Page 61 of Goalie interference

It wasn’t a casual dinner, so we rarely ate here.

“Ash?” Thayer asked, stealing a bite of my cake that my nutritionist would be so pissed about me ordering, but Thayer believed in letting me have whatever I wanted. “You’re still…happy with us, right?”

“Of course,” I answered quickly, stiffening up and putting down my fork because I really didn’t like where that was going. “Why–”

“I was just checking, baby,” Thayer said softly, smiling at me as he put his fork down and let go of my hand. “I just wanted to know–it would make the next few minutes really awkward if you were actually unhappy with me.”

“Wha–”

Thayer slid out of his seat, kneeling next to me as he pulled out a small box from his pocket.

My breathing caught because I was dense, but I knew what a fancy dinner, small box, and man on his knee meant. I’d spent most of my life thinking it would be me on that ground one day.

“Ash,” he started, opening the box slowly. “I really can't explain to you how meeting you two years ago rearranged my brain chemistry, but it did. You became everything to me seemingly overnight, and I have spent every day the past two years making sure you didn’t regret choosing me.”

Thayer put a hand on my leg, offering me the silver ring, tucked away in the box. “I love you so much, Ashton,” he said softly, his eyes big and dark, locked on mine. “And you are such a pain in the ass, but my god–I love you. I want to keep loving you and taking care of you for the rest of our lives, so will you please do me the honor of marrying me?”

My brain felt fried.

Honestly, I’d thought about marrying Thayer a ton.

I thought about it every time I got a few days at home and got to do mundane shit with him. I thought about it when I’d go to sleep at night with his big arms around me. I thought about it when interviewers asked stupid questions about where I saw myself in five years–I saw myself married to Thayer; maybe we had a kid, but we definitely had a dog.

Every version of my future had me married to Thayer.

So, it was a no-brainer.

“Yes,” I said dramatically, reaching for his head to pull him up to me and kiss him. I forgot entirely about the ring, but Thayer still made sure it made it onto my finger before kissing me hard a few times.

Thayer always made sure everything was perfect for me–that was why I was marrying him.

And now, I didn’t need to worry about anything else.

Ever again.