Hainsey

Ottawa, Ontario.

I never thought I'd see this place, let alone be living in an apartment with my girlfriend and attending the school I've been pining over since I was a kid.

Though Ems had a room reserved for her in the dorms, her original plans changed when she managed to get me on the team and riding on a full-scholarship in landscaping and architecture. I owe my girl everything for doing that; because of everything she did for me, I'm here with her and my mom is in Alberta getting the treatment she needs.

It's been a month since we had the intervention for her back home in Whistler. I honestly thought I was going to be continuously worrying over how my mom is doing, but she's rarely my main thought. It sounds selfish, but I've been so busy with work, school, and hockey that I don't have time to think about her. Ems says it's for the best, and I know she's right about that. Mom's safe and being taken care of – I couldn't ask for more.

The apartment Ems and I now rent is ten minutes away from campus, residing by an exquisite park and some great cafés. Speaking of our apartment...it's a helluva lot smaller than my house back in Whistler, but I like it. The floors are a dark oak, save for the bathrooms and kitchen, which are slate; the walls are a light grey; the kitchen is a mix of old-fashioned and contemporary; and the one bedroom has a queen-sized bed and matches the rest of the area's style. My favourite part, however, is the large window I'm currently standing in front of in our small living room. Though the view is different and the area is much more city-like, it still reminds me of home in some ways. Like the trees that are now brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange, or the mountains in the distance – they make the area feel familiar yet different.

After taking a sip of my coffee, I exhale deeply, vaguely aware of the smile on my face.

"Somebody's reminiscing."

I turn around and see Ems walking toward me. Today her hair is up in a messy bun and she's wearing a black sweater with rips in it and a pair of tight skinny jeans. There's a cup of coffee – excuse me, a latté in her hands. I'll never be able to understand the difference between all these weird coffee drinks she makes. To me, coffee is just coffee.

I shrug at her, smiling sheepishly. "What can I say? The effect of shock still hasn't left me."

Planting herself beside me, Ems leans her head against my shoulder and happily sighs. "Can't blame you on that one, Hains. This seems surreal after everything that's happened to us."

Us.

That's one of the many things I love about Ems – she never draws a line between us and the shit we've faced. She never singles out one situation against the other. It's always us.

Setting down my coffee on the windowsill, I take her latté and set it down, and then gather her into my arms and hug her tightly. Ems has done more than I ever imagined possible for me, and I know there's no way in hell I could ever repay her. I can't believe there was a time I didn't want her, that I did everything in my power to push her away. Though there are some things, such as the drug incident, that I want to forget, I am happy we had that discussion in the cabin and sorted ourselves out.

"I love it when you hug me like this," she giggles.

I hug her tighter. "I love you."

Her fingers being to run through my hair and I feel her lips press against the skin of my neck. "I love you, too, Hains."

She continues to kiss me, and I can't stop myself from tilting my head back to give her more area. Yeah, girls love it when guys kiss their neck – everyone knows that. But why do they never talk about how much we like it when girls do it to us? Fuck, it's the best thing ever.

"You know," I rasp, "you keep doing that and things are going to escalate quickly."

Ems presses her lower against mine. "I think they already have," she laughs.

I groan. "C'mon, Ems – we were gonna go buy the final few things we need for this place."

Before I can stop her, she jumps and locks her legs around my waist. I have no choice but to wrap my arms around her body and hold her in place so she doesn't fall. "It's Saturday morning, Hains. We have all day to do that shit." She glances over her shoulder. "Besides, we've broken in the bed and the love seat. But the couch?"

That wicked, wicked grin takes over her beautiful lips.

I groan again, my senses heightening with every second that passes by. "You're going to be the death of me, Ems."

She cups my face and studies me for several seconds. "Your mom is going to make it," she whispers.

Another thing I love is how she can tell what I've been thinking about. I give her a half-smile. "I know – she's going to be in Whistler for Christmas and we're all going to sit down and have a functional family dinner."

Ems chuckles and shakes her head. Neither of us ever thought we'd be planning something like that, so it's a major improvement that we actually are. Personally, I can't wait. Though I still have a difficult time with Mrs. Brantford after learning the truth about what she said about her own daughter, I'm happy Ems and her have started to mend the broken relationship. Rosa's even come into the picture, but that's only because their dad has found someone he's interested in, which happens to be Val's mom. It's a complicated situation, but I think by the end of next year, if things work out between them, the three girls are going to become official sisters.

Suffice to say, life no longer feels like it's stuck in the Upside Down.

"So," Ems says, "what do you say? Think it's time to break the couch in?" Her hands slide down my shirt, stopping when she reaches my belt buckle. I hear it clink, and my body reacts before my mind does.

Shit.

I take a deep breath and nod. No matter how many times we've done this, she still makes me nervous as hell. Luckily, she finds my nervousness cute.

When we get to the couch, I playfully toss her onto it. She lands amongst the grey throw pillows and matching blanket we use while watching NHL games.

Ems shoots me a smug grin and wiggles her eyebrows as if to say, What are you going to do to me?

The truth is, there are so many things I could do to her. Things her mind can't even begin to comprehend. But as I stare at her, the night at the cabin flashes in my mind. Laying there, beside her, was enough for me that night even though I wanted a helluva lot more.

So instead of slowly stripping her down, I lay beside her, pulling her on top of me so there's enough room, and cradle her in my arms. I plant a kiss on her temple, breathing in her familiar scent.

"What are you doing?" she whispers.

I bury my face in her hair. It's so soft it reminds me of water. "Relishing in the moment," I reply.

She sticks out her bottom lip and makes a pouty face. "But I thought you were going to –"

"Oh, don't worry, Ems – we'll get there," I smile. "I just want to stay like this for a bit."

Ems snuggles closer to me. "Good thing you're an amazing cuddler."

I laugh. "Am I now?"

"Yeah," she replies. "And I understand."

She doesn't have to explain what she understands. I'm the type of guy that likes to keep things as simple as possible. And if it means laying here, on this small second-hand couch we bought together, then so be it.

She's with me and I'm with her.

It's perfect.

But I have to admit, when she reaches down an unzips my jeans, things become as perfect as perfect can possibly be.

"Ready for the first period?" she jokes.

"Baby," I laugh, "I'm already thinking about overtime and all the penalties and power plays."

We grin at each other, knowing there's no way in hell we're making it to the store any time soon.

But I don't care. I've got the girl I've loved since the moment I laid eyes on her at hockey practice.

We've been through some tough shit, but it's only made us stronger and better at fixing problems. We know the dos and don'ts of a relationship. We know how to deal. We know what love is.

And we're never going to lose each other ever again because of that.

Grinning, I reach for her shirt.