Spring's Unexpected Love

Chapter 19 (Asher)

At some point, while my fellow teammates and I celebrated our win, Ximena disappeared. I wasn't sure when; she was there for a second then gone the next. It was a pity since I barely got to talk to her. My eyes scanned the arena, looking in the direction where she had been sitting earlier.

She wasn't there...

"Who're you looking for?" Luka asked, startling me from my thoughts.

"No one!" I said quickly. I pointed at my coach to change the subject, "Look, it's Coach Jackson!"

Luka's eyes widened, "Oh, then I gotta bounce; I think the coach is still mad at me from last time."

"Levin," the Coach growled, glaring at Luka as he passed by, "You're not causing trouble again, are you?"

"No sir!" Luka said, "And for the record, I didn't know it was your bag I filled with ice last time. It was just a harmless prank."

"Your 'harmless prank' fried my laptop!" Coach Jackson yelled, "Now go back to the audience, you punk!"

Luka saluted the coach and winked at me before leaving the benches. Then the coach signaled for us to gather around him to form a huddle.

"Listen up, boys! You did good today." My teammates cheered, and he waited for them to settle down. "Reid, your performance was outstanding, keep up the good work. Harris, you need to work on your reaction time; those Seals stole the puck from you several times today."

"Yes, sir," Harris mumbled, hanging his head.

After a few more criticisms along with some praises, Coach Jackson reminded us one last thing. "Just because we won today, doesn't mean you don't need practice. I expect all of you to show up tomorrow."

He was met with a bunch of groans from my teammates. Practice was tough, especially after a game, but it was because of the coach's endless drills that we were so good.

Afterward, the team dispersed and went their separate ways. Jin and Jawad had already said their goodbyes and made their way to their families, who had been waiting patiently for our quick meeting to end. I found my grandparents waiting for me by the arena's exit, proud smiles on their faces.

"You did good today, son," my grandfather said, patting me on the back. Something inside of me warmed as it always did whenever he called me "son." It made me feel wanted, like I truly belonged somewhere.

"Just good?" My grandmother said, shaking her head, "Asher, you were smashing it today!"

I laughed, "Smashing it?"

She shrugged, "Teenage lingo is hard."

My grandparents had attended every single one of my games since I'd started playing hockey. Even when my parents couldn't make it- which happened more often than not- I always knew I'd find my grandparents in the crowd rooting for me.

For some reason, the image of Ximena in the crowd tonight, cheering after I scored my first goal, popped into my mind. Again, an emotion I couldn't decipher blossomed in my chest.

I checked my phone as we walked outside, the cool spring air, sending shivers throughout my body. There was only one message from Luka, who assured me he had already gone home.

Even though it was nighttime, the arena was lit up in a bright blue and there were floodlights around the parking lot, making it easy to see. I instantly recognized the figure running in my direction from a silver SUV parked not too far from me.