PARKER

Being at Ellie and Nate's house is making me wish I was getting drafted to some small town with a lake instead.

While the guys and I hang out on the patio, the girls brought chairs down to the shoreline and throw toys into the water for the dogs. We figured that at this point, Birk is ours to keep. He must've either been a stray or his owner simply didn't care to come get him back.

Their loss.

As of today, Friday, I am the only one of us who hasn't gotten a call and it's stressing me out beyond belief.

"Man," Connor slaps Brooks' chest. "I am so excited that you'll be in Tampa."

Brooks got called up the moment teams were allowed to start recruiting. Tampa's backup goalie is retiring, and they wanted a young guy to replace him. They picked a good one.

Not shockingly, Colorado called Connor the same day while we were eating dinner. My favorite part was when he called his parents and his mom immediately started crying, which caused Dakota to cry, then Ellie, and then we were all crying a bit.

"I'm just excited to hang with you and Kota's parents. And that fucking signing bonus," Brooks shakes his head in disbelief. "The first thing I'm gonna do when it comes through is send my credit card back to my dad with a wad of cash. Then I'm done."

"You haven't talked to either of them, right?" Nate jumps in.

Brooks chuckles lowly. "Not a chance. I mean, my mom texted me on Christmas, but I'm not ready to even look at her right now. She stood back and watched my dad speak down to me for years, then shrugged after he punched me. Shrugged. Like I deserved it or some shit."

Leaning forward, I place a comforting hand on his shoulder, ready to change the subject before he gets angry. "Hey, at least it'll make things easier when we all want to meet up. Every time Dakota and I visit her parents, we'll be able to see you too."

He smiles, the tension slowly leaving his body. "And then I can crash with you guys when I play up there."

"You can sleep on the couch," I smirk.

"Not a fucking chance, Cadell. You get the couch, I get to have a sleepover with your girl."

Standing up, I look at the other two guys. "I'm gonna go get us refills. Brooks is getting cut off, I think he's getting delusional."

Walking away, I hear them all laughing until I close the door behind me and everything turns quiet. My bare feet pad through the house until I reach the kitchen, and the second I go to open the fridge, my phone starts ringing loudly in my pocket.

Pulling it out, I freeze when I see the unknown number on the screen. Snapping myself out of it, I click answer and put it to my ear.

"This is Parker."

"Hey, Parker. It's Ron Francis from the Seattle Kraken, how are you?"

Fucking shit.

My hands immediately begin to sweat. "I'm great, you?"

"Great, great." He clears his throat. "Listen, all of us here are huge fans of yours, and we'd love to have you on board for our playoff run this year."

I feel like my throat is closing. "That sounds amazing, thank you for the opportunity, sir. I won't let you down."

"We have so much faith in you and your skill level, so we're very excited to get you up here and get things started. I'll have my team send you and your coach some information by the end of the week."

The rest of the conversation goes in one ear and out the other, and by the time I hang up, I can't remember much other than the fact that I have to move to Seattle.

I take a few minutes to catch my breath and still my hands from their light tremble. My body feels tingly as I walk back outside, and I almost feel like I'm on the brink of a panic attack.

"Finally, Cadell." Connor looks over, "did you forget how to open the fridge or some shit?"

Not knowing how to say it best, I decide to simply blurt it out. "Seattle just called me up."

All three of the guys stand up in a blink and rush over to me, cheering while pulling me into a group hug. The noise catches the attention of the girls, who rush up the grass to us.

"What's going on?" Ellie furrows her brows.

Brooks wraps his arms around her to pick her up so he can spin her around. "We're all going to the NHL!"

"Holy shit," Dakota lurches forward and into my arms.

I squeeze her tight for a few seconds, not easing up until she pulls back and rests her hands on the sides of my face. "You did it," she beams.

When she leans in to kiss me, I pull back. "It was Seattle," my voice is only a whisper, but she hears every word.

The smile on her face falters for half a second, not long enough for anyone but me to notice.

"And they're lucky to have you," she kisses me softly. "I'm so fucking proud of you, Park."

We all stand around for a few more moments, cheering about how we all actually made it before I head off to call my family.

I don't miss how the second I step away, Connor wraps an arm around Dakota's shoulders, and nods his head at me as he pulls her towards the boat. I don't make it obvious, but I keep an eye on them, noticing he doesn't even attempt to drive away from the dock as if they just needed a moment alone.

My chest tugs when I realize it's because of me.

~

By the time I finished up with my family, our takeout had arrived and we ate together on the small beachy shoreline. The girls had also sneakily ordered a congratulatory cake for us, which we were happy to eat.

Now, I sit with my back against the headboard, waiting impatiently for Dakota to come back after her shower.

If she's upset about everything, she didn't let it show over the past few hours. Luckily, I don't think she's angry, because she let me basically wrap myself around her while we sat out by the firepit.

As if I spoke it into existence, she walks in only a moment later, wearing nothing but my shirt and panties while she starts to brush her hair.

"Come here," I reach out and spread my legs. "I'll do it."

"You want to brush my hair?"

I chuckle. "What I really want is for you to come over and sit with me, so if that means brushing your hair so that you do, then I want to brush your damn hair."

She laughs, too, climbing up and sitting right in front of me. I take the brush from her hands and begin to carefully get out the tangles while I speak. "I'm sorry."

"Stop," she rubs a hand over my thigh. "There's nothing to apologize for, baby."

"Yes, there is, Kota. You accepted the job in Nashville for me, and I won't even be there."

"Hey," turning her body sideways, she drapes both legs over one of mine, but I avoid her eyes as I continue to run the brush through her hair. "I took that job knowing the risks. Plus, I could always ask her if I can defer a year, or even tell her that I changed my mind and want to be elsewhere."

My face screws in guilt. "Absolutely not. This is the best job for you, and you know it. Your boss already told you she wants to retire in the next few years when she feels you're ready to take over the business and make it your own. I'm not taking that dream away from you."

"You wouldn't be. Just ask me to do it and I will."

"Dakota," I speak softly, dropping the brush to grab one of her hands in mine. "You have spent your entire life putting the people you love before yourself, even if it meant changing your plans. You moved away from your parents to Michigan because you wanted to be here to support Connor, and don't get me wrong, I'm so fucking happy you did. However, I will not let you do that for me when you have so many opportunities waiting for you in Nashville."

Finally meeting her gaze, I watch her expression fall further when she notices the tears burning my eyes.

Dakota turns to face me fully and we sit so near that our chests touch. "Me staying in Nashville means we could be apart for years, Park."

"I know," I kiss her hand a few times. "But who knows, Seattle could decide they hate me after a few games and then call Nashville and offer me to them. Then I'd be back to crashing every single one of you and El's girls' nights."

"You're great at what you do, so that's not going to happen even if deep down I really want it to." A hint of a smile plays on her lips. "And as much as El pretends to hate it, she loves when you join. I mean, you're the biggest gossip of us all sometimes."

Setting a hand on the side of her face, my fingers bury themselves in her hair while my thumb brushes her cheekbone. "I'm glad you have her."

"Me too."

"I won't give up on trying to get back to Nashville, even if it takes a few years. We can always do long-distance until that time comes."

Her skin pales, and my heart suddenly feels heavy, knowing what she's about to tell me before she can even open her mouth.

Shaking her head, she grabs hold of my wrist. "Parker, I can't do long-distance for that long. We'll both be busy, and with your schedule, the only way we'd be able to see eachother is if I took off work constantly to come to you, or if you ended up in Tennessee for a night."

"I'd have the whole summer to come down to you," I bring her face closer.

Dakota closes the gap, kissing me deeply. There's nothing sexual about the way we're kissing eachother, instead, it's full of desperation. With hands on my chest, she pulls back only enough for me to see her full expression.

"It's not realistic," she whispers. "We hate spending more than a few days apart as it is."

"Can we make a deal?" I plead, knowing she's right.

She nods.

"I'm here for another month. I don't want anything between us to change right now."

Patting my chest lightly, she smiles. "Agreed."

"Then," I pause. "We do long-distance until playoffs are over. As a test-run, I guess. If for some reason I'm able to get to Nashville, we stick with the plan and move in together, picking up right where we left off. If that doesn't happen, then we can reassess and go from there."

"I'm good with that if you are."

"Hell yeah, I'm good with it," I kiss her once more. Moving us around briefly, I end up on my back while Dakota stays right on top of me. "I love you."

Smiling, she buries her head into my chest. "I love you a whole lot, Park."

Just as I think she's drifted off, she speaks up once more. "You made it."

At this moment, it finally hits me. I'm in the NHL.

______

Last chapter before a small time jump!