Under the Rainbow

Part 11

Same kissed Riley? WHAT'S GOING ON?!?! Who does that? Like, I wish I had the balls to just kiss a girl, if only things were that simple, you know? Ah well, I'll have to stick to being cool without kissing them first.



            It wasn’t like a passionate, I-must-have-you-now kiss. It was gentle and soft and nice. Like a first kiss should be. And it was returned in the same way.

            “Well. It looks like you’ve already got someone to show you around. I’ll see you later.” Jackie turned and stalked off and I pulled back.

            “I’m so sorry. Jackie’s my ex and she just wanted to get in your pants. The only way to stop her from thinking she could do that was for me to do, well, that. I should, uh, go then. Have fun.” I turned and started walking back to the locker room without waiting for her to say something.

            Damn. I should’ve known that people would want her. Now we gotta act like a couple which probably isn’t something she wanted to do. I thought as I changed into my hockey gear.

            “10 minutes! Let’s get out there and do some practice shots okay?” Alice said as she grabbed her stick and walked out.

            The team cheered and all grabbed their sticks. I quickly grabbed mine and double checked to see if my gear was on right. It had happened before where my jersey was on backward, and that was not fun. Sam Weaver was written on the back of the black jersey in white and the number 13 was under my name. The front said The Men’s Dream on it.

            I walked out onto the ice and skated in a large circle with my stick held above my head. I scanned the crowd quickly and saw her. She smiled at me and cheered with the rest of the crowd. I skated up to a stay puck and hit it at the net. Alice dove for it but just barely missed.

            I mentally quieted the crowd and focused on the practice and the soon to be game. 10 minutes. Alice caught most of the pucks, missing a few here and there, but that would change during the game. She barely ever let one go through during a game.

            Someone blew a whistle and I saw Cindy skate up in a dressed as a ref. The two teams gathered in a circle and she held the microphone up so the audience could hear. “I want a good game. Minimal fights okay? But make sure have at least one or two, otherwise it’s no fun. There aren’t many rules. This is Street Hockey. Welcome to the first game of the season!”

            Alice skated over to the goal and Katie moved forward to get ready and hit the puck.

            The first part of the game was fast and intense. I scored the only goal for the team and Alice hadn’t let one slip by yet. We were barely winning, but barely still counted. A fight broke out between Katie and a guy named John from the other team and Cindy had to break it up and bench them both.

            I took off my helmet as we went into the locker room. I laughed with the rest of the group at some stupid joke and sat down on a bench and took my skates off and pulled on my sneakers. I ran a hand through my damp hair. “Back in fifteen minutes, I’ve got a friend in the stands.”

            “Okay, just be back in time to be on the ice got it?”

            “Yep.” I said as I walked out and up a small flight of stairs to the stairs. They had a few small teams around here that would play here, so we had actual seats and things.

            I scanned the crowd and spotted her. “Riley!” I yelled, cupping my hands around my mouth.

            She turned and grinned widely. She waved for me to come over and I squeezed past a few people. “Hey.” She said once I reached her.