Page 129 of Exposed on the Blue Line

“What?” He digs his fingers into my hips, holding me tight as his heart beats rapidly against my forearm resting on his chest.

He’s longing for me to say it. Waiting impatiently for me to get the words out that neither one of us thought I could say. But I don’t feel scared of them anymore. All I feel is my heart beating and yearning for this man in front of me.

“I love you, Luca.”

My hands run up his face and through his hair as he pulls me in closer, crashing his lips feverishly into mine. The world spins around us as we kiss without any regard to what’s happening.

I finally pull away. The chatter and music around us comes back into focus.

“Kandace, I–” He stops when Dani comes skating up to me.

“Sorry, we have a slight issue. Can I steal her?” She drapes her arm in mine.

“Yeah, sure.” Luca slips his hand in his pocket and gives us a forced smile.

“I’ll be back,” I call out as I'm being whisked away.

Two hours later and the night is over.

It was one thing after another. Students were sneaking in alcohol, which wasn’t horrible, but then they were getting drunk and we had to stop a few from puking in the stands.

Then there were others trying to break into the locker rooms, but several guys from the hockey team stopped them. Someone broke into a press room, but there wasn’t any damage. Just an unlocked door and a used condom in the trash.

This is what Coach Renan was afraid of, and what I promised wouldn’t happen. I figured if we kept it alcohol-free, it’d be fine. It could’ve been a lot worse and, for the most part, it was a great night. But I’m exhausted.

The concessions are all cleaned up and the maintenance crew is coming later to take down the decorations we paid them to help with. I’m the last one to go and the one to hand over the keys.

I find Luca at the center of the ice, looking up around the stands and at the lights still hanging overhead.

“Taking in your last night on the ice,” I say as I carefully walk on the ice in my thick socks.

“Yeah,” He smiles as he sees me. Two dimples appear for a genuine grin, with the left one slightly deeper than the right.

I take his hand and follow his gaze around the arena.

“It’s our last night together,” he breathes out, and I catch him staring at me. “This semester with you has been a whirlwind, and a dream come true.”

“Luca, what are you saying?” I nervously clutch his hand. “We’re going to visit each other every chance we get.”

“I know.” He nods and squeezes my hands in his before he drops to one knee. “Kandace, you're my world. My heart and soul are yours, and I want all of you to be mine.”

“I am.” I clear my throat and try to pull him back up.

“I don’t want there to be any doubts.” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small blue box. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that you’re my forever. Will you marry me?”

“Whoa,” I jump away from him. “What are you doing?”

“Kandace, I love you,” he pleads, inching closer to me.

I drop my hands from my face and hold them over his to keep the box closed. I don’t even want to see it. This is too much.

“I love you too, but Luca,” I sigh and take a deep breath, hoping he understands. “This is too much, too soon.”

He shakes his head, not wanting to hear it.

“I can’t marry you.” He pulls back, but I hold on to him. “Not now. I can’t say yes when we just started a relationship.”

“Is it because I’m leaving?” He asks with tears building in the corners of his eyes.

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