My Hockey Alpha Chapter 60

Nina

After the game, I packed up my things and made a quick pit stop at home to drop off my backpack and change my clothes before heading to the bar.

The bar was packed when I arrived. It seemed that both hockey teams had decided to go out for drinks, as well as half of the students on campus. I was barely even able to find my own friends in the crowd, but eventually found Jessica and Lori standing in a corner.

“Hey,” I said, approaching them with my hands in my jacket pockets. “Crowded in here.”

“Yeah,” Lori replied, taking a sip of her beer as she leaned against the wall. “Check that out.” She nodded over at the opposite corner, where the mystery captain from the other team was sitting in a corner booth, surrounded by girls who were staring at him dreamily as he talked. He was gesturing a lot with his hands, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the attention.

Just then, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Justin standing behind me. Despite his angry outburst after the game, he seemed fine now -- probably from the alcohol. He had a second drink in his other hand, which he gave to me. “I got you a beer,” he said. “They were out of your favorite, so I hope this one is okay.”

I blushed, taking the drink from him. “Thanks. This one is fine.”

Justin stood there for an uncomfortable few moments before turning on his heel. “I’ll be over there if you wanna talk at all,” he said, pointing over to another area of the bar. I nodded and smiled, then looked back at Jessica and Lori when he left. They were both giving me the death stare.

“What?” I asked.

Jessica shook her head. “Don’t tell me you’re entertaining him again.”

I shrugged. “I dunno. He’s really been working on himself. I think he genuinely wants to be better.”

“Once a cheater, always a cheater,” Lori chimed in. “Besides… Don’t you and Enzo still have some weird chemistry going on between you?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Enzo, who practically towered above everyone else as he stood by the bar, talking to Matt. He must have noticed me looking, because he glanced over his shoulder and made lingering eye contact with me for a moment that felt like an eternity. When I finally tore my eyes away, I looked back at Lori and Jessica with a shrug as I tried to hide my heightened nerves.

“Maybe, but that’s never happening. Too much drama. Plus, I don’t wanna get beheaded by Lisa.”

“Like Justin is any better,” Lori grumbled. “If he hurts you again, don’t say that we didn’t warn you.”

Just then, a cheeky grin spread across Jessica’s face as her eyes darted over to something behind me. “You know, if you really want a hockey guy, you do have other options,” she said, lowering her voice. Frowning out of confusion, I glanced over my shoulder and immediately felt my face get hot as I saw that the other team’s captain was headed straight for us. Now that he was standing up close, I realized that he was just as tall and muscular as Enzo.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said with a polite, charming smile.

“H-Hi,” I stammered, my heart pounding.

There was an uncomfortable silence before he raised his hand to point behind me. “You’re blocking the restroom.”

“Oh. S-Sorry.” I stepped out of the way, staring embarrassingly down at my feet. Meanwhile, as the mystery captain passed, Lori and Jessica snickered at me.

“H-Hi,” Lori mocked, making puppy dog eyes.

“Hey, not funny!” I whined, although I couldn’t help but laugh along with them at the stupidity of it all.

…

After having a few more drinks, Jessica, Lori, and I all decided to head home. Enzo never wound up coming to talk to me in the bar even though he was the one who invited me.

It was chilly outside as we walked, but it felt nice after spending the last few hours in the bar.

Suddenly, as Lori and Jessica were bantering about what movie to watch when they got home, we heard footsteps running up behind us. We all turned around in unison to see the same mystery captain from before, running to catch up. He was looking directly at me.

“Hey, excuse me,” he said, just as polite and charming as before. He stopped in front of me, his gaze still fixed on me. “What was your name?”

“Uh… Nina,” I replied. “And this is Jessica, and Lori.”

“It’s nice to meet you three,” he replied with a smile. “I’m Ronan. Nina, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Sure,” I replied, sticking my hands in my jacket pockets and trying to ignore the looks I was getting from Lori and Jessica.

“I’ve been seeing all of these signs about a Halloween fair tomorrow, and I’m gonna be in town for a few days with nothing to do,” Ronan said. “I was wondering if you had anyone to go with, and if you might be interested in showing me around. Unless you already had plans…”

I glanced over at Lori and Jessica, who both shot me encouraging looks and nodded subtly. Lori even gave me a secret thumbs up.

“Um, sure, I suppose,” I replied, feeling my face get incredibly hot. “I can show you around.”

Ronan’s smile widened. He had perfectly straight, white teeth that almost glistened when he smiled, and the breeze ruffled his black hair a bit. “Awesome,” he said. “Wanna meet there around six tomorrow?”

I could feel Jessica and Lori practically boring holes into the side of my head with their eyes, and I tried my best to ignore it and just keep my cool so as not to repeat the same awkwardness from earlier. “Sure,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

All three of us watched as Ronan jogged away to catch up with the rest of his team. Once he was out of earshot, Lori and Jessica began their teasing.

“Ooh!” Jessica said, reaching out and poking me in the side. “Someone’s got a date to the Halloween fair! And with Enzo Rivers’ rival, no less!”

I blushed, pushing her off. “It’s not a date,” I said, starting to walk back to the campus once more.

“It’s never a date with you,” Lori replied, wrapping her arm around my shoulders as we walked. “You wouldn’t be Nina Harper if you ever realized that boys actually wanted to ask you out.”

Jessica and Lori laughed, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with them. As we walked home, however, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that maybe I was doing the wrong thing by getting entangled in too much romance again… Would it be wrong of me to go on a date with the rival hockey captain?

As we returned to campus and crossed the quad, however, my thoughts were broken by a familiar face looking at me from the crowd of students returning to their dorms for the night.

It was Enzo, and his eyes were more hurt than I had ever seen them before.