“I know. Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Wren sulks, grabbing my hand, pulling us past them. “We better go before someone gets grumpy.”
*
We get to the stadium and as I expected, it’s completely packed. There’s a certain buzz that radiates from each wall as we make our way through the crowds of people. We walk up to our seats, people’s heads turning as they see I’m not down on the ice. It’s weird having this many people care about what we do.
Unlike Zaiver's dad, my dad doesn't fund the team in anyway so it's not like anyoneneedsme on the team.
I keep my arm around her shoulder until we’re sitting comfortably in our seats with a perfect view.
I’ve just finished explaining to Wren how the game works for the third time when Sophia Aoki sits down on the seat below us. She does a double take when she sees Wren and me.
“Hi, Miles. Long-time no see,” she says, pushing her dark hair behind her shoulder, getting a better look at me. “I thought you’d be on the ice today.”
“Nah, not yet. I’m still working on my training,” I say with a shrug.
“Yeah, I get that,” she replies understandingly.
Sophia, Carter, and I became close in high school through Greyson who had grown up with her. She quickly became one of our favourite people when we found out how much effort she puts into her own studies but how she shows genuine interest in everyone else’s lives. She became a good balance for us when we were starting out here and she’s kept most of the team sane since high school and I’ll always be grateful for that. She turns to look at Wren.
“You’re Wren, right? I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Hi,” Wren replies smiling, snuggling further into me. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” Sophia grins before turning to me. “I thought you two were coming to my party, but I didn’t see you there.”
I feel Wren stiffen beneath me as she looks up at me and then flashes a shy smile. I run my hand down her arm quickly before resting it back on her shoulder.
“Yeah, we went for a little while, but we didn’t stay for long. Sorry we didn’t get to say ‘Hi’ then,” I explain.
“No, it’s cool. Can I say that you guys are so cute together!” she exclaims. Wren’s face turns red with heat when I slip my hand down to her waist, squeezing gently. “And Wren, you’re a figure skater, right?”
“Yeah, I am,” Wren replies. Sophia’s face lights up, quite literally. Her smile always reaches her eyes as lined dimples form on her cheekbones in a childlike way.
“That’s so cool! I always wished I could skate but I’msooooclumsy So I like to live vicariously through them by watching the team play,” she laughs. Which is very true. She fell into a Koi pond outside the venue of our High School prom and whenever I see her around, she walks like she has two left feet. “I’d love to see you skate sometime. Do you have any competitions coming up?”
“Yeah, actually. We’re doing a winter showcase in December. I’d love to see you there,” Wren says, and I can’t help but smile. That’s my girl. As introverted as she seems, seeing her interact with other people makes my chest swell. She gets herself worked up about it but when she realises that my friends are not out to get her, she relaxes a little and lets herself enjoy talking to people that aren’t Kennedy and Scarlett.
“Great. I’ll be there. I’ll ask some of my friends to come and I’ll bring Brie.” Her smile widens at the mention of her girlfriend. "Are you going to be there too?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Sophia smiles and then she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, a nervous tick I've noticed she's had over the years. "Miles, can I ask you something?"
I sigh, knowing what's coming next. "Soph, we do this every time." Wren looks up at me in confusion. "Sophia, here, is a little photographer. You've probably seen her photos all over the school and on the school Instagram account. She still looks confused so I add, "She wants to take a photo of us."
Wren smiles shyly but before she can say anything, Sophia cuts in. "I'm planning on making a mockumentary of some sorts for this seson and I need some more pictures of NU's star player. I need to schedule in an interview with you soon."
"That sounds really cool," Wren starts. "But do I have to be in it? I'm not on the team."
"Yeah, but you're on my team," I murmur and she rolls her eyes. "Come on, baby. Just one photo."
She groans. "Fine. Just one."
Sophia squeals happily and whips out the camera that she takes with her everywhere and instructs Wren and I to sit closer together until she's basically in my lap. As I keep my arm around her shoulder, she uses one of her hands to wrap around my middle, snuggling her face into my shoulder.
She feels too good like this. Too much.
"Say, 'Hockey!" We do as she asks, no matter how cringe it is. The camera clicks and Wren doesn't pull apart from me. Sophia holds up the back camera to her face and squints at it. "It's perfect."
