And Helena gave as good as she got. She insisted on getting the rest of my clothes off, graciously allowing me to help push my boxers down where she couldn’t quite reach.
Our bodies coming together felt both familiar and new at the same time. I still remembered how to make Helena cry out with a touch here or a caress there. Helena, too, was quick to rediscover exactly what I liked.
We were both older, wiser, more sensible. But when Helena tipped her head back as pleasure swept through her, I felt as if I could be ten years younger.
Once we were both satisfied, Helena cuddled up against me. Her head fit perfectly on my chest, my arm holding the heat of her body close under the covers.
“What shall we do with the rest of my visit?” she asked, teasingly. “Now that the three most important things are out of the way.”
“Seeing me play, seeing my house, and seeing me naked?” I asked with a grin. Pressing a light kiss against Helena’s forehead, I pulled her in tighter against me, draping the blankets over us. This had done a good job of dealing with my post-game adrenaline. I felt exhaustion in every part of me now.
Suppressing a yawn, I shook my head. “More of this?” I suggested. “But also, I’d love to show you around Salt Lake a bit. There’s not a lot we’ll be able to do in one weekend, but we’ll have others to explore the place together fully.” And that was a thought that made my heart skip a beat in my chest.
Helena’s fingers drew absent-minded circles against my stomach. As she snuggled in closer, I remembered that it was two hours later in Lunengrove. She might not have played a game of professional hockey, but she had every reason to be just as tired as I was. For once, the time difference might actually work in our favor!
“Yeah,” she agreed, smiling against my skin. “I’d like that. I want to see the places you go, you know?” I glanced down, a little surprised she didn’t want to see the things that tourists came to Salt Lake to see.
“You can show me all the big attractions another time,” she promised. “First, I want to get to know the places that you’ll mention on the phone, so I can imagine you there.”
Pressing another kiss against Helena’s forehead, I smiled. “Yeah, we can do that,” I assured her. “I guess it’s easier for me, because I know all the places in Lunengrove,” I joked. Still, now that she’d said it, I could understand that. It wasn’t something that came in my mind when we spoke but then, I really did know all the places Helena went.
She seemed satisfied with that promise, giving a wide yawn that made me laugh. “Go to sleep,” I told her. “Tomorrow we’ll adventure. Tonight, though, we’ll sleep.” Falling asleep holding Helena was another thing that I had deeply missed. It was amazing to have it once again. Enjoying it to the fullest was exactly what I planned to do.
Another soft ‘I love you’ whispered against Helena’s hair lulled us both off to sleep.
Epilogue
Helena
JUNE 19TH, 2027
Despite my offer to pick Sam up from the airport, he’d insisted that he could drive himself. When I’d tried to protest that hiring a car for a one-way trip was silly, he’d said that he wanted to come home to me. It was impossible to argue with something that made my heart race so hard.
Which was why, an hour and a bit after he’d called to say he was on his way, I was anxiously standing at the kitchen window. As much as I loved my slow-cooker, maybe today was one day I should have prepared something on the stove. It would have given me something to do with my hands!
For seven years, just as he’d promised, Sam had been coming home to Lunengrove every summer. But this year was different!
Sam had played his last NHL match. He was finally coming home to me for good. Excitement at the thought of having him all year round zipped through my veins. Sam would be here to see the fresh shoots of spring, and the dusting of snow across the lanes, and the fall leaves in all their splendor.
He’d seen all those, of course. He came back for weekends whenever he could. But he hadn’t lived here. Not since we were teenagers.
I couldn’t wait!
Finally, an unfamiliar car rounded the corner of our drive. We’d bought a house together almost a year ago. A house Sam had only ever visited! Now, he’d be living in it with me. I’d get to see his face every morning, hear his tuneless humming as he brushed his teeth each night.
As soon as he stepped foot out of the car, I dashed through the door and ran to him. His big, strong arms wrapped welcomingly around me.
Joy and excitement welled up inside me, a tidal wave of emotions, threaded through with seven years of doing my best not to miss Sam when he was away. It had been hard. Sometimes, it had felt impossible. And though we’d talked about it, I’d always insisted that Sam didn’t need to retire for me.
And that was still true. But now he was retiring for us. Both of us, and the family we were building.
My emotions got the best of me, my eyes filling with tears that I quickly blotted against Sam’s shirt.
“I’m just so glad you’re home!” I rushed to say, not wanting Sam to worry. “And maybe the pregnancy hormones make me a little more weepy than usual.”
“I doubt that,” Sam teased but pulled me into a hug quickly. His lips
