Locking Stars (Stars Series #1)

17

Okay. Well. Funny story. I'm currently in an Uber that will probably put a dent in my bank account but right as I saw that guy's fist connect to Derek's face and him fall onto the ice I panicked. I jumped off my bed and pulled up my Uber app. The rink is only about five minutes away and I probably could have walked but it's nighttime and I was not about to get mugged or kidnapped.

The Uber driver is a nice dark skinned lady. She seemed to notice my anxious energy and asked where I was going. I'm not sure why I poured my whole story out to her but I told her my boyfriend is at a hockey game and he's hurt. Yes, I pulled the boyfriend card.

We pull up to the rink in about four minutes. I thank her and make sure to add a tip for how nice she was. I race into the rink and I stop to realize, what now genius? I'm not so sure I can just walk into the locker room just because. But I could at least try?

I walk in the direction the signs lead me and a security guard stands guard at the door. He watches me suspiciously as I nervously walk up to him.

"Can I help you ma'am?" He asks in a very controlled tone.

I clasp my hands together nervously. "Um well, yes." I say awkwardly. "Is there any way I could get into the locker room to see my," I hesitate. "Boyfriend? Derek Collins. He just got hit on the ice and I'd really like to make sure he's okay. It's just he got hit really really hard and I'm really worried and-" I ramble on but he stops me.

"Okay, okay, that's fine." He says. "Should be the first door on the right."

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and I thank him. He opens the door for me and I walk in the hallway to the locker room.

I open the door slowly and peek my head in. I can vaguely hear voices coming from the other end of the room but it's pretty much silent. With the players on the ice, I assume there's no one here.

I walk through the room and see a door cracked open. I pull the door open and two heads move to look at me coming through the door. Derek, who sits on the edge of a bed like thing, still in his pads and jersey, stares wide eyed at me with blood stained under his nose and a white bandage holding his nose together. The other man looks like a sports type doctor who just smiles. "Ash?" Derek says shocked.

"And who might you be?" The doctor asks at the same time.

I lock eyes with Derek who's eyes soften within the shock. "I'm Ash, I... I was just coming to make sure he was okay."

The doctor just looks amused. "Well then, Derek, you should be good." He says looking back at him. "That nose should heal up in a few weeks. Come see me for a follow up on Monday." He says.

Derek thanks him and he leaves the room. I look back at Derek and for some reason, tears prick my eyes.

I walk up to him, standing so we are face to face. "Ash what are you doing here?" He asks.

I bite my lip nervously. "I'm sorry, I just, I saw someone post the video of you getting punched on Instagram and I had to make sure you were okay and I didn't-"

"Ash," he says, stopping me. He cups my cheek. "It's okay, I'm alright." He smiles and he wipes a tear off my cheek.

He hops off the edge of the bed thing and I step back. His skates are off but he still has pads on. "I'm gonna take a shower and change, okay? You can stay with me till the games over alright?" He asks calmly, watching my reaction.

I nod. "Oh yeah, totally, go do that. Don't worry about me."

He chuckles. "My favorite thing to do is worry about you Ash. Didn't you know?" He jokes.

I glare at him to where he just laughs and I follow him into the main locker room area. He leads me over to his section and I sit near his stuff. It's definitely a boys hockey locker room. I'm not even gonna think of the smells right now.

I wait a few minutes and check my phone while doing so. Derek comes in a second later sporting only a towel around his waist and I gulp. His chest and abs glisten with moisture from his shower and his wet hair dangling in his eyes makes him look very very nice to look at.

We lock eyes and he smirks. Just as I think he's going to grab his clothes and leave the room, he drops the towel. I make a strange noise out loud and cover my mouth. I probably should have covered my eyes but, well, it's technically nothing I haven't seen before.

"Derek!" I exclaim and then I cover my eyes.

He laughs. "Oh come on,"

I giggle. "That's inappropriate! Someone could have walked in on me sitting here watching you naked!" I say and he loses himself in a fit of laughter

I hear shuffling for a second and then it stops. "You can look now, Mayfield." Derek teases.

I peek in between my fingers and see that he's now wearing sweatpants but still no shirt. Not that I'm complaining. We just make goofy smiles at one another but I think we both realize what our stance was before I entered that medical room.

I look down at my phone in my hands.

"I'm so sorry," he says. "About that night."

I nod slowly. "I..." I hesitate again.

I'm not sure what I think anymore. I know that I care about Derek and the connection I have to him is not something I could put into words. I look back up at him and know exactly what I'm going to say.

"I believe you," I say softly. "I think I believed you that night too but I was scared. It was all happening so fast and it was too much. I've told you that I get overwhelmed fast and I think it just took over." I feel like crying again but I don't. I really need to say this. Derek kneels in front of me.

"That's okay, Ash, it's not your fault. It's all happened so fast for me too and I really shouldn't have put myself in that situation. I didn't even see her walk up to me. I wasn't even paying attention." He stops and laughs. "I was actually just about to call you and ask if I could stop by your dorm." I smile.

He frowns again though. "But when it happened I had a gut feeling it would get to you and not in the way it was supposed to. I pushed Stacey off of me and told her to F off. She then waltzed away and came back when you were storming toward me."

I shrug. "What's done is done. We never did establish what we were to each other before all this happened and it was a gut reaction to get mad."

He reaches for me and pulls me so I'm sitting on his lap. I lay my head on his shoulder and he wraps his arms around me.

"You know I like you right, Mayfield?" Derek asks.

I lift my head and gaze at him, chuckling. "Are we in middle school telling each other we like each other?" I joke,

He smiles. "Well, I think it gets straight to the point, how about you?"

I scrunch my face in a cringe. "I'd rather not be reminded of the awkwardness of middle school but you are right about that."

He chuckles. He leans in close and brushes my lips with his. "But like I said," Derek whispers. "I like you a whole lot."

I smile. "And I like you very much as well." I whisper back and kiss him.