Summary:

“You’ll text when you land, right?” Shane asks as he takes an exit ramp labeled Airport Departures.

“Yes. Promise.”

“And you’ll call tonight?” Shane’s throat works over the words, like he still doesn’t trust this new thing between them. Ilya thinks he understands. He also doesn’t know how to trust this love. How can he when it has been trapped in his own heart so long. Neither of them know what the next year will bring. There is so much time before Ilya can have his agent, or his future agent, he will need a new one with no connections to Russia, reach out to Ottawa and hope that they’ll be interested in a future Hall of Fame center. The one thing Ilya is certain of is that he will do everything in his power to make their plan work. He spent his entire adult life lusting after, and then pining for Shane with his whole heart.

“I will call.” Ilya reaches for the hand Shane has left on the gearshift and threads his fingers through his. He wants to say so much, but he has always been better with touch than words, especially when the only shared language was English. “We will talk every day.”

Or, There is a year before Ilya can sign with Ottawa, Shane counts down the days until their forever.