32. Jace
thirty-two
Jace
Today’s a good fucking day. Sienna Sola Jones loves me, the sky is an array of pink and orange as the sun sets, I spent the whole day with the woman that I’ve loved my entire life—Did I mention that Sienna loves me?
Great fucking day indeed.
When we finish up at Wishland, Sienna and I walk back to my car hand in hand, grinning like mad men.
This is our place—Wishland. Me saying I love her may have been accidental in timing, but I meant every single word, and I’ll continue to scream it from the rooftops.
I love Sienna Jones, and Sienna Jones loves me.
I should get that tattooed on me.
Maybe I’m turning into Derek with all of these spontaneous tattoos, but who cares because Sienna Jones loves me!
“Your first game is coming up, right?” Sienna asks as we get settled in the car.The thought of our first game brightens my mood even more as the team that I’ve been a part of for the past three years, flashes at the back of my mind.
“Yep, are you coming?” I question as we pull on to the road, heading for the highway.
Sienna’s quiet for a second after my question. Does she not want to come to my game? Am I moving too fast? Before I can voice my concerns and outright ask her if she’s okay, she responds.
“Do you want me to go?” she sheepishly asks, tugging with the hem of her shirt, bringing a smile to my face .
I reach across the arm rest and squeeze her thigh softly. “Of course, I want you to be there.”
Sienna brightens at this and turns to me, even though I’m driving. “Then yeah, I’ll always be there for you.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” She nods, a note of finality in her words causing me to smile as she locks her pinky with the one that I have settled against her thigh.
Looks like that’s become our thing, too. We have things! Can you believe that? I mean, I can…I manifested this relationship every day for years, but now that it’s forming, I’m happier than ever.
When I drop Sienna back off at her apartment, we sit in the car for a little longer than anyone would deem normal. Sienna is an angel incarnated as the lights of her building and the streetlights brighten her features in the car. She smiles at me, her smile brighter than the night sky.
My heart skips a beat at the sight of her. Her hazel eyes are a light brown, reminding me of warm toffee. I want to kiss her and set this moment in time between us. I mean we said we love each other not even eight hours ago.
My eyes must translate what I’m thinking because without a word, Sienna leans into me and kisses me softly. The kiss reminds me of a walk in the park, warm and full of happiness. I pull her in deeper, kissing her with intent, she groans softly before pulling away.
This girl is everything.
“I’ll see you later?” she asks, eyeing me up and down with a small smile as I kiss her one last time.
“I’ll see you later, angel.”
“So yeah, J…I just don’t think that we’re going to the game. I mean it’s still awkward with Blake and I and the other girls don’t even like hockey that much. I think Denver–” I zone out as I reread Cleo’s text about not coming to tonight's game.
I could understand why she wouldn’t go considering she had Blake chasing her in his underwear like a lunatic just a week ago, but why wouldn’t Sienna be there? I mean she has no reason to not be in attendance.
She and I just swore on it that she’d be there for me.
Fuck. I cannot go into this game angry. Maybe she and the girls are still going to be here and Cleo’s the only one not coming…Yeah, that sounds right!
Sienna’s still coming…
Then why hasn’t she texted you back yet? My phone burns with my unopened text to Sienna.
I’m fucking pissed.
She promised me.
She also ran away after kissing and having sex with you, so…
Now is not the time to go back and forth with my conscience over this, especially when the game is an hour underway and I’m in the locker room with the culprit of this whole thing right beside me.
I should kill him.
“Leave her the fuck alone, Wilder,” I mutter as Blake sends Cleo yet another text about how he fucked up.
Him fucking up with Cleo is fucking with my relationship!
“Don’t tell me what to do,” he snaps.
And that's how my best friend and I end up on opposite sides of the locker room, our chests heaving with Braxton, Derek, and Charlie between us.
Blake and I haven’t fought one another since freshman year when I pissed him off with my strict housekeeping rules in our dorm. And yet, fighting him made me feel so much better about everything.
I don’t know what that says about me, but hey…At least I’m honest .
Blake and I hash things out, apologizing to one another before stepping into the rink’s tunnel, the two of us putting our minds back on what’s really important today.
The game.
We’re about to hit the ice, the entire team standing in the tunnel waiting for the announcer to introduce us as the home team when Blake nudges my shoulder. Since I’d been the one to technically start our little tiff in the locker room, I’d lost my anger towards him shortly after it fused.
“You okay?” he asks, his blue eyes deep with concern as I shrug.
“We’ve got a game to win,” I say instead of giving him my real answer which is, why are girls so confusing?
Two days ago, Sienna and I were screaming to the rooftops that we love each other, and now, she’s not answering my texts and her cousin is claiming that they won’t come to tonight’s game.
Before I can start to overthink this even more, the lights in the arena dawn their familiar orange and blue hue.
It’s showtime.
Blake is the first out on the ice with me, ripping right behind him. The chill of the rink has nothing on the anger coursing through my body.
Is Sienna really not here?
Fuck, she has to be here. I mean she wouldn’t break a promise like that…I don’t even know why this is suddenly so serious to me, but the thought of her not being here does something to my heart.
The game goes by so quickly that I don’t even realize that it’s over until Blake scores the winning goal, and there’s still no sign of Sienna.
I search high and low throughout the crowd, and yet I don’t see her. When we took our intermissions and talked over plays with Coach, I hadn’t been able to check my phone to see if she responded to my texts.
The guys are all celebrating tonight's win, some patting Blake on the shoulder and others discussing whatever party they're going to tonight, but my mind is set on one thing, and I can smell it now .
My fingers itch to paint, to let out this emotion that I’m feeling and just be back to my old self. I don’t even think that I’m angry about Sienna not being here to support me, but I am disappointed.
You don’t break a promise to someone you love.
I wonder if that’s how she felt when she was a kid and her parents didn’t show up for her recitals.
Was she disappointed? I know that she was sad, but was that feeling as deep as the one that I feel right now?
Blake is a chipper fucking camper, happy and talking like he wasn’t sulking in the corner earlier as we walk out of the locker room with Derek ahead of us.
My brow furrows as he stops in front of something before walking the opposite away, revealing my girl.
Sienna stands next to Georgia, wearing a black beanie and one of our special white and blue hockey sweaters. A smile breaks on my face at the sight of her wearing our jersey, only for it to fall as she turns to the side, looking up at Georgia.
What. The. Fuck.
The number 52 sprawled on her shoulder sends my blood pressure to an all new high and the vein in my neck pulsing.
Last time I checked, the number I wear on my back weekly is 26… Derek is 52.
My jaw clenches as I sidle up to Blake, agreeing and nodding at whatever he has to say, but my eyes are locked on her .
“Give your keys to Sienna,” Blake tells Cleo, and my brow furrows as I look between the three of them.
Sienna tilts her head at me, as if she's confused on why I’m staring her down, but I remain silent, seething as Cleo and Blake skip off to wherever.
Out of respect for my girl, I wait for the two of them to walk away before I sidle up to her, plucking the keys out of her hands and tossing them to Georgia.
“Excuse–”
“You’re excused,” I dismiss her, turning my attention to the wide eyed girl in front of me. Sienna gapes at me in shock as I take her hand in mine, silently leading her away from her friends .
“Where are we going?” she blubbers, completely off guard as I lead her out to my car.
“Babe, wait! Jace, are you okay?” Sienna digs her heels into the asphalt, making me stop to look at her, and when I do, my heart skips a beat.
“Take that off.”
She blinks at me twice before furrowing her neatly arched brows. “What?”
“Take. It. Off,” I say, stepping closer with each step.
Sienna’s breath hitches as we stand toe to toe with each other, her looking up at me in pure bewilderment.
“Have you lost your mind? Jace, what are you on right now?”
“Nothing. Get in the car,” I say with a sigh as she tilts her head to the side, giving me that annoyed look that she does.
“No, I—”
“Get in the car, Sienna.” My command has her eyes widening, but she does as she’s told and gets in, albeit a little hesitant.
The ride to where I’m taking her is short, only a ten minute drive away from the rink.
Sienna is quiet, watching me with sharp eyes as I walk around to her side of the car.
“What are we—”
I don’t give her the time to finish her sentence as I toss her over my shoulder and unlock the door to the art studio. I give her ass a smack, grinning as she gasps.
When I find the room that I’m looking for, I place Sienna down on the white tarp in the room. I leave to get my supplies before coming back to find her still in the same position as I left her, wearing his jersey.
Sienna raises an expectant brow at me, folding her arms over her chest. “Well?”
“You’ve got two seconds to take the jersey off or I’ll do it for you. I need to paint, and right now, I’m staring at my canvas.”