He Shoots, She scores

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Gracie | PDA

"WESTON! THIS IS NO TIME FOR PDA!" The coach's booming voice sends me back to reality, and that's when it hits me- I just kissed Weston. My roommate. The boy I like. And while I don't regret it at all, I'm kicking myself for the poor timing. Weston is in the middle of the semi-finals right now, what was I thinking?! That was possibly the most selfish thing I've ever done. 

"Oh my god!" I pull away with a gasp. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to distract yo-"

Weston smashes his mouth to mine, bending me into a deep kiss that has my legs going all wobbly and my body heating up, despite the cold from the arena. But then his Coach is yelling at him again, and so Weston steps away with forced, rugged movements, as if doing so physically pains him. "Don't ever apologize for kissing me, Lavergne." He takes a look at the scoreboard which says he has less than two minutes to get back out there. "This isn't over." Weston plants me one more kiss, this time a peck, before sliding his helmet on and joining the team. 

When I walk back to the stands, I'm woozy, and I brace my hands against the boards to steady myself. Nessa is wearing the biggest smirk on her face when I return. "Oh. My. God. You dirty, dirty dog" she squeals.

"Oh, no" I groan. "Nessa, I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize..." I'm officially the worst friend ever. How did I forget that Nessa got played by Weston? And here I go, kissing the guy who broke her heart.

"For what?"

"I just broke girl code!"

Nessa waves her hand like she's shooing a fly. "I was over him a long time ago. The guy doesn't get any power unless you give it to him. Besides..." She squeezes my arm. "Anybody with functioning vision can see that he's changed. My friend Kelly saw Weston in the library weeks ago and asked him out, but he said he, quote on quote, had his eyes set on a girl and politely declined her."

My mouth is dry. "Did he mean...?" My finger points to my own chest.

"Yes, you!" Of course you, you dummy!"

Wow. It makes me wonder just how long Weston started developing feelings. "Are you sure this is okay, Nessa?"

"Hey, point is that he makes you happy, and if you're happy, I'm happy. I have my eyes set on another hockey player anyways." Nessa eyes the ice greedily, and I don't need to track her gaze to know she's talking about RJ. "Oh, look! They're starting again!"

I'm staring at the action below, but my mind is elsewhere. That kiss keeps replaying in my mind, like a VHS tape caught on a loop. My second kiss with Avery Weston and man, does that boy know what he's doing. I see where his reputation comes from. Knowing he's had plenty of practice with other girls might've made me insecure before, but everything is different now. I know with certainty that Weston only has eyes for me and that theory is proven by the grin he sends me from the rink. Some of the girls around us giggle and squeal, but I don't bother proving them wrong. I know who his flirting is directed towards. And now, I'm left smiling uncontrollably like a big goof the rest of the quarter.

Speaking of, ever since the kiss, it's like Weston chugged a can of Redbull. Make that four cans. His rapid shot of stamina is insane. I don't take my eyes off him for a single second, and neither does anybody else. Weston zips across the ice like he owns it, dodging the other team and slipping by with such agile grace. Not even three minutes later, he scores. The majority of the crowd boos since this game takes place in Rickson Ridge territory, but the collective few who are here from Tulsa jump in unison, Nessa and I included. His team mobs him.

The rest of the game flies by. I'm holding Nessa's hand in the last two minutes. With Weston's help, we've been able to pull our team ahead, coming to an exact tie with Rickson Ridge. 3-3.