Chapter 120: Rivals on ice
Kayden
Rhys stared at me for a few seconds, then his expression shifted from shock to a deep, simmering pride, and he reached out and pulled me toward him.
"Then we’ll get it together," he promised and kissed my forehead. "We’ll win that cup, and then we’ll face whatever comes next. You have me, Kayden. No one—not even my grandfather, not even the league—is ever going to come between us again."
I smiled and hugged him again.
"You’re so brave, Kayden. I don’t know if I could ever have the strength to do what you’re planning," Rhys confessed, rubbing my back.
I let out a soft breath and raised my head from his chest to face him. "We’re both brave, Rhys. Look at us. Despite our messed-up families and everything they tried to do to break us, we survived. We’re still standing."
Rhys leaned in and kissed my forehead. "I love you so much, softie."
"I love you too, Ice Captain."
"Touché," he said, and we both laughed because we had both used the nicknames we hated.
For a moment, there was silence as I rested my head on his chest, but then a thought flickered in my mind, one I had been pushing back ever since Rhys told me about his grandfather. "Does she know? Does Linda know who I am?" I asked, trailing my finger on his chest.
Rhys shook his head immediately. "No. She doesn’t. My grandfather keeps his cards close to his chest; he hasn’t told her anything yet because telling her means having nothing to use against me."
"Good," I murmured. "I want it that way because I’m going to approach her myself once the games are over. I want to look her in the eye and let her know that the son she abandoned twenty-three years ago didn’t just survive—he became someone great. I want her to see exactly what she walked away from."
Rhys tapped my back slowly. "I am proud of you, Kayden," he told me.
I smiled and raised my head from his chest again, my eyes widening as I thought of something. "Concerning your grandfather," I began, "how about you agree to his demands?"
Rhys froze and then gently pulled away so he could see my face. "What the hell do you mean? There is no way I am letting go of you or getting married to Elian."
I chuckled and shook my head. "That’s not what I meant."
He beckoned to me to speak. "Then tell me what you mean."
I sighed. "I am saying we beat Rami Calder at his own game."
"How?" Rhys asked.
"You agree to his demands until the season is over so he won’t bother us anymore, and we both pretend we ain’t talking. We will make it believable even to the team, and once the season is over and we win the cup, I’ll reveal to everyone that I am an omega."
Rhys grabbed my hand gently and interlaced his fingers with mine. "And I will also announce to the world that you are my boyfriend."
"Really?"
He nodded. "Of course I will. We already gave the press and the fans something to talk about with our post tonight. They’ll be shocked to see us acting like rivals on the ice."
I burst into laughter. "That’s a good one."
Rhys pulled me into his chest again and let out a sigh of relief. "After everything has ended, we won’t have to hide anymore."
"No more," I responded.
Silence.
Neither of us said anything for a moment until I broke the silence.
"Thank you for tonight," I muttered against his chest, and before he could reply, I spoke up again. "Would you like to dance with me?"
I didn’t want the night to end on a note of bitterness or pain. I wanted to remember the feel of the yacht, the smell of the orchids, and the man standing in front of me. I wanted the night to be memorable.
"I want to dance," I said, a small smile finally breaking across my face.
Rhys blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in mood, but a matching smile soon tugged at his lips. "Anything you want. Which song?" he asked, placing his hand around my waist.
"Grow As We Go by Ben Platt," I replied. "It fits us. It goes along with our story."
"Good choice of song," Rhys said, and then signaled to the attendant waiting near the cabin, and a few seconds later, the soft acoustic melody began to drift across the deck.
I leaned my head on Rhys’s chest as we slowly moved together.
"I am so glad that I met you, Kayden."
"Me too, Rhys," I responded.
Just then, the sky lit up again.
A thunderous boom echoed across the water as a fresh round of fireworks exploded overhead, showering the dark night in brilliant cascades of gold and deep violet.
The light danced in Rhys’s eyes, reflecting the fire and the intensity I saw there.
"Beautiful," I whispered, the word hitching in my throat as I looked from the exploding colors in the sky back to the man holding me.
My heart was still hammering against my ribs, but the fear was gone, replaced by a strange, soaring lightness. "I will forever remember this date."
"And there are more to come," Rhys muttered and leaned in, his hand sliding from my waist to the nape of my neck, his fingers tangling in the hair the breeze had kept messy all night. "I want you, Kayden," he said as he kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back as if my life depended on it.
It was a slow kiss at first, our breaths mingling with the song playing in the background, but then Rhys shifted. He pinned me back against the railing, his body a solid, warm weight against mine, and the kiss deepened—turning into a hot, tongue-teasing heat that made me moan into his mouth.
The song continued playing in the background, and it resonated well with us because the lyrics mirrored our journey.
"I don’t think you have to leave
If to change is what you need
You can change right next to me
When you’re high, I’ll take the lows
You can ebb and I can flow
And we take it slow
And grow as we go."
"Let’s take this to the room," Rhys said as he pulled back, panting against my face, his eyes dark with a promise I was more than ready to keep.
I searched his face and smiled back at him. "Lead me, dear boyfriend."