18.
My family was not poor. Both my mom and my dad had a steady income that was enough to put me through such an expensive lifestyle as a competitive figure skater. I'd always considered myself to have lived a very privileged life. Up until this moment, I would have considered us to be rich.
But, in comparison to the Gray family? My family might as well have been homeless.
"Wow," I mumbled, eyes wide in admiration at the large mansion of a home that stood before us. I knew that the Gray's had money since they were sponsoring the rink, but I never expected their house to be an actual mansion.
The first indication that the house was going to be insanely expensive should have been the large iron gate that sat at the front of the long winding driveway. A gate that had a code and opened automatically and closed once the car was through. No manual labor needed.
"This is posh."
I chuckled at Mom's choice of words, but she wasn't wrong. The house was overwhelmingly large – both in height and in length. Painted a gorgeous cream color with some dark brown accents by the windows. In front, perfectly trimmed hedges lined the whole front of house, accenting the tall windows nicely. The house held a sense of elegance.
Everything about the property screamed money. There was no other house like it in Whitmore or the surrounding towns. It was a one of a kind million-dollar home. A property that I had no idea even existed.
Dad nudged my side with his elbow, pulling my attention off of the house. I looked up at him, frowned at his wide grin. "Are you ready?"
As I had suspected, both my parents were ecstatic when I told them that the Gray's had invited us to the hockey team cookout. Even with my best efforts to persuade them otherwise, they were adamant that we just had to go. Mom was dying to meet the newest family in town, and Dad wanted to visit with the hockey team.
"Not really," I admitted. No part of me felt ready to have to deal with the whole hockey team at once without back up. Lucy was unfortunately occupied with prior family commitments, and Scott was at his friend's house. The only people I would have were my parents. "But I'm as ready as I will be, so let's just get this over with."
Dad laughed. "That's the spirit, kiddo."
I sucked in a large breath, followed behind my parents closely as they made their way to the front door. The one saving grace I could think of was that I would at the very least have Chris. Plus the other guys I had met at mini golf the other day. Chris, Nate, Josh, Tyler, and Brendon were all easy to get along with. If I could hang out with them, hopefully I would survive the afternoon.
Mom rang the doorbell and the three of us took a step backward, waiting in anticipation for someone to answer. Please don't be Aiden, I repeated in my head over and over. After a minute, the door swung open to reveal a middle-aged woman. I released the air I was holding, grateful to see that it wasn't Aiden or Lance.
A large tooth filled smile took over the woman's face, causing crinkles to form in the corners of her hazel green eyes. She pushed a strand of light hair from her face, extended a hand out to my dad. "You guys must be the Lodge family. I'm so glad that you could make it. I'm Brooke Gray."
Dad's hand wrapped around hers in a firm shake. "Time Lodge." He turned his head, beaming at me with pride. "I'm Zoe's dad."
A glimpse of excitement flashed over Brooke Gray's features at the mention of my name. Her eye contact with my dad broke as she glanced in my direction. Her smile widened.
"I presume you are Mom," Brooke Gray asked, her attention now on my mom. Her hand released from Dad's and extended to my mom.
Mom nodded, a smile equivalent to Dad's fell onto her face. "Yes. Sandi Lodge."
The two shook hands before Brooke dropped her hand back down to her side. Her eyes once again fell onto mine and suddenly, she was beaming. I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Zoe Lodge," she said as she walked out of her doorway. In two big steps she was in front of me and engulfing me in a hug. I stiffened at the physical contact. "It is so great to finally meet you."
My eyes widened in horror at my parents. Help me, I mouthed.
"So Brooke," Dad said, coming to my rescue. He smiled at me. "You must be Lance's wife?"
Brooke let out a laugh as she pulled away from me. I let out a breath. "Oh yes. I forgot to mention that. I am Lance's wife and Aiden's mom."
I blinked slowly, studying the woman in front of me. Brooke looked nothing like Aiden. Wavy, strawberry blonde curls, hazel green eyes. Vast difference from Aiden's dark brown hair and matching dark brown eyes. Even the face shape was different. Brooke's face was round. Aiden had a jawline so sharp that it could cut you. The two looked nothing alike.
"Lance tells me that you are a phenomenal young skater," Brooke said suddenly, changing the subject back onto me.
A sting of heat flooded the apples of my cheeks and I looked down at my shoes. "Thanks."
Normally, I was not awkward when someone complimented my skating. But this time felt different. It was weird knowing that the compliment stemmed from Lance who had barely seen me skate.
Brooke didn't seem to notice my awkwardness. She turned back to my parents. "Come on in. All the parents are in the kitchen playing a game of cards if you would like to join us." She took a step backwards, gesturing us inside the mansion of a home. "Zoe, the hockey team is out back taking full advantage of the pool."
After that, it didn't take long for my parents to ditch me. I was stuck to deal with the hockey heads by myself.
The backyard was filled with the hockey team scattered around. The majority of people seemed to be by the pool or in small clusters around the grass just chatting amongst themselves. A few people sat at picnic tables, stuffing their faces with food.
"Damn, I did not expect to see you here, Lodge!" Brendon hollered, catching my attention from across the pool. I looked in the direction of the water, seeing him quickly make his way over to the edge to pull himself out. I swallowed a nervous breath and made my way over to the pool. The whole group from mini golf was here.
Brendon shook his hair like a wet dog, turned to me with a wide grin as he made his way over. "But," he swung an arm around my shoulder, pulled me into his side. "I am happy to see you."
I frowned, looked down at my clothes. My right side was now soaked thanks to Brendon. "Thanks."
Tyler and Josh each greeted me with a simple hey. Nate cocked his head to the side, studying me closely like I may have been an alien. "Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, but what are you doing at a cookout for the hockey team? I thought you hated hockey."
I sucked in my lips, glanced around at all the people outside. Nate had every reason to be confused. If it wasn't for my parents, I wouldn't have come. I did hate the hockey team.
Brendon rolled his eyes at Nate's question. "Who cares why she's here. I think it's great."
Brett appeared on the other side of me, a root beer in his hand. He smirked at Brendon. "Come on bro, you are just hoping that you'll get to see her in a bikini."
All the boys cracked up in laughter except for Brendon who just shrugged, unable to dispute Brett's claim. With a lazy grin, Brendon looked down at me. "He's not wrong. Are you planning on going for a swim at all?"
I laughed, ducked out from under his arm. "Not today lover boy."
He pushed out his lower lip to try and persuade me. I rolled my eyes. "Are you sure, because I don't think that there is a single guy here that would mind seeing you in a bikini."
"Then I guess it's too bad that there isn't a single guy here that I care to impress."
My tone was teasing, but my words were true. There was no one here that I was interested in. Hockey players weren't my type, for several reasons. Don't get me wrong, Brendon was attractive. Tall with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, athletically toned. I was pretty certain he could get most girls if he tried. I just had no interest in a hockey player.
Brendon frowned, held a hand over his heart. "You wound me, Zo."
"I think you'll survive," I smirked to which he grinned.
I slid my flip flops off and took a seat on the ground next to Josh, swung my legs over the side of the pool. The cold water sent a chill up my body upon contact. After a minute it felt nice, a refreshing change from the humidity in the air.
The guys were all as nice as I remembered them being from mini golf. It was crazy how easy it was to be with them in comparison to Aiden. None of them made me feel like they thought hockey was better than figure skating, nor did they make me feel like I was some kind of alien that didn't belong.
"Zoe!" Riley exclaimed. I turned my head in time to see her barreling over to me with a large smile on her face. Chris trailed behind her. "I am so glad that you are here!"
I jumped up to my feet. "It's great to see you too."
"I didn't think that he would have actually invited you," she admitted, engulfed me into a hug like we had been friends forever. Normally, I didn't like hugs from people I didn't know. But Riley felt like she was starting to become a real friend.
I narrowed my eyes at her as she took a step away, pulling out of the embrace. She smirked at the skepticism on my face. Pointing at Chris behind her, she explained, "Aiden told him. He told me."
I looked over at Chris who just offered a smile with a small shrug. "I see."
"So, Zoe," Brett said suddenly. Both him and Brendon had gone back to swimming in the pool and were now both leaned against the edge of the pool, looking up at me. Each boy held the same wild grin. What?
I raised my eyebrows.
"How are things going with you and Gray?"
The question was simple. Technically. Although, after the events of this morning, I didn't have as definite of an answer as I would have liked. Aiden and I fought. A lot. He still made me want to pull my hair out and it didn't seem like it was going to ever respect my sport. But then, there were moments I felt like maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought. Like when I accidentally fell into him earlier and he caught me instead of letting me face plant.
I turned my head to avoid everyone's stares. "It's complicated."
"That good, eh?" Brendon cackled.
"Complicated like an on again off again relationship?"
I snapped my head back in the direction of the two boys in the pool. "Not funny," I hissed, shooting daggers at Brett. "I would rather quit figure skating than ever date Aiden."
Brett held his hands up in defense, all humor drained from his face. "I was only messing with you."
"Well don't," I snapped. As soon as the words came out, I felt bad. In my head I knew that the boys were just joking around. It shouldn't have bothered me so much, but it did. "Not about that, please."
Brendon put his hands flat on the ground, coaxed himself up out of the pool. His eyes narrowed onto mine, filled with skepticism. "So you're telling me that you guys haven't hooked up yet?"
My jaw dropped. Suddenly, I felt like I had to puke. How could he have even suggested that? "What?"
He shrugged. "You guys have had to spend a lot of time together. We all just kind of assumed that you two would have hooked up by now." Brendon grinned. "There's no sexual tension there?"
I clamped my mouth shut; eyes narrowed into a glare. I walked up to Brendon, leaned upward on my tiptoes so that I was closer to his height before I shook my head. "None." Then, with no hesitation, I placed both my hands onto his chest and pushed him backwards, hard enough to send him back into the water with a big splash.
A few seconds later he came up from under the water. He shook his hair, sending water droplets flying. Brendon ran a hand through his hair, looked up at me with a satisfied smirk. "You and Gray, touchy subject. Got it."
The rest of the group was doubled over laughing. "That's an understatement," Chris choked out between his fits of laughter.
"Watch it Chris," I warned, shot a glare in his direction. "You'll be next."
Chris smirked, accepted my challenge. "Don't lie. You are secretly enjoying this."
I scoffed, rolled my eyes. Minus the talk of Aiden, I did find the boy's to be good company. Not that I would have admitted that out loud to them. It was strange how easy it was to get along with them.
Brendon pulled himself out of the pool for the third time since I had arrived, walked up to me with a grin. Water droplets were still apparent on his skin as he draped his arm lazily around my shoulder. "I think you secretly wish you had become friends with us sooner."
"Can you not?" I asked, electing to ignore his statement. When he raised an eyebrow at my question, I looked at his arm that was currently soaking my clothes. Unlike the majority of people here, I had not brought a swimsuit and I didn't have a change of clothes. "You're wet."
A glint of deviance flashed over his features. "Oh?" Without giving me a warning or a chance to protest, Brendon wrapped his other arm around me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I cringed at his wet swim trunks that transferred some of the water to the front side of my shorts. My shirt got less wet only being exposed to water droplets on his bare chest, but it was still enough to make me feel damp.
He shook me around in his arms as if to get as much water on me as possible. "Better?" he asked as he released me from his arms.
"I hate you."
This only made Brendon laugh and reposition his left arm around my shoulder once again before he got sidetracked in a conversation with Chris. The back door opened just then, drawing my attention over to it. Aiden walked out with a few other guys that followed behind him.
It was the first time I'd seen him in the twenty minutes I'd been at the cookout. He'd changed since I saw him at the rink, now dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a loose-fitting black tank top that showcased some impressive biceps. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that he didn't wear his skates clothes all day, I didn't either, but I found it weird to see Aiden not in a hoodie or excessive padding.
I felt myself tense slightly as Aiden's eyes found my own. The darkness of his eyes held an unreadable expression. Oh, how I would have loved to know what was going on inside of his head.
We held each other's gaze for several long seconds before Aiden titled his head, his eyes jumped down to where Brendon had his arm around my shoulder. He raised his eyebrows as if he were asking why. I shrugged in response before quickly breaking our contact by turning back toward the boys.
Lucky for me, none of the guys seemed to have noticed the silent exchange between Aiden and me. Not even Brendon. If they had, it would have only fueled the fire from minutes ago.