I finish repacking my suitcase with Cole sitting on my bed, as Noah walks through my open hotel door. "Good morning Princess. How are you?"
"Morning Noah. I'm good, but a little sad", I say back.
"Oh, we will see each other soon enough. The team has a game near Chicago in the beginning of October. I'll drag lover boy along if I have to", Noah laughs.
"Yay!" I squeal back.
Adding the last of my things to my suitcase, I zip it shut and set it next to the door. I hear Jonathan throw something into a trash can from across the hall, I can tell he missed. "That's why you aren't a basketball player!" I yell.
"Ha. Ha. Ha", Jonathan mocks.
I turn back to Noah and Cole. "I'm really going to miss you guys. I'm so happy you came out this weekend", tears well up in my eyes.
"Stop crying. We will see you soon enough", Noah wraps his arms around me. I push my face into his chest.
"I'm positive we will see each other before our original plan at Thanksgiving. I promise you", Cole says behind me. He walks over to Noah and I, joining the hug.
"Aaawwww Dave!", Jonathan mocks from the doorway. The guys and I move away from one another.
"An Encino Man reference, really?" I laugh.
"Sorry had to. It was an opportunity, I took it. I'm just glad you understood it", he says back with a sarcastic tone. "Come on. Q wants all of our stuff on the trolleys so we can take them down to the bus. Your bag ready?"
"Yeah, it's right there", I point to my light blue, hard plastic suitcase sitting on the floor next to the door. Jonathan takes the handle and drags it down the hall. "We leave in about ten minutes", Jonathan yells from back in his room.
Noah, Cole, and I talk for a few minutes before Jonathan closes his hotel room door for the final time and walks into the room. "Q wants us down stairs. We gotta go".
I wipe small tears from my eyes and the guys and I follow Jonathan out to the elevator. I close my door once I check everything is packed. The ride takes a short time, and the lobby is filled with the Blackhawks team. They stand in groups, talking, waiting for Q to make his final talk before we leave. Jonathan and Noah go off to talk to other guys, I take Cole off a little ways. I want to say goodbye in private.
"I'm going to miss you. So, so, so much. I'm going to try and come out with Noah in a few weeks. If I don't, I want to come out at some point to see your new home", Cole says. I wrap my arms around his neck. His arms snake around my waist.
"You have no idea how much I am going to miss you. Thank you for coming out here. I really needed it. I will see you as soon as we can".
Our lips crash together. We hold the kiss for at least a minute before we hear Q clear his throat and start his speech. I go back onto my heels, being on my tiptoes while kissing Cole. He smiles down at me before we walk back to the group with hands swinging together casually.
Q finishes his speech on teamwork and line changes, and we file onto the bus. I hug Noah goodbye one last time and find a window seat near the back of the bus. Jonathan sits next to me.
Cole and Noah stand outside of the bus, looking up at me through the tinted windows. They wave and blow kisses. Tears well in my eyes. They run down my face as the bus pulls away. I wave one last time, then turn back to the regular sitting position, staring at the seat back in front of me.
I let the tears fall, but I'm silent. I watch the city roll passed me as we head through to the airport. Jonathan looks at me every once in a while. He just watches me. Making sure I'm really okay. He grabs my hand in his and gives it a squeeze. I give a very tiny smile back to him.
We arrive at the airport and go straight through security. Our bags are taken care of and loaded on the plane. My blue suitcase stands out from all the other bags on the conveyor belt onto the plane. I take my seat near Jonathan and watch the last of the suitcases load onto the plane. The belt moves away from the plane and we start to move away from the gate.
The plane taxis down the runway paths and to the end of the airport property. The plane turns a sharp right and we sit at the end of the runway for a moment before it barrels down the runway, and soon, into the air. We travel over the city. I spot our hotel from above.
Goodbye Cole. Goodbye Noah. Goodbye Boston.
Authors note
If people haven't seen Encino Man, it's a movie from the late 80's. One of the best movies ever made. Go watch, I highly recommend it. It's about a boy digging a pool in his back yard and he finds a frozen cave man, then unfreezes it. You can kind of see where it goes from there. Go watch it! It's hilarious, I promise.
Enjoy the rest of the book. Update soon. :)
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One More Day (Counting on Hockey #2)
Romance*book two of the Counting On Hockey series. Read Just Another Goal prior to this book* Meredith and Cole are going into their Senior year of high school. They are inseparable together. Now both playing hockey, and being together for now more than a...
