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“Come here.” I can't let her stand there, cold. I tug on her hand until she's standing in front of me, still facing towards the front of the line. Releasing her hand, I run mine up and down her arms while standing close to her, hoping that will help. Lucy grabs my hands and pulls my arms around her as she leans into me.
“More warmth this way,” she explains. Whatever you say, Lucy. I hug her closer, trying to keep her warm and cozy. “You have the tickets, right?” She turns her head to look at me.
“Of course, I do,” I chuckle.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing.” Winston is the one who owes me since I covered his tickets.
Her cute, little nose wrinkles in confusion. “This isn't a date, so I should pay for mine.”
“Then consider it a date,” I shrug. That seems like an okay thing to say, right? She's not about to pay me for her ticket because I asked her to come, date or not. Lucy isn't happy with my answer, though.
“You can't do that.” She turns in my arms, placing hers around my waist, a frown on her face. I'm tired of seeing that damn thing already and it only just appeared. “You can't make this a date so I won't owe you. That's not fair. What makes you think I would want to be on a date with you anyway?”
That, unfortunately, catches Winston and Maddie's attention during a pause in their conversation, and they try to conceal their laughter. The line moves forward, though, and I don't get a chance to respond as our turn in line arises. We make it through security before getting our tickets scanned. What is so bad about being on a date with me? I take her hand and lead her through the building. There are a ton of people in here. It's like rush hour without the cars. Lucy ends up walking behind me. I keep a firm hold on her hand, but I still feel her grab the back of my shirt. Like I'm going to release her hand and leave her alone to find her own way to our seats.
We go up the stairs until we reach the top level. Winston and Maddie lead the way to our section. Once we finally reach our row, Lucy lets go of my shirt, so I do the same to her hand. We sit with Winston and me on the ends and Maddie and Lucy in between us. They are both looking around and down at the ice, making comments to one another as the players warm up. As soon as there seems to be a pause, I grab Lucy's attention and ask the one question that is bugging the hell out of me.
“Why wouldn't you want to go on a date with me? That's like the third or fourth time you've said something like that.” I make sure to ask quiet enough that Maddie won't overhear.
Lucy directs her full attention to me. “I didn't say I wouldn't want to. This just can't be a date because you don't want me to pay you back.”
She didn't say that she would either, I note. “Look, I asked you to come, so it's on me.” Lucy nods in acceptance. “Do you want to give this learning hockey thing one more try? You may be able to follow it easier here.”
“You can try.”
I HELPED MADDIE study last night after we worked out together. She's training for a 5K in February that a club here at the school is hosting. I didn't know that Maddie loved to run that much and is trying to build herself up to a 10K and so on. I think it's a little early to train for that, but what do I know? When we decided to start working out together, she told me she started running after I left for college.
We've gotten to a good place I think as she tells Lucy about the upcoming run. The first intermission has passed and let me tell you, it's hilarious listening to Grant explain the game to Lucy. The girl gets frustrated quickly when she doesn't pick it up right away. Maddie seems to have made a new friend in Lucy, too, which is pretty cool. After Lucy and Grant leave to go buy drinks, Maddie turns towards me.
“I think I just talked her into running the 5K with me,” she smiles with excitement. “You should do it with us too.”
“I don't know. That's pretty advance planning. Something else might come up.” There's no way I want to do that with her. She is a little faster than I am, according to only one race between us, and I wouldn't be able to survive a 5K. Not because of the running, but because I would have to see her half-naked, February or not, with her hair up in a tight ponytail, swinging as she runs, and little sprigs falling to hang aro
und her face by the time she's finished. I don't need to see her ass or her tits either.
Nope. Not happening.
“It's first thing in the morning, Winston. Just say you don't want to do it.”
“I don't want to do it,” I say.
“Fine. You can study with me tomorrow before your game then. I have a test soon, and I want to be prepared.”
“I'll be there,” I promise. I have no clue why she's not doing well in this class because she knows the material inside and out. She might have test anxiety. Maybe we'll work on that instead of actually studying. My eyes travel over her features as she faces the ice once more. One thing that I haven't been able to surpass is how gorgeous she is. Maddie still invades my dreams in the hottest ways. It's ridiculous.
“They are so adorable,” she gushes, placing her hand on my thigh to get my attention. On the ice are a bunch of little kids, playing a quick game before the intermission is over. “I don't think you could have been that cute when you were younger.”
I laugh as I move so Lucy and Grant can squeeze back over to their seats, handing us our bottles of drinks on the way. The second intermission starts and I lean towards Maddie.
“Are you picking up on Grant's explanations?”
She shakes her head without looking away from the action. “I'm not listening. I want to watch and absorb the awesomeness. I don't need or want to know anything else. Ooooh!” Maddie sits up straight as a fight breaks out down below on the ice. Her eyes are captivated by the few punches that get thrown in before the refs break them up and ship them off to the penalty box. “God, that was sort of, kind of, really hot.” She turns to Lucy. “Don't you think?”
Lucy blushes, shakes her head, and mumbles a 'no'. I'm not so sure that I understand what Grant sees in her, which would aid his 'she's only a friend' line. I don't think boys and girls can be just friends. Wait, let me correct myself. They can be friends, but someone is wishing they weren't. Like myself right now, for example. My mind is occupied more with Maddie than the game.
Which is crazy and wrong and bad, but it's the truth, so no need to deny it to myself. From the corner of my eye, I watch Maddie watch the game. She moves to the edge of her seat, entranced by almost goals, or jumps up with a goal, no matter which team scored. And then, sometimes, she's leaning back in her seat, looking bored almost. During the third period, I decide to see if she's actually enjoying herself or not.
