A/n: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. This story has a very special place in my heart. It brought back my love for writing so I had a lot of fun writing this story. This is the final chapter so it's time to give our lovebirds a HEA and wish them well! Thank you all for your incredible support! xoxoxo
"Dean! Did you see that? I blocked him, yo!"
Dean smiled as the goalie, Trey, cheered his blocked shot. Whenever he had a free moment, he volunteered at a local ice skating rink in Inglewood, teaching the neighborhood kids. He remembered how much flack he'd received in the press from some fans about mentoring to kids in that neighborhood, even Rebecca commenting she wouldn't step foot anywhere near Inglewood unless she was in a taxi with darkened windows and on the way to LAX.
Dean didn't care. If a kid wanted to learn hockey, he was going to teach them. Maybe it would give him some practice for when he had children of his own one day.
"Okay, take a break, fellas!" Dean shouted and clapped as the kids made their way back over to the benches, where they drank water and Gatorade. "Good warm-up out there! Good start! We're going to divide into two teams and then switch so each person has a chance to play both offensive and defensive positions."
"Wow, look at that hot girl over there!" Marcus pointed out.
"Man, she is smoking!" Trey whistled.
"Dude, that's enough, okay? You need to be respectful to women, you hear me?" Dean chastised. "Don't be calling them out like that? Not cool."
"Nah, Dean. You need to check out this girl, man." Kevin pointed. "She is good looking, bro!"
"Fine. What girl are you—" Dean turned around and met eyes with Sydney. His breath was lodged in his throat and it felt the earth stood still. She wore short shorts and a tank top that clearly showed how cold she was inside the arena. Her normally-pressed hair flowed in numerous waves around her shoulders. He decided he liked that look better on her.
"Take ten, fellas," he instructed before he skated over to her. He stepped onto the mat and was more blown away by how gorgeous she looked. It seemed she grew even more beautiful than before, if it was at all possible. "Hey there."
"Hey," she stuffed her hands into her pockets, "um, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I'd stop by and say hello."
"You were in the neighborhood?" He chuckled. "That's a good one." His courage to speak was lodged in his stomach along with the rest of his emotions. "Um, what brings you by?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know if this is stupid or I'm wasting your time or…"
"You could never waste my time," his voice was barely above a whisper.
Dean's declaration sent a chill to Sydney's spine and her heart flip-flopped. "I don't know what I'm doing, Dean. There. I don't know what I'm doing."
"Tell me what it is that you want."
"I want you, okay? I want us. I just…" Sydney looked away at the floor. "I just…I don't know if you want me, too. I wish there was a more elegant way of saying 'I love you' because it's much more complicated and involved than just those three little words. Just to say I love you doesn't seem like it's enough. Like I've said it so many times and I'm afraid you really won't understand what I mean when I say it. And I'm scared I wasted airline money and time just to get here and for you to say, 'Fuck off, I'm good.' But I had to take that chance. I would have rather you say that than for me to never know. So here I am."
It seemed like an eternity passed between them before Dean spoke again. "I'm glad you were honest." He nodded. "So, fuck off. I'm good."
Sydney looked back at him. Her mouth was slightly ajar and she visibly swallowed. "Okay. Have a nice life." She began to leave before Dean pulled her close to him again.
"I'm just messing with you," he wrapped his arms around her and tightly hugged. Damn, he missed how she felt in his arms. "Listen, I wasn't the best fiancée and I still have some growing up to do. There are a lot of things I don't know. I don't know why the sky is blue and why the grass is green. I'm sure I can look it up in a book if I really want to know. What I can't look up in a book is why I'm so connected to something good happens, you're the only one I want to share it with. When something is troubling me, you're the only one who understands me. You're with me forever, Syd. Forever."
"Why do you always do that?" She chuckled as tears streamed down her cheeks. "You know how gullible I am?"
"I gotta keep you on your toes somehow," he pulled back and thumbed her tears away, "we have to rest of our lives together. We gotta keep it interesting."
"I guess so," she sniffled.
"Hey!" Marcus called out. "Aren't you going to kiss her!"
"Kiss her!" Kevin yelled. "It'll make her feel better!"
"Yeah, kiss her!" Trey agreed. A chant of 'Kiss her! Kiss her!" was heard in the stadium, even getting the parents involved.
"We have an audience," Sydney laughed.
"Well, we need to give them a show." Dean cupped her face and swept his lips across hers, emitting cheers from everyone. The pair kissed a bit longer before they finally broke away.
"You need to get back to coaching, babe."
"Hey," Dean took out his keys and removed his house one. "Wait for me at home, okay?"
Sydney grabbed the key from him. "I will."
"Syd?" Dean called out as he arrived home. He carried two-dozen roses and a box of chocolates. "I'm home." He heard the familiar billiards coming from the man cave and a smile spread across his face.
He walked downstairs and saw Sydney focused on a corner shot. "Do…not…ruin…my…shot."
Dean set the items down and walked over to the table hole where Sydney aimed to score. He opened his mouth wide and pointed at it. "Ready!"
Sydney missed her shot and Dean laughed. "Why do I even bother?" She shook her fist at him.
He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Oh, you know why." He kissed her forehead. "I'm the only one who can get away with everything you let me do. And you're the only one who will let me." He swept his lips across hers and she opened to accommodate him. Just as he was about to deepen the kiss, he pulled away. "Just one second. One last thing." He pulled out the engagement ring, lowered down to one knee, and slid the finger on her. "Your left finger was feeling chilly." He stood back up and kissed her again. "Much, much better."
The enormous yellow canary diamond shone against her light brown skin. "I think so." Sydney's cell phone went off and she grabbed it. "Hello? Yes, this is her. Uh-huh. Oh yeah, I heard about you through Sarah. Yep, Bonita. Um, sure. Okay, that sounds great. I'm in the middle of something right now so can I call you back in a few hours? Awesome. Thanks so much!" She hung up.
"What was that about?"
"That was Eden from the blog," Sydney's eyebrows raised, "she wants to interview me and highlight more of my work. Apparently a few buyers were interested in custom and original prints and want me to do a show."
"That's great, baby girl," Dean smiled, "you should totally do it."
"I will," Sydney stepped back and stripped off her clothing, with Dean following her lead, "but we have some make-up sex to do. Business can wait later."
Dean picked up Sydney and laid her down on the pool table. "I say that's a brilliant idea."