I take his advice and shuffle my way toward the starting line, my heart beating fast. Sara squeals, “Look at that cute little fluffy one wearing the crawfish costume!”
Olivia moves beside her, and theyoohandaahover the other dogs while I’m praying my feet don’t fly out from under me again. My puppy doesn’t seem to like the cold, so she’s currently trying to sit on my feet. Not helping.
Wyatt slides up next to me and stays by my side as we make our way around the rink. “Everything okay?” he asks. I nod quickly, hoping my cheeks don’t look too flushed. The barking echoes off the ice, and we pass more than one yellow spot.
Finally, we finish the lap around the rink, the Zamboni following slowly behind us, and get back to our box just as the game starts up again. Every time one of the Mudbug players smashes one of their opponents’ faces into the glass in front of us, Graham and Jake bang on it. Those poor guys are getting beat up from both sides.
I make an effort during the second period to stick close to Wyatt. We try to talk over the action in front of us—the barking dogs and the fans screaming “You suck” every time the other team loses the puck—but I feel like we’re fighting a losing battle. I’m more in tune to Wes’s movements in the box than what Wyatt’s saying right next to me.
By the time we get to the second intermission, I feel like this game can’t be over soon enough.
“How are they going to top the doggie parade from the first intermission?” Sara asks. She’s back on the floor, covered in puppies, and I know she’s already trying to figure out how to take one of them home.
A man skates out onto the ice once the players have left for the locker room. He’s wearing a tuxedo and holding a microphone; his voice booms through the arena.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he says. “It’s that time!”
The song “Kiss Me” starts playing over the speakers and red hearts bounce across the huge screen that hangs over the rink. My stomach drops.
“Here comes the Kiss Cam!” the announcer yells.
The camera stops on an older couple, and they smile and wave, then lean into each other for a quick kiss. The camera pans the crowd again, stopping on a couple who seem embarrassed. They bump heads and start laughing.
Several more couples kiss, and the song winds down. But then the announcer says, “We have a very special couple with us tonight! Sophia and Wyatt!”
And then,oh my God, there we are on the big screen.
“They’re on their first date! Hopefully it’s not too soon to get that first kiss!”
I want to crawl in a hole and die. People in the stands are yelling at us to kiss, and everyone in our box is laughing and taking pictures of us. Well, everyone except Wes. I can’t help but think about how much I wanted him to kiss me the other night.
“Well, what do you think?” Wyatt asks. His cheeks are bright red.
I glance back at Wes and our eyes meet. Then he moves out of the box and is gone.
I look back at Wyatt and nod, not sure what else to do. He leans in. Just before his lips touch mine, I shift slightly and his mouth grazes the corner of mine. It’s quick, and probably no one but the two of us know it isn’t a real kiss. The crowd goes wild.
We pull away from each other and, thankfully, we’re no longer featured on the screen.
“That was really awkward,” he whispers.
I laugh. “I’m going to kill Aunt Camille,” I say.
On the ice, kids are trying to shoot a puck into a goal from the center line for prizes. I scan the bleachers behind us to see if Wes went back to his seat. I’m dying to gauge his reaction.
But he’s gone.
Charlie is almost pushing us to the car once the game is over.
“We’re a half hour from my slot,” he shouts. “Keep it moving, people!”
“Where did Wes disappear to?” Olivia asks.
“He said he ran into some guys he knew at the concession stand. I think they were headed to some party,” Graham answers.
Disappointment stabs through me. Is that all it was? Or was it the kiss he thinks happened but didn’t? I shake my head clear, and Wyatt and I wave good-bye to the rest of the group.
Once Wyatt and I are in his car, he turns in his seat to look at me before cranking the engine.
