by Lexie Syrah
I force myself to take a deep breath. I’m not here to ogle her—although if this goes well, I’ll have time for that later.
A nervous jolt hits me. I haven’t been the nicest person to her lately. Like always, I decided to run instead of facing the music when I needed to. Another lesson learned from Al:
It’s time to man up.
“Okay, then go do it,” Xander says exasperatedly.
“Did I say all that out loud?”
“You were muttering to yourself. Kind of creepy. Okay, loverboy, it’s game time!” He whacks me on my back.
Her song ends, and she stands in the middle of the rink, looking up into the crowd. A smile so infectious plays across her face and spreads to mine. The arena feels like it’s erupting with the crowd’s cheers. Stuffed animals and flowers litter the ice.
My throat feels dry, and suddenly I’m afraid to move. “She might not want anything to do with me now.”
Xander raises a brow. “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”
I give a little smile. “Thanks, Gretzky.” My grip tightens on the puck. I’ve taken thousands of shots in my career, but none of them are as important as this one.
This is for you, Al. I toss the game-winning puck onto the ice. It slides along, straight through the flowers and teddy bears, and bumps Alice’s skate. She bends down, picks it up, then looks at me.
…
Alice
I pick up the puck and look across the ice. There, on the bench where I’ve seen him so many times before, is Hayden Tremblay. He’s not wearing the Falcons jersey like the rest of the team, just his plaid shirt and jeans—but he’s got skates on. Just when I think things can’t get any weirder, I notice my brother standing beside him. I try to catch Xander’s eye, but he’s not looking at me. Instead, he pushes Hayden forward.
Hayden trips onto the ice, strangely awkward, but keeps heading toward me. I skate back, as if that could keep him from reaching me, and look around. Most of the people in the stands are milling about, preparing to come down for the Fun Skate. However, Hayden’s presence draws a few stares. People are probably wondering what he’s doing. Hell, I’m wondering what he’s doing.
He stops in front of me. His brown curly hair is a mess, falling around his face, and his cheeks are flushed and red. But his brown eyes shine at me, all the lights from the arena reflecting in them. “Alice.”
“What?”
“We won the game because of you.” He nods toward the puck in my hands, which I’ve currently got a vice grip on. “You deserve it.”
I think back to our first game together. I tried to give him the puck from that game. I look down at it and wonder just how petty it would be if I chucked it across the ice like he did. “A kind gesture to your teammate.”
Suddenly, his hand is on my face, and he tilts my chin up so I’m forced to look at him.
“Yes,” he says, and his voice is low and rough. “You’re my teammate. And my best friend.”
“Hayden…” I know I should skate away and take this off the ice, but I can’t find the will to move from his touch.
“And you know what else, Alice? You’re my conscience, my sounding board, my competitor.” He tilts his head back and crinkles his eyes. “And I am desperately in love with you.”
I don’t have any words, but I have a smile that lights up my whole body.
“I’m in love with you, Al,” Hayden says. “You know my heart in ways no one else ever has. You make me a stronger person. A better person. But most of all, a happier person. And I swear, from now on, I will do right by you.” He laces his fingers through my hair and leans down, tenderly placing his mouth over mine. The kiss is soft as rain, and although we’ve done this before, it feels like the first time. And it is the first time he’s kissing the real me.
Even though my heart pounds, for once the words don’t get stuck. “I love you, too.” I cover his hands with mine. “I’m sorry about everything. I wish I could go back and change it.”
“I don’t,” he says, nuzzling my nose with his.
“You don’t?”
“I don’t think I would have been able to tell Alice everything I told Al.” He grins and his gaze runs over me. “Especially if you were distracting me all the time in sparkly dresses like this one.”
“Hey!” I laugh and grab his chin. “I don’t look like this all the time, y’know.”
“I know.” He smiles, still gazing at me. “I just really want to kiss you again.”
I float my lips over his. “I wanted to kiss you first.”
His hands fly lightning fast to my waist, pulling me against him as he kisses me hard on the mouth. We twirl with the momentum, and a few hoots and hollers spring out from our onlookers. Hayden pulls away and rests his lips on my ear. “You’ll have to be faster than that, Bell.”
“Is this how’s it’s going to be from now on?” I give him a little shove. “Everything a competition?”
“That’s okay with me, because I know there’s something I’ll always win at,” he says, pulling me tighter. I feel so small, wrapped in his arms and pressed against his hard chest.
“What’s that?” I whisper.
“Loving you most.”
I pull back and wrap my arms around his neck. I give myself all the time in the world to look at him, with no fear of having to hide my true self. “That’s what you think, Captain.”
Epilogue
Alice
I lie back on the picnic blanket, letting the summer sun and smell of grilling meat waft over me.
“Alice, cheese on your burger?” Kevin calls from the BBQ.
“Duh!” I respond.
“Shove over.” Hayden plops down beside me on the blanket and pulls up me so my head rests in his lap. I look up into his dark brown eyes, the lazy smile, the little bit of stubble that’s started to grow on his jaw.
I never would have believed it if one year ago, someone had told me I would be having a barbeque in Kevin Tremblay’s backyard, cuddled in the arms of the captain of the Chicago Falcons—who also happens to be my boyfriend.
Eleanor waddles out of the kitchen, somehow looking better at eight months pregnant than I look after a single slice of pizza. Xander and Madison follow her, carrying an array of salad dishes and fruit to the outdoor table.
A smile sneaks across my face. It feels so good to be out here, lying in the soft grass, with the blue sky above me. Sure, it’s not ice or cheering crowds, but I can definitely enjoy this for the summer. Although there’s a feeling like an unscratchable itch brewing beneath my skin. I still have to finish what we started.
The Falcons made it to the third round of playoffs before the Cedar Rapid Cougars eliminated us in triple overtime. I would rather be hit by a bus, ran over by said bus, and eaten alive by crows than go through a loss like that again.
And even though it was terrible, I can’t help but feel proud, too. The Falcons made the playoffs for the first time in five years! And we’ll be even better next year.
Well, maybe. A nervous pang hits my chest, but I fake a smile as Madison and Xander sit down beside us on the picnic blanket. Xander holds my gaze and narrows his eyes. Mind-meld.
“Get out of your head, Bell,” he says. “Worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, we’re having fun.”
Tomorrow is a big day for both Xander and me. He’s going to tell Ma he’s gay. I know he’s nervous, but he hides it well, unlike me.
I’m coming out to Coach Zabinski tomorrow. I’m going to tell him the truth about Al Bell, from start to finish. In an ideal world, he’ll apologize for banning me from the team in the first place and see the error of his ways. Worst case, he’ll disqualify me from the league.
My phone buzzes, and I sit up to grab my phone off the blanket. Speak of the devil: another text from Coach Z.
Al, how are workouts going? You training hard? Make sure you’re eating right. Don’t get lazy with your time off! More scouts asking about you for next year’s dr
aft! WORK HARD.
“He doesn’t ever give you a break, eh?” Hayden says, reading over my shoulder.
“Yeah, well, he knows there’s no Tremblay without Bell.” I give him a teasing grin and snuggle closer between his legs. He pokes me in the ribs.
I put the phone away without replying. It doesn’t matter how many scouts are looking at Al Bell—I’ll never play for the NHL. And it’s time for Alice to have her turn.
“Here you go,” Kevin says in his warm twang and hands me a plate with a burger on it.
“Thanks!” I smile up at him.
Hayden and I told Kevin and Eleanor about my disguise that day after the charity Ice Ball. Kevin never admitted it, but I’m pretty sure he’d figured it out already. I thought they might be mad that I’d lied to them, or cheated my way into playing hockey, but Kevin just told me that I was a damn fine player, either way.
“When you tell Coach Zabinski,” Kevin had said, “I’ll have your back. You have a right to play for the Falcons, and Coach knows you’re why they made it to the playoffs.”
At that point, I had zero intention of ever telling Coach Zabinski the truth, but Kevin had other ideas.
“So what, you’re just going to keep playing for the Falcons in disguise?”
“Uh. Yeah. That’s the plan.”
“What about your future?” Kevin had roared, and I suddenly had a very clear idea of what Hayden had been talking about for months in terms of the Kevin Tremblay lecture.
“I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out that far yet.”
“Well, you should be thinking about it now.”
Kevin convinced me to come clean to Coach and the team…so that next year, Alice Bell could play for the Falcons. And Alice Bell could have the chance of being scouted by the United State’s national women’s team.
“You could make a life playing hockey, Alice. Isn’t that what you want?” Kevin had said.
Of course it was. I just never thought Alice had a future in hockey.
I take a big bite of my burger and look around. Tomorrow, I’ll tell Coach the truth and Alice will take her first step to being a professional hockey player.
But for today, I’ll just enjoy this moment. Whatever happens, we’ll make our own happiness. Together.
“Picture time!” Eleanor trills. “Squeeze together!”
I push against Hayden, and Madison wraps an arm around me. Xander muscles in beside us. A genuine smile takes over my face. When I look back at this picture, what will I see?
Madison, my best friend. Like a goalie, she’s always there, bailing me out of my own messes and giving me backup. Her unfailing support and strength have kept me afloat all season.
Xander, my brother. Like the left wing to my right, he reads my mind like a playbook. I know he would dive into the deep end for me…and always will.
And Hayden. The center of my life. A pillar of confidence, supporting me until I have the strength to make the play on my own. He changes the ice as soon as he steps on it.
When I look at this picture, I will see the team that makes up Alice Bell.
And that is a lineup worth playing for.
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Acknowledgments
This story began back when we were tweens playing NHL 2005 on our well-loved PlayStation 2. Of course, the best part of the game was not actually playing hockey, but the create-a-player mode. That’s when the first version of the Falcons’ roster—and the beginnings of this story—developed: the hot-headed star player, his too-perfect older brother, and of course, the girl in disguise. It took an all-star behind-the-scenes lineup (and a lot of Korean dramas) to turn this idea into Alice and Hayden’s story.
A massive thank you to Brenda, editor extraordinaire, for her consistent words of encouragement, belief in our little book, and her ability to bring out the absolute best in a story. Thank you for bringing out the good in Alice!
Thank you to the entire Entangled team! We love you guys so much! To Stacy, Crystal, Riki, Holly, the Crush family, and everyone else involved — we are so grateful for your passion.
To Awnna, for without her enthusiasm, we would never have written this book. Thank you for breaking us out of our writing rut and giving us a reason to pick up our laptops again.
Thank you to our wonderful friends who keep us from being hermits with only make-believe people to talk about. A special thanks to Graeme for weathering the highest highs, the lowest lows, and all that comes between during this wonderful life we share.
And of course, a huge thank you to Mom and Dad. Dad, thank you for raising us on hockey, for answering every hockey question known to man, and for reading to us every night. Mom, thank you for suffering through every game, for patiently waiting as we stalked players in the hotel lobby, and for being our first and most enthusiastic reader. We will treasure our Blackhawks memories, always.
About the Author
Leah and Kate Rooper are sisters from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Growing up beside the Pacific Ocean and inside a temperate rainforest fed their sense of adventure as children, and nourished a curiosity for strange and distant lands. They fed this curiosity with books—lots and lots of books. After experiencing the magic of Middle-earth, they began creating their own worlds. When they’re not writing, Leah and Kate spend their time blogging and vlogging about their travel adventures and their writing journey. You can visit them at: www.leahkatewrite.com
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