I leaned against a pillar in Northview Arena's concourse, waiting for Chase to come out of the dressing room while excited Falcons fans poured out the doors, chatting excitedly about the 3-1 win. One of the goals had been Chase's—luckily, his time off on suspension hadn't hurt his game any.

It was more than a little ironic that Chase's first game back was a home game against none other than Callingwood. The game was significantly less dramatic than previous matches between the two schools, mostly because Luke was gone. Within a few days of his leaking the video, his parents flew up and hauled his sorry ass back to Texas. Apparently, they had to make some kind of deal with the district attorney to get permission for him to leave the state.

His departure was like an invisible weight had lifted off my shoulders. I hadn't realized how keyed up I was all the time about the ever-present possibility of running into him until it was no longer a possibility.

Derek told me there were rumors Luke's parents were making him work at one of the fast food restaurants they'd invested in. It was poetic justice, given how Luke looked down on service jobs. That was in addition to being expelled from Callingwood and essentially shunned from the NHL. No team would even talk to him. He was basically finished.

Kristen was gone, too—suspended indefinitely, which would surely turn into an expulsion after her hearing.

The scandal was starting to lose its legs, probably because Stewart's team was having a good degree of success clamping down on the video. Over the past week, things had slowly been starting to return to normal. Today almost felt like any other ordinary day. Almost.

None of it undid anything, but it was a start.

Scanning the lobby, I found a vacant red bench and made my way over to sit down. I checked my phone for a status update from Shiv, who was at home scrambling to finish a sociology paper due at midnight. Since living with her, I'd learnt she was the queen of procrastination. It seemed like an incredibly stressful way to live, but it must have worked for her because her grades were solid. I, on the other hand, would have flunked out of college and been committed for a nervous breakdown if I tried that strategy.

Her latest text reported that she was nearly done and would commence packing for our weekend trip to Dallas's parents' cabin shortly. How she'd managed to write a ten-page paper in one day, I'd never know.

I strongly suspected Shiv wasn't a light packer, though, and that it would still be a while before she and Dallas were ready to leave.

I glanced up just as Derek rounded the corner. His light brown eyes fell on me, expression brightening. Locking my phone, I pushed to stand, meeting him halfway in the crowd.

"Hey," I said. "How was your first game as captain?"

The minute Luke got in trouble for the video debacle, he implicated Paul. It wasn't clear whether Paul had actually been involved or whether Luke was just trying to shirk responsibility. Derek had been asked to step in and assume Luke's previous role, at least temporarily.

"Good." Derek shrugged. "Team is still adjusting, but we're pulling through. The energy is a lot less toxic, uh, now that he's gone."

I didn't doubt that.

"You guys played well, considering all the upheaval."

"Yeah, not bad." Derek gave me a half-hearted smile. His warm brown eyes scanned my face, mouth twisting into a frown that was eerily reminiscent of our father. "I wanted to apologize again, though." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, struggling to force out the next words. "I was wrong."

Hold up. I blinked, doing a double- and triple-take. Derek admitting he'd been wrong? And apologizing? Hell had officially frozen over.

"About what?"

Of course, I already knew, but I was going to make him say it.

"Carter," he said. "You were right, he's good to you. You seem happy."

Happy was an understatement.

"Crazy happy." A goofy grin broke out across my face. I couldn't even attempt to hide it. "He's my person."

"That's great, B."

I nudged him with my foot. "You'll find your person someday."

Someone bumped into me from behind, jostling me slightly. Derek grabbed my elbow and steadied me, giving me an uncharacteristically bashful smile.

"Actually, it is getting kind of serious with this girl Kim I've been seeing."

My mouth dropped open. "Shut up. And you've been hiding this? When do I get to meet this Kim?"

"Whenever you want." He shrugged, but I could tell he was making an effort to seem casual. Beneath it, he was nervous.

"So, tomorrow? Name a place and time." I laced my fingers together, stretching out my hands and rolling my shoulders. "I'll bring a list of questions. I have to play the role of protective little sister."

Derek laughed. "Think you've got that backward."

"Nope." I shook my head. "After Jill, I want to be sure this one is legit. Or she'll have to answer to me."

Just as I finished speaking, Chase strolled up from the other direction, throwing an arm around my shoulders. He was running hot like a furnace on full blast, just like he always did after games, and the warmth of his body radiated through his dress shirt. It was comforting, somehow.

"It's true," Chase said. "James is pretty terrifying."

Derek pretended to think. "Well, she did have a biting phase in preschool."

Oh my god. It was one time. Jenny Martin started it when she stole my Barbie and shoved me down to the ground. I was merely defending myself.

Okay, maybe I escalated the level aggression a little. I was four, after all.

Chase squeezed my shoulders, barely fighting back laughter. "You don't say."

"I'm going to kill you, Derek." I narrowed my eyes at him, then at Chase.

Chase straightened his expression, feigning innocence, but it was futile. I knew him too well. It was like I could see the gears turning in Chase's brain.

"No. Nope. Nuh-uh," I said. "Don't think you two are going to get chummy and start to conspire against me."

Chase winked. "Too late."

"Oh, it's definitely happening," Derek said.

"Absolutely not."

Clearly, I was going to have to become friendly with Derek's new girlfriend and exact my revenge.

"Does this mean you can show me some old pictures of her now?" Chase rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Specifically, I'm curious about the ones from junior high...she's never let me see any of those, claims they're too embarrassing."

And for good reason. I had braces, acne, and the worst haircut known to girlkind. My hair was cut in a blunt bob above the shoulders and the natural waves made it stick out at the ends like a triangle. As far as I was concerned, pictures from that time period should be disposed of appropriately—preferably with fire.

To make matters worse, I'd seen Chase's childhood photos and he never even had an awkward phase. He went from adorable chubby baby to cute toddler to nice-looking kid to hot teenager. It was patently unfair. Everyone was supposed to have an awkward phase; it's what keeps people humble.

Then again, that probably explained a lot about Chase.

"I'll kill you both."

Chase nuzzled my cheek with his nose. "You can bite me any time you want."

With my arm still around Bailey's shoulders, we navigated through the parking lot over to my truck. I held the door open, waiting her to climb in. I felt lighter than I had in days. Maybe weeks. Things were definitely on the upswing. I was back on the ice, we won our game, and now Bailey and I were heading out of town to spend the weekend with Dallas and Siobhan at his parents' cabin.

My plans consisted of doing sweet, sweet nothing aside from eating, drinking, and trying to convince James to skinny dip in the hot tub with me. The cabin was isolated, in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn't like neighbors were an issue. I mean, we could just make a schedule or something with Dallas and Shiv, right? Book some time slots?

"What's their cabin like?" Bailey asked, buckling her seatbelt.

I pulled out of the parking stall, braking to let some Falcons fans pass. Their entire faces were painted crimson. It was awesome. I loved super fans.

"More of a mansion than a cabin, to be honest. Four bedrooms and—I think—five bathrooms, backs onto the lake, sick hot tub. You know, the works."

Their "weekend getaway" home was ten times nicer than the house we lived in. And the house we lived in was pretty damn nice.

"Why am I not surprised?" She laughed, expression turning wistful. "Ah, to be rich."

If I had it my way, she'd at least be comfortable someday. If she ever let me pay for things. It was still a battle sometimes. At this rate, I'd be stuffing money under her pillow like the fucking tooth fairy.

I signaled left out of the parking lot. "Ward texted and said Shiv was going to take a quick shower before they headed out, too."

"Really?" Bailey groaned; we both knew there was no way she'd be showering alone. And their two-person showers weren't exactly quick and water-conserving. "She hasn't even finished packing yet. You said it's what, a two-hour drive? They're going to be awhile."

Bailey was right—we were supposed to make dinner once we all got there. Their scheduling would make for a late evening, but that just meant more time for us alone, which wasn't a bad thing either.

"Which means we have some extra time to kill." I put my hand on her knee. "Want to take a little detour along the way?"

Bailey eyed me suspiciously. "Are you still trying to get truck sex?"

I mean, I wasn't. Until now. But if she was offering...

"I'm always trying to get truck sex, but I was thinking hot chocolate."

*

Half an hour later, we made our way up the staircase to End of the World with two cups of salted caramel hot chocolate in hand. Naturally, I had converted Bailey to the only appropriate flavor choice. Though if I was being honest, her blowjobs were better than the salted caramel by a mile.

It was a brisk, chilly day and no one else was around, which afforded us our choice of benches. We grabbed the one with the best view, but the instant we sat down, my phone vibrated from inside my coat pocket. I pulled it out, expecting it to be Ward, but saw that it was his father instead.

Bailey shot me a questioning glance. I swiped the screen, putting Stewart on speaker. Easier than giving Bailey a replay immediately after, which was what I'd do anyway.

"Hi, Stewart."

"Chase," he boomed. "How are you doing?"

Bailey's eyes snapped to my face as if she'd been wondering the same thing.

"Decent." I mean, all things considering, my life hadn't totally fallen apart. People were talking about me, but they always had. It was just amplified temporarily.

"I have some news," he said. "I just got off the phone with Los Angeles."

My entire body tensed like a spring. Bailey's grip on her cup of hot chocolate tightened and her breath stilled. We both froze, waiting for Stewart to continue.

"They'd like to see you stay and finish out your fourth year of college."

I must have been holding my breath, too, because I let out a heavy exhale. "Okay." Then I nodded, which made no sense given that we were on a call, but was more of a reflex than anything.

Stewart had told me this was the most likely outcome—I'd been expecting it and had made peace with it already.

Sure, I was disappointed. After thinking my future looked one way, it was veering in the other direction because of something out of my control. But there was also a small part of me that was a little bit relieved. It made some things more simple and, honestly, I liked my life the way it was now so I wasn't totally opposed to another year of it.

I stole a glance at Bailey and for once, I couldn't quite read her expression. I had a hunch she felt much the same way I did.

"It's not a punishment," he stressed. "They want to shield you from negative attention while the case is ongoing. As a rookie, the media would eat you alive over this. Waiting a year gives things a chance to cool down."

I knew he was right. The last thing I wanted was to be known for a scandal instead of my gameplay. It would probably always follow me to some extent, but by the following year, at least it would be old news.

After discussing a few more details, I ended the call. I shifted my weight, turning to face Bailey. She touched my arm, studying me with concern.

"How you are you feeling about that?"

"It could have been worse." I shrugged. Compared to the possibility of getting dropped from my contract altogether, this was a win. "And more time with you isn't the worst thing in the world."

If not for James, I'd have been significantly more upset about the prospect of staying. As it was, I could deal. I still got to keep playing high-level hockey, still got to live with Dallas and Ty next year and best of all—still got to be with her.

"Still," she said. "It's okay to be disappointed. I wouldn't take it personally if you were."

"Maybe a little, but I'm good, I promise."

Bailey scanned my face and I could tell she wanted to say something but she didn't. She didn't believe me.

"Promise, James. Come on. When have I ever hidden how I felt?"

She laughed. "Fair point."

Silver lining to staying - being with Bailey for another year.