Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
The moment she opens her mouth, I’m completely blown away, and I know without a doubt this song is for me.
The beautiful notes and melodies come from the heart as she sings about forgiveness and regrets, how she tore up a love and devastated her own heart. She looks deep into the camera with tears pooling in her eyes as she tells the world that she will fight for me until her dying breath and won’t stop until she’s finally earned forgiveness for her mistakes.
But what she mustn’t realize is that she has already been granted that forgiveness. I will never let her slip through my fingers again. She’s my world. Always has been, and always will be.
She belts out her song, giving it every ounce of passion and dedication she possesses. There’s no doubt in my mind that she could sell out stadiums night after night if she wanted to, she’s just that good. But I stand by her decision. Her voice is hers and hers alone to do with it as she pleases, and I swear, after seeing this video, her decision has never made me so damn proud. This is Cass, the real Cass, finally sharing herself and her gifts to the world in her own way, on her own terms.
I listen to her song twice more before peeling out of the arena parking lot and driving straight to her place.
Finding the spare key hidden below a rock in the garden, I let myself in, making sure to lock the door behind me. I make my way to her room and watch her sleeping peacefully for a moment before stripping down to my underwear.
I gently lift the covers, not wanting to wake her as I slide in and wrap my arms around her. I pull her close, the way my body has craved for the past three years.
“Hmmm, what are you doing here?” she murmurs in her sleepy haze.
“I need to hold you,” I tell her as I nuzzle into the soft skin of her neck and close my eyes. “I saw your song. It’s beautiful.”
A yawn takes over her. “It was for you.”
“I know,” I murmur. “I love you, Cass. You hold my heart in the palm of your hand, and I promise you, I will never let you go.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she says, turning in my arms and placing a feather-soft kiss on my lips. “You’re stuck with me forever.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with,” I say, smiling against her lips.
“I love you,” she whispers, catching my lips with hers once again.
“I love you, too,” I murmur as I play with her hair, knowing it helps her sleep. “Good night, Cass.”
“Night,” she says as she falls back into a peaceful sleep, staying there all night wrapped in my arms.
It’s been a few weeks since Cass and I sorted our shit out, and to say the time has flown by is an understatement. She’s slotted back into my life like she was never gone. Like her being by my side every day is as natural as the sun rising in the morning.
I know the girl like the back of my hand, yet every day we’re discovering the kind of people we’ve become over the last three years. I consider myself one hell of a lucky bastard to be able to experience all these things with her for a second time. And at the risk of sounding like a fucking pussy, I’ve never been happier.
Pushing across the ice, my blades cut in as I shoot myself forward with only ten seconds on the clock. Coach Harris screams, his face turning red as he makes us fight until the very last moment. We already know we’ve won, the score six to four, but I refuse to give in just yet. Playing it safe is how you lose.
The crowd roars throughout the arena, chanting and cheering, already celebrating for their favorite team. I know without a doubt that Cass is one of those people, most likely already on her feet, probably jumping up and down with my number on her back. The thought pushes me faster.
I watch as our opponent corners Bobby, and I open myself up for him to shoot the puck. My stick scoops up the speeding puck with practiced ease as he fires it toward me. Xander and Shorty cover my flanks and protect me from the opposition’s defense as I sprint forward.
With two seconds on the clock, I see my opening. I shoot the puck, and the little bastard flies past the goalie’s pads, straight into the back of the net right as the buzzer sounds.
The crowd roars as my team tackles me. We’re halfway through the season and still undefeated. Not a single team has managed to bring us down. The boys climb off me and I get to my feet, only to be assaulted by the guys once again, with excited high-fives and claps on the back.