Chapter 239 I Like Us
Chapter 239 I Like Us
POV: Silver Preston
Eli helps me stand. Leads me out into the hallway. We walk to the study lounge, our spot now apparently.
"Your knee okay to walk?" he asks.
"It's fine. Just sore."
We sit on the couch. Close but not touching. I can feel the space between us like a living thing.
"I meant what I said," Eli starts. "I never hated you. Even when you hated me."
"I didn't hate you. I was scared of you." I pull my legs up, wrap my arms around my knees. "Scared of how much I felt. How much power you had to hurt me."
"I never wanted that power."
"I know. But you have it anyway." I look at him. "And tonight, watching you watch me skate, I realized something. I've been so focused on what you could take from me that I forgot to appreciate what you've given me."
"What have I given you?"
"Safety. Support. Someone who sees all my broken pieces and doesn't try to fix them. Just holds them carefully and helps me put them back together myself." I feel tears threatening. "You gave me the courage to get back on the ice. Not because you pushed me. But because you made me feel like I could fail and you'd still be there."
Eli reaches for my hand. I let him take it.
"You didn't fail. You skated beautifully."
"I barely did anything."
"You did everything." His voice is intense. "You faced your biggest fear. You got on that ice after months of being too scared to try. You proved to yourself that you're not finished. That's everything."
I wipe my eyes with my free hand.
"I like you. God, I more than like you. I'm so far past like it's ridiculous. But I needed to say it out loud. Needed to admit it without the fear attached." I look at him directly. "I like you, Eli Hayes. I like your stupid protective instincts and your bruised knuckles and the way you jump over boards to catch me. I like that you're broken too and you're trying anyway. I like us."
Eli pulls me closer. Kisses my forehead.
"I like us too."
"Even when we're a mess?"
"Especially when we're a mess." He smiles against my hair. "Mess means we're real. Means we're figuring it out together instead of pretending to be perfect."
We sit like that for a while. No words. Just presence.
My phone buzzes. I ignore it.
Buzzes again.
"You should check that," Eli says.
I pull it out reluctantly. Text from Americus in all caps.
SILVER PRESTON I JUST HEARD YOU ADMIT YOU LIKE HIM OUT LOUD AND I AM EXPERIENCING EMOTIONS. FINALLY. FINALLY. YOU STUBBORN BEAUTIFUL DISASTER OF A HUMAN. FINALLY.
I show Eli. He laughs.
"Your roommate is intense."
"She's been waiting months for me to get my head out of my ass." I type back: calm down. we're talking.
Americus: TALKING IS CODE FOR KISSING RIGHT? PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE KISSING.
Silver: goodbye americus.
Americus: FINALLY!!!!!!
I put my phone away.
"She's never going to let me live this down."
"Probably not." Eli stands up, pulls me to my feet. "Come on. Let's get you back before your knee swells up."
We walk back to my dorm. Slower this time. No rush.
At my door, Eli kisses me. Soft. Sweet. Nothing desperate or urgent. Just honest.
"Goodnight, Silver Preston," he says. "Skater. Disaster. Girl I'm stupidly in love with."
"Goodnight, Eli Hayes. Hockey player. Protector. Boy who catches me."
He leaves. I float back into my room.
Americus is waiting with a bottle of sparkling cider and plastic champagne glasses.
"What is this?" I ask.
"Celebration. You finally admitted you like him. To him. Out loud. Where he could hear." She pops the bottle. "This is a momentous occasion."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm right. Riley, back me up."
"She's right," Riley says, accepting a glass. "You've been circling each other for months. Tonight you finally landed."
"To Silver," Maya raises her glass. "For being brave enough to skate and stupid enough to fall in love."
"To us all being disasters," Americus adds. "But at least we're disasters together."
We clink plastic glasses and drink terrible sparkling cider and laugh until my sides hurt.
For the first time in months, everything feels right.