The Hockey Boy

Chapter 7

TY

November 14

"Ty, say something, anything," he whispered.

There was no denying it. I had strong feelings for Easton, but I didn't know how to handle them. I didn't know how to handle boys in a situation other than having to do with being friends or teammates. This was a new area for me, an area that I had never had to deal with before. Most of my friends at school were guys, and they knew that they were deep in the friendzone, so deep that they'd never get out. I'm not saying that my guy friends didn't like being in the friendzone, I'm just saying that they knew they were in it.

"I've gotta go," I said quickly, turning away from him. I turned my back to Easton and started walking away.

"Ty, Ty wait!" he called again. I just kept walking away. He caught up to me and grabbed my arm. "Ty. Come on, I know you feel this too."

"I don't feel anything," I lied.

"That's a lie," he disagreed.

"No, it's not. I hate you, remember?" I said weakly, trying to be sarcastic, but failing miserably.

"You don't really believe that," said Easton.

"I really have to go," I said again.

"You can wait five minutes. Come on, Ty," he begged.

"I have to go," I said firmly, pulling myself out of his grip. "And there's no way I can like someone I just met. There is absolutely no way. I don't even know you."

"You didn't just come here to say sorry. You came here because you knew there was something between us," he continued. I ignored his comment and continued to walk away. "Ty," he repeated as he ran in front of me.

"Easton," I uttered sarcastically.

"Stop being so stubborn. This would be so much easier if you would just give in to your heart," he said, frustrated.

"Easton, just let me leave alone. You'll be able to find another girl no problem."

"True, I could probably find another girl easily, but I'll never find another you," he said as he looked into my eyes.

I looked away and muttered, "Yeah, right. I bet you've said that to a million other girls. Quit with the act."

He huffed and then put his hands on my waist. "Ty, I'm not lying. Stop trying to kid yourself. Look at me."

"Easton, let me go," I demanded.

"Look at me," he replied.

"No."

"Come on."

"Easton," I said sternly.

"Ty," he almost begged.

"Kiss me." Wait a second, had I really just said that?

"Finally," he whispered before his lips met mine.

The moment our lips met there were fireworks that felt more intense than the ones on the fourth of July. After a second, I let myself fall against Easton's sculpted body. I wrapped my arms around his neck so there was no space between us. This kiss was the best one I had ever had, not that I had had many before other than stupid, meaningless ones at parties. When we finally broke apart, Easton was about to say something, but I didn't give him the chance before pressing my lips to his once more.

When we broke apart again, I realized how big of a mistake I had made. I said, "I really have to go."

"You don't have to," he replied, kissing me gently again.

"No, I really have to. It's late," I repeated, breaking out of his grip.

"Can I at least get your number?" he asked quietly.

"That's a bad idea. I don't want to get in the way of your career," I made up an excuse, not meeting his eyes.

"Ty," he begged.

"I've got to go. This was a mistake. This never should've happened," I said, mostly to myself. Then I bolted. I started sprinting across the icy, snowy ground to my truck. I could only hope that I was faster than Easton. I knew that if he caught up to me, I would give in to him again.

"Ty!" he called. "Wait!"

It turned out that I was, in fact, faster than Easton. It also helped that he slipped on the ice halfway to my truck. I was worried that he had gotten hurt, but when I looked over my shoulder, he was up and running again. When I finally reached the Chevy, I jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"What's your rush?" asked Cal confusedly, but I didn't answer him. I looked to my left and saw Easton running around the X.

"Crap," I whispered under my breath.

"Ty, what's going on?" Cal asked.

"Ty!" I heard Easton call, but I just backed out and began to drive away. I could see Easton standing in the parking lot in my rear view mirror. I saw him run a hand through his hair before walking back to his car.

"Ty, what the hell happened back there?" yelled Cal. "I want answers!"

"He asked for my number," I mumbled.

"So? Why didn't you give it to him?" he asked.

"Because before he asked me for my number, he kissed me," I blurted out.

"What!" screeched Cal. I had never heard his voice go so high before. "You did what!"

"You heard me," I muttered.

"You kissed frickin' Easton West, and then you ran away from him? What kind of sick person are you?"

"A sick person that's scared of boys," I said sarcastically.

We were both silent for a moment before Cal said, "So do you like him?"

"I don't know. Okay, that's a lie. I do like him. There's just some strange chemistry between us that I can't explain. He felt it too, and I'm afraid of it. I've never even liked a guy before. Heck, I've only met the guy once before. We moved way too quickly, so this is never gonna work. What's wrong with me?" I moaned.

"Ty," Cal groaned. "If you like him, you shouldn't have run away from him. Does he know you like him?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"Well, you'd better hope that he chases you and doesn't move on. Man, you can be really dense sometimes," said Cal.

"You know, Cal, maybe it's better to just let this thing die. I don't want to interfere with his career or anything, and maybe this is all just a fluke. I mean, four days ago I was saying that I hated the guy," I reasoned.

"Ty, you're really weird. Wait until your dad hears about how he could've been Easton West's father-in-law," said Cal nonchalantly.

"Calvin Hampton, you listen to me closely. We take the things that I just said to the grave. You hear me? TO THE GRAVE!"

"Yeah, I hear you," said Cal. "But I do have one question."

"What?" I snapped.

"What are you going to do when you two meet again?" he asked.

"What do you mean? I probably won't ever see him again," I told him.

"If you're telling the truth about this 'chemistry', then you two will definitely be seeing each other again, and soon," Cal warned me.

"Oh we will not," I countered.

"Whatever, Ty. Just be ready for it." We were both silent the rest of the way home.

When Cal and I got into the house, my dad was still awake. "How was the game you two?" he asked.

"It was pretty good," I replied casually. "Is it okay if Cal spends the night?"

"Yeah, that's fine. You know you're always welcome, Cal," said Dad.

"Thanks, Mr. Brady," said Cal.

"Come on, Cal, you know you can call me Tom," said my dad. Yes, my dad's name is Tom Brady. The funniest thing is that my dad is actually older that the NFL quarterback.

"I know, it just feels a little weird," admitted Cal.

"Okay, well you two had better get to bed. It's almost midnight," said my dad.

"Goodnight, Dad," I said.

"Goodnight, Ty. Goodnight, Cal."

"Goodnight, Tom," said Cal awkwardly.

As soon as we got out of my dad's earshot, Cal and I started laughing. "Goodnight, Tom," I mocked. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't know, Ty, he asked me to call him Tom. What was I supposed to do?" he defended.

"I don't know. All I know is that was hilarious!" I laughed. "'Night, Cal. I'm going to bed."

"'Night, Ty. Are you going to do anything about Easton for now?" he asked.

"No, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, if I ever get to it," I huffed.

"Ty, it's when you get to it for sure," said Cal pointedly. "Not if."

"Whatever," I muttered. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Okay. See you in the morning," said Cal as he walked into the guest bedroom, which was two doors down from my room.

"'Night, Cal," I replied as I walked into my room. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. I was totally exhausted, but I was having a hard time falling asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Easton. I thought about his hair. I thought about his amazing eyes. I thought about his smile. I thought about the gorgeous features of his face. Most of all, though, I thought about our kiss and how right it felt. I knew that I was in for a long night.