Weirdly enough, I didn’t see Ace for the rest of the week, not even in the halls or the cafeteria, it was like he disappeared. Only to return on Friday with the biggest grin on his face as he awaited the start of the game.
I sat at the top of the bleachers, as far away from the ice as possible and hoped he wouldn’t see me up there, but to my luck, he scanned the crowd and spotted me right away. He gave a huge wave which only attracted all the female attention to me.
‘Oh, great. I haven’t even been here hardly a week, and I’m already the target of envy.’
I could feel all the jealous stares as the game started. At first, I didn’t find myself very interested, until I heard the horn go off, which I guessed signalled a goal as the players celebrated on the ice. I looked and realized it wasn’t our team, and it was only the first 5 minutes out of 20 minutes.
Maybe this was going to be a lot easier than I thought. I started to pay a little more attention to the game, even though I didn’t understand any of it, but it seemed easy enough to understand after you watched for a little while.
If you scored in the net, it was one point and the team with the most points by the end of the 3rd period was the winner. Each period was 20 minutes, but if a fight broke out it was often paused or what was called a power play would be given to the team that lost a member to the penalty box because the ice was now uneven with players, the opposite team having a bigger advantage with one more player.
Penalties could be given for other things, like something called icing, much like carrying on a basketball court, you could not hug the puck. This was the most I could understand from the single game, and I was so invested I had no idea the game ended until the final horn blared, and our school’s team started to jump in the air.
I looked at the board and saw that they had won by one point. Which meant Ace won the wager. What was going to happen as soon as he found out my name? Would he remember and then embarrass me in front of all these people? I was already the target of envy at the moment, it wouldn’t take much for that crowd to turn on me just like before.
I started to hyperventilate just thinking about that time, when I had no one and nothing, when I was completely isolated from the world. I couldn’t go back to that; I had come so far already to go back.
Ace skated off the ice and right up the stairs to where I was. My heart thumped in my ears the closer he got, until he was right in front of me, covered in sweat and grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m glad you made it; did you see us win?” he asked, looking like a kid on Christmas.
“Yeah, it was pretty interesting. My first hockey game, too.”
He sat down and took off his gloves, then wiped his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes.
“I’m honoured my game was your first, just makes it better that we won, then.” He stopped and took a swig of water from his bottle. “So, I believe we had a deal?”
I looked around at all the girls who were waiting for his attention and decided this wasn’t the best place for this.
“Why don’t I meet you outside? I don’t feel like getting attacked the moment you disappear,” I said and gestured to the girls.
He scoffed and waved them off. “Don’t worry, they’re harmless. Besides, we’re just friends, for now.” He winked. “I’ll get changed, meet me outside and don’t you dare you anywhere.” He pointed a finger at me and then rushed off. As soon as he was gone I too rushed out the door before anyone else had the chance to approach me.
I stood on the side of the ice rink and contemplated just leaving, but I knew even if I succeeded in escaping him today, there was no guarantee for the future. He would most likely hunt me down harder the more I avoid him, so I might as well show him that nothing is interesting about me.
“There you are, I thought for sure you would run off on me.” Ace chuckled. “Would you be interested in grabbing something to eat? I’m starving after that game.”
I didn’t see the harm, I had skipped lunch because of how nervous I was to show up at the game, but it was a lot better than I thought it was. If it wasn’t for Ace being on the team, I would probably watch more games in the future.
He walked us over to the campus cafeteria and grabbed a large slice of pizza. It was ridiculously cheap for a slice of pizza that was practically the size of a small pizza at any regular restaurant, but their dip options were ten times better.
We grabbed our pizza and salad, then walked outside where there were fewer people.
“So, what did you think of your first hockey game?” he asked.
I expected him to jump right into it and ask what my name was.
“Uh, it wasn’t bad, pretty entertaining at least.”
“Were you able to understand most of it? If there is anything you’re confused about, I could explain it to you, so it makes better sense next time.”
I scoffed. “What makes you think I’ll be showing up to another game?”
“Because I saw how interested you were in the first place. You looked really into it by the second period, and you even looked disappointed when the other team got a power play.”
He could see all of that from the ice, and while he was playing? How could was his vision? I was envious as hell. I had to pay for myself to get Lasik eye surgery just so I didn’t have to wear glasses while I danced, it was impossible.
“If I ever pick up the interest, I’ll let you know,” I said, and he shrugged before he took a huge bite of his pizza. “You really know how to impress a woman,” I added.
“I never said I was trying to impress you, and besides look at me. Do I really need to?” he asked with his usual cocky grin. It’s unbelievable that it has been 3 years since I last saw him, and he still looked and acted the same.
“Anyway, a bet is a bet. If I tell you my name, will you leave me alone?”
He looked offended. “Why don’t you want to be friends with me?”
I almost felt bad.
Almost.
“I’m just not interested in getting distracted. I worked too long and too hard for this opportunity, and I won’t let anyone or anything take it away from me, especially not myself. Thanks for lunch, see you around.” I got up from the table.
“Wait, you still haven’t told me your name.”
I chuckled. Well, as soon as he finds out, maybe then he will realize why and avoid me himself instead.
“It’s Isla. Isla Thatcher.”
I walked out of that cafeteria so fast you would think my ass was on fire. I expected Ace to run after me but to my surprise, he didn’t.‘Maybe he figured out a lot faster than I thought he would. I guess it would be hard to forget someone like who I was in high school.’ I still had 20 minutes until my next class, and it was right next to the library building, so I wandered over to kill time and read a book. It was another passion of mine that I loved to do, but I stopped reading in public after Ace constantly shouted out the embarrassing and weird books I read. Eventually, I just stopped reading.How could a guy like that ever think he could stand a chance of being my friend? He wouldn’t last two minutes with me before he ran off crying.Maybe that was it. This was my chance to finally get back at him for all those years of bullying me.That was laughable.I scanned the library's aisles until I came upon a beloved classic; A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. I fell in love wit
I was on my way to my Jazz-Ballet class when I got a random text message that said to go to the arena after class. I had my hunches that it was Ace, but I never remembered giving him my number. The worst it could be was a trap set by another, but again, how did anyone get my number? I hadn’t changed it since I first got my phone plan back at the end of high school, when I could finally afford one without my Dad knowing, but I wasn’t one to easily give it out or post it around social media like others. It wasn’t that easy to get a hold of. Since my gut told me not to, I avoided the arena for the rest of the morning, until I had saw Ace running down the hall to my classroom just as I was leaving. “Where were you?” he asked and looked quite breathless. I wanted to ask how he knew this was my class and that I had just finished, but I remembered he had been forcefully walking me to class every day since I got there. “What do
We had stayed like that for what seemed like hours before I finally scrambled off of him and stopped crushing him with my weight. “I’m sorry, I overestimated myself,” I muttered. I tried to hide my face as I felt my face heat up, I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. “It’s okay, that’s uh, a good thing. You’re getting the hang of this a lot faster than I expected. Do you want to keep going?” “Uh, no, I think I’m done for today. My ass can’t take the hits anymore.” I crawled on my hands and knees over to the side of the rink and used the wall to help myself up, then scooted along the side toward the door. Ace busted a gut laughing as he watched me shuffle like a penguin off the ice, then glided with ease toward the door and stepped off the ice like it was nothing. “Show off,” I grumbled. I was relieved to sit down and be on stable ground once more, but I was shocked when Ace bent down to start untying my s
I gawked at him for a few seconds, unsure if I had heard him correctly. “Can I go to it if it’s after my game?” He wasn’t kidding. “You…want to go?” He shrugged. “Why not? I’d love to see you dance, I’m sure it’s awesome. What kind of dance competition?” “It starts a few minutes after your game ends, I don’t think you’ll be able to make it in time.” I wanted to think of any excuse for him not to go. That was the last thing I wanted him to see. Knowing about the competition was one fear, seeing me dance was a whole other level of terror I didn’t want to experience with Ace Huxley. I could only imagine what he would’ve done to me back in high school if he had ever seen me dance. Thankfully, it wasn’t a passion I could afford at the time, and now it is the passion that helps me afford everything. “I have my car, if it isn’t too far, I’m sure I can drive there right after. If you let me go, that is.” He smiled, and for the first time, it didn’t touch his eyes. He was acting as if
Ace was quiet for a long time, and he refused to meet my eye. “Answer me; do you remember who I am, and that we’ve met before?” “What if I said yes?” he answered quietly. The blood ran cold in my veins, and I hated that I was right. He knew this whole time. Or maybe he didn’t, when did he realize? “How long have you known, and you just didn’t say anything?” I asked. “The moment I first saw you.” I sucked in a sharp gasp as it felt like I was sucker-punched in the stomach. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He scoffed. “I don’t need a reminder of the way I treated you; I didn’t think you’d give me the time of day. I thought…this was maybe my second chance.” “Second chance for what, to bully me even worse this time? What were you planning now, to wait until the moment was right and humiliate me with everything you learned about me? Was that the only reason you wanted to be friends?” I went off on him, though I hadn’t intended to. I wanted the truth, and I got it, but I wasn’t sure
I sat down at the island bar while Ace grabbed two beers and cracked them open.“What’s your fancy?” he asked and opened the fridge. “I could make chicken alfredo?”“Won’t that take awhile?”He shrugged and started grabbing the ingredients. “For me, it won’t take long.”“How did you get so good at cooking?”He lifted a brow. “I thought we were asking questions about our past, not just mine specifically?”“Okay, I can take a hint.” I pondered a few questions. “Why was I the only one you picked on, and why so harshly?”“A lot of the friends I had were guys from the hockey team, and my Dad made sure to go out of his way to get on good terms with them. It made them feel better when they snitched on me for not following my father’s pristine guidelines for the perfect life. If I showed interest in a girl like you, one of them would’ve definitely told my Dad, and like I said, I was an idiot and I was scared. I cared more about myself than I did my feelings for you, which is why I never belie
**WARNING - This chapter contains sexual content that isn't suitable for readers under 18. Readers' discretion is advised.**~*~“Well, aren’t you a charmer,” I muttered.Ace broke out laughing. “How drunk are you?”“Eh, I’m getting there. Why aren’t you on the same level as me?”“Because I know how to handle my alcohol, unlike you. Is this the first time you ever drank or something? I wouldn’t have given you a third one if I knew that.”I waved him off. “I’m fine, I just stayed away from alcohol for a long time.”“That makes sense,” he said. The air turned frigid around us.“Ah, hell. I always do that, my life is so miserable I always ruin the mood.”He chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that is your fault. You’re allowed to be angry at your life, you have every right.”“Is that why you were always so angry in high school?” I joked.He nodded. “I was an extremely angry kid, thanks to my Dad. It was the only emotion he really showed, he was only proud of me if I accomplished something he wante
When I woke up the next morning, Ace was gone but the aftermath of last night was still evident. I gasped when I remembered what went down and looked under the covers to confirm that I was in fact, butt naked.“I had sex with Ace Huxley…holy shit!” I tossed the covers over my head and screamed into my hands. “I can’t believe I did that. Wow, what the hell came over me?”I had no idea how we were going to react around each other now, but the fact that I was still there and no note or text message told me to get out once I woke up, I assumed I was still welcome to stay.Living here was going to be a whole lot different now after the night we shared. I wondered how he was feeling and remembered he had practice in the morning. A part of me wanted to go and see him, but the other part felt like that would be desperate and would definitely give off the wrong idea.‘What did last night make us now? We aren’t dating, but are we still just friends?’ The only person who would have the answer t