“How did you—”
Noelle raises her hand but doesn’t stop looking at her sister. “Not important, Scotty,” she says. “Did you know any of this, Laure?”
“No,” she answers quietly.
“That explains why you aren’t askinghimfor his help then. Are you too worried you’re going to fall into those icy blue eyes and forget how to swim?”
“I’m flattered,” I say, but I’m pretty sure no one is listening to me.
“Noelle, stop.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll suspend my belief that something hasn’t happened between the two of you and play dumb.” She turns to me. “Scotty.” Her voice goes up a couple of octaves. “It’s been super nice to meet you. I’m sorry my sister never mentioned that you were friends—”
“Because we’re not,” Laura pipes up weakly.
“—I know you’re busy with hockey, and college, and everything else a famous guy has to deal with, but I was hoping you’d be able to do my sister a favor.”
“Do you want me to teach her to skate?”
Noelle raises a hand and gently nudges her sister. “Hey, you see? He plays hockey and has a brain. He’s a unicorn.”
“I don’t need your help, Scotty. I know how to skate.”
That makes Noelle and me laugh out loud.
“Wow. What did you do to her, Scotty?”
“Uh.” I don’t know how to answer that.
“Nothing. He did nothing.”
“Ah, sothat’sthe problem. Well, I’m sure we can change that. IfHendricks Uncheckedisn’t scripted, then Scotty hasn’t dated a girl in years. Honestly, I really thought he’d go for Amelia’s friend, Carrie. That girl was all over him like hummus on a carrot.”
Another person thought Carrie and I were going to get together? I barely spoke to the girl.
“I’m single.”
Laura’s eyes widen at my confession. Noelle’s hand rests on her chest, and she lets out an “Aww.” When she takes in Laura’s reaction, she drops her hand. “Okay, well. There’s clearly a lot going on here that I’m not privy to.”
“I’d be happy to help you, Laura,” I offer. “I think you’d be awesome inEvermore on Ice.I assume you’d be auditioning for Princess Blanca. There’s no one in the world that can sing her song better than you.”
It’s all true. I don’t want Laura to blame the fact that she can’t skate for not getting this audition. I want her to shine.
“You’ve heard her sing?” Noelle asks.
“Yeah?” I answer, confused.
She shakes Laura. “Laura says yes.”
“No, I don’t,” she snaps back.
“Yes, you do. Laura, if you really want this part, you need someone who believes in you just as much as I do. He does, and he’s way more qualified than me.”
“I don’t have a gold medal,” I counter. “What moves are they requiring?”
“Ugh,” Laura growls in frustration, and I’m not even ashamed to admit I’m excited over the prospect of teaching Laura how to skate. Getting her back has been a fantasy of mine over the last year, and this brings me one step closer to proving how sorry I am.
“Laura,” Noelle whispers sharply. “If you want this audition, you’re going to need help.”
