Page 147 of Time to Shine

Landon tipped his head back onto Casey’s shoulder. “You left one of your hair elastics in my bathroom. I, um. I wore it around my wrist for weeks after.”

Casey spun him around. “What? That is so fucking romantic. Are you wearing it now?”

Landon dipped his head to hide the color in his cheeks. “No. I took it off before I flew to L.A. because it seemed embarrassing.”

Casey pulled him down into a kiss. He tasted like the Skittles he’d been eating on the plane. “I love that,” he said. “I love you. And I’m glad you’re home.”

“Me too,” Landon said, because he couldn’t deny that this house felt like home. Then his stomach growled, and they both laughed.

“Oh hey,” Casey said, “I’ve been cooking a bit.”

“You have?”

“Yeah! I don’t get the premade meals anymore. I get groceries delivered instead. And I watched some cooking for beginners-type videos online, and I can make a few things now!”

That was...surprising. “I leave for a few weeks and now you can cook and clean?”

“Yup. I’m gonna be the best husband you’ve ever had.”

Every word of that sentence was ridiculous, but it still made Landon’s heart stop. “I know.”

Casey’s expression was pure delight, as if they’d both agreed on something important. “Can I make you dinner?” He went to the fridge and threw open the doors. “Cool. We’re fully stocked. I coordinated the delivery with the cleaning service. So do you want chicken teriyaki, or sausage and pepper pasta? I’m also getting decent at omelets.”

Landon was unsure about letting this happen, but Casey seemed to have all of his fingers still, and had no visible burn scars and hadn’t poisoned himself, so, “Chicken teriyaki sounds good. You want help?”

“Nope. I want you to sit there and look pretty while I dazzle you with my skills.” Then he pulled an actual apron out of a drawer and put it on.

“Oh no,” Landon said as he settled onto one of the stools at the island. “You didn’t warn me about the sexy apron.”

“It’s super sexy, right?” Casey tapped at his phone and then furrowed his brow adorably as he, presumably, read the recipe. “Right. Rice. Gotta start with that. You want a beer?”

Landon’s chest felt tight with happiness. “You got any lemonade?”

Casey beamed at him. “Always.”

Epilogue

Next December

“I’m going to propose,” West whispered, much too loudly, as he leaned into Landon’s personal space. “I’m going to propose!”

“I know. That’s great.” This was actually the third time West had told him, but West was very drunk and could be forgiven. He’d probably told everyone at the party at least three times about his plans to pop the question to Allison on Christmas Day, in front of their families. Landon suspected Allison wouldn’t be surprised, since she was at the party too.

“You want some water?” Landon asked.

“Nah. You got any weed?”

“Totally,” Landon lied. “Go drink some water and I’ll get it.”

“You’re the best, Stacks.” West drifted off in the direction of the kitchen.

“Good save,” Antton said from behind him.

Landon turned and saw Antton smiling at him. “I doubt he’ll make it to the kitchen without getting distracted.”

“You’ve done all you can.” Antton took a sip of wine. His pale cheeks were unusually rosy, and Landon suspected his goaltending partner may be a bit tipsy.

“How’s the party?” Landon asked. A year ago he may have been desperately seeking his idol’s approval, but now he only asked to make sure his friend was having a good time.

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