Kiss My Ice

1|5

"Do you really expect me to believe that you just miraculously got better at stickhandling overnight?" He laughed, shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. "Besides, I just heard Chris."

A sigh of defeat left my mouth in one big huff of air. "Okay fine. I did get help. But that I only did that because I refuse to have to participate in a hockey practice when you tricked me into making that bet with you in the first place."

Aiden laughed at my confession like it was all a big joke.

Next to him, Chris smirked. "You never told me that your punishment for losing the bet was participating in one of our practices."

I frowned. "Unfortunately."

Chris didn't even try to hide his amusement. He was almost as bad as Aiden. "Well, that ought to be interesting."

I sucked in a long, slow breath of air, turned my head to sneak a glance at Aiden's reaction. It was supposed to be a quick glance to get a feel for what he was thinking, but as soon as I turned my head, my eyes latched onto his.

His usual dark eyes were a lighter shade of brown today. They lacked their usual hint of annoyance. For once he actually looked happy. It was a vast contrast from what I was used to seeing from him.

"Just wait until we find out what she has in store for me." Aiden let out a soft laugh, turned towards Chris, breaking our eye contact. I let out the air I was holding, my whole body relaxed.

Chris raised his eyebrows, giving me an amused grin. "What do you have planned for him?"

I could feel a lump begin to form in my throat. I coughed, forcing it away. "I don't yet. I haven't given it much thought."

Despite all of my efforts to trick Aiden into a bet that I knew I could win, I hadn't thought much about what I wanted from him in return. I knew that I wanted it to be something good, something he would hate, but that was as far as I had gotten.

"Maybe I'll make Aiden perform a full freestyle routine. Sparkly costume and all."

The look of sheer horror that filled Aiden's face brought a smile to my face. He was likely regretting his decision to make another bet with me now. Too late.

Aiden held his right hand up defensively. "Hold up, we never discussed a routine of any sorts."

Technically, we hadn't talked about what I would get for winning the bet at all. I never said what he would have to do. Although now, seeing how he didn't seem to like the idea of a figure skating routine, I would have to go down that route. It would be well worth it to see him in a sparkly costume.

I pushed my bottom lip out, imitating a pout. "Awe, I bet you wish you hadn't tricked me into making that first bet."

Aiden rolled his eyes, his hand dropped.

There was a long pause. Aiden stood with a sly smirk, not looking the least bit regretful. "Yeah," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

I frowned. "Yeah, what?"

In a short moment Aiden pressed his right hand up on the wall behind me. His tall frame was towered over my left side. My stomach flipped and I froze; it felt like I was suddenly paralyzed. He leaned down to my ear. His hot breath sent a shiver down my spine. "Yeah," he repeated, his voice dripped with confidence. "It was totally worth it."

He lingered there for several seconds. I could smell his heavenly cologne. A delicious mix of citrus and woods; a combination I wouldn't mind having on my pillow. It was a huge turn on. I couldn't resist the urge to suck in a large breath, savoring the scent.

This action earned a soft chuckle from Aiden, but thankfully, he didn't comment. He also didn't move. I think he knew that he had put me in an awkward position and took amusement in that. There was no easy out. Not unless I decided to make a run for it.

"Was it?" I finally forced out. My voice came out a mere whisper; like a little kid who was too afraid to speak up in class.

I forced myself to turn my head as an attempt to appear more confident that I felt. It backfired as I felt my internal temperatures start rising way more than they should have. I instantly regretted my decision seeing how close his face really was from me.

Our eyes locked onto each other's once again. His chocolate eyes were starting to be way too attractive for my liking. I sucked my lower lip in between my teeth. Aiden's face was only inches from my own. My eyes dropped down from his, landing on his soft, plump looking lips. I wonder what would happen if I leaned towards him?

"Getting to see you make a fool out of yourself doing different hockey drills will be well worth anything that you try and throw at me."

I blinked; my eyes jumped back to his eyes. I was losing my mind. His lips were moving, I knew he was talking, but it took me several seconds too long to register what it was they were saying.

"We'll see about that," I whispered.

Aiden's eyes held an unreadable expression as he scanned my face. Seeing the slight confusion in his as he looked at me like he was trying to figure out a puzzle snapped me back into reality.

I quickly side stepped away from him, my attention falling to Chris who standing looking more confused than I felt. I forced as normal of a smile as possible onto my face. "You can tell Riley that I will make an appearance, but no promises that I will stay."

This seemed to have appeased Chris as he shot me a goofy grin, all the confusion gone from his face. Aiden raised his eyebrows, glanced between me and Chris lost as to what we were talking about.

I didn't stick around to explain, or to even say goodbye. I quickly booked it down the hallway and out the rink front doors. My duffel bag clung closely to my stomach as butterflies swirled. What the hell was happening to me?