The Long Game (Game Changers, #6)

by Rachel Reid

He’d told him, once, that he was willing to play the long game when it came to their relationship and he’d meant it.

He was terrified that one day Shane would realize he could be with someone who wasn’t a dark secret. That it could be easy to love someone.

Shane rested a hand on Ilya’s chest. “I’m yours. You know that.” “I know.” Ilya found himself leaning in for a kiss, completely forgetting where they were.

He closed his eyes and focused on how good it felt to be with Shane, alone in the dark, and tried not to wish it could be the same in the light.

“We are very good at pretending to not be in love. Maybe we are bad at showing it when we are allowed.”

Sometimes Ilya was so starved for touch he felt like screaming. He felt it most when Shane was close, like he was now, but off-limits.

Kiss me, Ilya wanted to say. Kiss me and hold me in front of all these people. Pull me onstage and do it. I don’t care anymore. Please. I’m dying. “Nothing,” Ilya said, and stepped away. “Nothing.”

“When you watch it, this is what you will see. Me saying nothing. I wanted to say you are fucking everything to me. Everything. Okay?”

He’d already met the love of his life, and he was head over heels, and he couldn’t tell anyone and it fucking sucked.

“You wouldn’t even choose me, would you?” Ilya said. “If it is between me and hockey.”

Quietly, in a voice that couldn’t disguise his pain, he said, “I already chose you, Hollander.”

“Well. I had another enemy, but then I fell in love with him.”

Shane realized that most of Ilya’s posts were, in weird cryptic ways, about Shane. His entire account was like a secret diary of their relationship, full of inside jokes and little references that only Shane would understand.

You are the best thing in my life. His eyes were blurry, making it hard to type. He quickly swiped at his eyes and kept writing. I love you. Always. Maybe from the first time I saw you.

I am thinking only about you right now. A million memories. Thank you for those. Whatever happens, I am with you. Safe in your heart. I believe it.

“You’re not allowed to die, Ilya. Not before I do.” “Do you have to win everything?” “I have to not lose you.” His voice cracked on the last word.

“I choose you, Ilya. I promise I will always, always choose you.” Shane’s eyes began to shimmer. He took a deep breath and said, “Ilya Grigoryevich Rozanov, will you marry me?”

Shane: I ate a Snickers bar. Ilya sent him a FaceTime request right away.