A Million Little Stars || Carter Hart

chapter 6

While Tally forgot all about Carter over the holidays, it was the opposite to him. Before he had gotten off that plane to New York he was already regretting being that cold to her. He was so absorbed in the game sometimes, forgetting that other things are just as important. It took him a couple more losses and a few conversations with his teammates to realize that.

It was a new year and he craved a second cup of that tea she had made for him. He remembered how she had sat on his bar stool, legs folded underneath her, and he had admired her soft thighs and her tiny hands holding the mug close to her face and how her lips had moved while speaking.

He was sure, he had ruined every chance he had with her; if not through his texts, then through the silence.

"It looked fantastic, Rosie", Tally exclaimed as they both strolled through the city centre of Philadelphia, on their way home, stopping by at their favourite coffee shop called "Bernie's Buns".

"It was just practice, T". Tally had picked Rose up from her dance practice. She was dancing at a prestigious academy for dance. Even though ballet and contemporary and jazz dance were all so dear to Rose, she sometimes suffered from the limitations. She kept her tattoos in places no one could see so they wouldn't kick her out, but she still wore scandalous eyeliner or black dance attire from time to time to provoke her teachers.

"This morning, I tripped on the way to the bathroom. Trust me, my clumsy ass is amazed by your body control", Tally said. It was true. She tended to run into door frames and easily lost her balance by just getting up.

They stood in line, waiting for their turn.

Fiddling with his phone in hand, Carter recalled some things in his head that he wanted to say to her. He was the first one at the rink for practice, sitting in his crease in full gear.

Even though it wasn't a game day and the practice was supposed to be short, he had planned on doing some extra training before everyone piled onto the ice, but he quickly realized that he really wanted to call Tally, not only to finally see her again, but also to be able to fully concentrate during practice; all day he felt torn, and wanted to finally get it out of his head.

So he called her.

It was ringing for a couple of minutes too long, which worried him.

"Hello?" Her voice was small and muffled and sounded like she was far away. It took him a moment to remember that he had to somehow answer.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, its Carter", he stuttered.

"I know, your name was on the screen", she
gave back, and he felt his heart sink. She sounded a little bit frosty, not like when they met, when she sounded bubbly and warm and lovely.

"You're right", he said, pressing his lips together and putting his forehead into wrinkles. "Hey, uh, I wanted to ask you, if you want to get some lunch. Today. With me?"

The silence after he asked his question was pressing down on his shoulders. He heard background noise and a second female voice speaking lowly.

"Yeah, I can do that", she finally said and he let out a breath he didn't know he held.

"Cool, in like an hour? I'm at practice right now".

"Sounds good. I'm getting coffee right now. I can get some lunch and pick you up at the rink?", Tally asked and he nodded.

"Fantastic!"

"Bye, Carter". HIs heart fluttered at the sound of his name.

"Bye, Tally". She hung up.

"Who was it? Was it him?" Rose asked eagerly as the reached the front of the line. Rose asked for a coffee whose name was longer than that of Albus Dumbledore.

"Just a peppermint tea for me, please", she turned to face Rose. "Carter? Yeah. I'll meet him after this."

"And you're not happy about it?", Rose leaned against the counter, completely ignoring the guy behind her that was basically ogling her.

"I'm not sure. He was really nice and then decided to not text me in like two weeks", she commented and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe he has a good reason".

"He better do".

Tally had dropped Rose off at their place and then headed to the arena. She was waiting in a parking spot, close to the back entrance he told her about and was now jogging out of. SH originally planned on being late, just to make him sweat a little, but on the other hand, she had manners. Just because he had made her what doesn't mean had to do it too.
Carter hopped into the passenger side flinging his duffle bag over through the middle and onto the backseat. He looked at her as she started to start the car. She just skipped the awkward greeting. What else could she have done? Hug him? Because that would have been awfully weird, stretched over the centre console. And handshake would have been too formal and a kiss on the cheek was too intimate for her. Maybe, on that night in the park, she would have loved to kiss him, but with every day he had ignored her, she had felt herself get more uncomfortable with the idea.
"How are you?", he said as they pulled out of the parking lot, driving down the road to the main street.
"I'm good. How's hockey?", she asked. She hasn't checked the score.
"I think I'm doing good, but we're losing a lot right now", he sighed, letting his head fall back. He quickly rose up again. "But I don't really wanna talk about hockey. I want to apologize".
Tally stopped at a red light, finally taking a proper look at him and it stung a little. His clothes were casual and comfortable, just grey shorts and a sweatshirt, and his hair hanging in messy strands. They were dripping wet, as if he didn't take the time to just run a towel through it. She saw a drop of water run down the bridge of his nose and then drip onto his bottom lip. She nervously looked away and bit on her own.
"That night I promised to text you, and then I didn't and went on to behave like a dick. I was wrapped up in my first games that I forgot to prepare myself for losing, what we did that night, and the ones after. I was angry and I took it out on you, I'm so sorry", Carter finished his mess of a sentence. The guy behind them honked, which made her realize it was green so she started driving. She took everything in what he said. It was rare for people to admit they were wrong to you; apparently, he was one of those rare ones.
"Well, I hope you've gotten used to losing. You're playing for the Flyers, y'know", she said eventually and gave him a small smirk. Relieved, he cracked into a big grin.
"Thank you, I won't be like that again", he promised. He knew, just like her, that no one can keep such a promise, but he wanted her to know that he was at least trying. "So, where are going?"
"I don't know, I'm just the driver", she giggled. "I brought croissants and you mentioned you liked iced coffee, so I got you that".
"Wanna just go to my place?", she nodded and actually remembered his address. He liked that she remembered how he liked iced coffee, even though he didn't say anything about it. When they arrived at his place and he led her through the door, they were greeted by his friend and roommate Nick. Carter thought he would be out, but apparently, he wasn't.
"Oh, uh, Tally this is Nick. He lives here", Carter said. Tally was surprised but smiled at the blonde boy, that was making a huge effort standing up. He wore baggy sweatpants and in either hand, he held pizza crust he now threw into the empty pizza box.
"HI, I'm Nathalie, but call me Tally", she said as he wiped his hands on his pants and then shook hers forcefully.
"Well, I'm just Nick", he smiled goofily.
"Wanna go get a plate for the croissants?", Crater said, practically pushing Tally out of the room. he didn't expect Nick to be here. He was his best friend in Philly and he loved him like a brother, he didn't want her to feel awkward or shy or intimidated.
"Hey, I didn't know he would be here. If you want, we can somewhere else", he said as they were out of sight.
"No, it's okay really", she smiled and as far as he could it was genuine. Tally was actually looking forward to meeting new people, as she kind of only knew Rose.
"Okay, then. You play video games?", he asked as she handed him a bowl with the croissants.
"Absolutely!"