Epilogue
She had always heard that champagne stings if it gets in your eyes, but she never experienced it herself until now. Alex Orlov was having quite the drunken night chasing around ice girls and spraying them down. Unfortunately, Charlotte got caught in the crossfire.
Her precious Pirate booty, rumored to be have been smuggled in from across the border, was thankfully still well protected in her pocket as she blindly wove her way through the crowd of people squeezed into the locker room. Things weren't much better once she finally got out to the hall. She thought she was special having a "Friends and Family Pass" around her neck, but the team apparently had given them out to anyone and everyone — family, friends, hangers-on, media, random attractive people, and pets. Yes, pets. One of the player's girlfriend was walking around with her little dog in her purse, and they both looked like they were having a great time.
But Charlotte kept pushing through the crowd with determination, heading to the place where Jordan had taken his brother to get a bit of quiet time. Quiet, of course, being a relative term. She found the two of them sitting on the ice, leaning up against the boards with cheap beers in their hands.
"Hi, boys," she said, leaning over from the home team's bench to look down on the brothers. "Can I join you for a second?"
Jordan looked back up at her, a huge smile plastered on his face. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever known."
Charlotte laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a 'yes' since you're obviously drunk already."
"To be fair, I just won the cup."
"Touché." She swung her legs over the boards and sunk down on the ice next to the King brothers. Her hand slid into her back pocket and she pulled out two miraculously dry Cuban cigars. "Some player's dad brought these in from Canada for you guys."
Jordan smiled and stood up, handing both to his brother. That's when Charlotte noticed he still hadn't taken off his uniform. Even his skates were still on despite the fact that the game ended more than an hour ago.
"Ethan, I shall return shortly! Hold my beer," he said, handing the bottle to his brother. He took Charlotte's hand to pull her up and then placed it into the crook of his elbow. "Come with me, Charlie."
Charlotte smiled and started walking gingerly on the ice, holding tightly to Jordan to keep her from falling before they made their way to the bench. "Where exactly are you taking me, captain?"
"You'll see."
He ducked into a door on their left, still far enough away from the people crowding the hallway to the locker room. The equipment room. She'd been in one of these before under bad circumstances. But tonight, that image of her ex-boyfriend that had been seared into her brain was a passing memory. She had a much better boyfriend to focus on now.
"So why exactly are we here?" she asked.
Jordan leaned down, towering over her in his skates. "To make out with you, of course."
He pushed Charlotte against the wall and kissed her passionately. His lips tasted like the most delicious cheap beer she could ever imagine, and she told herself to remember this. He would taste this way for the next few days at least, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it.
Then he pulled away abruptly, a flirtatious smile teasing his lips. "I also have something for you."
"The kiss wasn't enough?"
He simply smiled and pulled her towards a stack of shelves in the back lined with padded hockey pants, extra skate blades and other hockey gear.
"Ah, here they are," he said, pulling a box down from the shelf. It was black with the name of his equipment sponsor on it and a picture of their newest hockey skate. Jordan bowed slightly and presented them to her. "For you, darling."
Charlotte started to reach for the box and then froze, her hand hanging in mid-air.
"What are those?" she asked seriously.
"They're your new skates."
He tucking them under his arm as he took her hand and led her to the workbench where the players often prepared their sticks for games. He set the skates down on the bench, then grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up on it.
"It's only fitting that I take a turn or two out on the winning ice with my girl." Jordan smiled up at her as he gently took her black boot off and pulled the new skates out of the box. "My rep at the company said they've been using some new materials so you won't even have to break these in like you did with your old ones."
He gently grabbed her foot and tied her skate for her before doing the same for the other one. Charlotte wasn't about to protest. Frankly, she wasn't able to say anything. She could feel the lump in her throat growing as he took care of the skates. Her skates. He was so sincere about it, so tender that she couldn't help it. They meant something to her, something important, but they meant something important to him as well.
Jordan looked up at her, his face becoming more serious.
"Do you like them?" he asked tentatively.
Charlotte could only nod before grabbing his jersey and pulling him close. Her lips tenderly covered his as her hands moved to his cheeks, scratching at his extra scruffy playoff beard. Now that the playoffs were over, he would likely shave, and she would miss the feeling of that beard tickling her bare skin late at night in her bed.
She pulled away slightly, her forehead resting on his, trying to catch her breath. "I love the skates, Jordan."
"Good." His hands drifted to her hips again as he gently set her down. "How do those feel now? Are they tight enough?"
"They're perfect."
"Wait until you actually skate with them," Jordan said, a mischievous look teasing his lips.
He was right. They were even more perfect on the ice as he took her hand and led her around the rink, the cool air rushing past her. It reminded her of the night the two of them skated alone together on this same ice. Things had changed quite a bit from that moment a few months ago and she was truly thankful for that, despite some of the bumps along the way. It reminded her that this move to Detroit was the best decision she could have made.
"Watch out for the camera cables," Jordan said from his place beside her. "And look out for the confetti. And don't trip over Ethan!"
That one was reserved specifically for the moment they passed the older King brother, smiling from the spot they had left him on the ice as he took pictures of Jordan.
She could feel the breeze moving through her hair with Jordan becoming quiet as the whole thing started to become more real to him.
"I won the cup, Charlotte," he said quietly.
She pulled herself closer and tightened her grip on his hand. "You did a great job, Jordan."
He nodded and swallowed hard, trying to control the emotion she was sure were threatening to break out of him.
"So listen," he said, clearing his throat before continuing. "Some of the guys on the team are going to get their girlfriends and wives rings to match ours. I wanted to get one for you if that's OK."
"Me?"
"Yeah. It's not like, you know, like that kind of ring—"
"I wasn't assuming it was," she interrupted reassuringly.
She knew he wasn't ready for something like that and she definitely wasn't ready for it either. Not just yet. He smiled at her, letting her know that he understood exactly what she was thinking.
"I just wanted to find a way to say thank you for supporting me."
Charlotte gave him a dejected smile. "What about having my ex-boyfriend punch you?"
Jordan laughed. "It wasn't the worst thing, you know," he said, leaning closer to her. "It was a good reminder that I have to fight for what I want."
"So did you get what you wanted?" she asked quietly.
"I think I'm set for now."
He wrapped his hand around Charlotte's waist, twisting her into his arms and pulling her closer to him as he lifted her off the ice to kiss her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck out of necessity, holding on to the sweaty beer-soaked jersey under her fingers to keep him closer, her skates dangling without the ice under them. It was amazing until Charlotte realized they were still moving.
"Jordan, we're going to hit the boards," she muttered, her lips barely leaving his.
"Don't worry," he said, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes while they still moved across the ice. "You're going to be just fine, Charlotte. I've got you."