Page 93 of My Best Bet

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 amfine, 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.

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