Page 54 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
She swallowed. "They are... but..."
His lips curled up. "You saw something." He moved to the edge of her bed and bent over the computer. "Tell me."
She tore her eyes away from him and reached to hit play. "When they come up the ice on the rush, they leave gaps." She pointed to where one of the wingers skated out of position.
"Yeah, I saw that. But we don't have anyone fast enough to take advantage. Not even me."
"You don't need to be superhuman fast because their defensemen don't jump up on the play." She waited a moment for the play to develop before pointing to the screen again. "Watch this guy. He hangs back too long. I watched a few of their lines, and it's not just this one. It seems to be a part of their plays. You wouldn't really be able to take advantage of it unless you knew ahead of time. That's what they're counting on."
He straightened and stepped back from the bed. "I wish you were playing the game with us. We could use you."
She didn't respond as she shut the computer.
"I asked your dad if you could."
Her head snapped up. "What?"
"I even looked through the rulebook. There's nothing saying we can't have a girl on our team."
"I can't. I have a competition."
"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "That's what your dad said."
"Is there a reason you're here, Jesse?" Or a reason her dad actually let him upstairs.
He shrugged. "I thought you might want to go for a run."
That was the plan once she decided to risk crossing her parents on the way out of the house, but going with Jesse felt dangerous somehow.
As if sensing her hesitation, Jesse met her gaze. "Look, Charlie, I know nothing can happen between us. I'm not willing to risk my place on the team, and you aren't willing to put your figure skating at risk. I get that. But I like being around you. You're... different from most people. Is there something wrong with us being friends?"
She pursed her lips, considering his words. Was friendship a good idea? Did she care? He was her link to hockey, to that part of herself, but it was more than that.
And she couldn't resist. "Okay, a run sounds good."
A grin overtook his face, a genuine expression so unlike the usual charm she now knew he used to hide his home life. If people saw Jesse Carrigan as perfect, he could be perfect.
But she liked the parts of him he didn't let anyone else see.
"You probably want to change." He winked and walked into the hall.
Embarrassment flooded Charlotte when she looked down at her casual attire, but she pushed it away. The girls at school wore similar clothes every day. Why couldn't she be like them?
Jumping from her bed, she changed into leggings, a sports bra, and an oversized T-shirt.
When she ran down the stairs, she found Jesse sitting in the living room with both her parents. Three pairs of eyes found her. To her surprise, neither of her parents protested her leaving. Instead, they said something she couldn't hear to Jesse and let him lead her from the house.
"All right, skater girl, think you can keep up?" He shot her a grin.
She raised an eyebrow. She’d spent her afternoons running for as long as she could remember. She doubted he could say the same. "We'll see." She took off, only glancing behind her once to make sure Jesse followed. He sped up, matching her pace.
Distance wasn't difficult for her. She was trained to last through an entire long program, having the same amount of energy at the end as the beginning.
They thundered down her familiar path, through the neighborhood and out onto the main road. By the time they reached the beach a few miles from her house, Jesse breathed heavily.
The rocky ground turned to sand beneath their feet as Turtle Cove curved before them. A few surfers in dark wetsuits dotted the horizon, marking where the more beloved Shell Beach began.
Turtle Cove was a popular destination for kite surfers, not long boarders. Their kites flew high above, catching in the wind as the boarders below flipped and twisted.
