Not All Hockey Boys Are Bad

Chapter 7

Chapter 7
"Holy shit... Holy fucking shit." Georgia cursed under her breath after she took in the full story of me and Jack. It wasn't like I told her he killed my dog, but she overreacted anyway.
"Wait, so you and him... shit... do you like him?" She asked grabbing her backpack from the floor and standing up. I followed suit. The bell had rang, class was over.

"No! I don't like him, not even a little bit!" I denied even though my cheeks heated. I didn't like him, right? I looked down at my feet to avoid meeting Georgia's eyes.

There was no way I could like him. He's given me no chance to. How could I like someone who ignores me, then protects me and stares at me when I'm not looking. I'd never like someone that confusing. I just can't.

"Okay... Just a standardized question. I see the way he looks at you and I just thought maybe-"

"Think nothing. I mean nothing to Jack and he means nothing to me. We just keep bumping into each other that's all." I mumbled tightening the straps of my backpack on my shoulders. We were almost to my stop. I breathed in relief this conversation is about to be over.

"Okay, fine. You two are nothing. Got it." She smirked at me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I sped up leaving her behind as I made my way to my next class.

"Wait, Rosie! I was just teasing. How bout a skating sesh after school. We are way over due for one!" She yelled after me. People turned to give her and I weird looks. I smiled, ignoring the people around me. "Hell yeah, I'm down!" I shouted back at her. Georgia laughed, gave me a goodbye wave, and turned to walk down the hall.

"Miss Owens, please refrain from yelling in the halls and using bad language." Mrs. Dale scolded me as I slipped into her classroom.

"Yes m'am."

* * * *

It was freezing. My bones felt brittle, my fingers were purple, and I was sure there were icicles hanging from my nostrils. Where is Georgia?

It's been over twenty minutes since the last school bell rang and I've been standing at her car for what felt like hours. I've already tried looking to see if she kept an extra key under her car, but I came up empty handed. I pulled my phone out of my pocket checking to see if she responded to the text I sent her five minutes ago, but the screen was blank. If she didn't show up soon we would miss our chance to skate before the hockey team's practice.

All of sudden I heard shouting.
I instantly recognized Georgia's voice. I turned to see her trying to walk away from Nolan. He kept attempting to stop her but she shrugged him off. She looked pissed, but I could tell she was hurt.

Both Nolan and Georgia were out of my hearing distance and I didn't try to intervene. I watched as Georgia turned on Nolan and pushed him back. She shouted something at him but I couldn't hear what it was. Nolan froze letting Georgia storm away from him. She didn't look back at him to make sure he wasn't following her, she only set her gaze on her car.

When she was a couple of feet away from me she forced a smile onto her face. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Ready to go skate?" She chirped. Her voice was higher than usual and her tone was too peppy.

"We don't have to go to the rink, plus we missed our chance to skate anyway." I suggested lightly opening the passenger door and slid into the seat.

"Oh damn, well you want to just go to the rink anyway? I could use a little hockey watching." She smiled though it was fake.

Georgia hated hockey. She hardly ever went to a game with me. She claimed the noise, the small puck, and the cold air gave her headaches so she stayed away. I neglected to point this out to her. It was obvious she just wanted to get away to someplace where Nolan wouldn't turn up at. The rink it is.
"Sure, let's go."

The rink's parking lot was filled with the hockey boy's cars. I recognized Cole's and Talon's but the rest were a mystery to me. Although one, small,old volkswagen beetle caught my attention. It stood out amongst the jeeps and trucks. Which hockey boy in their right mind would drive that car to the rink? I wondered.

"You coming? Or are you going to stand in the cold?" Georgia asked bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Well...inside the rink wouldn't be much of a difference in weather would it?" I joked gaining a smile from Georgia. She scoffed and bumped into my shoulder. "C'mon you sarcastic asshole."

I laughed and followed her in.
"Rosie! It's good to see you again, how's your mother?" Phil asked the minute he saw me. Here we ago, the same question I get from him. It never changes. I watched as he poured coffee into a Styrofoam cup. I contemplated on telling him some outrageous lie about my mom's well-being, but I decide against it.

"She's doing great, I think. I haven't seen much of her lately." I told him absentmindedly. "But could I get a cup of coffee for my friend and I here. We're going to hang around for a bit."
Phil smiled, nodded, then grabbed two more cups before filling them with coffee. "Two cups on the house." He winked. I laughed, thanking him. I handed a cup over to Georgia, her gaze was focused on the bleachers next to the rink. I knew that look. She was trying to think her way out of her emotions. I sighed. At this point of her recovery phase I couldn't do much other than be there.

I tapped her shoulder bringing her out of her daze and pointed over to the far left corner of the stands. My hopes were that it was far enough away that we wouldn't be noticed by the boys on the ice, especially by one in particular. We sat down next to each other, I took a sip of my coffee, and we settled our gaze onto the hockey practice in front of us.

Practice seemed to be about half way over because they were split up into two teams, working on game situations. I recognized Jack immediately. His practice jersey had ridden up to reveal his padding underneath and he leant against his hockey stick listening intently to what his coach was saying. He gave the coach a final nod before he tore out to the center of the ice. His current teammates huddled around him as Jack explained the play they were shooting for.

I watched as an extra from one of the two teams dropped the puck in between Jack and Talon who were the centers for their teams. Jack pulled the puck away from Talon then flicked it to his right. Kylar had to turn sharply to catch the puck with his stick but he quickly passed it over to Parker who pushed through the two defensemen on the opposing team.

They didn't have time to react before Parker took his chance and shot the puck into the goal. The boys on Jack's team whooped and hollered in victory while Jack skated circles around Talon. He was laughing, making teasing chirps, Talon shook his head and shoved Jack's shoulder. They teased each other a little more before each bursted into laughter and skated over to grab a drink of water.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom, real quick." Georgia told me. I had forgotten she was there, I was too entranced by what was going on the ice.

I nodded to her retreating figured then glanced back at Jack. He was looking directly at me. So much for going unnoticed.

I tried to look away from him but I found myself unable to. Something in his eyes was inviting and it wasn't until he jerked his head back twice signaling me to come down that I moved. I took the steps one at a time yet it seemed as if I had taken all of them at once. Jack was standing in front of me with only the glass between us. He was alone, his teammates were busy messing around on the ice.

"Wait for me here after practice. I'd like to speak to you." He said. His expression hadn't changed, but my heart raced.

"Why?"

"Just wait...please." His tone changed. He sounded like he was desperate to get me to stay. I sighed.

"Okay but-" I started but was cut off by a whistle. Jack bit his lip and turned his attention back to the team.
I returned to my seat and anxiously waited for his practice to end.