Chapter 14

The cold air nipped at my cheeks as Gabi and I stepped into the massive rink. The place was practically empty aside from the distant sound of skates carving into the ice and the faint buzz of overhead lights. I pulled my hoodie tighter around me, my breath visible in the air.

Then, emerging from the locker rooms, I spotted them; Will and Macklin.

They were laughing, Will's arm slung casually over Macklin's shoulder, looking every bit like the goofy teammates they were. Macklin's fluffy hair was still messy from practice, the strands sticking up in every direction, and for some stupid reason, I found myself admiring how soft it looked.

I shook my head, clearing the thought. Focus.

Will's gaze landed on us, and his face lit up. "Finally! We thought you bailed."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off. "You're the one who called at an ungodly hour, remember?"

Macklin's eyes flicked to mine, the corners of his mouth quirking up. "Glad you made it."

I ignored the warmth spreading in my chest and focused on unzipping my jacket. "So, who else is coming?"

Will and Macklin exchanged looks before Will said, "Just us."

I internally winced. I knew Gabi and Will would probably want their alone time to figure out... whatever the hell was going on between them. Which meant it was just me and Macklin.

My stomach twisted. What if he thinks this is weird? What if it's too much? I wasn't even sure what I wanted, friendship? Something more? And what the hell was this morning's dream about?

Before I could spiral, Macklin spoke. "What's your shoe size?"

I blinked at him. "What?"

"Your skate size," he clarified. "We'll grab them for you."

"Oh. Uh, Seven and a half."

Gabi gave her size too, and the boys headed off. As soon as they were out of earshot, she turned to me with a devious smile.

"He was totally checking you out."

I scoffed. "No, he wasn't."

"Yes, he was."

"He was probably just looking at my face... or the floor."

Gabi rolled her eyes. "Right. Because the floor is so fascinating."

I laughed, but quickly hushed her when I saw the guys coming back.

Macklin handed me my skates. "Here, let me help."

Before I could protest, he crouched down in front of me, taking my foot in his hands as he carefully laced up my skates. His fingers worked quickly, tugging the laces snug before moving on to the next.

"There. Try that."

I flexed my foot, nodding. "Perfect. Thanks."

He smiled and held out both hands to help me up. I grabbed them, but as soon as I stood, I realized how close we were. My chest nearly brushed his, the height difference suddenly more obvious.

I wobbled slightly, and his hands instinctively landed on my waist to steady me. My breath hitched.

Will's whistle cut through the moment. "You two lovebirds skating, or are you just gonna stare into each other's eyes all day?"

I snapped away from Macklin, my face burning.

Gabi smacked Will's arm. "Way to ruin the moment, dumbass."

Will just laughed before suddenly lifting her off the ground, making her shriek.

Macklin turned back to me, smirking. "You good at skating?"

"Uh... it's been years," I admitted.

"Here," he extended his hand. "I got you."

I hesitated but eventually took it, my fingers curling around his. He led me onto the ice, skating backward with ease while I struggled to stay upright.

"So, when was the last time you skated?" he asked.

I thought back. "Will taught me when we were kids, then again in middle school. But by high school, I was more of a watcher than a skater. I was busy with school stuff, student body president and all that."

He grinned. "You were that person?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't judge."

"I'm not," he chuckled. "I respect it."

"What about you? Did you always had a plan for college?"

Macklin shrugged. "Not really. Only a few schools even reached out—Minnesota, Michigan, BU, BC, Duluth, North Dakota. I wasn't sure at first, but then I went to Boston for the NBA Finals with my family and toured the campus while we were there. It was the only school I actually visited, so I went with it."

I smiled. "So, you just kind of... picked based on a gut feeling?"

"Pretty much." He chuckled. "It worked out."

Before I could respond, a loud noise interrupted us.

Gabi was screaming on Sharkie's four-wheeler.

She zoomed across the ice, laughing wildly while Will chased her down.

My eyes widened. "Oh, shit."

Macklin turned just in time to see Gabi heading straight for us. "Move—"

He grabbed my arm, trying to skate us out of the way, but it was too late.

I lost my footing, my skates slipping out from under me, and I fell—hard.

Macklin was quick, breaking most of my fall with his arm, but my forehead still smacked against the ice.

I groaned. "Ow."

His hands were on my face immediately. "Hey, let me see." His fingers gently tilted my chin up, his brows furrowed in concern. "Oh, you have a little cut on your brow."

I winced as I lightly touched the spot.

Gabi skated over, breathless. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't know how to brake—"

I managed a weak smile. "It's fine, really."

Will knelt beside me. "You good?"

"I'm fine, it's not that bad."

Macklin shook his head. "Come on, let's get it cleaned up."

He helped me to my feet and led me toward the locker rooms. Inside, the dim lighting cast long shadows across the walls.

"Sorry about the shitty lighting," he muttered, grabbing the first aid kit. "You okay with sitting on the counter?"

I nodded, suddenly nervous.

I went to hop up, but before I could, Macklin's hands were on my waist, lifting me effortlessly onto the counter.

My breath caught.

One of his hands stayed on my hip to steady me while the other reached for the ointment. He stood between my legs, leaning in closer to examine the cut. His face was mere inches from mine.

The air felt thick.

He dabbed at the cut gently, his fingers barely grazing my skin. I swallowed, trying not to focus on how close we were, how his hand still rested against my hip.

The tension was undeniable.

"All done," he murmured, stepping back slightly.

Before I could process it, he reached for my waist again, helping me down.

But as soon as my feet touched the ground, we were right there again, chest to chest, the space between us almost nonexistent.

His eyes flicked to mine.. then my lips..

He leaned in.

It was agonizingly slow, like he was giving me time to decide if I wanted this.

And god, did I want this?

The heat of his breath ghosted over my lips. Just a little closer, and—

His phone rang.

He cursed, pulling back with a sigh. "It's my mom."

I exhaled sharply, stepping back. "You should answer."

He frowned at his screen before silencing it. "I'll call her back later."

I cleared my throat, desperately trying to regain composure. "We should head back. Will and Gabi will wonder where we are."

Macklin nodded, running a hand through his hair.

As we walked back to the rink, my stomach was in knots.

We were about to kiss.

We were about to cross that invisible line where feelings get involved and there's no going back.

Macklin was a good guy. But how could I be sure?

He was in the NHL. There were so many girls out there, drop-dead gorgeous, confident, probably way more experienced than me.

What the hell was I doing?

I tried to act completely normal again.

I wasn't avoiding Macklin.. not really. There was no reason to. Sure, we almost kissed in a dimly lit locker room, but it didn't actually happen, so... it was fine. We were fine.

And to be honest, we fell right back into our usual rhythm, goofing off and laughing like nothing had changed. Because nothing had. Right?

As soon as we got back, I turned to Gabi, grinning. "Okay, it's my turn on the Sharkie mobile."

Gabi gasped, dramatically clutching her chest. "Excuse you, I barely got to live my Fast & Furious dreams."

I waved her off. "You almost killed me, so yeah, your turn is over."

Will smirked. "I gotta see this."

Macklin chuckled. "This is either gonna be really fun... or really disastrous."

I shot him a look. "Wow, thanks for the confidence boost."

Macklin just grinned.

I hopped onto the four-wheeler, gripping the handlebars. "Okay, how do I—"

Will clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Just don't hit the boards, and you'll be fine."

Gabi crossed her arms. "Or me. Don't hit me."

"Noted," I said, revving the engine dramatically.

The second I took off, laughter echoed through the rink. I swerved, probably a little too aggressively, nearly spinning out before getting the hang of it. Macklin skated alongside me, shaking his head in amusement.

"You're actually so reckless," he called over.

"I prefer the term thrill-seeker."

Macklin rolled his eyes, but I caught the way his lips twitched like he was fighting a smile.

After my thrilling Sharkie mobile ride, Will, of course, suggested a shootout challenge.

"Alright, let's make this interesting," Will said, spinning his stick in his hands.

"I call Macklin," I announced immediately.

Gabi gasped. "Um, excuse me?"

"Hey," I shrugged, smirking. "Gotta go with a winner."

Will placed a hand over his heart. "Wow. Betrayal."

Macklin grinned, nudging my shoulder. "Hope you can keep up."

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "I'm so good under pressure."

Macklin raised a brow. "We'll see about that."

I scoffed, pointing a finger at him. "Don't forget who was on your team at the cup pong tournament. We demolished everyone at the party."

He let out a low laugh, shaking his head. "Okay, fair. But beer pong and hockey are a little different, don't you think?"

"Not when you have elite hand-eye coordination like me," I said smugly.

Macklin laughed, giving me an amused look. "Alright, show me what you got then."

Will skated up first, moving in quick, stickhandling before snapping a shot straight top corner.

"Easy," he grinned.

Macklin followed right after, coming in slow before faking a shot, pulling it back, and flipping it over the imaginary goalie's blocker side.

"Disgusting," Will muttered.

Gabi was up next. She stuck her tongue out in concentration, handling the puck a little clumsily before sending it straight to the goal.

"Let's goooo!" she cheered, throwing her arms up.

"That was luck," I teased.

She flipped her hair. "Skill, babe."

I exhaled, skating up to the puck. If I missed, we would be down. If I made it, Macklin and I would be tied.

Macklin skated backward beside me, grinning. "Don't choke."

I rolled my eyes. "Wow, so supportive."

I lined up my shot, faking a forehand before pulling the puck back and sending it clean past the blocker side.

"YES!" I shouted, throwing my arms in the air.

Macklin spun me around in celebration. "That's what I'm talking about!"

Final round. Will skated up spinning past an imaginary defenseman before sniping a shot cleanly into the net.

Pressure was on.

Macklin went next, speeding up before doing a slick backhand move and scoring effortlessly.

"Too easy," he grinned.

Gabi shot her attempt but missing the net, almost making it.

Which meant it was all on me.

One more shot to win.

I skated up, controlling my breathing. My heart raced, but I thrived under pressure.

Macklin watched from the side, arms crossed, that damn smirk on his face.

I moved in, stickhandling before going for a quick snapshot.

"BOOM, BABY!" I shouted.

Macklin immediately pulled me into a hug, spinning me around again.

"Nice," he laughed.

Will sighed dramatically. "I demand a rematch."

Gabi grumbled. "This was rigged."

I shrugged, grinning. "Hey, what can I say? Macky and I make a great team."

As we started winding down, Will stretched. "So, food? Or are we calling it?"

Gabi yawned. "I'm exhausted."

I nodded. "Yeah, let's just go back to our place. If you guys are down, we can have a sleepover."

Macklin raised a brow. "You guys still do sleepovers?"

I shot him a look. "Uh, yes?"

Gabi linked arms with me. "It's called best friend privilege."

Will shrugged. "Fair."

"Wait," Macklin said, eyes lighting up. "Are you guys down to watch a movie?"

Will perked up. "Oh, hell yeah."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

Will grinned. "we're watching Mufasa."

Macklin nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we've been meaning to see that."

I gasped. "Wait, you guys like animation movies?"

Macklin shrugged. "Yeah, it looks sick."

Will crossed his arms. "We grew up on The Lion King, thank you very much."

Gabi and I shared a look before laughing.

"Okay," Gabi said. "I guess you guys are cool."

I smirked. "Alright then. Let's go have the best sleepover ever."

Macklin grinned. "Hell yeah."

-=+=-

Will so sassy

Oooo the romance is picking up 🤭🤭