Prove It

Chapter XXXIX

It is so fucking cold.

Why in the world did I bring him to a hockey game? I mean, it's what his mom suggested I bring him to, but I didn't think about bringing gloves or a hat like the idiot that I am.

Thankfully Marcus is more than eager to curl up in a blanket next to me. The problem is every time someone on the Bruin's side does something worth cheering over, he stands up out of the seat, taking the blanket with him along with his body heat.

I guess taking him out for his birthday wasn't a mistake, being he's having such a great time, but it was a big mistake on my end thinking the rink wouldn't be as cold as it is outside.

Oh my Lord I was so wrong.

But on the bright side it is also Valentines Day, which means after this we're going back to his house and doing a bunch of really corny cuddly shit like couples do on this very special day. He claims he has it all planned out, but I don't know what that means in his mind.

I try my best to follow the game in front of me, but if I'm being completely honest, I have no clue what is going on. I try to think of it as football, but on ice and with pucks and sticks instead of a ball, and it kind of works. Honestly if I'm thinking about it right the two are pretty similar besides the obvious.

The last period comes to a close and I swear for the last fifteen seconds of the game the entire stand section was more wild than they had been for the past two. When the Bruins are named the winner, Marcus jumps up and down, celebrating with the complete strangers to our sides and behind and in front of us.

"That was so amazing! I don't think I've been to a hockey game since my dad took me last when I was eleven." He has my hand in his as he tries to maneuver the car around the busy parking lot.

"Well Happy Birthday," I say, kissing him on the cheek.

"Maybe we should make this a tradition, you know when you come up for winter break we could go to games," he says casually, but it makes my heart lurch in my chest. Oh God I really don't want to think about that right now.

When I got accepted into FSU I was over the moon excited, so much so that the waitlist news from Michigan had been completely wiped from my mind. My parents won't allow me to commit yet, but I'm nearly positive that's where I want to go.

Now the question in my mind is, are Marcus and I going to continue our relationship into college? I know so many couples who have done both, and I'm not sure what's right for us.

But I love him, so that's why this decision has been so hard to think about. Whenever someone brings up the topic I shove it away, not wanting it to interfere with all the good memories he and I are making together.

I look at him with a starstruck look I'm sure. It's hard not to look at him without admiring his handsome face. He doesn't see since his eyes are concentrated on the snowy roads for ice. I haven't told him I love him yet, even though I do. But because of the whole maybe not being together I'm not sure if telling him I love him is fair. But at the same time he says it to me all the time- in the morning, at school, when we say goodbye, when he texts me goodnight- and I want to let him know I reciprocate those exact feelings.

I don't know. If it comes out it comes out I suppose.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" he asks, glancing sideways at me.

"Nothing. Just can't wait for you to eat the cake I made for you," I say.

He laughs and kisses my hand. "I can't wait either. I've bought plenty of your stuff from the bake sale." He chuckles again, nervously. "I'd always watch to see what you brought in the day it was advertised. Felt like you were making something for me every time I bought one of the brownies you would bring."