Thin Ice by Niki Settimo Read Free Book Online

you stop something you don’t realize you’re doing?

    Just then, Tegan appears in the doorway. “Ready?!”
    “Yep.”
    “I’ll drive!”

    Just like that we’re off, making a pit stop to buy Wolves hoodies. They’re Dark Blue, and in the middle is the Wolves logo. A wolf, baring its teeth, ripping out of a net, and underneath it says Winter Park Wolves. Tegan grabs the zip up, and I get the pullover. We leave the store and make our way over the the rink. As we find some empty spots on the bleachers, the rink starts filling up with students, faculty and families of the players who live local.
    Then the teams come out for warmups. I spot him as soon as he gets on the ice. Wearing the captain's jersey, Rath, #8. When he looks up to the stands, he scans the crowd until he finds me, and smiles. He points to his chest, and tugs at his jersey, and then points to me. I guess he likes my hoodie. Just then I realize Tegan is too quiet, and I look over to see her watching me very intently.

    “Just saying, the sweatshirts were my idea.”
    “Have I thanked you for that yet?”
    “Nope, but I’m guessing by the end of the night you will be.”

CHAPTER 9
    Dylan

    Don't blink they won't even miss you at all,
    And don't think that I'll always be gone,
    You know I've got you like a puppet in the palm of my hand,
    Don't you let me down!

    “Rath!”
    Taking my headphones off, I look to see who is calling me and messing up my pre game pump up. I hope Elli came, but I have to keep my head in the game right now. For some reason though, I feel like I would play better if she was watching. There’s something so calm about being near her, but at the same time, she keeps you on your feet. I was relieved last night when she didn’t blow off my text. I still don’t understand why she thought I was just pretending to be nice to her.  

    “Yea, Anderson?”
    “Coach wants to see you before your team pep talk.”
    “Thanks man.”

    Standing up, fully dressed in my gear and helmet in hand, I head toward Coaches office and knock on the door.
    “Come in Rath.”
    “What’s up Coach?”
    “Feeling good about tonight?”
    “Yes sir.”
    “Good, I know it’s the first game of the season, but you keep playing the way you’re playing, and your future is looking very bright.”
    “I’ll make sure to do that sir, thank you."
    “Now go give your team of hood rats a pep talk before we take the ice.”

    Laughing at his nickname for the team, I make my way towards the room where the guys are being rowdy as usual.

    “Alright boys, round it up!"
    “AYYYYOOO Caps got the mic, everyone shut up!”
     
    Throwing an appreciative nod at Anderson, I look out to my team. We spend so much time together, and have become a band of brothers, and that’s a winning team in my opinion.
     
    "Alright men. First game of the season. We looked real sharp in practice yesterday, am I right?!
     
    A chorus of 'hell yeah’s’ makes their way around the room before I'm able to speak up again.
     
    "Stay sharp out there. Look out for one another. We’re not just a team here. We’re a family, and daddy dearest over there is expecting us to bring him home back to back championships. So let's get out there and kick some ass!"
     
    We all collect our gear, and make our way out of the locker room. As I step onto the ice, I scan the bleachers for one person in particular. And then I see her. She's wearing a Wolves sweatshirt, jeans, and has her hair down. She belongs in an ice rink. She doesn’t look one bit out of place like some of the girls the other guys bring. They wind up freezing halfway into the first period and have to leave.
    I'm guessing the girl next to her is her friend Tegan, because she has on the same sweatshirt. I'm glad she didn't come alone. I drift my eyes back over to her and smile. I tug at my jersey to show her I like her choice of apparel, and then begin to warm up. I feel a little lighter on my skates. Like skating without