breaking the ice | j. drysdale

[ 22 ]

【 eliana's pov 】

eliana has never been a big fan of celebrating the new year. it's just another day on the calendar for her. she's just never understood the reason why the entire world celebrates a new year when it's just the clock hitting midnight.

it's just another day for her. another party to go to.

this year though, jamie invites her to the ducks' new year's party. she was supposed to host one but it was so last minute that a lot of people already had plans. plus, some of jamie's friends that are on other teams are going to be there as well and they want to meet her. eliana asked to bring her brother and best friend, and jamie had no objection.

eliana, harper, and river get to the club that the ducks rented out at ten. when they get out of the uber, eliana lets out a heavy sigh. harper sends river ahead and stays back.

"what's going on through that head of yours?" her best friend asks. "i know you're overthinking something so talk to me."

she looks over at harper. "honestly, i'm not really overthinking anything," she admits. "maybe i'm just nervous that this thing with jamie is slowly turning into something else. he constantly wants to hang out and i'm always going to games to see him. i don't know if i'm ready for anything after luka."

harper frowns and eliana presses her lips into a tight line. "el, i have never seen you happier than when you're at a ducks game watching jamie or when you're hanging out with him," she tells her friend. "let it play out and see where it leads to."

"what if i break his heart?" eliana asks. "he's truly the sweetest guy and i don't want to be the reason he gets his heart broken."

she watches harper shake her head. "jamie looks at you with these really cute heart eyes," harper says. "when you cheer for him, he looks right at you and has the biggest smile on his face. i promise you that you won't break that boy's heart. not intentionally."

it would destroy her if she was the reason jamie's heart broke. he's the nicest, most caring guy that she has ever met.

outside of her own brother, she has never met a guy as nice and caring. it would be devastating if something happened and she's the reason that he breaks.

she's only hurt the people she's ever had feelings for.

harper does convince her to walk into the club in the end. lil jon's "get low" is blasting throughout the entire room and lights are flashing. there are probably close to a hundred people in the room already. it's overwhelming for eliana for about two seconds because trevor is stumbling his way over to her.

"eliana," trevor slurs, holding onto the last 'a' for a second. "where the hell have you been? your brother is over at the bar already two shots deep and you're just now walking in the door."

she smiles and harper immediately goes over to the bar to get river. "just needed to talk to harp about something," she tells trevor. "where's jamie?"

he looks around the room but eliana knows that he definitely isn't seeing straight right now. not with the way he's talking. "last i saw him, he was moping with mason and leo in the back," he says. "he didn't think you were going to show."

i didn't think i was either is what eliana thinks. when things look like they're getting serious, she runs. especially after luka.

"i'll go find him so he knows i'm here," she says over til the sweat drop down my balls. "thanks."

a girl throws her arm around trevor's shoulders and is pulling him away from eliana. she smiles and starts her quest to find jamie.

her eyes scan every part of the room as she walks around trying to find her duck. she even asks a few of his teammates where he is when she can't find him where trevor said he was.

it's not until she gets outside that she finds jamie with mason, leo, and paval mintykov. minty spots her walking toward them and says something to jamie. he immediately looks up and smiles.

"hey, jameson," eliana says as she approaches the four of them. she looks over at mason, leo, and minty. "nice to see you guys again."

"thank god you actually showed up," mason sighs with relief. "i could not handle sad jamie anymore. it's like watching a puppy cry or something."

she laughs and turns her attention back to jamie. "i got him from here," she tells his teammates. "go inside and have some fun."

with her permission, the three of them walk into the club. jamie leans against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest. he has on one of his white button ups and black dress pants. his hair is moving slightly from the breeze.

"you look good tonight," she compliments. "who are you trying to impress?"

"the dozens of girls that throw themselves at me every time i come to a party," jamie teases. "you have some competition tonight, eliana."

a small smile forms on her lips as they casually flirt with each other like they have been doing for weeks. it scares the hell out of her, but eliana feels like it's the most natural thing in the world. flirting with jamie feels so right when it should feel so wrong.

that's what scares the hell out of her.

"sorry i'm late," she says after a comfortable silence. "i needed to talk to harper for a second."

"i know," jamie softly replies. "i just want you to know that i think it's impossible for you to break my heart, eliana."

her cheeks heat up. "you heard all that?"

"i didn't mean to listen but i needed to get some hair and i saw your brother walk in so i thought that i'd go say hi to you and when i walked out of the building, i heard you talking," jamie admits. "i just ... i really like you but if you aren't ready for anything serious then i completely respect that. i will wait for you until you're ready though because i do like you."

this is what she means when she says that jamie is the sweetest guy. he's willing to wait who knows how long until she's ready.

maybe trying this out and seeing if it works isn't the worst idea. they've been friends for weeks and he hasn't shown any indication that he's like luka. he's actually the quite opposite of her ex.

"jamie." her voice is quiet. it's barely louder than the breeze that hits her face. it's loud enough that it gets his attention though. "can we try something?"

"yeah, anything."

with a moment of hesitation, she asks, "can you kiss me?"