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I realize how rude my reaction was and apologize. "You can look at him. I don't know why I said that."
Leia, however, remains unfazed. "I know why you said that."
I prompt her to continue, asking, "Enlighten me, then."
She grins, "You have a crush on the captain."
"Ew, don't call him captain. It makes me think of him as a pirate." I grimace.
"A sexy pirate," Leia teases.
My voice turns wistful as I admit, "Yeah."
"I knew it!" Leia exclaims, pointing at me. "You have a crush."
I try to downplay it by mentioning her frequent crushes. "You have crushes all the time. On just about everyone you meet."
Leia agrees, "Yes, I do. You, on the other hand, do not. Now that I think about it, you've never had one before."
I rack my brain but can't come up with any names. "Huh, I guess I haven't."
"This is big! We should go get ice cream to celebrate!"
"I thought we were getting ice cream anyway?"
Leia, beaming with excitement, responds, "Yeah, but now it's celebratory ice cream. That makes it taste even better."
I can't help but smile at her enthusiasm. Leia may be rough around the edges, but when she lets her guard down, she's one of the most caring people I know. "You're insane."
"You love it," she says, and I can't deny that I do.
CHAPTERSIX
SUTTON
I twistand turn in front of the body-length mirror attached to the back of our bathroom door in our dorm room. I carefully appraise the outfit Leia has dressed me up in for the children's skate.
I'm wearing a simple and casual ensemble of jeans, a white turtleneck, a university crew neck, and boots. It's a rare occasion when Leia encourages me to wear something borderline ridiculous, but it's her thing when it comes to anything related to hockey. I can't help but appreciate these small quirks; one day when we no longer live together, she might have a meltdown over my fashion choices.
As I scrutinize my reflection, it suddenly vanishes when Leia opens the door and makes her way to her bed from the bathroom. She's dressed much like me, but with a black turtleneck. It's her peculiar habit – when I approve of her outfit selection, she decides to match mine. We always attract strange looks, but Leia finds it amusing. Over the years, I've grown used to such idiosyncrasies, one of the few forms of attention that don't send me running for cover.
I stand there, patiently waiting for Leia to signal our departure, and she doesn't disappoint. Without a word, she gathers our purses, jackets, and takes my hand, leading us out the door. Gotta love a girl who takes charge.
We step out of the building's front doors and are met with the chilly autumn air. It's brisk enough to make us rush to her car as quickly as possible. Once we're safely seated in her car, I silently send out my prayers to the universe, hoping for an easy day. But my thoughts are quickly drowned out by the blaring music that Leia cranks up.
Twenty minutes later, we arrive at our destination, and Lane is waiting for us as usual, leading us straight to the men's locker room. Oh, no. I'm having war flashbacks, though this time it's not war; it's my own embarrassing moments.
As we enter the locker room, about twenty hockey players are engaged in conversation with their teammates. Within five seconds, someone notices Lane, and within another five seconds, all twenty-two pairs of eyes are locked onto us. Lane seems to have these guys under control, and I like that. He guides Leia and me to the front of the locker room, positioning us next to him beside the giant whiteboard.
The intensity of all that attention makes my body quiver, and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed when Lane steps forward and addresses the group, breaking my anxiety. "All right, listen up and be respectful." He places a hand on Leia's shoulder, "This is my daughter, Leia...," then another hand on my shoulder, "and essentially my other daughter, Sutton."
I keep my eyes trained on the floor, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Lane continues, "You guys will listen to everything they tell you to do today. I don't want to hear anything negative. We are here for the children, and we can put smiles on our faces and enjoy our time, or you won't enjoy your practice tomorrow."
I sneak a glance to see how everyone reacts to Lane's warning, but my eyes immediately lock with Lincoln's. My prayers are so not answered today.
Lane finishes his speech and takes questions from the players before leading everyone out of the locker room to prepare for the children's arrival. Leia and I are the last ones to leave, and just as I'm about to exit the tunnel, someone grabs my elbow and pulls me back. I gasp in shock and stumble into something solid.
My luck, I look up into the bright green eyes of the man I can't stop thinking about – Lincoln. Concern spreads across his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pull you that hard."
