Meet Me at the Rink

Chapter 8

~ Austin ~

I pulled up to the rink and dropped Alana off at the doors so that she could go sign in while I searched for a parking spot. "Kick some ass out there Lana!" I shout as she nods and closes the tailgate of the truck. I put the truck in drive a few seconds after and slowly drive through the parking lot until I find an empty space. "Perfect!" I say to myself as I put my turning signal on and pull into the parking space.

I turn the truck off after putting it in park and grab my phone from the cup holder before taking my keys out of the ignition and getting out of the truck. I close the door and lock it as it beeps before I start walking toward the rink. Just as I'm about to put my phone in my pocket, it buzzes with a text notification and I check to see who the text is from.

I'm playing on Pad 2. The text from Lana read. I quickly type back Okay thanks. before noticing I had an unread text message waiting for me. I go back to all of my text conversations and see Allison's name at the top. I click on it and read the text she sent.

Good because I was starting to think I may have had the wrong number but I'm glad you didn't try and prank me. It read.

Wanna know a secret? I normally don't give my number out to strangers but something made me want to give it to you. I reply as I arrive at the doors of pad 2 where Alana said she'd be playing her game.

I finish typing my reply to Ally as I reach out to open the door while hitting send. I begin to walk into the rink when I bump into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't -" I say looking up to apologize to the person in front of me. "Austin?"The girl asks confused. "What are you doing here?" She asks. "Ally?" I ask recognizing her voice. "I was just coming to watch my sister play, she's on the ice next." I reply.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "Oh, my sister's game just ended. I came to watch her play." Ally replies. A moment of silence goes by before I speak. "You know, we've really gotta stop meeting like this." I say as a small smile forms on my lips. "Like what? Running into each other at the rink?" Ally smiles. "Well yeah, I mean...Isn't it kind of ironic that we keep meeting in a hockey rink?" I ask. "It is but you know what...I kinda like meeting you this way." She replies with a smile.

"Okay Als, I'm ready to go now." A girl that looks exactly like Ally says stopping next to her. "Who's this?" She asks. "Lucy, this is my friend Austin. Austin, this is my little sister Lucy." Ally introduces us. "Hey, to meet you." I smile putting my hand out to shake Lucy's. "Nice to meet you too." Lucy replies. "Well, we better get going, Lucy's got a team dinner before her next game and I have to make it back to the rink for my game later tonight." Ally says. "Alright, see you later then. Nice to meet you Lucy and good luck tonight Ally." I reply before they make their way toward the exit.

** After Alana's Game **

"Great work out there today Lana!" I say pulling into the driveway of my parent's house. "Thanks but it's too bad we lost in OT." She replies. "Hey, shit happens but you still did great and I'm always gonna be proud of you kid." I reply as she opens the car door. "Thanks Austin and thanks for coming to watch me play." Alana says. "Anytime kid!" I reply as she grabs her gear from the back and walks up to the garage and opens it up before stepping inside and disappearing into the house.

Before backing out of the driveway, I pick up my phone and unlock it before opening my text app and clicking on Ally's contact.

What time is your game tonight? I type before hitting send.