Between Friends and Lovers

(15) Oliver

I could feel her eyes on me. I could feel Alex's hazel eyes on me. It was making it hard for me to focus on the conversation taking place around me.

Catching up with my old teammates wasn't as exhausting as I thought it would be. It reminded me of how good it was back when we played together. Some of them, though, like me, had stopped playing hockey. And even though I wasn't going to admit it out loud, the fact that I wasn't the only one here who wasn't playing anymore made me feel great.

However, I was on edge the whole time. I was waiting for one of them to mention the reason I stopped playing or want to talk about my last match since there were a few videos of it on the internet. Even though none of them had said anything about it, I knew it was coming.

Maybe I was being paranoid, or maybe Miles' text was getting to me. Between Miles' text and hanging out with my old teammates, it was hard not to be paranoid. Especially since hockey was one of the things that people liked to associate me with. This made me wonder what people would associate me with if I wasn't a hockey player anymore.

"Oliver." Simon tapped my arm, and I turned to him. "You're friends with Jacqueline, right?"

That was a loaded question. One which I didn't know where it was going to lead this conversation.

"Kinda," I answered, unsure of what he wanted.

"What does that mean?" he asked, making some of our teammates stop their conversation and focus on us.

"I mean, we are in the same circle of friends," I pointed out. "So I guess you can say we are friends."

Since I came back, I haven't had a conversation with most people in our group. So I wasn't sure if I could call them friends or acquaintances. But that wasn't something I was ready to explain to these guys. They wouldn't understand.

"Great." He beamed. "Do you think she'll go out with me?"

I lifted an eyebrow. I was puzzled. The way they were talking and laughing together, I thought that Jacqueline had already said yes. After all, the triumphant look on his face had convinced all of us that he had scored a date.

"I thought you said she already agreed?" Titus asked, making Simon sigh.

"She giggled and said she'd think about it," he told him before turning to me. "So what do you think, Oliver?"

I think that Jacqueline was a hard person to read, and therefore, I was as confused as he was. As much as that was the only answer I could think of, I didn't think that Simon would be happy with it. He seemed eager to hear me tell him that she'd say yes. But I didn't know if she would. Jacqueline was unpredictable.

"Honestly." I glanced at Alex, who was still looking at me, making me even more nervous. "Judging by how she was when you two were talking, I'd say she's going to agree."

Even as I said it, I didn't believe it. Jacqueline could wake up tomorrow morning and decide to tell him no. But that wouldn't be my problem, though.

Simon clapped me on my back before turning back to the guys and sharing his excitement. I groaned before looking away. This night was going well, there hadn't been any problems so far. Except if I could count Alex staring at me as a problem.

I looked at her, wondering why she was sitting alone. Where were her friends? Alex got along with pretty much all the people here, so why was she sitting alone as if she didn't have any friends?

Before I could change my mind, I stood up. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Without waiting for their reply, I made my way towards Alex. As if she knew that I was coming over to her, she got up and walked inside the house. For a split second, I debated whether I should follow her. But I followed her despite not being sure if she wanted me to.