Page 36 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
"Charlie." Jesse rounded the corner, a wide grin on his face. Charlotte never noticed how deep his dimples were. "I've been looking for you. Afraid you got lost."
She laughed. They both knew she was familiar with every inch of that building—except maybe the boy's locker room, but who wanted to go in there.
He turned to her mom. "Sorry to steal your daughter, Mrs. Morrison, but my guys are kind of hopeless, and I'm hoping she can show them a few skating tricks."
Her mom, butter in Jesse's hands, nodded as if that were perfectly acceptable. Charlotte rolled her eyes but took the chance to escape the conversation she was headed for with her mom before Jesse distracted her with his charm.
Jesse caught up with her. "Glad you're here."
"You worried I wouldn't show?"
"Nah, I have faith in you." He flashed her another grin as they stopped at the locker rooms. "Go change and meet us on the ice."
She entered the room and spun the dial on the only locker with an actual lock on it. Inside her figure skates taunted her. If she wanted to help these guys with their skating for hockey, she needed to be on an even playing field.
After changing into leggings and an Under Armor shirt, she ran a hand over her braid—the same style she'd worn her hair in every day for as long as she could remember.
But this wasn't a normal day.
She'd never admit it to Jesse, but she was looking forward to skating with the team. Making a quick decision, she unwound her braid, combing her fingers through her chocolate hair.
Brushing it back, she pulled it into a ponytail. The end brushed her back every time she moved her head. With a smile, she walked into the storage room between the locker rooms, using the code she knew by heart to gain entry. Her father kept all spare skates here, only taking them out for public skating sessions on the weekends.
Sifting through them, she found her size.
Back in the locker room, she laced up the skates and stood, testing the weight of them. It had been many years since she wore hockey skates.
She stood in front of the mirror and nodded to herself. Try calling her an ice princess now.
By the time she reached the end of the tunnel, the rest of the team was running through drills on the ice.
Roman was the first to see her. "Is that Charlotte Morrison looking all sporty?"
Jesse laughed. "Don't say sporty, dude." He skated over as she stepped onto the ice and grinned down at her hockey skates. "Sure that's a good idea?"
"I actually learned to skate in hockey skates." She shrugged. "It's much easier than figure skates."
"Whatever you say." He skated backward as she moved away from the wall. "Just remember, there's no—"
She yelped as her feet flew out from under her and her hands slammed into the ice, sending pain through her wrist.
"Toe pick." Jesse had the decency to suppress his smile as he held a hand down. "There's no toe pick."
She let him pull her up. "Yeah, got that. Thanks." Shaking out her wrist, she lifted her eyes to find the entire team watching her. "Wonderful."
"It's okay. Most of them can't stay on their feet for long either."
"I can stay on my feet," she grumbled.
"Oh, I remember. I was there this morning."
She couldn't forget that or the words he’d said.She’s a robot.
"You look different." She shrank under his scrutiny. Good different or bad different? Was it just her hair?
But she didn't ask any of that because her dad stopped in front of them, spraying ice their way—one of his favorite things to do in the rare times they skated together.
His gaze lingered on her hockey skates before finding her face and giving her a kind smile. "Hey, Charlie. I'm glad you're here today."
