“Yes,” I smile, nodding. “I have the tickets in the wallet on my phone.”
Matteo lets out a breath. “Okay. Text me when you get to your seats.”
“Okay,” I nod. “I will.”
His eyes slowly search mine before dropping down to my mouth. My heart stumbles over itself as he takes a step closer, his hand sliding along the side of my face. “For good luck,” he murmurs, leaning down as his mouth brushes mine.
Anyone could see us, yet he doesn’t shy away from kissing me in the middle of the hallway.
“Good luck,” I breathe, my eyelids fluttering open as he pulls away.
His thumb brushes against my bottom lip and he smiles down at me. “See you after the game, Sunny.”
And then he’s gone.
My head and heart are in the clouds as I slowly turn around, walking over to the elevators in a daze. I lied. The atmosphere here isn’t what’s intoxicating.
It’s him.
“Hey, Jade!”
Lucy’s voice carries down the hallway and I catch sight of her, weaving around a few employees. She waves as she jogs over to me.
“Hey!”
“I’m so glad you’re here tonight!” She pulls me in for a hug, as if we’re old friends. I don’t know Lucy well, but she’s never been anything but nice to me. There’s a warmth to her that just makes you feel welcomed.
“Do you want to sit in Matty’s seats or Theo’s?” She pushes the button to call for the elevator. “Actually, we can see which has a better view.”
I laugh softly, unable to fight the smile tugging across my lips. “That’s a good idea. Are there seats not near each other?”
“No idea,” she shrugs as the elevator doors slide open and we step inside. “Guess we’ll find out.”
Our laughter fills the space as the doors shut and we ride up to the floor we need. We compare seats, which are both in the lower bowl, but we ultimately end up sitting in Matteo’s. His has a better view of the entire sheet of ice.
We have time until warmups start so we end up walking around, buying merch and some candy and fries. The concourse is packed full of people getting food and drinks and we duck into the section where we’re sitting, making our way down to the seats in the third row, just along the aisle.
“So, you and Matty have been spending a lot of time together,” she says casually as we settle into our seats and wait for the guys to come out.
My stomach does a somersault. “Yeah, we’ve been hanging out a bit.”
“He really likes you, Jade,” she says after a moment, her voice soft. “I’ve never seen him like this before.”
I turn to look at her, my eyes widening slightly. “We’re just friends.”
She tilts her head to the side. “I’m not so sure that’s what you guys are anymore.”
The lights grow brighter and the music grows louder, the bass vibrating through the floor. The crowd roars, echoing around the arena, filling the space. It’s my own personal reprieve from having to formulate a response to Lucy.
Matteo skates out, stopping for a drink at the bench before skating along the blue line. His head lifts, turning in our direction. His gaze flickers to mine and I don’t miss the way his lips curl upwards.
Lucy glances at me from the corner of her eye, shaking her head with a knowing smile. “Friends don’t look at friends like that.”
Matteo holds my gaze and my stomach flutters.
No, they don’t, do they?
The first and second period fly by and Matteo’s unstoppable on the ice. They’re down by one going into the third, but he scored a goal in the first and got an assist in the second.
