𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Jonesy

  I found Althea sitting in the small booth just outside the rink, furiously shoving her feet into her skates. Her body was rigid and muscles tense, I could almost feel the anger emanating from her.
  "Althea, hey, you'll damage your skates that way." I closed the distance between us and placed a hand on her thigh, forcing her to stop.
  She let out an angry huff of air and leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms. "I'm just so...argh!"
  I sat down beside her and flexed my jaw. "Yeah, me too." Finding out Blake was the mole explained the strange look she had given me at our game last week.
  "What does she get from that? Trying to ruin my life? We didn't end on super bad terms, I just moved schools to get away from my mother." Althea muttered, crossing her arms.
  "Some people just like messing with others, maybe it wasn't even personal." I offered, even though I didn't believe it myself. It definitely had to have been personal. If I ever came across Blake again, I would tear her a new one.
  "But how did she even know? She lives thousands of miles away." She turned to me, her eyes wide. "That means she has her own mole."
  I nodded, trying to think of who could possibly hate Althea that much. No one came up.
  "Jonesy?"
  We lifted our heads to see my hockey coach standing in the entryway of the rink. "Can you step into my office for a moment?"
  Anxiety formed in my stomach and I turned to Althea. She gave me a quick kiss and a smile. "I'll be fine, you go talk to your coach."
  I nodded and made my way up the stairs, following behind Coach Carter. We made it into her office and she offered me the chair across her desk. I sat down nervously and ran my hand down my legs, bracing myself for the worst.
  "Jonesy, I am aware that there have been some things going on in your personal life; I haven't been invasive or anything, but it has been brought to my attention that your grades have been dropping."
  She gave me a serious look and folded her hands. I hadn't meant for my grades to slip, not drastically at least. I had missed more days of class than I would like to admit, but I was trying to make up for them.
  "I'm sorry, Coach. I've just been going through a rough patch, but I am trying to get caught up. I'm working on it."
  Coach Carter shook her head. "Trying isn't enough, Jones. You really have to show it, and until you do, unfortunately I have to bench you for the next couple games."
  My stomach dropped. "What? No! These last few games are the most important, scouts are coming from PWHL teams and I have to be there."
  PWHL scouts never sent out a letter or an email before showing up so you would never know when they would stop by for a game. It meant every game leading up to the championship was a chance to prove to them that you deserved a spot in the league.
  "I can't be benched, Coach. My team needs me to win." I didn't want to sound cocky but it was well known that I was one of the best players in Maybanks. My leg bounced anxiously and I tried my best to keep calm. I couldn't be benched.
  Coach shook her head in disappointment. "I'm sorry, Jones, but until your grades come back up, you'll be benched. And for your sake, I hope they do. I know how badly you want to get drafted this spring. Now, you just have to show me how badly you want it."
  I left Coach's office feeling defeated. There wasn't any point in going on the ice since I wouldn't be playing, I had to focus on my studies.
  I headed back to the rink to watch Althea and arrived just as she finished a solo set. A smile crossed her face when she saw me and I forced a small one in return.
  She instantly saw through it. "What's wrong?" She skated to a halt and leaned against the railing. "What did your coach say?"
  I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled deeply. "I'm benched for the next few games."
  Her jaw dropped. "For how long?"
  "Until I can get my grades back up and I'm honestly not sure that's even possible at this point."
  Althea reached across the rail and took hold of my hand. "We'll get them back up and you can play again. I'm an excellent tutor."
  I laughed. "That sounds like a great idea, thank you."
  "Of course, now are you coming onto the ice or not?" She let go of my hand and took several strides backwards before spinning in a circle.
  I ran a hand across the back of my neck and shrugged. "I don't really see the point."
  "Well, I do. C'mon, Jonesy. Aside from that awful game of hockey in Aspen, we've never really skated together."
  I laughed and walked down to where I had left my bag of gear and pulled out my skates. "Okay, that game was not that bad."
  "It was awful, I don't know how you do it."
  "You think figure skating is better?"
  "Fuck yeah."
  I shook my head, quickly pulling on my skates and meeting her in the middle of the rink. "Oh, I'll show. Hockey is definitely the superior skating sport. I mean, figure skating is just ballet with skates instead of pointed shoes. There's no need for speed."
  She snorted playfully. "Oh, please, Claypoole. I could do laps around you. Hockey is basically lacrosse on ice; you're a copycat sport."
  I stopped and leaned against the rim of the rink. "Are you challenging me to a race, Beckett?"
  Althea tucked her hands behind her back and skated towards me. "Maybe. What do I get if I win?"
  I laughed. She was not going to win, I wouldn't let her. I had been skating since I could walk, I trained my body day and night. I wasn't about to let a figure skater beat me.
  "Anything you want, only because I know it's not going to happen."
  She came up closer to me, stopping a few inches away, her hands still clasped behind her back. "Oh, don't count your chickens before they hatch." She cocked a brow at me, a mischievous smile on her lips.
  I could play along. I knew my strength was being almost larger than life, but I was still agile and quick. The only person on the team who could best my time was Bela.
  "Four laps around the rink? Winner gets whatever they want." I stood up straight and got into starting position. Althea nodded and did the same. "See you at the finish line, Claypoole."
  "Count of three? One...two...three." The last word had barely left my mouth when Althea darted off, quick as a bullet. I was quick behind her, unfortunately eating her dust. Or snow.
  She moved with such speed and grace, her skates a blurr beneath her.
  Damnit, Jones. I thought to myself. Be faster. I shoved off my feet, rounding the first corner just milliseconds behind her. She was wickedly fast, taking sharp turns and unfortunately she was in fact doing laps around me.
  She spun around, skating backwards, a smile flashing across her face. She quickly blew me a kiss before turning around, completing the fourth and final lap, thus making her the winner.
  "Ahah! I told you I would win!" Althea's face was flushed and her eyes shone, all worry about finding the mole gone. She was happy, at least for a moment.
  I held onto the side of the rink, my other hand on my knee. I was completely out of breath, she really had challenged me and I was not easily challenged.
  "Hey, I was close behind you. You beat me by a fraction of a second."
  She tossed invisible hair over her shoulder with a grin. "All I'm hearing is that I won." She moved towards me and leaned back against the rail.
  She reached up and tucked a few strands of stray hair behind my ear. Her fingers were so cold, I nearly jumped. I was so used to wearing my thick gloves, I never realized just how cold the rink got.
  "Shall we go back to our dorm so I can claim my prize before dinner with my dad?"
  I brought her face to mine and kissed her. "Hmm, and what is this prize you plan on claiming?"
  She laughed into the kiss. "I have a few ideas and I think you'll enjoy all of them."
  We exited the rink, taking off our skates and stuffing them into our bags. "I will follow your lead, Bon." I joked, still sticking with the nickname her dad had given her.
  "Jonesy, I swear to God, shut the fuck up." Her laughter rang through the stadium, echoing off the walls. She held my hand as we made our way up the stairs and tossed me a smile over her shoulder.
  She might've thought I was joking, but in all seriousness, where she went I would follow. In a heartbeat.