Kiss My Ice

Epilogue: Part 1

Hello everyone!! It has been a long while since the last time I have been on here. Recently I came back to this story and was going through it when I decided that since quite a few of you were interested in an epilogue, that I would try and do just that! There will be 2 parts.  I hope you guys enjoy. 

The Epilogue: Part 1.

Zoe Lodge

Six months ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that I would be walking into the rink at Regionals holding the hand of some hot shot hockey player. I would have rolled my eyes, repulsed that someone was sick enough to suggest that I, even for a second, could ever like a hockey player. I would have told them that there was no way in hell that I would ever willingly talk to a hockey player let alone develop feelings for one.

And yet, that person would have been right. For the first time in my life, I had someone with me at Regionals that wasn't my family, Lucy, or my coaches. This time, I had my superstar hockey playing boyfriend by my side.

Aiden's hand tightened around my own, squeezed reassuringly. He must have picked up on my nerves that were rapidly building inside of me as we made our way into the arena. The hallways were currently empty with the exception of a couple fellow competitors who had also taken the advantage to come to the arena early to scope things out.

"Why are you so tense?" Aiden asked curiously. I could feel his chocolate eyes gazing down at me, but I refused to look up to meet them.

Normally I never got nervous at a competition. Not once in my life had I worried about the possibility of falling out of a spin or crashing into the ice from a bad jump. It was never even a sliver of doubt in my mind that I would ever fail. I wasn't cocky, I just firmly believed that my countless hours out on the ice would pay off or they wouldn't. If I ever did fall it would have been my own fault for the lack of preparation. However, this time things were different.

Unlike all the competitions I had done before, I had never had a triple axel planned in one of my routines. I had never struggled to learn a jump as much as I had the triple axel. Even though I was landing the jump earning the stamp of approval from my coach, I couldn't help but feel like maybe I was making a mistake to attempt such a notoriously hard jump in a competition. What if I just fell flat on my face in front of everyone? It would be embarrassing beyond belief.

"Just competition nerves," I mumbled, offering Aiden only a small portion of the truth. Aiden's arrogance of his hockey skills prevented him from understanding why someone could possibly get nervous about performing in front of a crowd.

Six months ago, I thought Aiden's arrogance was the most aggravating thing about him. Now, it had become one of my favorite qualities he possessed. He really shined out on the ice without fear that he would lose. I had a feeling it was because of this that Aiden had helped his team to beat out some impressive schools to earn themselves a playoff spot.

If Aiden knew that I was nervous because I thought that there was an eighty percent chance that I was going to crash and burn in my triple axel, well I had a feeling he would tell me that I was being silly. "You've worked your butt off to ace the triple axel. You're not giving yourself any credit." Or, more realistically: "You've already got this competition in the bag. Relax."

Aiden squeezed my hand once again. "You'll land your triple," he said as if he were able to read my mind. I looked up at him this time, chewed nervously on my lower lip. Aiden smiled softly. "So that is what's got you so worked up."

"Am I that transparent?"

He shrugged. "I know you, Zo. You don't get nervous easily. It's the only variable that's changed in what you would normally do."