Nola Scott

Yesterday may have been a shitshow all around, but today had started out decent.

I went into today's practice with a clearer head. This amazingly affected my skating. There were still mistakes I was making but they were all minor. I was hitting my jumps and spins and slowly my routine was coming together. By the time I left practice eight hours later, I was excited about tonight's plans.

My brothers had both agreed to come with me tonight and Brooks was the most excited. We've never actually been to a hockey game before since football and baseball are the most watched sport in our household. It would be our first time tonight and we were excited. I picked them up from Oak Hill after practice and we arrived at the stadium an hour before face-off.

Brooks had complained the whole ride here that he didn't have a jersey so we went to the shop at the arena and bought him a Drew Anderson jersey. After that, we got a couple of snacks and made our way to our seats. Turns out they were seats behind the LA Kings bench. "Oh my God, Miles is fucking awesome!" Brooks says as we sit down, each of my brothers on either side of me.

I glare at my younger brother. "Don't curse," I snap at him. He rolls his eyes and turns his attention from the ice where the Oilers are practicing before the game. "So you and Dempsey are friends now?" Kayce questions as our little brother is distracted by the view on the ice. I could see the look on Kayce's face the whole car ride. He's been dying to bring this up because he was there when I had my little fit about hating Miles those months ago.

"We've grown," is my short response. Kayc raises a brow at my words. "I can't have friends?" I question when my answer isn't enough for him. He chuckles, turning his face away from me. "Oh, sister." Before I can ask him what he means by that, a man is stepping at our side. "Nola, Brooks, and Kayce Scott?" the man dressed up in a security outfit asks. Both of my brothers look at me to answer. "Yes, that's us," I say with a sweet smile.

The security guard returns it and then hands each of us a VIP Wristband. "Those are to get you all back in the locker room area so don't remove them or they won't let you in," he tells us. Brooks is gasping in surprise. "Thank you!" I greet him before he walks off. "We get to go back there?!" Brooks says excitedly. I shrug my shoulders. "Miles didn't mention anything about this," I say honestly, helping him put on the bracelet.

"This is sick!" my little brother says, shoving popcorn in his mouth. "He really wanted you to be here, didn't he?" Kayce questions. I tilt my head at my brother. "It's not what you think. At all," I assure him. He holds his hands up in defense. "Just be careful, little sister," he tells me. "I am, Kayc. But you have nothing to worry about. We're just friends." That I'm one hundred percent about.

***

The game whizzes by. In the first half, the Kings were doing great on both offense and defense. They made one goal in the first period while the Oilers made two. In the second period, they made two more but so did the Oilers. There was only one minute left in the game and the Kings were down by one. "Are we about to go into overtime?" Brooks yelled over the loud fans. I couldn't focus on him or anything else other than that damn puck.

It was currently at the end of a Kings players stick which was good but they were struggling on offense. "C'mon, c'mon!" I say as I nervously watch the game. The pick is passed over to Miles who starts skating quickly toward their goal. Everyone in the arena is on their feet at this point and as the clock winds down, he shoots the puck into the net. The goalie barely stops it and the buzzer blares. Faint cheers from the couple hundred Oilers fans in attendance are the only sound heard.

I feel a pang of disappointment shoot through me. The Kings winning streak is finally over. The fans quickly leave the arena and the players go back into the locker room looking quite deflated. "Come on guys, let's go home," I tell the boys. "Wait, no! We have these passes, Nola!" Brooks reminds me, lifting his hand to show me the bracelet on his wrist. "Well, yeah, but they lost. Miles probably won't be the happiest after missing that shot," I argue.

If I know anything about Miles, it's that he's a competitor. Just like I am. Missing the winning shot has to be a slap in the face. There's no way he'll be up for anything tonight.

"We'll just say hi and go," Brooks pleads with his huge blue eyes. Kayce shrugs. "Alright fine," I cave. "Hell yeah!" Brooks cheers, smacking our brother in his chest as he gets by me and starts walking in the other direction. Kayce and I follow him and we wait with other people who I assume are loved ones. Players leave the locker room slowly and my brothers and I wait for Miles.

A familiar blonde head pops out before and he smiles slightly when he notices me. "Hey," I greet as JT walks over to me. He has the same look on his face that every other player does: disappointed. "You remember my brother Brooks? And this is my other brother, Kayce. This is JT," I say more to Kayce than Brooks who already met him at his birthday party in November. "Nice game, bro. That goal you scored in the first period was clean," Brooks compliments.

"Thanks, kid, and nice to meet you, Kayce. I'm JT." The two boys exchange a handshake. "You guys did great, really. We all have our losses right, this isn't the end of the season. You'll get a win next game, I'm sure," I tell JT. He nods, smiling. "Miles should be out in a second, he's a little...ah you know. Just not in the best mood, if he's a dick, I apologize in advance for him," JT tells us. "I'll see you guys around. I have to talk to Coach before I leave."

We say our goodbyes to JT and wait for Miles a little longer. When I see his figure appear from the other side of the locker room, I prepare for the attitude that JT warned us about. "Scotts! You made it," Miles says, walking toward us with a smile on his face. Hm. Not the reaction I was expecting. "Sorry about the loss, man, but you played amazingly! Your two goals were sexy!" Brooks says.

Miles chuckles, ruffling my younger brothers hair. "Thank you, thank you." I introduce Miles to Kayce as well since they've never officially met and we all chat for a couple of more minutes before everyone starts leaving. "Anyway, dinner on me? You guys down for a couple of burgers?" Miles suggests. My eyes widen and I'm about to decline but Brooks beats me to it. "Burgers sound amazing," he says. "That they do. They're my favorite comfort food and I need a bit of comfort at the moment," Miles jokes.

"Where should we meet you?" I ask him. "You drove here?" he questions. I shake my head. "We Ubered, but we can meet you at a restaurant," I tell him. He scoffs and shakes my head. "I drove the BMW, I got room. Kid, you ready!?" Miles shouts out to JT who talks to another player across the room. JT gives him a thumbs up. "Let's go, Scotts." As we walk, Kayce looks at me in a way that makes me shove him.

After a couple of burgers, fries, and milkshakes, Miles drives the three of us back to my apartment. My brothers thank him for the ride and hop out of the car before I do. "You guys did great, I swear. Don't beat yourselves up," I tell both JT and Miles. "Thanks, Nola," JT says. "You got practice tomorrow again?" Miles asks. I nod. "Yeah but not until two in the afternoon. Coach has some errands to run in the morning," I tell him.

He smiles. "Sweet, so you're still coming over then?" he asks. I stammer over words and JT gives me a smile before looking down at his phone in the backseat. "I figured you wanted to be alone after tonight. Being with my annoying brothers and I for a couple of hours already must have been enough," I say, my cheeks flushing. Brooks can be really talkative. "Your brothers are cool, don't worry about that. Also, I need the company to get my mind off tonight," Miles declares.

"I'll bring you back home," he adds. I don't know why I'm hesitating to answer him. It's not like I don't want to go, it had been our plan since yesterday. I guess I'm just shocked he wants to spend time with me even after his loss tonight. It's clear he's not feeling one hundred percent himself. "Yeah, sure," I finally say. He smiles and starts the car up again. Pulling out my phone, I text my brothers that I'll be home later.

***

I'm back at Miles' house for the third time in a matter of twenty-four hours. I never thought I would be saying that here I am. He shows me his absolute mansion since I didn't get to see it the first time around. Every inch of his house is tidy and the interior design is that of a rich athlete with all the money in the world to spend. I'm in complete awe by the time the tour is over and he leads me outside to his balcony.

It's only inching ten pm but the neighborhood he lives in is so hidden that you can't hear the city that never sleeps. The January air is chilly but not to the point where I'm freezing. That wouldn't matter anyway because he has an outdoor fire pit which he turns on for us.

We sit in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before I ask, "How are you? I can see what's going on in your head right now and it's not pretty." He may not be showing how upset he is but I know he's fighting a internal battle. Miles turns to look at me and chuckles bitterly. "If I had only hit the puck more to the left, it would've gone straight between his legs," he says.

I sigh, "You tried, Miles. I know it feels like your fault but there were a lot of missed chances tonight, not just yours." His eyes stay on mine and a soft smirk plays on his lips. "You suddenly know about hockey now, Scott?" he teases. I roll my eyes at his comment. "The basics aren't difficult to grasp. I wouldn't call myself a professional either." He chuckles, nodding his head.

"It's one loss. Your record is still great and you have a long way until playoffs. The season isn't over because you lost a winning streak, I promise," I assure him even more. No loss is easy but he can't let this one put him down, especially since he's blaming himself for it. "I know, I know. But I can't help mourning that winning streak. No one likes ending a winning streak," he says, putting his hand over his chest. I nod, understanding that.

"You never told me how your practice or practices now have gone though, tell me about it," Miles adds. I smile a bit thinking about today's practice which went well. "Today's went well. I'm getting my choreography down and my jumps are a lot cleaner. But the first day was hell, I was being extremely hard on myself and wanted to give up by the end of the day. JT helped cheer me up that day. He's a sweet boy," I tell Miles.

His gray eyes never leave mine, until they do, looking at the fire pit between us instead. "That's good. I'm glad you had a better day today. Also, I'm sure the kid gave you a well enough 'keep pushing' speech so that I don't have to. I think if anything I might need one more than you," he says, obviously joking. I laugh, causing him to smile. "He gave a good one. You can do it, Miles. I believe in you," I tease back.

He rubs his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger, chuckling. "That's all I needed to hear. Thanks, Scott." I shove his arm lightly and lean back in my chair. There's a bit more silence before I talk again. "Hey, I'm sorry if I might have caused anything between you and Allie yesterday. It was never my intention," I apologize, remembering being horrified at the thought that I might have caused tension.

Miles shakes his head. "You didn't do anything. I ended things with her yesterday and not because of you. Allie and I had a complicated relationship that I had been meaning to end for a while now. It's why I called her over, I didn't know you were in my driveway when she pulled in," he tells me and I feel my cheeks get hot. I hope he's telling the truth when he says he was planning on ending things with her for a while.

"You sure? I don't want to cause problems for you-" He cuts me off. "You don't, Nola. She was just jealous of you for some reason. She's jealous of any pretty girl I give any time of my day too," Miles says. Oh, God. Just when I thought my cheeks couldn't get any more hot. I turn away from him when he says that and hope that he keeps his eyes on the view in front of us.

He called me pretty.
He called any girl he gives his time of day pretty.
Not just you, Nola.

Deciding I want nothing more than to change the subject, I start talking about something else. We go from talking about our families to sports, to funny YouTube videos, to unpopular opinions, to aliens, and finally, I tell him about myself and my life up to this point and he tells me about his. It's more interesting than mine, in my opinion.

"So you're originally from..."
"Florida."
"Florida? So you're not actually Canadian?"
"Well, I basically am. My parents are Canadian and I was raised in Canada."
"You're a fake Canadian!"
"Am not."

"You're a Floridian, Miles." He laughs at that. "I was in that state for maybe a day before we drove back to Vancouver," he informs me. "How is it?" I turn in my chair to get more comfortable. "Being adopted? What comes with it? If that's not too personal, of course." Miles shrugs, running a hand through his thick strands. "I think it's less annoying if you're a regular person. But for me? It's a 'fun fact'. Everyone who knows who I am probably knows I'm adopted."

I frown at his reply. "It also sucks for my parents though. You should hear some of the things people have told them over the years," he scoffs, shaking his head. "Like what?" I ask curiously. "They always tell them how lucky they got with me and not because I'm an amazing person but because I'm an amazing hockey player. People also tell me, straight to my face, that my parents probably regret giving me away because of who I am now," he explains.

My mouth gapes a bit in shock. There's no way people have the audacity to say that to another person. I cringe at his words, hating that both he and his parents have to hear things like that. "People are sick, I'm sorry, Miles. That must get frustrating," I say honestly. "Oh, it does. But whatever, I'm never ashamed of being adopted. My parents practically saved my life," he assures. "How so?" I ask intrigued.

"Birth parents wanted nothing to do with me. They were too young so they were going to put me up for adoption. Luckily, my parents had been looking for a baby for a while and were able to get connected with my birth mother. They made arrangements and a couple of days before I was born, they were in Florida, ready to take me home," he explains the story to me. "Who knows where I would have ended up if it weren't for them?"

I smile a bit. "Well, those people were right. They did get lucky." He looks at me, expecting me to say more. "Not because you're an amazing hockey player but because you're an amazing person," I insist. He tries to hide a smile but I see it slip through. "It's weird hearing you say that," he tells me. I furrow my brows in confusion.

It's been a couple of years since I've gotten to know a person in one night. I'm sure there is way more about this guy to discover but it's safe to say that I know him more now than I did a couple of hours ago. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is also something that's a blessing and a curse. So far, he hasn't given me a reason to believe that he's a terrible person.

Well besides the fact that he prefers cats over dogs.

"Why?" I question. He raises his brows. "Well, about a little over a month ago, you couldn't stand the sight of me. Your words have come a long way," he explains. My cheeks flush again. It feels like just last week that I was calling him names and getting angry anytime he was mentioned. It hasn't been too long but the growth in our relationship has been significant.

I still don't think I'm used to the fact that he's in my life. As much as we tried to stay out of each other's way, somehow, it was never the end. Something kept pushing us in each other's direction and we ended up making up. Now here we are, friendly and all.

Yep, it still doesn't seem real.

"That's true but what's past is past. We're here now and I don't know about you, but I prefer this version of us," I admit. Miles looks at me, gray eyes burning into mine. There aren't words to describe those damn eyes. Something about them was so familiar but I couldn't tell what. "Same," came his short reply. His eyes never tore from mine. "I like us, Scott."

The way my heart pumped in my chest with that sentence scared me. If my cheeks were red, I hope he just thought it was because of the fire that separated us. But it wasn't. It really was not. We might've been feet apart but I somehow felt him against me.

Stop it, Nola!
Before you get too deep into something impossible.

My brain was racked with thoughts. This can't be good for me. It won't work out. But I've never felt...such a pull to a person. Clearing my throat lightly, I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Tell me something about you. That no one knows," I say, cutting the thick silence that floated around us just then. Miles looks away for a second like he's thinking of what to say. He sucks air through his teeth. "Careful what you ask for. If you get too deep, I don't think you'll like what you see."

His reply made me look at him curiously. What was that supposed to mean? "I haven't seen anything I don't like yet," I admit honestly. My eyes explore the length of him quickly. While I didn't mean physically, it doesn't hurt to look. It kills me to admit that he's nice to look at and I dislike him for it. Miles being pretty makes this whole situation ten times worse.

He lets out a long sigh and crosses his arms over at the view in front of us. "Not too long ago, I tried looking for my birth parents. Keyword tried. I wasn't unsuccessful, I just stopped before I could actually find them," Miles confesses. It takes me a minute to take it in and I give him a couple of seconds to say more, but he doesn't. "Why didn't you go through with it?" I ask.

He scratches his eyebrow, the one with a scar on top of it. "I changed my mind about wanting to find them," he says, his voice a lot lighter. "Is that true?" I hope the question isn't too much but I feel like I'm good at reading people. Even though he may not be looking at me, I can read the look in his face. His reply to my first question didn't come out as confidently as his confession.

Miles turns to face me and my thoughts are confirmed by the expression on his hard features. "It just feels wrong, Nola. After everything my parents have done for me, I was gonna go behind their backs and seek out the two people who gave me up?" he rants, looking upset with himself. "Why go behind their backs? I'm sure they would understand your curiosity, Miles. It's not like you're purposely doing this to hurt them," I tell him.

I've never been in his shoes before nor have I ever spoken to anyone who's been adopted. While I'm trying my best to give him encouraging words, I try to not say the wrong thing. It's a certain thing he went through in life that I could never begin to understand.

"But... I don't want them to think that I'm doing this because I don't love them. I've been thinking about my birth parents for years. It's like I have to know who they are or my mind won't stop racing, telling me to find them. The conversation isn't as easy as you think it may be," Miles informs me.

I nod, taking in all his words. "You're right, I may not be. But Miles, if this idea of who your parents are is calling out to you, and you're certain you want to find out who they are, you should go for it. You can take as long as you need to. The conversation with your parents may not be easy so take your time with that. Once that's out of the way, then start the process. Your parents have to know something about your birth parents right? Maybe they'll give you the information you're looking for."

Once I start talking, I don't stop. Miles looks at me while I do like I have all the answers in the world. I've never seen him look as lost and confused as he does right now. He was right. This is deep. Yet, it doesn't change the way I look at him. If anything, I feel like I see him more now.

"Yeah. I've thought about that. There was one day where I was going to talk to them, I somehow built up the courage to. But then I ran into-" Miles stops mid-sentence. "Never mind." My brows pull together and I look at him with curiosity. "Who did you run into?" I question. He stares at me with something like weary floating in his light eyes. "You," he says in almost a whisper.

My face drops at his response. Me? "What?" I mutter. "It was that one morning at Renaissance Cafe. When we ran into each other. I was on my way to talk to my folks about my birth parents until I ran into you and I just wasn't in a clear headspace after our interaction," he tells me. "Miles..." Shaking his head, he puts a hand up. "Don't apologize. It worked out the way it was supposed to," he says.

That's not true. It's my fault he never got the chance to talk to his parents when he was ready. I ruined it and this whole time I was clueless. "Well now I feel like the biggest asshole in the world and you know that's not true. You were ready. I messed that up for you." My voice comes out lower than usual. "Nola, you didn't know. We didn't like each other at the time so I knew from the instant you recognized me, that day was not going in my favor," Miles admits.

Life liked throwing us at each other when we disliked one another and it decided to do it on an important day for him. That day was also rough for me. I knew I had gone too far that day. The only reason I let it go was because my dad told me Miles probably wasn't thinking twice about it. Now I know that's not true. I ruined his chance to talk to his parents after years.

"That doesn't make me feel anymore less like shit," I stammer. My head drops, looking down at my hands. If only I knew how to control my emotions, he would not be in this predicament. "Hey." Miles quickly brushes my chin up with a finger, dropping his hand back to his side when I'm looking at him again. "Don't feel like shit. I don't think we'd be winning as many games if I was focusing on figuring out who my birth parents were. You basically gifted us our success this season."

A smile tugs onto his lips but I know he's just saying this to make me not feel like a prick. It's not working but Miles doesn't seem upset. Either he's masking it really well or he's not upset about me ruining that day for him. Regardless of what he's trying to do, I still feel terrible. "I'm sorry," I say again.

He shakes his head once again and we fall into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes. "So what are you going to do? I think you should follow your heart and whatever it's telling you," I tell him, trying to push him in the direction I believe he wants to go in. Miles turns to look at me and his stare is no different than before. His eyes burn into me creating a million conflicting feelings.

"My hearts telling me a bunch of different things, Scott," he says. That statement has me on the edge of my seat for some reason. "Well listen to it," I reply. Those gray eyes never leave mine as he nods slowly. "We'll see."

***

Miles and I sit on the balcony for about another half an hour before we both decide I should get back home. It's almost two in the morning by then and although practice isn't until later, I have to wake up and get a couple of things done.

We stand and Miles walks ahead of me, holding the heavy back door with his body in front of it. He watches me and I smile as I walk into the house. Getting distracted by his face, I miss the step into the house which causes me to almost slip. Miles catches my waist, keeping me upright. My face flushes red from sheer embarrassment but also from the proximity that our bodies currently are.

My hip is connected to his pelvis as he holds onto me tightly. I look up and he's looking down at me, the height difference between us evident as my neck cranes. Miles adams apple bobs in his throat as he slowly releases his grip on me. My eyes quickly flick down to his lips unintentionally and I pull away from his touch quickly after that. "Sorry, I'm a klutz," I apologize.

He clears his throat, locking the back door once we're both inside his house. "Don't worry about it," he replies, continuing to lead the way. Along the way, Miles grabs his keys and we're walking out of his house.

The car ride is silent, the only sound coming from Miles' playlist. It's a nice silence after the amount of talking we did tonight. The drive was also no more than ten minutes and I laid my head against the window for most of it. My eyes are already feeling heavy as he pulls up to the complex. I let out a yawn as he parks his BMW in one of the empty parking spaces.

"Thanks for the company tonight, Scott," Miles says first. "Of course and I'm sorry about the..." I'm sure he's aware of what I'm talking about because he shakes his head. "Don't think about it for another second, I told you it was fine," he assures me. Hesitantly, I nod my head. "Thanks for bringing me back. Get home safe, Miles," I say, opening the car door to hop out. "Have a good night," he responds. I give him one last smile before walking the short distance to my unit.

I sigh, opening the door and setting my stuff down. The apartment is quiet so I walk in, ready to sleep on the couch since I gave my brothers my bed for the night. "Home late, sister?" Kayce's voice makes me jump as I enter the living room. "Is Miles Dempsey actually going to be my brother-in-law?" Brooks adds. I look at my brothers like they're crazy.

"Why are you two still up?" I whisper shout, making sure not to wake up a sleeping beauty. "Chill out, mom," Brooks replies. Rolling my eyes, I plop down on the loveseat. "How was your night?" Kayce asks. Brooks has his brows raised, waiting for me to spill the tea. "It's not what either of you think, so don't get any ideas," I state, closing my tired eyes.

I hear Brooks snicker. "Alright, Nola." Little assholes. Opening my eyes, I stand up. "Fine, for that, you two are sharing the couch and I'm sleeping in my bed," I declare as I start making my way towards my room. "Night, sister!" My brothers shout, not even fighting me.

Exhausted, I change out of my clothes and change into something more comfortable. I get myself ready for bed and finally, plop into bed after ten minutes. My eyes thank me as I close them but when my ears hear my phone ring I almost cry. If Kayce and Brooks don't leave me the hell alone...

Miles Dempsey: Strangely not the worst night even after losing that winning streak.

Thanks for that, Scott. Sleep well.

A stupid smile crosses my lips. Too tired to reply, I lock my phone and set it back down.

I'll see him again I'm sure.