Page 38 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
"What you can do in those hockey skates." He tapped his stick against her skates.
She shrugged. Sure, she occasionally shot pucks with her dad in the basement, but he was too busy to see anything else.
Jesse leaned toward her and dropped his voice. "You should let him see."
"It's not that simple." She lifted her eyes to where her mom stood behind the glass watching practice, her hard gaze finding her daughter.
"After the first drills, we always play a short scrimmage before getting into our game plan." He grinned. "Play with us."
"I don't know." She looked from her mom to her dad, who now watched them as well.
"Come on. It'll be fun. Show them what you can do, and maybe they'll listen to you."
"Are you talking about the team or my parents?"
He winked. "Maybe both."
Her dad's whistle pierced the air, and the team gathered around him. Jesse gestured for Charlotte to follow him. She was starting to see why he always got his way. It was too hard to resist.
A few guys from the team looked sideways at her as she joined them. Roman shot her a giant grin, putting her more at ease. Her dad didn't look her way.
"No-hit scrimmage," he said. "The first person to hit anyone is thrown out. Got it?"
"Yes, Coach," they said in unison.
"All right, captains pick teams."
Jesse skated to the front of the group with Roman at his side. They surveyed the group.
Charlotte stared down at her skates, feeling more out of place than she had before. Then she heard her name. "Charlie." Her head jerked up. Jesse chose her. First. She'd never been picked first for anything in her life. Her cheeks heated as she skated to his side amid whispers from the guys around her.
"Not fair, dude." Roman grimaced before choosing Damien.
Once the teams were set, Jesse chose his starters, once again shocking Charlotte by starting her on his wing.
She'd never played an organized game of hockey before, but she'd watched a million NHL games. As she skated to center ice, she met her dad's eyes. He didn't look disapproving, but she couldn't decipher the expression on his face.
Curiosity, maybe?
Her mom no longer stood behind the glass, but Charlotte found herself wishing she were here for this too. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as her heart beat fast enough to crack through her chest.
She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so excited. All worry, all nervousness faded away as she took her position to Jesse's left—across from Damien. He smiled, but she averted her eyes, a need to win ripping through her.
She'd show all of them.
Jesse won the face-off, sliding the puck to Charlotte. An underclassman named Riley skated on the opposite wing, but he lagged behind the play, leaving only Charlotte and Jesse streaking up the ice.
Damien came for her, and she grinned as she slid the puck through his legs, picking it up on the other side before passing to Jesse. He did some spinorama thing and slid it back to her.
Two defenseman hung back by the goalie. One of them skated out, but she deked him easily, sliding the puck from forehand to backhand and passing it around the second defenseman. Jesse one-timed it top shelf, and it hit the back of the net.
His arms shot into the air as if he just scored the series winner of the Stanley Cup final.
Charlotte grinned as he reached her and swept her into a hug.
They were so busy celebrating, they hadn't realized both teams stood staring at them.
Jesse released her, and for a moment, she wanted his arms around her again. But this was just hockey, friendship. When she did something great in figure skating, people cheered, but they didn't celebrate with her.
