Page 184 of The Waiting Game

Chuckling, Jonah softened against him. “True.”

“So stop worrying.” Felix brushed his lips across Jonah’s temple. “I love you. I want to be with you. Forever and always. You’re not a hobby, Jonah. You’re my best friend.”

“And more,” Jonah whispered.

“So much more.” Felix kissed him slowly, then pulled away. “Now, about the bulgogi …”

A short while later, when the marinating meat was safely ensconced in the refrigerator, Felix wrapped a hand around Jonah’s hip. “What are we going to do while it marinates?”

Jonah grinned. “Oh, I have one or two ideas.”

Later, when they were both sweaty and flushed from orgasms, Felix rolled over and tugged Jonah close. “Love you, Jo.”

“Love you too, babe.”

“Babe?” Felix squinted at him. “Really?”

Jonah shrugged. “I feel like it’s weird I don’t have a pet name for you.”

“And babe was the best you could come up with?”

“Would you rather I call you baby? Sweetie-pie?”

Felix made a face. “Not really.”

“I mean, you call me Jo and it’s … cute. I don’t have anything for you.”

“We’ll have to keep thinking about that one.”

“The good news is, we hopefully have a lot of time.”

“However long we have, I want to make the most of it.”

Felix slipped his hand into Jonah’s and squeezed. “Me too.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Locker cleanout day was never the most fun. Locker cleanout day after a loss like the Fisher Cats had suffered in Buffalo … yeah, Jonah would rather clean out his grandmother’s old landscaping van with a toothbrush than sit through that.

But knowing that Grandpa Cho’s ring sat on Felix’s finger for real now and they were together … well, it certainly softened the blow this year.

The team was subdued as they gathered their belongings to take home for the offseason and had their exit interviews with the media and Coach Casey.

Jonah’s exit interviews with the reporters were as uncomfortable as he’d expected, but he made it through and Casey looked genuinely relieved when he said that he and Felix had patched things up.

“Just remember next season that you have to keep your personal life out of the locker room and off the ice,” Casey said.

“I will,” Jonah promised.

Casey sighed, clasping his hands and leaning forward. “This is where I have to share some bad news. I won’t be your coach next season.”

“What?” Jonah asked, stunned.

“Adelaine has cancer. It’s treatable, thankfully, but I want to be home with her and the kids more. I love coaching you guys but this is a twenty-hour-a-day job.” He sighed. “It’s time my family gets that level of effort and dedication from me. Unfortunately, I have no idea what will happen in the next few months for the team, exactly. I’m not sure who will be taking over as head coach next season, but I know Pat is looking into some options.”

Jonah nodded at the news the GM was already searching for Casey’s replacement, feeling a little numb still. “I am so sorry to hear about Adelaine. I hope everything goes well with her treatment. And I totally understand you needing to step down but, wow, you’ll be missed.”

“Thanks, Jonah.” Casey stood and shook his hand. The handshake turned into a hug and Jonah got a little choked up for a minute. It was hard, saying goodbye to a coach who Jonah had looked up to for so long. He was a good man and a good coach.

---