Page 79 of Against The Boards

“Roxanne—”

“I’m an asshole, Benny. I’ve been a raging bitch to you because of one mistake you made three years ago. I’m a bad person. I deserve this.”

“Rox, what are you talking about?”

She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, my chest felt heavy when I saw the tears she was trying so hard to keep in. “This has a time limit, so I didn’t want to get attached to you...but I’m afraid I already have.”

I pushed her hair behind her ear, and my hand lingered on her face. Her eyes were wet with tears, and it made my chest ache that I had done that to her. “First, you’re not a bad person. I like that you’re feisty.”

She shook her head, but I put a finger on her lips to silence her before she tried to argue with me again.

“Second, why do you think there’s a time limit?”

“Because you told me you asked for a trade to Boston. What’s the point of telling everyone we’re together if it’s all gonna end anyway?”

I held her face in my hands, and she tried to look away. “Hey, look at me. I don’t want to go to Boston.”

“But, you—”

“I want to stay here and be with you. I don’t want to hide how I feel about you from everyone. I want to hold your hand in public and tell all my friends that you’re my girl. That I got to tame Roxanne Desjardins.”

She glared. “You didn’t tame me.”

I chuckled. “Okay, you keep telling yourself that.”

“Don’t be a dick!”

“I love spending time with you. Rox, I don’t do casual. I’m an all-or-nothing type of guy, and I think you have enchanted me since the moment I met you.”

Her mouth formed a little ‘o’ in surprise.

“Why do you think I asked if those were real?” I asked and gestured to her ample chest.“Here was this beautiful woman standing in front of me, and my brain was like, ‘hey, say what you’re thinking to this hottie.’ I’m sorry for saying all the wrong things to you over the years.”

She grinned at me. “Not your best moment.”

“I like you a lot, probably have for a long time, but you hated my guts for so long—”

She cut me off by leaning into me and pressing her lips to mine. I smiled into the kiss and slid my hands into her hair.

When we parted, she was all smiles again. “I think I felt it that night in Canada. You were breaking down all my defenses.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “You were gonna start a fight with that drunk guy at the bar because you always saw me for me. You never cared that I didn’t have a flat stomach or—”

I cut her off again with another kiss. “I told you,” I growled, “I’ll never stop loving your curves. I thought you were mad at me about that, though.”

“I was. I worried about it affecting your career.”

“What do you mean?”

“Benny, you’re a Mexican guy who plays hockey. The league talks a big game about hockey being for everyone, but the media criticizes players of color more than white players. I didn’t want any heat to come back on you because of me.”

I cupped her face in my hands again. “I don’t give a fuck; I would have fought that guy for being an asshole. But you were really only mad because you care about my career?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to cause any fallout. But it was nice that you wanted to stand up for me, even though I’ve been awful to you. I don’t give a shit about what drunk jerk-offs say about me, but you did, and you wanted him to apologize.”

“I’m always gonna fight for you.”