Worth the Chance (Watertown University #2)

37. Garrett

Chapter 37

Garrett

I hop into the shower and let the hot water soothe my sore muscles. That hit today was no freaking joke. It didn’t help that I was so in my head. Eliza has been on my mind every waking minute and sleeping one. She’s plagued my dreams on more than one occasion. While getting hit obviously wasn’t good, I can’t help but feel a little bit thankful. It led El and I back to each other. I didn’t have the chance to make it official but I will as soon as I can.

My mom is also here which was a happy surprise. I’m feeling positive about our relationship and want her back in my life as much as possible. While we can’t get back the years we lost, I’m thankful for the years we can have ahead of us. I shower quickly, wanting to get back downstairs. El and my mom are no doubt going to get along but I also feel bad that it was kind of a surprise meeting for both of them. When I return downstairs I’m greeted by the sound of laughter. In the kitchen my mom is showing El something on her phone.

“What are you looking at?”

“You were the cutest baby!” Eliza squeals. My mom flips around the phone to show me a picture of myself, around two years old, covered in chocolate ice cream.

“I have many more where these came from in picture books at home but I saved a few of my favorites to my phone.”

“Looks like I need to make a trip to Connecticut.” El laughs.

“You are welcome anytime.” My mom squeezes Eliza’s arm. My hearts warms at the sight. Seeing these two get along and having them in my life feels almost surreal. I’ve spent so much time over the past years determined to keep love out but I think choosing to let it in will be the best thing that has ever happened to me.

We all sit down together to enjoy dinner. The kitchen is filled with laughter as mom tells Eliza stories about my childhood. About the things Aubree and I would get into. El listens intently, like she’s soaking everything up.

“Aubree had Garrett wrapped around her little finger. Whatever his little sister wanted she got.” She’s right. I would do anything for my little sis.

“I like her. I think we would’ve been besties.”

“I can see that.” Moms smile is genuine but there’s the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes. It will always be hard to talk about Aubs and all she could’ve been but it’s good for us to finally remember her together. To share her light.

El insists on cleaning up dinner, allowing my mom and I some extra time together. We sit on the couch with a plate of cookies Eliza made earlier today.

“Wow.” My moms eyes widen as she takes a bite of the double chocolate cookie. “These are amazing.”

“My girl can bake.”

“That she can. I’m going to need to steal some recipes from her.” We both laugh as we enjoy the dessert.

“Thank you for coming, mom. I’m glad you did.”

“Me too, sweetie.” She rests her hand on my arm. “It’s so great to watch you chase your dreams. I’m so proud of you.” Those five words mean more than I could ever explain. One of the things I’ve always wanted was to make her proud.

After eating more cookies than we should, it’s time for my mom to head out for the night. Eliza easily pulls her into a hug and they exchange numbers so mom can ask her baking questions. El disappears upstairs, leaving my mom and I alone together again.

“She’s amazing Gar.”

“She is.”

“Do you love her?”

“I think I’m falling.”

“Good.” A smile plays on her lips. “Embrace it. Don’t let it scare you.”

“I won’t. I want to give it a chance.” A chance doesn’t even seem like the right words. It’s not so much a chance as it is allowing the pieces of my life to finally be put together. I pull my mom in for a hug and wish her a good night. Tonight was amazing, even if it ended up with me on my back on the ice.

Upstairs, the light in El’s room illuminates through her half closed door. I wrap my knuckles on the wood, lightly pushing the door open. I lean against the frame, taking her in. She’s sitting on her bed, wearing leggings and a white sweatshirt. She looks stunning, she always does but my heart twinges at the fact that she isn’t wearing my jersey or sweatshirt.

“What?” She sounds almost nervous.

“That’s not your game day attire.”

“I was trying something new.” She lifts one shoulder and smirks. God, the sass. I can’t stop myself from moving towards her.

“I think I like my jersey better on you.” I’m in front of her now.

“Oh really? ”

“Really.” I tuck a fallen strand of hair behind her ear and her breath hitches.

“Garrett.”

“Eliza.”

“What… what are we doing.” I point to the spot next to her, silently asking if I can sit. She nods in response, scooting over to leave room for me. I sit facing her, grabbing both her hands in mine.

“There’s a lot I have to tell you. I promise I will but I need you to know I’ve been putting in the work to heal. To understand myself better. I never wanted to until I met you. Despite all you’ve been through you have this unique ability to live for you. It’s inspiring. You inspire me.”

“I don’t think I’ve done anything inspiring.”

“Are you kidding me, El? You went through so much. Your life forever changed when you found out you have celiac disease but you found a way to work with it. It tried to bring you down but you’ve fought so hard to get back to yourself. To discover more about yourself. It made me want to fight my own demons.”

“Garrett…” She shakes her head like she doesn’t believe that I find her inspiring. I’ll make sure she knows it though.

“I really freaking like you El. I might be falling for you even and I can’t bear the thought of not having you in my life.” I take a deep breath before I ask the next question. It has the possibility to leave me in shambles but it’s worth the chance of her saying yes. “Will you be my girlfriend? For real?”

“I’m not going to lie Garrett, I’m scared. I don’t want to be left again.” My heart aches that I ever made her feel that way. “But what’s more scary is not giving us the chance and always wondering if we could have made it.”

“Is that a yes?” I need her to say. I need to hear it.

“It’s a yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.” A big cheesy grin takes over my face. I grab her hips and pull her onto my lap, earning me a small squeal. With my right hand I cup the back of her head, pulling her close to me, staring into those gorgeous eyes trying to show her I mean every word I’ve said.

“Kiss me.”

My lips connect with hers instantly. It’s soft at first, I don’t want to put too much pressure on this moment. However El has other plans as she grabs the back of my head and deepens the kiss. Her lips part, granting me access to swirl my tongue with hers. She tastes so sweet, exactly like the chocolate cookies we were just eating. My phone rings from my pocket, interrupting our make out session. I groan in disappointment causing her to break out into a fit of giggles. When I check the phone I see it’s a FaceTime from Ryan. We text but we don’t usually talk on the phone so I answer it on instinct thinking something wrong.

“Garrett! What the heck happened?” His face fills the screen. “Wait where the hell are you?” Shit. My background right now is a full length mirror that’s decorated with a collage of pictures around it. Definitely not my own room. “Is that Eli’s room?” Eliza’s eyes go wide as her brother realizes where I am.

“Uh, yeah. We were just chatting.”

“Move so I can see you both.” I obey, shifting myself so I’m sitting up against the pillows on her headboard, right next to her. I hold the phone out so he can see us both.

“Hi smelly Eli.”

“Hi Ry.” She rolls her eyes.

“What were you guys chatting about?” Our eyes flick to one another, a flush creeps up El’s cheeks. Hopefully Ryan doesn’t notice. The smirk on his face when I look back at the phone tells me he’s catching on to something.

“Uh, just about the fall I took.”

“Yeah what the hell happened? I heard you took a tumble.”

“A player on the Lions’ took a dirty hit, that’s what happened!’ El shouts, sounding worked up. “It was such bullshit. Garrett didn’t even have the puck!” Damn, I’m loving her coming to my defense.

“You went to the game?” Ryan eyes his sister.

“Oh. Yeah gotta support my roommate.” Ouch. I understand if she doesn’t want to tell her family yet but I’ve got to say I don’t love the roommate term. “Plus my friend Mia is dating the goalie.”

“Right. Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay Garrett.”

“All good. Just got the wind knocked out of me and a few bruises but nothing serious.”

“Glad to hear that. I don’t want anything to stop us from playing against each other next year.”

“Nah, you’re not going to get off that easy.” Someone off screen calls to Ryan.

“Alright, I gotta go. Have a good night you two.” He smirks again before ending the call.

“Roommate?” I lean over and kiss her neck, sucking on the spot for a second. “Would your roommate do that?”

“He might.” She teases me back. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to tell him yet. It’s still new to me.”

“I know.” I put my arm around her, pulling her closer. “We can take this at whatever pace you want.”

“Thank you. He did have a smirk on his face though which I don’t like. If he suspects anything he better keep his mouth shut if he knows what’s good for him.”