Paint The Ice

Chapter 15

His helmet covers some of his fluffy dark hair that my fingers tugged over the weekend. His skin is flushed from the temperatures he's facing on the ice and his lips look more pink than they normally are. Why am I staring at his mouth?

I bite into the pretzel. What would it feel like if you kissed him again?

I try shoving the thoughts or more specifically the voice in my head but it's too late when my brain remembers. So I remember. Every. Single. Detail.

The eye contact. His smooth grip on my throat. The sound of his voice. My fingers in his hair. Our connected mouths. My legs wrapped around him.

Such an electrical moment wasn't it?

Heat pools between my legs as the memory zips through my brain. God. This is the first time I'm seeing the guy in person after my birthday when we're not texting each other about me eating on time or not and this... this is how I react?

The pretzel feels squishy inside my mouth. Switching my attention to the puck that's skating on the ice too. I try to focus. My eyes follow the blades then the hockey sticks swinging. The players are rough with each other. Which reminds me that Asher's cheek was bruised three weeks ago from an intense home hockey game that I was at. Looks like he's not letting that happen this time around.

Just as Asher's about to score, Kianna turns and catches my attention. "My thing is how can you kiss him and still say he's just a friend?" I'm aware that she's talking about Asher. And I'm also aware that I wasn't the only one watching him play. "Am I missing something?" My best friend questions.

A sigh escapes me and I roll my eyes. "You guys, seriously? This again?"

I thought we passed this when I left for class Monday morning.

It's Sutton's time to turn just like Kianna and instead of letting go of the topic, she adds to it. "Okay well if you're not into him, how come you did it?"

They're all staring at me. "Because I wanted to escape, okay? My mom left me a stupid voicemail and I wanted to forget about it." There. I said it.

I'm seeing the question marks floating over Sutton's head like she doesn't completely buy it. "It seems like just an excuse for the kiss. How about the truth this time?"

Mattie nods in agreement. "I'm not sure that's the only reason you kissed him."

I swallow hard. "Well it is the truth."

Sutton raises an eyebrow. "So a kiss erases the voicemail from your mind?"

"How easy would life be if I forgot my problems with a hot smooch." Kianna chimes, chewing on the pretzel she's holding in her right hand.

"Yup." I sink my teeth into the pretzel and rip it apart.

"So it's a one-time thing then? There's nothing else going on?"

"If I wanted to hook up, that option's always open." I'm swallowing the bite of the pretzel and thanks to my friends I missed seeing the moment that Asher scored.

All I get? A glimpse at his jersey number '12' sitting pretty on his body as he glides across the ice in triumph. 

"We totally didn't see that one coming. Because we didn't see the eyes you were both giving each other."

What were we talking about again?

Sutton clears her throat. "You're gonna catch feelings."

I grasp exactly what she's trying to insinuate. "Woah!" Because first of all, that's too far. "You think I'd seriously fall for him? He's just a friend and nothing more."