Page 10 of Goalies Don't Date Ice Princesses

“Yeah, of course,” I said. I grabbed a deep red lipstick that I knew would look good with her outfit. Like with the necklace, I just went ahead and applied it for her. Stepping back, I surveyed her entire ensemble with satisfaction, but I still felt like it was missing something. I held a finger up to tell her to wait, then grabbed one of my coats.

“You don’t want to get cold,” I advised. She put the jacket on, leaving it unbuttoned.

“Sure it doesn’t ruin the outfit?” she asked.

“No, it totally adds a mysterious feel to it,” I said, since it was a long black coat. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Of course,” I said thoughtfully, tapping a finger against my chin, “wearing a jacket takes away the opportunity for him to give you his jacket when he thinks you’re cold, which is a classic first date move.”

“All the more reason to wear it, then.”

She and I were on totally different wavelengths with that one, but I was just happy that she was finally going out with Jasper. I clasped my hands together, sighing happily. “I can’t believe you’re actually going out with him.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she warned. “This isn’t a real date. It’s not even adjacent to a real date. This is just because of the bet, and that’s it.”

Jasper and Adelynn had made a bet about Mr. Jamison’s love life after we’d discussed it the other day and Jasper had won. He chose for his prize to be that he could take Adelynn on a date to the Fall Festival in town.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be stupid, Adelynn. He wouldn’t have called it a date if he didn’t want you to think of it as one.”

“He only wants me to feel like this is a date as a joke,” she insisted. “He knows that the idea of it bothers me. Which, incidentally, is also why I couldn’t say no.”

“Whatever you say,” I replied, knowing she would eventually see that I was right. But we didn’t have time to argue before there was a knock on the door and Adelynn went to open it. I stood back but watched from my spot in the room.

“Hi,” Jasper said to her. “Uh, these are for you.”

“They’re beautiful,” she said.

“I’ll put them in water for you,” I offered, taking the flowers. I smiled at them. “Have fun, you two!”

“We won’t be out late,” Adelynn assured me. “Probably ten at the latest. Will you be here?”

“I think my plans for the evening mostly involve lying in bed and watching a movie,” I confirmed. “I might even go wild and move to the common room instead.”

“We can watch another movie when I get back,” she suggested. I playfully shoved her toward the door.

“Go!” I said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m looking forward to a night by myself.”

“Having me around is that bad?” she teased. I just slammed the door behind her, leaving her to have her night with Jasper.

With her gone, I sighed and looked around the room. I was used to spending Saturday nights alone since she was always at her mom's for dinner, but for some reason, the room seemed extra lonely tonight. I wished I could go for a skate now, but there was no way I could sneak in there easily on a Saturday evening before curfew.

I grabbed my laptop from my bed, then headed out the door as well, making a beeline for the common room. As I entered the common room, my mind instantly felt at ease in the cozy room. It was adorned with soft, plush couches and oversized armchairs, huddled together as if inviting me in. There were few parts of Westwood that I liked better than Sinclair, but this was one of them.

I settled myself on a worn-out armchair near the fireplace. The room was filled with a peaceful silence, broken only by the distant sound of laughter from the courtyard outside the window.

I opened a streaming service on my laptop and clicked on the first movie I had saved on my list. I settled into my spot and happily started watching it.

Just as the movie was beginning to captivate my attention, I heard a soft creaking sound coming from the hallway. I glanced up, expecting to see some other students from the floor making their way into the common room. But instead, to my surprise, it was none other than Archer.

Archer sauntered into the common room as if he owned the place. His brown eyes scanned the room until they landed on me. Surprised to see him there because this was a girl's dormitory, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

I shook my head, my curiosity piqued by his unexpected presence. "No, not at all," I replied. "Just enjoying a quiet night alone."

Archer took a couple of steps into the room and sat down in the chair beside me, looking around casually. I frowned in confusion.

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