Page 57 of No Promises, No Lies

As she turns, Niko runs an exasperated hand down his face before calling out to her, halting Elle in her tracks. “Fine. I’ll take an IPA, any IPA…”

Elle flashes him an excited smile and scurries away to get his beer, winking conspiratorially at me.

I raise an eyebrow, and Niko scowls back at me before turning his attention again to his phone.Hmm… Perhaps metal man has a heart, after all.

Elle’s back at my side after delivering Niko his beer with another dazzling smile.Honestly, it’s impossible to be mean to her. She practically radiates sunshine.

An influx of girls coming into the empty bar draws all our attention. Elle waves them over excitedly and I remind myself to play nice as I push up off of the bar top. “Liv, Sadie over here!”

A gorgeous girl with long dark hair and equally dark eyes heads our way along with her friend, a shorter girl with olive skin, curly caramel hair and honey eyes.They both check out my brother on their way in.

Elle is practically vibrating now with her excitement. I paint a smile on my face for her benefit. “Rory, I want you to meet Liv,” Elle gestures to the dark-haired girl, who gives me a small smile.

“Hi.”

“—And Sadie,” motioning to the smaller girl next to Liv, who offers a little wave in response.

“You’re the new girl who’s joining the team?” Liv asks. I notice the subtle drawl of a Southern accent.

I take a deep breath. “That’s me.”

Sadie shoots me a sympathetic smile. “It won’t be so bad. We have a lot of fun. Karina’s my coach too.” She gives me a knowing look.Perhaps I’m not the only skater Karina’s conscripted to the Belles…

I have to admit, it’s a relief they’re nice. The cheerleading team from prep school was a completely different beast…

“We should head down,” Liv reminds us, hefting her bag higher on her shoulder and shooting another curious look at Niko, who’s studying the new arrivals from his corner with interest.

Elle and I grab our bags and open the door into the now quiet ice rink, the Zamboni having already finished its rounds. “The Breakers have their opening pre-season game next weekend,” Sadie fills me in as we make our way down the steps. “It’s kind of a big deal. And on top of it, they’re playing their rivals, The Falcons. But don’t worry, we’ll have you up to speed in no time.”

I nod nervously. As much as I don’t want to be a Belle, I also don’t want to be embarrassed as one.

“Stay clear of Natalia,” Liv warns, holding the door for us to pass into the Belles’ private locker room.

“Natalia?” I ask, not sure if I’ve heard Elle mention her before.

“Mmm,” Elle confirms. “She’s…. Well, she can be a little intense.”

“What Ellie-baby means to say,” Sadie chimes in, “is Natalia can be a total bitch... And given your reputation… Little Miss National Champion…” she waves at me, “she is going tohateyou.”

“Perfect,” I roll my eyes.

Indeed, it’s a frosty welcome from Natalia when she finally arrives. A couple more girls trickle in and after introductions, I’m feeling a little better about the situation. Do I still want to do this? No. But at least the girls make the situation more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

As we head out on the ice for warmups, I feel a gentle touch along my arm. I spin around to find Elle at my back. “Remember not to take it too seriously… We’re here to have fun.”

“And for the hockey players, of course.” Liv keeps pace with us. “There’s nothing more thrilling than watching the Breakersbreaktheir opponents.” Her dark eyes flash with violent excitement, grinning before skating off. “And they lookreallygood doing it.”She flips her long hair while pretending to swoon.

Elle and I exchange a look and break into laughter. We finish up warm-ups before the Belles’ coach signals for us to circle up.

I fall easily into learning the routines and by the end of practice, I start to relax and, dare I say… even have fun.

Natalia’s definitely giving me the stink eye, but it’s easy to ignore her. The rest of the girls have been super nice and helpful.Maybe this won’t be so bad…

35

LET’S FUCKING GO

AIDAN

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