Page 1 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
1
Jesse
"Jesse King Carrigan skates in, slowing to weave around defenders as if they mean nothing to him. It's just him and the goalie, no one else standing in the way of the glorious Stanley Cup. He pulls back and releases a slapper from the left dot. Score!" The puck hit the back of the empty net, and Jesse's arms shot into the air as he yelled and skated around the deserted rink.
A grin stretched across his face as imaginary sounds from the crowd crashed down around him.
"You're ridiculous." The only actual person present laughed from her perch on the half-wall near the bench.
Jesse turned his grin on his sister, not stopping his victory lap. "You're just jealous," he shouted. "Not everyone gets to score the winning goal in the Stanley Cup final."
She lifted a brow. "In your dreams, bro." Hopping off the wall, she walked across the ice in her tennis shoes.
Jesse had been trying to get her in skates for years, but Cassandra Carrigan wasn't one for joining. He’d promised no one would be at the rink this early on a Saturday morning and that was the only reason she showed up.
Jesse skated toward her, not looking at his feet as the front of his skate hit a rut. He couldn't stop the momentum as his legs flew out from under him, and his butt slammed into the ice.
Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and smirked down at him. "Real smooth, Jess."
"Just practicing my falling skills." He shrugged as he brushed ice from his jeans. "You know, so it doesn't hurt when it happens in a game."
"Didn't they teach you how to fall in intro to skating when you were like five? You know the one thing that's more painful than playing hockey?"
He pushed himself to his feet and looked down at his sister, knowing where she was going with this. He didn't ask.
She answered her own question, anyway. "Having to watch you play."
"Not cool, dude." He wrapped his arms around her waist before she could stop him. She squealed but couldn't break free as he picked her up and pumped his legs, gaining speed.
"Put me down, Jesse!" She had a death-grip on his arms.
"Say please."
"Please."
"Say you didn't mean it. That our team is awesome."
"Jesse." She grimaced as he finished one lap around the ice. "I won't lie for you."
He kept skating, a grin cracking his lips as his sister squeezed her eyes shut. A year younger than Jesse's eighteen, she couldn't have been more different. There wasn't a risk-taking bone in her body, at least not anymore.
They’d switched places over the last two years with Cass preferring safety and Jesse going for the risk.
"Fine," she yelled. "The Gulf City Hurricanes are the best thing to ever happen to hockey. Happy now?"
He slowed and lowered her feet to the ice. "That'll do."
"The things I say for you." She shook her head and crossed the ice again, pulling herself back up to sit on the half-wall.
Jesse retrieved his stick and tapped it against the wall near her feet. "We do kind of suck, don't we?" The joking gone from his voice, he sighed.
"That question sounds like a trap."
"It’s not."
"Well..." She paused. "Then yeah, you guys kind of make my eyes bleed."
"Thanks for the imagery."
