“Jake, this is your family trip.”
“Well I love you, so I think that means you’ve more than earned your right to crash,” he teases.
“I don’t know…” The last thing I wanted to be was a clingy girlfriend who dumped all her problems onto her partner.
“Would it make you feel better if I told you Ollie was also going to be there, so you’re not the only non-Keeley present?”
“Ollie’s coming?”
“Yeah, his Christmas plans fell through, so I invited him to tag along.”
In that case…”Okay count me and Josie in then.”
“Done. Now I have a homework assignment for you.”
“Oh?”
“Make a bucket list of all the Christmas things you want to do. I plan on checking them alloff.”
Josie was over the moon when I updated her on our Christmas cabin trip. I also extended the offer to my mom, but she couldn’t get any of the days off. A large part of me felt guilty for going out and having fun while my mom was so tied up with work, but she insisted that I go and enjoy myself for once.
The alarm on my phone goes off, letting me know that I have an hour until I need to head out. I groan at the half-finished report on my screen, let out a deep breath, and start typing away. It's definitely not my best work, but I repeat, “It’s just a draft; you can always edit it later” in my head a dozen times. My brain feels like absolute mush by the time I finish typing the final sentence, and I nearly jump out of my seat when Nicole knocks on my door, signaling me to get dressed. Tonight was our big rivalry game against Bolton University, and nothing would keep me from attending this game.
With the semester coming to an end, I no longer felt like I had to keep my relationship with Jake hidden. I threw on my Westchester U Wolves jersey that Jake surprised me with last week that had his last name on my back. The jersey and the sweet glass seats he scored for Nicole and I had me dying to announce to the world that I was his girlfriend. Being shown off was another thing I’d never experienced before but could get used to.
“Ellie, we gotta head out or we’ll be late. It’s going to be crazy getting insi—” Nicole pauses, a smirk on her face as she notices my outfit. “That’s new.”
“It’s from Jake.”
“Yeah, I figured. It looks good on you.”
“Thanks. It’s a little big, but honestly it makes it easier to layer on top of my sweater.”
“I meant the happiness looks good on you, but I guess the jersey’s nice too.” Her smirk turns into a genuine smile.
Her words warm my heart, especially given all the highsand many, many lows she’s seen me through. I return her smile and grab my bag as we head out.
We follow the sea of blue jerseys heading towards the hockey arena. I make a mental note to thank Jake again for getting us tickets because the student section was already filling up.
“Damn, it’s freezing down here.” Nicole wraps an arm around herself as we take our seats right next to Westchester’s bench.
“Yeah, I guess we’ve never sat this close to the ice before.”
On the other side of the rink, Bolton students decked out in maroon start filing in and the tension starts building in the arena. The aggressive nature of hockey definitely rubbed off on its fans. While a century-long rivalry between the two oldest universities in the city would normally increase the odds of a fight breaking out, I hoped Jake would stay out of it.
The NCAA had a very strict anti-fighting policy that would be met with an immediate game ejection and likely suspension to follow. Normally seeing a fight would excite me (two men on ice skates throwing punches itched a part of my brain I didn’t want to admit I had), but now that I imagined Jake getting hurt, I couldn’t get it out of my head. All I could do was picture the hundreds of ways in which something could go wrong tonight, and I hated how my anxious mind always found a way to taint even the happiest of moments.
A knock on the plexiglass in front of us brings me back to the moment.
Jake licks his lips as he notices me wearing his jersey. “Looking good, Ellie.”
“Make sure to score some goals tonight or else. We can’t have these Bolton players thinking they run this place.”
“One hat trick just for you coming u—” Jake’s shoulders tense and he snaps his head back. Following his gaze, I notice aBolton player standing behind him, running his mouth with mocking laughter. Though I can’t hear what’s being said, I don’t miss the Bolton player pointing at me and then back at Jake.
“Jake, don’t—” He skates away before I can talk some sense into him. Mercifully Adam intercepts Jake before he can reach the Bolton player and convinces him to warm up. While I’m grateful for the distraction, I know once Jake gets started, he won’t stop. And it’s only a matter of time before he explodes.
Chapter 38
