Page 14 of Goalies Don't Date Ice Princesses

“You’ve fallen ten times in the last fifteen minutes.” He glided over to me, his arms crossed across his chest.

“I’m just having a bad day,” I muttered. I got back to my feet and brushed off my pants. “Go back to your weird hockey practice.”

“Woah, woah.” Archer grabbed my upper arm as I tried to skate off, pulling me back toward him. He spun me so I was facing him. I tried to squirm out of his arms, but he just tightened his grip. “Seriously. What’s going on?”

My heart raced as I looked into Archer’s eyes, feeling the weight of his concern. The truth was, the upcoming skating competition had been consuming my every thought, filling me with a sense of dread and anxiety that seemed to grow with each passing day. The pressure from my coach, my family, and even my fellow skaters had been suffocating, weighing down on me like an invisible burden.

“What do you care?” I asked. “You’ve barely even talked to me over the past few weeks and now you suddenly want me to bare my soul to you?”

Archer released his grip on my arm, his eyes narrowing in response to my defensive tone. The ice beneath us seemed to hold its breath, waiting for my next move. But instead of retreating into silence, Archer surprised me once again with his unwavering determination.

“Look, I may not have spoken much, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed,” he said.

His voice was gentle yet firm, his gaze steady as he met my eyes. “I’ve been watching you, you know. Not in a creepy way or anything,” he added quickly, sensing my apprehension. “But I’ve seen the way you push yourself, even when no one else is looking. The dedication and passion you bring to every practice.”

I blinked, taken aback by his confession. The idea that Archer had secretly observed my practices—more than I already knew about—and witnessed both my triumphs and failures, left me feeling exposed, yet strangely exhilarated too.

“Why?” I whispered, the word barely escaping my lips.

“I’ve seen the fire in your eyes when you land a perfect jump,” he continued, his voice tinged with admiration. “The way you push yourself beyond your limits and strive for perfection with every graceful movement. You’re someone who refuses to settle for mediocrity, you’re someone who strives for excellence even when faced with doubt and fear. I love seeing it. I love seeing that sort of passion in a person.”

Archer’s words washed over me. I’d never seen this side of him. I wondered how much more there was to him that I didn’t know about.

“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice barely audible above the hum of the rink’s cooling system.

Even without me explaining beyond that, Archer’s expression softened, understanding flickering in his eyes. “Fear is natural,” he said softly. “It means you care. But don’t let it consume you. Use it as fuel, as motivation to push yourself even harder.”

I tilted my head. “How are you so wise?”

He grinned. “My dad used to say that to me. Every time I was scared about a game. So... Why don’t you tell me what’s scaring you, Twirl Girl?”

“Stop calling me that,” I mumbled half-heartedly.

“Tell me.”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to trust him or push him away. But there was something about Archer’s genuine concern that touched a chord within me. I took a deep breath and decided to share my fears, my vulnerabilities.

“This competition next month,” I began, my voice barely above a whisper as the words spilled out. “It’s consuming me. I’m terrified of falling short and disappointing everyone who believes in me. About failing my team. Failing myself. And... I just can’t focus. That’s why I like to come here every night. Because I can’t sleep and I can’t distract myself any other way and?—”

“Hey guys!” Someone knocked on the glass and I jumped. I looked over and saw a guy there, who looked maybe a couple years older than us. “Gotta get off the ice. The Zamboni needs to go.”

“Thanks, Zach!” Archer called back. “We’ll just be a minute.”

The guy nodded and walked off. I looked at Archer inquisitively.

“What?” Archer asked. He grinned and I blinked in surprise. Since when did he know how to smile? “How did you think I was getting in here every night?”

I guess I hadn’t thought about it at all. I just took advantage of the open doors every night and chose not to question it.

“I guess we should go,” I said. “Don’t want to keep the Zamboni waiting.”

We both skated off and went to our respective change rooms to put our stuff away. I looked forward to talking to him again when I got off the ice, but when I stepped back into the hallway, Archer was already gone.

eleven

When I gotto class the next day, Archer wasn’t in his usual seat. I thought maybe he was just running late, but once twenty minutes had passed, it was clear he wasn’t coming in at all. Even though I shouldn’t have cared about him, I started to worry about why he wasn’t there. Was he sick? He seemed fine last night, but maybe that was just a front? It’s not like he would have gone around advertising to me that he didn’t feel well. But maybe it was actually something else. Was it possible he was avoiding me? He’d shown me more of his personality last night than ever before. Maybe he was rethinking it. Regretting it. That seemed like an extreme reason not to come to school, but I wouldn’t put much past that boy.

“Have you talked to Archer lately?” I asked Adelynn while we were eating lunch. I figured if he was actually sick, she might know something about it. Something had changed recently between her and her siblings—they were talking more than I’d ever seen before.

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