most of the summer, we biked around southern Maine, exploring beaches, rivers, and parks. I had my dad's pickup truck for our beach days. On Fridays after work, we wandered into town for a lobster roll and, often, an ice cream. We ran into Summer a few times. Jealous brat that Maddox was, he always took hold of my hand. The weekends we spent at the beach, learning to surf, playing volleyball, and lazing about.

Like we were now. Spread out on towels, on our backs, getting burnt, watching the sun slowly dip into the horizon.

I glanced at my wrist, smiling.

"I know it was you," I blurted out.

"It was me what?" he muttered.

I turned to look at him and, for a moment, I forgot what I was going to say. Can you blame me? Maddox wore nothing but a black speedo, his earring, and my bracelet. Hot as hell. Oh, and he was rocking a new tattoo on his chest, over his left pec. He'd had it done in June. It was the number two made up of ten tiny bees.

Two and ten. Him and me. My angry bee. Or, just bee now. Not so angry anymore.

When he revealed the tattoo to me (on my twentieth birthday no less), I teared up. He still hadn't said he loved me, but he sure as fuck showed me.

"The bracelet kit," I replied. "You bought it for me. I thought at first that it was Dane, but it was you."

Maddox grunted, rolled over to his belly, and buried his face in his arms.

"You don't need to say anything," I quipped. "I know it was you."

He finally lifted his head, his eyes squinting.

"And?"

"You had it bad for me," I teased. "I knew it."

"Not had. Have," he replied with a smirk, leaned over, and kissed me.

"Right back at you, baby."

Maddox

A stolen kiss on a public beach was quick. Too quick.

"Time to go home?" I suggested.

Kayden got up so fast that he nearly tripped on his towel.

"I take it that's a ‘yes'?" I chuckled, taking in the sight of my beautiful boyfriend, tanned, and looking fine as fuck in tight board shorts.

"It's a hell yes," he replied.

I couldn't help but smile in return. I was doing a lot of that this year and all because of Kayden.

We gathered up our towels, bodyboards, and backpacks. Once we got the truck loaded with our gear, he slipped into the driver's seat, and I got in beside him. We headed off down the road, taking the route that followed the coastline.

I reached for his free hand, interlocking our fingers tightly. I was doing a lot of that lately, too. And sometimes, in public. Coming out wasn't all easy, though. But once our teammates saw that who we were on the ice didn't change, they settled. Or they kept their opinions to themselves. Axel had no more issue, or if he did, he kept it to himself. Silas and most of the other guys told us straight up they had no problem. We moved on. And that number one college hockey spot that our team was vying for? We'd clinched it, one game at a time. Our successful hockey season was proof enough that Kayden and I were committed to the team and to winning.

"You okay?" Kayden asked me.

"Yeah, you know, thinking about this year. Everything that's happened. So many changes."

I squeezed his hand tighter.

"A lot of them," he replied. "The best kind."

It was true. I thought about my mom and what she'd say about all this. About me. About me and Kayden. The sun hit my shoulders, warm and comforting, like one of her hugs.

Be brave, honey.

"I love you."

The words were barely audible, but I'd said them.

Suddenly, Kayden let go of my hand, steered the car to the side of the road, and parked. We turned to each other, and he reached for me, cupping my neck.

I was shaking. So was he.

"Did you just say you loved me?"

I nodded, too choked up for a moment to do anything else.

"I broke my own rule."

Kayden smiled and pulled me in for a resounding kiss. I held on just as tight.

"I love you, too," he whispered against my lips. "And you didn't break anything. Remember? Our relationship, our rules."

"Right. And everyone else can fu…"

Kayden interrupted my favorite expression with another kiss.

And you know what? I didn't mind one bit.

Thank you for reading Rule Breaker ! Rivals Axel and Jace are getting their story in Play Maker , Bar Down Book 2.