Meet Me at the Rink

Chapter 18

~ Austin ~

"I've got a question for you." I say as we wait for the third period to start. "Oh yeah? What kind of question would that be?"Ally asks smiling at me with an intriguing look on her face. "Do you ever leave the rink?" I ask jokingly with a grin on my face. "You're asking me if I ever leave the rink? What about you? Do you ever leave the rink?" She replies with raised eyebrows and a beautiful smile. "Of course I do!" I reply as we both laugh. "Well then, there's your answer!" She exclaims.

Our conversation gets cut short when the whistle blows for the third-period puck drop. Lana's line was on so our attention was put back on the game. The score was 3-1 for the opposing team so this period was their last chance to score some goals to catch up.

"You know, I think your sister's going to score a goal." Ally says leaning in a bit towards me. "Oh yeah?" I ask as I look down at her. She turns her head and looks up at me. "Yeah!" She exclaims. "Why's that?" I ask. She smiles and replies "I've just got that feeling." She smiles.

We watch as Alana cradles the puck in her stick to protect it while she tries to fight off the opponents in the offensive zone. "Keep going Lana!" I shout. "Here she goes... Here comes the goal." Ally says next to me as she grabs hold of my arm. I watch as Alana breaks through the traffic in the corner and goes to the net. "SHOOT!" I shout as the puck flies off her stick, over the goalie's catcher and into the back of the net. "I told you!" Ally exclaims as the crowd cheers and I look over to Ally who's still got a hold on my arm. Our eyes make contact for a second before Ally lets go of my arm and her cheeks turn red. "Sorry." She says. "No, no it's okay." I assure her. "It's fine." I add giving her a warm smile.

** After Alana's Game **

Alana's team ended up losing 3-2 and now Ally and I are waiting for her in the lobby. "Oh, here she comes." I say as Alana comes out of the rink toward us. "Hey kid, good game!" I say bringing her in for a side hug. "Thanks." She says bluntly. "Hi Alana, good game out there and nice goal." Ally says as Alana looks at her slightly confused. Lana turns and looks at me for help.

"Lana, this is Allison." I say. "Is this your girlfriend?" She asks as I look from her to Ally whose cheeks were turning beet red. "Ally's one of my friends. she came to watch your game today." I reply as Alana looks over to Ally and extends her hand. "Nice to meet you Allison and thanks." Alana says with a small smile. "You're welcome and you can call me Ally." She replies with a warm smile.

Alana looks up at me and smiles. "I like her. She's good for you bro." She says as I let out a small laugh. "I like her too." I reply looking at Ally as we both smile. "I'm gonna go talk to coach for a minute, I'll be back." Alana says as I nod. "Nice to meet you Ally!" She exclaims. "Nice to meet you too!" Ally replies.

Ally and I begin to walk toward the parking lot. "So um... I've got a home game Wednesday night and I have a pair of tickets reserved for you." I say before a moment of silence goes by. "That's only if you want them though!" I add quickly. "Austin... If this is your way of asking me to come to your game then yes." She replies with a comforting smile. "I'd love to." She adds as a smile sneaks its way onto my face. "Bring your skates with you." I smile.