Between You and Me (A college hockey romance)

Three

Greyson

      I don't know what compelled me to her. Every morning for the last three years I've seen her at Arlo's. I occasionally see her at the Gretzky centre and hanging around with Owen but it's at the intimate diner I find her the most intreguing.

     She orders the same thing every time; two pieces of eggs on toast and a coffee. And she always brings a book. She never speaks to anybody, except to exchange a few words with Judy or Arlo, and she sits for exactly one hour before she leaves. It's the same routine everytime.

     I walked up to her yesterday because I had locked eyes with her in the hallway when I was three seconds away from giving Louis a beating. It just felt right. She has always been beautiful but there was something about yesterday that gave me the urge to talk to her. Auburn hair that is always either curled, reaching down her back, or placed in a sleek bun at the lowest part of her head. Green, curious eyes so animated they betray her every emotion when she is reading. Her facial features soft yet expressive and if I didn't know better I'd say she is the most beautiful woman I have ever met.

      Surprisingly, her undeniable beauty is not the most attractive part about her.  It's the way her mouth curls upwards or the tears threathen to spill from her eyes or when three lines form on her forehead; all because of something that happens in the book. She wears her emotions on her face and its driving me so fucking crazy. All I want is to know what is going on inside her pretty mind.

      I would never live it down if the guys knew how she occupied my mind. I'm supposed to be the bad boy and while I do entertain that narrative on and occasionally off the ice, it's not really who I am. I try to hide it away because being vulnerable is a weakness, but something about Lennon Levine makes me want to hold on to it for even just a second.

      I asked Owen about her yesterday after I saw them speaking in the hallway. I already knew who she was by association and because of who her dad is, but I figured if I asked him about her it made me seem less like a stalker. He grew suspicious and kept asking why I was so curious about her so I lied and said she's hot as fuck and I want to hook up. He looked at me with a stern look and if eyes could kill I'd be six feet under right now. I decided I want to live another day and didn't poke the bear any more than necessary.

     It's not a flat out lie because she is hot as fuck and I would love to hook up, but according to what Owen told me three seconds after attempting to murder me, she doesn't do casual hook-ups. She's an all or nothing kind of girl and that should scare me off, make me bury myself in the next pussy waiting outside for us after a game, but it doesn't.

    Trust me, no one is more surprised than me.

    Today, I was at Arlo's fifteen minutes earlier than usual. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing because even Arlo's noticed I was here early. I have no clue what my aim is here. I don't know if I'll be able to just walk straight up to her again. She tried so hard to be disinterested and annoyed yesterday but there was this hint of glimmer in her eye when she spoke that told me she was at least a little bit curious about why I was there.

    I don't like what she is doing to me and this is all happening from one conversation and a few stolen looks.

    I have the most confident in the world yet she makes me doubt myself. If she was anyone else, a girl at a party or one of the puck-bunnies waiting around after games I would've easily flirted my way into whatever I wanted but there is something about her that makes me want to be better than the bad-boy persona I have.

     The bell on the door rings as she walks in, without noticing me, and heads straight for her usual booth. She's wearing her the clothes she wears nearly every day; light-washed jeans and a black Oakwood-state hoodie that's so run down I wonder if she's had it since she started. Her hair is in a low,sleek, bun today, so thight her curls threathened to break out of the hair-tie. She sets her gym bag down on the floor next to the booth. I didn't see her at the centre so she must have gone earlier than our training. Louis and Aiden managed to not kill each other so we only had the usual ice-time today and after I ran straight here to eat.