Page 30 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
Jesse sighed. "Rome, if you come with me, I'll stop byEmma'sand get you that vanilla thing you like so much."
"It's called a steamer."
Jesse smiled, knowing he'd won. "And tell you what, I won't even tell everyone you basically drink milk every morning."
"It's not just milk."
Jesse left him to sulk as he went down into the most uncomfortable living room he'd ever seen. The Sullivans claimed the furniture was designer, but Jesse figured that only meant hard and narrow.
Roman took longer than five minutes, but he knew his friend needed time to get pretty. When he finally appeared, a sullen frown sat on his lips. "This steamer better be really freaking big."
Jesse grinned. "Come on. Let's go get baby his milk."
* * *
"Why arewe at the rink before school?" Roman stared up at the rectangular building as he finished the last of his drink. "We already have to spend our free time after school here. You better not have gotten me up for an extra skating session."
Jesse opened his door. "We won't be the ones skating today."
He couldn't explain his need to see what Charlotte Morrison could do. She'd shown a glimpse of her skill last weekend, but it wasn't enough.
And if he was going to convince the team she could help them, he had to get Roman on board. Jesse might be captain, but every guy on their team looked up to Roman, wanting just a smidge of what made his star shine so brightly.
He was the rich kid who had everything he could dream of. At least, that's what they knew of him. Popularity was a mirage, determined by who could put out the best lies into the world.
"Do you trust me, Rome?"
Roman swatted him upside the head, knocking Jesse sideways. "What kind of question is that?"
"A legit one." Jesse sidestepped another swat. "Do you ever have these feelings deep in your gut?"
"Yeah, it usually means I need to hurl."
"That's not what I mean." He paused. "Just... you'll see."
He pulled open the front doors, gesturing for Roman to enter and then closed the doors behind them. No one sat at the front desk since the rink wasn't yet open to the public.
Roman threw his cup in a trashcan inside the door of a dark room.
They passed Coach's office, not surprised to hear him in there that early. Jesse wasn't ready to explain his interest in Coach's daughter, so they slipped quietly down the hall. How did he tell the man he wasn't breaking the team's biggest rule; he was just trying to help them win?
Jesse led Roman into a stairwell that would take them to an upper balcony overlooking the rink below. As hockey players, they'd never been into the upper levels, but Jesse knew from experience you couldn't see the faces from down on the ice.
"Are you going to tell me what we're doing yet?" Roman stopped him from climbing higher.
With a sigh, Jesse turned to face him. "That feeling I mentioned... Rome, there's a girl."
A smile slid across his face. "A girl, huh?"
"It's not like that." Despite how beautiful she was, or the fact she was one of the only girls in their school who argued with him. It couldn't be anything more than her helping the team. "She's special. You didn't see the kinds of stuff she did before you got to the rink on Friday."
"Wait... please tell me you're talking about Hadley and not—"
"Charlie."
"Wow, you even have a nickname for her." He rubbed a hand over his face. "She's Coach's daughter."
"I know that. But Rome, she can help us win."
