23.

"How did things go with Aiden at practice yesterday?" Lucy wondered out loud, taking a sip of her iced latte. I eyed her skeptically, my brows furrowed to a pout. Aiden was an unwelcome topic of conversation.

Lucy took amusement in my clear lack of enthusiasm of her subject choice. She smirked.

I dropped my gaze to the lid of my coffee cup, twirling the straw with my finger. "I didn't go," I admitted quietly.

I spent hours giving Lucy every detail of Aiden's surprise visit to my house the other day. She knew that I felt myself becoming more comfortable around Aiden, which made me panic more. Lucy should have known that I was going to chicken out.

"You are such a child."

My lips pulled into a further frown. It wasn't childish of me to skip out on yet another practice with Aiden. I was just hesitant. Aiden knew how I felt about the kiss, but I didn't have a clue about how he felt. In more ways than one, that gave him the upper hand in our dysfunctional rivalry. If he knew that I was starting to feel things other than hatred about him, well I had a feeling I would never hear the end of it. So no, that didn't make me a child. It made me hesitant.

I set my drink down on the coffee table in front of us, finally lifting my gaze to meet Lucy's infamous mom stare. It was a look that I had grown to hate. A look that told me she thought I was being overdramatic. She gave me this look a lot.

"Stop that," I mumbled, feeling fidgety with her eyes boring into me. "I just don't know what to say to him. We aren't friends. It's weird."

Lucy set her drink down next to my own, freeing her arms to cross them over her chest. "You need to buck up and just deal with it. Talk to him."

"I will... next week."

She huffed. "You are seriously pathetic."

I bit back a small snicker. "Says the one that can't talk to any guy."

Lucy's arms fell back to her sides. "If I had a steamy make out session with someone, I wouldn't be afraid to talk to them."

"It's more complicated than that and you know it."

If it were any other guy that I made out with, things would have been different. I was not the kind of girl that normally was afraid to confront again. If I liked someone, I had no issues letting them know. But things were different with Aiden. He was a hockey player that hated me, and I hated him.

"I don't get what the big deal is. Who cares that you two didn't get off on the right foot? It seems to me that feelings have changed for you both."

I bit my lip. "I don't know that he feels any different."

Lucy leaned forward, collecting her coffee. "Are you serious? Zoe, he came to your house to check in on you and make sure that you were okay. I don't know about you, but to me that screams someone who cares about you."

My apple watch vibrated against my wrist, indicating a new notification. I glanced down, welcoming the distraction from conversation. It was a text from Brendon.

Meet at the rink in an hour. We have a surprise.

I furrowed my eyebrows. What kind of surprise could Brendon and the guys possibly have waiting for me at the rink? That felt like some kind of trap.

Lucy noticed my confusion. "Who texted you?"

"Brendon." I bit my lip. "He wants me to meet them at the rink in an hour."

My eyes drifted to the clock on the back wall of the coffee house. It was 11:08 AM. The hockey team should not have still been at the rink. There was a slim possibility that they were trying to trick me into attending my ice time with Aiden as that wasn't for a few more hours. It had to have been something else.

Why the boys wanted me at the rink, I wasn't sure, but my curiosity had been piqued. It couldn't hurt anything to meet them.

_-_-_

The first thing that caught my eye as I walked through the front doors of the rink was the two unfamiliar young men standing at the top of the bleachers. A sense of déjà vu filled me with dread at the possibility that these two were another package deal with the new rink sponsor.

I would quit the rink now if that were the case.

"I don't have to prove anything to you," one of the guys sneered. His voice dripped of annoyance.

I parked myself at the top of the bleachers a few feet away from the new faces, letting my hands rest on the railing as I looked out at the ice. Holly, a young preteen in the skate club, was currently on the ice with Tiffany. She looked good. Very confident in her skating as she effortlessly landed a double salchow.

"You say that because you know I always win," the other guy responded with a hearty laugh. From the corner of my eye, I could see him lean over and tap his companion on the shoulder. "I always do."

"Did you guys know that the hockey team here sucked last year?" A female voice marveled as she approached. Another new face. I titled my head, curiosity getting the best of me. These three had to be tied to the new sponsor.

A tall brunette sauntered over. She was lean, definitely appeared to some kind of athlete, but I didn't get the impression she played hockey or was a figure skater. Her bright pink hoodie, ripped light wash jeans, and white sandals screamed she wasn't used to the cold air of an ice rink.

The two guys on the other hand, I couldn't tell if they played hockey or not. They were both tall – taller than most hockey players – with broad shoulders and well-muscled arms. Even through their long sleeve shirts there was no hiding that they were both physically fit. Likely both athletes.

"I thought that you guys said Aiden was good at hockey."

I knew that I shouldn't have been eavesdropping on their conversation, but that didn't stop the loud snort that erupted from me at the girl's comment. Aiden was good at hockey. As much as I wanted to deny that, it was no secret that he was a large part of the team's sudden improvements.

Three sets of brown eyes fell onto me in a split second. The girl furrowed her brows, eyeing me quizzically while both of the guys seemed amused by my outburst.

"Sorry," I coughed, turning my head back to the ice to attempt to hide the red that rushed to my cheeks. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"You look so familiar," the girl hummed. "What's your name?"

My eyebrows jumped up as I turned back toward the group. "I look familiar?"

She nodded; her eyes squinted at me as if that was helping her to see me better. "Have we met before?"

A sickening feeling sank in my stomach. Maybe this girl was a figure skater after all. Could our paths have crossed at a competition somewhere? If that were the case, I feared that the new rink sponsor would indeed be a package deal.

"Uh, no." I shook my head. "I don't think we have met."

"How the hell would you have met her?" One of the guys, the slightly taller of the two, interfered with a laugh. "Kels, you live in Florida."

Kels, as the guy had just called her, turned to face him with a flat lipped smile. I noticed then just how strikingly similar the two were. They must have been siblings. They had the same face shaper, same brown eyes, same shade of brown hair.

"What's your name?" The other guy repeated her previous question. All three turned to face me as the awaited an answer.

"Zoe Lodge."

My lips curled down to a frown as I spun to face Brendon. I was more than capable of answering a question as simple as my name.

"That's why you look so familiar!" The girl exclaimed, drawing mine and Brendon's attention over to her. Her eyes were wild with excitement. "I love watching you on YouTube."

"Really Kelsey, you watch her on YouTube?"

Kelsey nodded with a wide grin. "Lilly and I watch her routines all the time. She is an amazing figure skater. I wish I could do what she does. It's amazing."

The two guys looked at each other, exchanging some kind of knowing look that made me feel uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable. I didn't know that there were any videos of me uploaded to YouTube. I did use the app, so I sure wasn't the one to post them.

Brendon swung one of his arms around my shoulder, pulling me into his side. A goofy lopsided grin on his face. "You have fans all the way from Florida."

A faint memory of one of Aiden and I's first major fights popped into my head. He had asked me if I had any fans: anyone that just wanted and enjoyed watching me skate. At the time, I was caught off guard. I didn't have an answer. If I had known that there were people like Kelsey and her friend, my answer would have been much different.

I smiled. It was a good feeling to know that people did appreciate all my hard work. Aiden had done a hell of a job getting into my head and making me feel like no one cared. But he was wrong. People did care.

"I wasn't aware that there were videos of me on YouTube."

"Really?" Kelsey beamed. "There are tons. All sorts of your routines. People love you!"

I blinked slowly, dumbfounded by the idea of potential fans. I'd always thought of myself as a good skater, but I never thought too much about whether or not people had enjoyed my skating. Skating was always just something that I did for myself.

"Good to know."

Brendon laughed at my awkwardness. He bumped my side with his hip. "Don't go getting a big head about having fans, will yah. Lord knows Aiden won't be able to handle you if that happens."

I rolled my eyes. "Aiden already can't handle me."

"Hmm," Brendon mumbled, pulling his arm off my shoulder. "I thought he handled you just fine at the bonfire."

My mouth dropped open in horror as it dawned on me that he was referring to the fact that we kissed. I bawled my hand into a tight first and hurled it at Brendon's shoulder with a scowl. "Shut up."

Brendon grinned a boyish grin. "How could I forget? You and Aiden are a touchy subject. My bad."

I sucked in a dry breath of air, turned myself away from Brendon and back over to the three new faces. All three of them look both amused and intrigued. "Sorry about him." I offered an apologetic smile, feeling the need to reintroduce myself. "I'm Zoe, one of the figure skaters here. Are you three looking to join the rink?"

"Highly doubtful," Brendon chuckled under his breath next to me. I ignored him.

"Not exactly," the slightly taller of the two guys answered. He reached out his hand, offering a formal introduction. "I'm Dylan." I accepted the handshake, though it felt a bit formal for such a casual meeting. "That's my sister Kelsey. And our cousin Luke."

"We are in town visiting family," Luke explained.

I dropped Dylan's hands. "Wait." Realization had dawned on me. Examining them carefully, I could definitely see the family resemblance. "You must be Aiden's cousins?"

A grin fell to Dylan's face. "You know him?"

"Trust me, Zoe knows him real-"

My elbow was quick to connect with Brendon's stomach, preventing him from finishing whatever it was he was about to say. I was going to throttle him if he dared to mention Aiden and I one more time.

The cousin's raised their eyebrows simultaneously. All very amused by my action to cut Brendon off so abruptly.

"I'm guessing that it's a complicated relationship, eh?" Luke couldn't help the smirk.

I pierced my lips as more heat rushed to my cheeks. "Something like that."

Kelsey's face suddenly erupted with a wide grin, and she lurched forward towards me. Her hands wrapped around my biceps as she jumped up in a random burst of excitement. "Are you two dating?!"

I snorted. As if. "Uh, no. We are definitely not dating."

It would take more than an enjoyable make out, fuzzy feelings in my stomach, and a surprise visit to my house from him for me to ever humor that thought. No matter what I felt, Aiden was still and would always be a hockey player. It was in my programed into my brain to hate him.

The smile on Kelsey's face quickly faded into a pout. She released my arms and took a large step back. "What a bummer. You two would look so cute together. I mean, a figure skater – hockey couple. How cute would that be?"

Now it was Brendon's turned to snort. "Zoe hates hockey players."

Luke and Dylan both shared a look of confusion. "Aren't you a hockey player?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, but in case you missed it, she's not very nice to me." Brendon looked down at me with a grin, eyebrows waggling. He was teasing. He knew that against everything, I had somehow grown to like him and the other guys. Why? It was a mystery to me.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like most hockey players. If they disrespect me and my sport, I don't like them. But that it's exclusive to hockey players. That's for all people in general."

Brendon's arm once again found itself around my shoulder. "She is also just a bit bitter that the hockey team took her morning practice time slot."

I glanced sideways up at him. It was a valid statement. I had been livid about that little fact. It took a while for me to adjust to afternoon practices with Tiffany.

"Why?" Kelsey wondered.

"Lance Gray requested it," Brendon explained. "It was part of the sponsorship agreement."

Kelsey's face fell into that of a sympathetic one. "That would explain why you wouldn't like our cousin then."

I smiled. "Oh that was not helpful, but it's not why I don't like Aiden."

She raised her eyebrows. "No?"

"I don't like him because he's an ass."

The boys laughed at that, finding way more amusement in that than I expected.

"Geez Lodge, why don't you tell me how you really feel?" Aiden's deep voice echoed from behind me. I froze. Please go away.

It was too soon. I wasn't ready to face him again. I was no ready to talk. The last thing that I needed was to have to deal with him at that very second.

Next to me Brendon was cracking up like he thought that this was the best thing ever. Aiden's cousins all seemed equally entertained by the situation that was about to unfold. If only I could close my eyes, count to three, and wake up from this nightmare.

A small huff of air escaped through my lips as I stepped sideways out of Brendon's arm to turn to face Aiden. Admittedly, he looked good. His hair was shorter, freshly trimmed from what it was two days ago when I last saw him. The long black sleeve tee wrapped around his muscles in a complimentary manner, and his dark wash jeans completed the look. Damn his dashing good looks.

My face deadpanned. "I don't like you."