Fire & Ice

seven

Getting to sleep that night was hard. I almost pulled an all-nighter just thinking about the kiss Cassie left on my cheek but then finally calmed down enough to sleep when I realized that I had practice the following morning. I tried not to think about it during practice but it was hard not to get distracted. Actually it took a hard hit from Stacey into the boards to really get me to focus in again.

The rest of the weekend after practice was quiet. Instead of going back to the dorm after practice I went out with Megan, Toni, Stacey, Becca and a few other girls for an early dinner. Becca managed to pull me aside at dinner and asked about what happened with Cassie but I brushed it off trying not to think too much about it as the rest of the dinner went on. After dinner when I got back to the dorm Cassies door was shut and all was quiet.

Sunday I spent relaxing and getting ready for the week ahead. I also mailed out a package of ice hockey swag to mom hoping she will get it in time for our first game this weekend. Our first game has me nervous but also excited at the same time. Our first two games are away at The Ohio State University, one of our biggest rivals. We are going to be leaving early Friday morning to get there with enough time to get a practice and skate session in.

But we still had to get through this week. The second week of classes weren't bad. I know I'm going to have to be on top of my school work though. These classes aren't a joke and it won't take long to fall behind if I'm not on top of things. I made sure to complete all of my homework right after my classes.

Tuesday's practice was actually a full game. Coach Decker wanted to see if our stamina improved and wanted to see different line combinations playing together. When we wrapped up I stayed behind and instructed my first private lessons. All three kids I have are girls whose parents wanted to get them some extra coaching before they really start playing for their school teams. For their first sessions I wanted to see them individually but then I was most likely going to have them train together as it is better to have them play against each other to improve instead of them just skate around me and constantly running drills.

As I went through my week Cassie was always a thought in the back of mind. No matter what I tried to do, the kiss was replaying at different of times of the day. I know it was only on the cheek but it was the first real interaction with another girl after my last relationship blew up. I tried talking to Travis about it but he just said I should go for it, but also to be careful because Chad is a big guy who seems to be over protective of his little sister.

Needless to say I was surprise to come home on Wednesday night from working at the ice rink to find him sitting on my couch.

"Chad" I said and dropped my gear bag by the front door hoping that Cassie would hear it and come out from wherever she was hiding.

"McKenna" Chad said and went back to playing on his phone. I didn't stick around much longer and went into the bathroom for a shower. After I was done I found a post-it note waiting for me on the counter from Cassie saying that she and Chad went out for dinner.

I sighed and decided to go down to Gordon Market, the dining hall that happens to be right across the street from our dorm. When I got there I was surprised by the large amount of choices there was to pick from. In the end I ended up getting a burger and some French fries and cinnamon roll for dessert before finding a seat. I only managed to take one bite of my burger before I heard someone sit down in the chair across from me. When I looked up from my burger I found Stacey sitting in front of me.

"What are you doing all the way over here?" I asked and wiped some one extra bits of burger off my face.

"I was with Becca and we wanted to get something for dinner, she is still trying to decide what she wants." Stacey said and took a bite of her pasta.