Page 49 of The Promise

“Bullshit, why did you change it?” She pops a hip, my jersey now back in the box.

I grin at her, scrubbing a hand down my face. Why do I feel nervous? “Your lucky number is four right?” I say and she nods. “And you qualified for regionals yesterday wearing number four, right?”

Molly purses her lips, a sweet hint of sass flickering in her eyes. “Yes, and?”

“Well, I’ve always been number forty, since I was a kid.” I pause and Molly’s eyebrows lift, gesturing for me to continue. “I just thought I’d add our numbers together, forty and four, so you’re always on the ice with me.” Molly’s bright eyes twinkle with delight, before she slaps a dramatic hand to her chest. “Jesus Christ,” she sighs, “you’re going to kill me one day.” I laugh as she lands her ass on the bar stool beside me and plants a lingering kiss on my lips, one that takes me all the way back to the first kiss we ever shared. I swear I knew then that this girl was special, she was unlike anyone I’d ever met, her confidence unmatched and the energy she exuded that day had me feeling pulled in two different directions. In one way, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide from her, she was intimating, very intimidating to me back then. But there was some sort of magnetic curiosity about her that dragged me closer and closer, until suddenly, without warning, I was stuck, addicted to her.

One day we were strangers and the next day we weren’t. It didn’t happen over night, it wasn’t love at first sight like in the movies. Ours was a love that grew over time, creeping up on us and flying so far under the radar that neither of us thought to check if it was following us. Every time we kissed, every time we had sex. Every time she looked at me with those eyes, those fucking eyes that give me a reason to get up every morning, I fell further into the pit of heartache. A heartache I knew was coming for me, stalking me every time I was intimate with Molly, just waiting to pounce and take everything that was important to me. The love we have totally blindsided us both, it hit us straight in the face like a meteorite that we didn’t see coming. But we should have, we should have known this was where we’d end up, because all along it was obvious, she’s my fucking soulmate. The person who keeps me on earth when I feel like I'm being sucked into another universe, the person who holds my hand like I'm a child when we cross a busy street, but also makes me feel like more of a man than I’ve ever felt. She’s my sunshine, the brightest star in my sky and when she’s around, I can’t see anything or anyone else but her.

Molly

“Come on Cal, for fuck's sake, we’re going to be late.” I grumble, tapping my manicured nails against the wooden door frame, pulling my blonde braid over my shoulder with frustration. What is taking that girl so long? Callie emerges from around the corner of the hallway, her face like thunder and an aggressive finger pointing right at me. “I will kill you.” She practically growls, scraping her thick curls into a ponytail and striding towards me. Her ever growing belly almost knocks me out, as she passes through the open front door. I try to swallow the laugh that rumbles in my throat, but a tiny titter slips out and Callie glares at me, so scarily I almost piss my pants. She’s even more frightening than usual when she’s pregnant, but I know to tread lightly around her since she’s so close to giving birth now, so really it’s my own fault for winding her up.

I can’t help it though, pissing her off is my god given right as her best friend. She ducks into the lift in front of me and I jump in after her, just before the doors meet.

I eye her suspiciously. “I thought you don’t believe in taking the lift, you always say it’s lazy.”

“Yeah well, maybe I'm lazy now Mol. I am carrying a baby the size of a very large watermelon inside me.”

I laugh and then clamp a hand over my mouth. “Sorry,” I say to her and she drops her cheek to my shoulder, sighing. “This pregnancy is getting hard now, isn’t it?”

She nods, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly. “Yeah, it’s really draining me and the worst part is, I still have to push the thing out.”

“The thing?” I snicker, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You mean your daughter?”

The elevator dings open and we both step out into the lobby. I’m ahead of Callie, holding the double doors open for her as we both head out onto the street.

“Yes, my daughter,” Callie sighs again, heavier than last time. “See, this is why you don’t let huge hockey players impregnate you. It means you end up with a Godzilla sized baby inside your body, that you then have to figure out an exit for.” She grimaces at the thought and her hand lowers to her crotch, like she’s protecting it.

“I feel for you Cal. I mean, I can’t even imagine how big a baby that’s half Sean Taylor is going to be, but good luck to you all the same.” I nod at where her hand is strategically placed. “Good luck to both of you, I'm sure she’ll never be the same again.”

“Don’t say that,” Callie swats at my arm, her green eyes piercing with horror. “I’m seriously worried I’ll be split down the middle, never to be pieced back together again.”

I swing an arm over her shoulders again, as we head down the path towards the rink. “Don’t worry Cal, I'm sure Sean will still love you anyway.” I jut out my bottom lip at her, mocking condolence and she cackles before shoving at me.

Callie has barely stopped her whole pregnancy, still trying to carry on as normal even though she’s literally growing a human being inside of her. Sean has all but begged her to slow down, to take time to rest in between her busy schedule, but she’s never been one to take orders from people, especially not her boyfriend. But I think with less than a month to go now until her due date, she's well and truly exhausted, she needs a gentle nudge from the people who love her, to take the rest she needs. It’s almost as if she feels like she needs permission from someone to be able to take it easy for once. But as her best friend, I'm going to make damn sure she puts her feet up for the next month, before her baby arrives and turns both her and Sean's worlds entirely upside down. She likely won’t get to properly rest for the next eighteen years, apart from when Auntie Molly and Uncle Kyle take the baby to give them both a much needed break of course.

We walk into the rink around five minutes before puck drop and head up to our family box. The guys insisted that we switch our usual favourite seats behind the penalty box, for a private family box. Callie and I both resisted that idea at first. We don’t need people staring at us as we climb the stairs up to our private, VIP area and sit down with our free, refillable drinks and snacks. It didn’t take much convincing for me to come around to the idea though. Kyle’s first mention of an unlimited supply of Redwood hockey team merchandise was enough to have me bobbing up and down like an excitable toddler. I’ve always been a hockey fan, but Callie was a totally different kettle of fish to try and convince. She insists she’s fine and doesn’t need special treatment, just because she’s carrying the captain’s baby, he begs to differ though. In the end, it was up to me to persuade my best friend to do as she’s told for once and to sit in the private family box with me at the games until the baby arrives. Unsurprisingly, it only took a little bit of research on my part to find out that they supply a fridge full of different ice cream flavours to sway Callie my way.

As the two of us plod up the stairs, I hear a loud wolf whistle from behind us. I instantly clench my fist at my side, ready to swing for whatever creep is leering at our asses as we climb the stairs. But when I spin around, I see my very own ken doll pressed up against the plexiglass. His hair in wild disarray, ocean eyes pinned to me, accompanied by a cheesy grin that makes my heart pound.

I wiggle my fingers at him in a flirty wave, then I watch his cheeks flush pink in response, before he blows me a kiss and skates back to Sean who’s currently grinning at a very frustrated Callie. She continues up the stairs, with me closely behind her and we head into our box, settling down for the game with our first round of Pepsi and popcorn.

The wind is chilly when we finally head out of the stadium. Redwood took the win tonight and the guys are buzzing with victorious energy, when they all emerge from the locker rooms.

Kyle scoops my hand up with his and links our fingers together. “Wanna head back to my place? The rest of the guys are going out for drinks and Sean is staying at Callie’s.”

I glance over my shoulder, as my best friend is dragged off to Sean’s car, his hand possessively wrapped around her growing baby bump. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for a few drinks with the guys? I don’t mind waiting at the house for you.” I say, obviously not wanting him to agree, but there’s no way I'm being the obsessive girlfriend type…not yet anyway.

But Kyle shakes his head immediately, hauling me to his chest. “No way, I want to go home and snuggle the shit out of you instead.” He dips his face closer to mine and says on a whisper, “Maybe destroy your pussy too, if you’ll let me.”

I grin back at him, dropping a peck to his lips and dragging him across the car park to his freshly shined car, that stands out like a sore thumb amongst the array of cheap student cars around here. My chest tightens with pride as I watch him climb into the driver’s seat, his smile bright and glowing when he looks back at me. I'm so grateful for him and I’ll never know how to express that fully.

But for now, I’ll just let him do whatever the hell he wants to me tonight.

Chapter 37

Kyle

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