Chapter One: Manny
"MOVE out of his way!" My throat is going to hate me from the screaming I have been doing. I just got my voice back, and now it is definitely going to be gone again. Thanks to this hockey summer camp, my voice was pretty much gone every weekend. I am proud that the lessons Nile gave me on hockey are paying off. It had strange enough become our thing. Most girls had cute dates, I had weekends at the ice skating rink. Nile and I would meet up here after his practices.
I actually understand what is happening right now. Currently, there is less than a minute left on the clock, and Nile had the puck. I am positive the beast of a human in front of him was trying to steal the puck, and if I know Nile as well as I think I do, he wasn't going to let that happen. Nile is aggressive. No one would believe me if I told them that but if you watched him play it was evident. Compared to the guy in the red jersey, Nile looked almost miniature. I definitely need to tease him about that later on today.
"Manny, I don't think he can hear you," Jake yelled over the other screaming individuals. Still focusing on the rink, he completely ignores my eye roll. Jake is the epitome of unbothered. Lex and I have made it our goal to rattle him, almost two months into summer, and it has not happened yet.
"Jake, you're just mad that you're not out there." Sticking my tongue out at him, I watch as he feigns hurt. I still have not gotten used to how identical he and Nile are. Looking at them one would swear there were no differences However, I have noticed distinct differences in the two. Take right now, for instance, Jake is smiling and his dimple is barely showing. The deep dimples on Nile's face definitely contribute to me swooning over him. Jake also did not hesitate. He said what he wanted and did what he wanted. As the clock winds down Nile shoulders the guy in front of him and passes the puck to Aaron.
"Come on Aaron!" I scream. Aaron was one of the guys Nile had become friends with. It was always weird watching them interact. All they did when they were together was trash talk
"Um, Manny I don't think that girl appreciates you yelling in her ear." Jake says, looking at the girl in front of us. Her long braids thrown casually over her shoulder as she throws what I take is supposed to be a dirty look.
"Shh, you're going to distract Aaron from making the shot."
"Nile would be proud but they still can't hear you." Jake says. Giving him a dirty look I turn my attention back to the ice.
Within seconds he makes the shot, and the game was over. With our conversations forgotten, Jake and I screamed at the top of our lungs. Shoving the sign in my hand up in the air I try to keep my balance as I jump up and down in the stands.They needed this win to qualify, and they did it. Somehow in eight months, I have become the poster holding ,obnoxiously loud girlfriend. As I threw my arms up, almost losing the sign in the process, I couldn't care less. As with all of his games, I fought the urge to run down to the rink.
"Manny, you can't run down there."
"I don't appreciate how much you think you know me." I threw at Jake as the team crowded around each other and celebrated.
"I do know you, and you can't run down there." After the first game of the summer, we stopped forcing Lex to come with us. Jake thought it was smarter to let her sit these out since we had to keep her occupied with food for her not to want to kill us. After calculating the cost, so he just told her to stay home. It's probably the first time she actually listened to something he told her to do.
The arena buzzed with chatter as people began to make their way out. Usually, once the closing announcements were made, everyone makes a beeline for the door. In our vanilla town, this was about the most excitement there was. Saturdays are hockey days. Most of the high school showed up to the games. Apparently, the hockey season during school is really short, so this is how the guys scratch their hockey itch. Not my words.
When summer started Nile, had mentioned wanting to do the camp, and everyone thought it was a bad idea. Uncle Mike even said no, and he pretty much lets the guys get away with murder. After Nile woke up, we all without meaning to were keeping him in a bit of a bubble. He just seemed breakable. Nile was anxious to get over the whole situation. In some ways, I think I was too. Initially, we all focused on only getting through the trial with Darren that the full weight of what had happened did not settle on us. For the first few weeks, the focus was solely on making sure everything was okay. With every doctor's appointment and psych check-up, we took steps toward normalcy.
Normal. What a strange word that is. Everyone's definition of normal is drastically different. For Nile, normal used to be walking on eggshells around Darren. For Uncle Mike, it was being a guardian over one kid and now we are all trying to figure out our new normal. It's crazy how life can change so quickly. What is even stranger is the idea that normal is what we crave when we are faced with life-changing problems. Our summer has been normal. It has been weeks filled with laughter and random adventures that have become core parts of our story. Normal. We have spent countless moments on the brown couch in Uncle Mike's house watching all of the movies Nile has ever seen. There was a lot.
There we were squished together on the muddy brown couch with Lex and Jake. The guys on the outside, Lex and I in the middle. Somehow the love seat fits the four of us. It was the only furniture Uncle Mike had in the house at the time and even after he got more that still seemed to be our favorite spot. It was a typical Sunday night with an unnecessary amount of junk food and yet another Disney classic. Nile sat watching as the goddesses sang while Jake tried his hardest not to roll his eyes. He would never admit it but he was enjoying himself. Lex and I would sing along to all the songs while the guys exchanged judgmental looks. Normal.
"Come on, let's go." Jake's voice broke through my daydream. Pulling me behind him Jake maneuvered his way through the crowd with unnatural ease. This has, strangely enough, become our routine. Jake has deemed himself my bodyguard for getting through the crowds in the arena. Honestly, I can't argue because he gets the job done. Maybe it was the fact that he is basically a walking building or that his face dared you to try him, either way, we always got out of the arena in record time. Not without the occasional girl making a pass at Jake who didn't seem to care. Unbothered.
"Wait, I left the sign. I'm going to go get it."
"You sure? You're probably just going to make a new one next week." Jake says, looking behind him to see if the crowd was still bad. Nodding quickly I let go of his arm."Okay I'll meet you out front."
With everyone trying to leave the arena it was always easy to get back in the arena. Moving through the semi-crowded hallway I ignore the permanent smell of sweat. For some reason I expected a place this cold to not smell but no matter how many times I have been in this rink, the smell of sweat still surprises me. Even when they cleaned the arena it was as if the cleaning products and sweat were competing.
"Sneaking onto the ice again?" Donnie asks. His grey mustache moving as he smiled brightly. Donnie had caught Nile and I when we snuck onto the ice during the hour when you weren't supposed to be there. It was Nile's idea.
He was determined to teach me how to skate the same way he had been teaching Aria and the same way Uncle Mike taught him. Ensuring the laces on my skates were tight around the middle he pat my leg lightly. As if checking to see if I was still sure about this he smiled at me his eyes searching the way they always did. Nodding I tried to stand up before falling back on to the bench. Standing to his full length Nile held out his hands waiting for me to put mine in his.
Placing my hand in his I don't miss the contrast of his warmth compared to the cool of the rink. Pulling me up he takes slow steps towards the empty ice rink. Whenever it came to skating Nile got this gleam in his eyes that made you want to leave him here alone. It always seemed personal for him.
"You can grab the edge if you need to with that hand and I'll hold this one." He says. Placing one hand on the wall and keeping the other in his I take careful steps onto the ice. How people managed to make this look effortless was beyond me. Legs wobbling I try to take one step after the other. Nile tries to hide his laughter but was failing miserably.
"You're doing good."
"And you are a liar." I say, still holding onto the wall as if it were the only thing keeping me alive. For thirty minutes that's how we went around the rink until I decided to be brave and let go of the wall. The safety immediately gone within an instant my legs failed and my butt connected with the cool ice bringing Nile down with me. Unable to hide his laughter any longer Nile laughed, deep and loud without any regard for anything else. It was too funny to be embarrassed and soon we were too busy laughing to notice the security guard staring down at us.
" Not today!"
"Tell Nile I said good game!" Donnie says leaving to do his rounds. Searching the bleachers for the poster I scan over the spot where we were. Along with the poorly discarded nachos and soda cups are a few people. Most probably waiting for people or waiting for the next event to happen. From the corner of my eye I can see someone holding up the sign I had. Running up the bleachers I take a deep breath, silently praying that this does not turn into something.
"Hi, that's my sign. May I have it?" I ask the girl holding the sign up. Dancing from side to side her face scrunched up as she touched the chalk writing smudging it lightly.
"She made this." She says to the guy with her. "You wish I made you signs like that ?" Laughing the guy grabs her pulling her down onto his lap. His ring covered fingers were the only visible thing as the girl fell into him. The sign slipping out of her hand and falling down towards me. Sometimes being a good person pays off. Grabbing it I race out of the arena.
The warmth of the sun is a welcomed change from the freezing arena. The orange hoodie and shorts adorning my body are a stark contrast from each other but I was going to be miserable if I was in that arena without a sweater. On top of that cold Manny has a serious attitude problem. I knew why it was cold but I never understood why it had to be that cold.
" Are you meeting up with Lex ?"
"Yeah, she's forcing me to go school shopping." There are about two weeks left before junior year starts and to say we were excited is the understatement of the century. Junior year is going to be exceptional. At our school, once you made it through the first two years you are pretty much golden. You knew the lay of the land better and you no longer operated like a chicken with its head cut off. Juniors also had way more privileges. I mean seeing as how sophomore year was nothing but drama, junior year was already looking better.
"For clothes or stationery?"
"Manny, you know your friend."
"Stationery." Yet another thing that Lex and I bonded on, our insane love for stationary. We take pens and pencils very seriously. Speaking of pens.
"Jake where is my purple pen you borrowed yesterday?"
"Wow, are you sure you and Lex aren't twins?"
Jake filled me in about all the ins and outs of what would be their shopping expedition. There it was again, normalcy. I am beyond thankful for it. Who would have thought I would be so grateful for a simple conversation.
"Hey!" Turning around my body crashed into Nile's. Reaching out he steadied me from falling. When did he get here? Before the question could leave my lips he claimed them in a demanding kiss. This is something that has not gotten normal. Kissing Nile. Every kiss feels different. Each one said something that words could not. Each one constantly keeping me on edge. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I ease into the kiss. His calloused hands hold my face in place and just for a moment normalcy, excitement and complete insanity coexist. How can something drive you completely mad but put you at ease all at the same time?
The sound of someone clearing their throat pulls me back to reality. Dropping my arms from around his waist I pull away from Nile. Yet another thing I may never get used to, PDA.
" I'm going to find my girlfriend." He sighs "Brother good game. I kept her safe."
"I'm pretty sure she can hold her own but thank you." They fist bump. It has been interesting, to say the least watching the two. They were still getting to know each other yet it seemed as though they were never apart. Wrapping an arm around my waist Nile pulls me into him. His hand slipping under the orange sweater and stroking my stomach lightly. Tensing up I try my best not to laugh as the sensation tickled. My back connecting with his chest. Over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about Nile. One of those things is that although he hated physical touch he loved it all the same.
" Did you see what the goalie did in the first period?"
"I would have blocked that shot," Jake said confidently.
"Manny could have blocked that shot." As though he just said the world's best joke Nile and Jake erupt in laughter. Truthfully I have gotten used to them laughing either to inside jokes or at my expense. Most of the time one of them says a word and the other starts laughing. It is the strangest thing to witness but there was also something special. I got to watch Nile be carefree and completely himself with Jake. It has without fail become something that I can count on. The two exchanged more commentary on the game before Lex's ringtone blared through my phone. She set the same ringtone for herself on each of our phones so we all knew who it was. Leaving the two alone I find a quiet corner to talk to Lex. Normally when she called instead of texted it was something important.
"Jake Lex said you're late." Checking his phone he shook his head. I know what that look meant.
"You coming home tonight?" Jake asked.
" Yeah I'll be there , you?" He laughed as the question left his lips. Lex's dad would literally kill her if Jake spent the night in her house. Her dad doesn't even know Jake exists. I am still her cover for all of their dates. Her dad must think we spend an unnatural amount of time together. I mean we do but it's fine. Truthfully speaking if Nile and I's story was not the way it was my dad would definitely be the same way. Waving goodbye to Jake Nile opened my door and quickly got on the other side. It is crazy how little things such as this make my heart soar.
"Congratulations on the game."
"Thanks Curly Sue." Reaching out he pulled a curl and watched as it bounced back into shape. With his cheek flat against the chair and his eyes focused on me he looks at ease. Why does that unnerve me so much? "Eye contact still making you squirm?"
Not wanting to give him the satisfaction I shake my head no. Eyes focused on his nose instead I try my hardest to play it off. I will be damned if I let Nile know he still makes me nervous?
"Then why aren't you looking at me?" His voice was smooth and calm. A lazy smile eases it's way across his face. With his hand under my chin he gently nudges my face up. "Look at me curly sue." Come on Manny you can do this. It's eye contact not public speaking. Looking up quickly I stare at him for all of ten seconds before looking away. His rich laughter fills the car as I look anywhere but at the boy who has easily become my favorite human. Kissing my cheek lightly he pulled out of the parking lot. Normalcy. I think I can definitely get used to this.