Chapter 18 #2
“What the hell is going on?” a girl’s voice says from behind. “I go and check my phone for one minute and you’re being scooped up by a hot hockey guy who looks like he’s two seconds from proposing on the ice.”
Maybe I was.
“Seriously? I’ve been skating for nearly fourteen years and the closest I get to a romantic moment is Nick freaking Caine offering me a ride on his roller guards.
” I hear her gag. “But you? You face-plant like a trembling baby giraffe and suddenly every hot guy on skates is racing over to catch you. It’s unfair. Offensive, even.”
“Nick Caine? As in St. Michael’s center?” I glance over my shoulder, and nearly slip on my skates, something that only happens when Laura’s around.
“Oh, do you know him?” She smiles brightly. “Don’t be fooled by his easy-going charm. He’s an idiot!”
Of course. Same face, same eyes—just different vibes. Laura looks ready to bolt, and her sister? She’s smirking at me like she knows exactly who I am and what I did.
“You aren’t doing much for my sister’s perception of hockey players by asking that,” she says, skating around so she’s facing us.
Meanwhile, Laura stays silent. She’s staring at her skates, and her jaw is tight while she pretends she’s not holding on to me for balance.
Her fingers curl in my sleeve and I’m trying really hard not to read into that.
Her sister holds her hand out. “I’m Noelle.”
I take it and shake, the name suddenly sparking recognition. A recognition I don’t dwell on since I know how bad it makes Laura feel. “Hi, Noelle. I’m Scotty.”
She pushes out a breath and rolls her eyes. “Please. Do you really think I don’t know who you are? Your dad inspired me to play.”
“I’ll let him know.” I give her a forced smile and inadvertently hold Laura a little closer. She might be the only person in the world who gets the same feeling I do when one of our family members is mentioned.
“And obviously you’re incredible too. You’re killing it at the moment. The Storm were petrified to play you last night, and it was warranted. You beat their asses and it was wonderful.”
“Don’t you like the men’s hockey team?”
She shrugs. “No. They get the good rink, so my anger is warranted.”
Noelle’s gaze drops to where Laura’s practically glued to me, then back up to my face. I can see the moment her brain puts the puzzle together.
Awesome. Exactly what I need—Laura’s sister assuming this is some love scene instead of… whatever messy half-embrace this actually is.
“So, uh, how exactly do you know my sister?” Noelle asks sweetly before side-eyeing Laura. “And why didn’t you tell me you and Scotty were close enough for him to hold you like you’ve done…considerably more than ice skating?”
“Noelle,” Laura hisses through gritted teeth, but quickly masks it with a smile. “We had a class last year together.”
She pushes away from me after.
Wrong move.
Down she goes.
“Ouch!” she cries as Noelle skates around her to help her up.
“Seriously, Laure. I think the only way you’re going to nail this audition is if I impersonate you.”
“Audition?” I say under my breath.
“Please. They’d say I have the skating down, but they’d question my singing. I love you, Noelle, but your singing makes Octavian Kingsley look like a powerhouse.”
“Oh, so now we’re admitting he’s terrible. Not when he was torturing the entire high school?”
“What audition?” I speak up a little louder.
That gets both of their attention.
Laura looks horrified; Noelle…well, she’s smirking.
“Hey, Laure. I think I’ve got an idea.”
“No. No. No. Stop thinking it right now.”
“Why not? I’ve only got another twenty minutes with you today. There’s no way you’re going to be skate-ready for your audition by then.”
“No.”
“What’s the audition?” I ask one more time, because trying to decipher their twin-speak is a little exhausting.
“Nothing.”
“It’s for Evermore on Ice.”
They answer at the same time, making Laura glare at her sister.
Noelle shrugs. “What? You think I’m not going to tell an insanely talented hockey player who clearly has the hots for you that nothing’s going on?”
“Noelle!”
I hold back from laughing because she’s not wrong.
“Did you know his mom is also an Olympic gold-medal figure skater and he learned figure skating until he was sixteen?” she asks Laura, whose cheeks are now flushing as she shrinks into her sister’s side.
“How did you—”
Noelle raises her hand but doesn’t stop looking at her sister. “Not important, Scotty,” she says. “Did you know any of this, Laure?”
“No,” she answers quietly.
“That explains why you aren’t asking him for his help then. Are you too worried you’re going to fall into those icy blue eyes and forget how to swim?”
“I’m flattered,” I say, but I’m pretty sure no one is listening to me.
“Noelle, stop.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll suspend my belief that something hasn’t happened between the two of you and play dumb.” She turns to me. “Scotty.” Her voice goes up a couple of octaves. “It’s been super nice to meet you. I’m sorry my sister never mentioned that you were friends—”
“Because we’re not,” Laura pipes up weakly.
“—I know you’re busy with hockey, and college, and everything else a famous guy has to deal with, but I was hoping you’d be able to do my sister a favor.”
“Do you want me to teach her to skate?”
Noelle raises a hand and gently nudges her sister. “Hey, you see? He plays hockey and has a brain. He’s a unicorn.”
“I don’t need your help, Scotty. I know how to skate.”
That makes Noelle and me laugh out loud.
“Wow. What did you do to her, Scotty?”
“Uh.” I don’t know how to answer that.
“Nothing. He did nothing.”
“Ah, so that’s the problem. Well, I’m sure we can change that. If Hendricks Unchecked isn’t scripted, then Scotty hasn’t dated a girl in years. Honestly, I really thought he’d go for Amelia’s friend, Carrie. That girl was all over him like hummus on a carrot.”
Another person thought Carrie and I were going to get together? I barely spoke to the girl.
“I’m single.”
Laura’s eyes widen at my confession. Noelle’s hand rests on her chest, and she lets out an “Aww.” When she takes in Laura’s reaction, she drops her hand. “Okay, well. There’s clearly a lot going on here that I’m not privy to.”
“I’d be happy to help you, Laura,” I offer. “I think you’d be awesome in Evermore on Ice. I assume you’d be auditioning for Princess Blanca. There’s no one in the world that can sing her song better than you.”
It’s all true. I don’t want Laura to blame the fact that she can’t skate for not getting this audition. I want her to shine.
“You’ve heard her sing?” Noelle asks.
“Yeah?” I answer, confused.
She shakes Laura. “Laura says yes.”
“No, I don’t,” she snaps back.
“Yes, you do. Laura, if you really want this part, you need someone who believes in you just as much as I do. He does, and he’s way more qualified than me.”
“I don’t have a gold medal,” I counter. “What moves are they requiring?”
“Ugh,” Laura growls in frustration, and I’m not even ashamed to admit I’m excited over the prospect of teaching Laura how to skate. Getting her back has been a fantasy of mine over the last year, and this brings me one step closer to proving how sorry I am.
“Laura,” Noelle whispers sharply. “If you want this audition, you’re going to need help.”
“Maybe I don’t want it anymore.” Laura sounds defeated.
“You cannot seriously be saying that to me after our conversation earlier.” Something knowing passes between the two of them. I have no idea what, but I’m kind of happy I’m not involved. I feel like there’s a lot going on.
“Fine,” she mutters.
I clear my throat. “Sorry, what was that?”
“I said fine,” Laura reiterates. “I’ll let you teach me to skate.”
“Seriously?”
She takes a deep breath with her eyes closed. “Yes.”
Noelle squeals and claps her hands before she shakes Laura, unbalancing her. “This is perfect! You’re totally going to nail that audition.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” I reply. “Shall we start now?”
“No. I’ve had enough today,” Laura replies. “I need a break.”
“Yeah, your legs are going to hurt in the morning, but we could start training on Sunday, if that works.”
“It works,” Noelle answers for her.
“Hey, how do you know it works?” Laura glares at her sister.
“Because you have no friends besides Reign and Lyss.”
“That’s not true.”
“The theater snobs don’t count as friends, sis. They’re the enemy, trying to suck any bit of joy out of your life.”
My jaw clenches slightly. I should’ve known that’s who she was hanging around with. She wasn’t going to be at Aiden Matthews’s house, yet I always accepted every invitation he threw my way on the off chance she’d be there…or I’d see her lights on.
“Anyway, I’m free Sunday,” Laura answers.
“Great, we could meet at the Covey rink. I’ve got—”
She raises her hand and shakes her head. “No. I don’t want to do this anywhere near the Covey campus.”
“You want to keep it a secret?” I ask with a raised brow. History proves secrets do not serve us well, but I get it.
“Yes.”
“Okay, no problem. I’m great with secrets.”
I’ve kept ours for a year.
I hold out my gloved hand. She glares at it, then mutters something inaudible before she shakes it.
“Oh, whatever happened between the two of you is juicy, and I can’t wait to find out,” Noelle says between us.
“Shut up, Noelle,” Laura says, her pretty eyes locking with mine.
“I’ll see you Sunday, Princess.”
That earns a gasp and a squeal from Noelle as Laura ushers her away, albeit, Noelle is doing more of the work. “He just—he just called you Princess.”
“Shut up, Noelle.”
I smile as I watch them skate off the ice.
I’m not going to let you down, Princess. Not this time.