Icebound (Boundless Players, #1)

by Meredith Trapp

I undo the buttons on my shirt, revealing the four-leaf clover that matches the one on her neck—the one that’s now etched into the skin right over my heart. Her eyes pop when she sees my new ink. “That looks like mine,” she whispers. “I know. It looks exactly like yours.” “Why did you get that?” She reaches out to stroke my skin like she needs to be closer. Goosebumps pop up under her touch.

I brush her hair back from her face. “Because the day I met you was the luckiest day of my life.”

“Now, what is this, love?” Love.

“This is everything. You’re everything to me because you somehow became my best friend, and I don’t want to say goodbye to you.”

“We need you because you’re the first one to show up to practice and the last to leave. Because you treat the fourth line the same as the first line. You’re the one we come to for advice on plays and the guy we ask what we should buy our moms for their birthdays. We don’t need you for your save percentage or what you can do in the net. We just need you.”

“You know why I call you ‘old man’?” “Because I hate it?” “No. That’s not why.” He downs the rest of his whiskey and tosses the glass on the pebbles. “It’s because it’s what I used to call my dad before he died. Sorry it made you feel shitty, but I used to joke around with him like that before he…” He presses his palms to his eyes. “Dammit. This sucks. I don’t talk about him because it fucking hurts, but it slipped out one day with you, and it felt like it was this small way to keep his memory alive, so I kept calling you old man, but you’re not old. You're the best guy I know, Tremblay.”

“Listen to me, Micah,” I say in his ear. “I might not be on the ice with you next season, but I’ll always answer your call on the first ring. I’ll always give you advice on your slap shots and tell you not to get your mom a shake weight for her birthday. You need something? I’m there. You’re stuck with me forever because you’re my brother, and I love you.”

“I love your ears, and your face, and your laugh, and your brain, and your smile, and you. I love everything you.”

“I know the punchline.” His brows come together. “What punchline?” “To our terrible joke.” I press my smile to his warm whiskey lips. “The doctor falls in love with the plumber.”

“This is the last thing I’m doing for me because now, I’m yours. From here on out, I’ll help you catch whatever dream you’re chasing. It doesn’t matter if you’re climbing a mountain or dragging yourself out of a ditch, I’m there. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that I belong with every version of you. So, go chase those dreams of yours. Let’s be wild together.”