Page 4 of Goalies Don't Date Ice Princesses

I dropped down into a crouch and inched forward. It was awkward to walk in skates at the best of times and this was so much worse, but I had to see who was there and I wanted to reduce the chances of them seeing me as much as possible. I poked my head forward to look out, my heart thumping like crazy. The sound of skates cutting through the ice got louder and echoed through the expansive and almost empty room.

My angle was awkward so I couldn’t see much, but one thing was for certain: those were not a pair of figure skates on the ice.

I watched in awe as the boy weaved in and out of invisible obstacles, a perfect combo of strength and agility. His easy movements on the ice were nothing I’d seen before, even in all my time as a figure skater. It was like he was one with the ice, moving along it as easily as breathing air.

I pulled my gaze away from his and rested my weight on my heels as much as I could in figure skates. As much as I was tempted to continue watching the hockey boy, I didn’t come here for that. I came here to skate—and unfortunately, the only way I could do that was by alerting the boy to my presence.

I couldn’t see him well enough to see who he was. I probably didn’t even know him, anyway. There were hundreds of boys at this school. Less who played hockey, sure, but I didn’t talk to many of them. We were civil when we ran into each other at the rink and a couple of them were in my classes, but that was it.

Should I just leave? Give up on getting to skate tonight and accept that sleep wasn’t going to happen? But then what was the point of sneaking out and coming all the way here? Plus, if he was here tonight, it was feasible he would be here on other nights, too. At some point, I would have to confront him.

That, or cross the street every night to go to Sinclair’s ice rink. It would probably be a little more awkward if I got caught over there, though.

I know I’m not a student here anymore but I wanted to skate in the middle of the night and some boy was already using the one at Westwood.

So, what option did I have? I guess I could leave it for tonight. Come back another night when I was ready to see somebody else here and make my pitch for why I was here.

“Well, well....”

I gasped and fell back on my butt in surprise at the voice. The boy was facing me now, and he glided over to me with the practiced ease of someone who had been skating for his whole life.

“Oh, no…” I whispered to myself as his face came into focus. Of all the people who could have been here, why was it him? Any hockey player at this stupid school and it had to be… Archer Rainn.

four

“Archer…”I stammered out. “What are you doing here?”

He came to a stop in front of me, him still on the ice and me just off it. He sank down to a crouch, putting himself level with me.

“I think the better question is what are you doing here, Twirl Girl?” I blinked in surprise at hearing him actually acknowledge me. When was the last time Archer Rainn actually said a word to my face? But once I got over my shock, I rolled my eyes at the stupid nickname. Why were hockey players always so rude about our sport? Always acting as if figure skating was so below hockey in every way. It wasn’t like we went around mocking them all the time.

Well… We did sometimes. But we didn’t do it to their faces.

“I asked you first,” I said. It was a childish response, but still a fair one, I thought. He had no more right to be at the rink in the middle of the night than I did. We were both very much breaking the rules by being here.

The corners of his mouth pulled up a tiny bit. I would barely consider it a smile on anyone else, but considering how stoic he normally was, it felt like seeing him jump for joy. How did I never notice how cute his smile was before now? I guess I never looked at him much individually—whenever I saw him, he was with his triplets. Though he was the only boy, he didn’t really stand out to me. Plus, by the time I met Adelynn when we were twelve, she and Archer were already at the age where they didn’t talk much, so he was hardly ever around.

He rose to his feet without responding. Not wanting to be left staring up at him like an idiot, I did the same. I took the chance to glance around the rink quickly to make sure there wasn’t anyone else here too and was relieved to see it was empty.

“Do you mind stepping aside?” I asked. He was blocking the entrance to the ice, and I figured if we were going to be talking, I might as well be on the ice while we did it. Skating calmed me, helped me have a clear head.

Archer stared at me for a second like he was debating whether or not he should, but he stepped aside. I took the opportunity to get on the ice, a little worried that he was going to change his mind and move back again.

“Stay on that half of the rink and don’t get in my way,” Archer said. Then he skated off without a word. Despite the rude words, I felt a little comforted by them—there was the boy I knew.

five

The next day,as I hurriedly made my way to class, my mind still reeling from the encounter with Archer, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. Would he be there? Would he acknowledge me in any way? The questions swirled through my head, causing my footsteps to quicken with an inexplicable mix of nervousness and excitement.

As I entered the classroom, my eyes instinctively searched for him amidst the sea of students. And there he was, sitting in his usual spot near the window, completely absorbed in a book. My heart skipped a beat as I took him in, and my steps faltered for a moment as I debated whether or not to approach him.

But then I reminded myself of his dismissive words from the previous day, and my determination wavered. The memory of his cold facade sent a chill down my spine, making me question whether it was worth risking further embarrassment. But still, something inside me urged me forward, compelling me to take a chance. Summoning all the courage I could muster, I took a deep breath and approached his seat. My footsteps were barely audible against the polished floor as I nervously advanced. The room seemed to grow quiet, as if everyone else had faded into the background, leaving only Archer and me in this moment.

As I settled into my seat, I stole a quick glance in his direction. Archer’s eyes were still fixated on the page. His concentration was unwavering, and it seemed as though nothing in the world could distract him. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of frustration as I realized how easily he ignored my existence. It was like I was invisible to him, just someone insignificant he might see out of the corner of his eye.

I stole occasional glances at him whenever I could muster the courage. His dark hair fell slightly over his forehead, also falling in his eyes. Every now and then, he would absentmindedly tuck a loose strand of hair behind his ear. It was the most movement he made. He didn’t even look up when the teacher was talking.

I didn’t end up saying a word to him for the whole period.

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