15. Hallie

Once Josh and I made it back to the table with my dignity barely still intact, the rest of the dinner passed without incident. Sure, his father made a snide comment about us looking refreshed when we returned, but thankfully Josh didn’t take the bait. We ate the rest of the food without argument, but not before Hugo delighted in telling us that he has already arranged the annual party they throw for New Year’s every year. I have attended many times, always with Maddie, but this year I am attending as Josh’s significant other, and his father was nice enough to let us know that it will also serve as a wedding party for us both.

Isn’t that just perfect?

It’s Monday now, and having spent last night at home alone reeling over the events of the weekend, mostly concerning what happened in the Mayor’s home office, and not sleeping a wink, I am dead on my feet by the time I make it to my final class. Which is how Archer finds me with my head slumped on the desk and praying for the next hour to fly by.

“Damn, Sanders, how much newlywed sex did you have?” my friend drawls, throwing himself into his usual spot beside me, and ruffling my hair in a way I have learnt to tolerate from him.

The first time he did it I almost screamed from the shock alone, the second time I barely contained my flinch, yet by the third time I had prepared myself for his friendly onslaught. He didn’t notice that I grit my teeth every time he touched me, but I did notice that like me, he is also wearing a mask. His happy-go-lucky fake persona he puts out into the world is just that, fake. Yet I noticed that he seems to settle down quicker after some sort of physical contact with people, like he needs the comfort. It’s why I let him do it, it’s also why I wasn’t bothered by kissing him during truth or dare on Halloween. Archer Gray is a man whore to everyone who meets him, but to me he is just misunderstood, and I see right through his facade.

“Don’t mess with me today, Arch, I am in no mood,” I warn him, forcing myself to lift my head off the desk to glare at him.

All he does is smirk as he drops a takeout cup of hot chocolate on my desk that has the logo from my favorite campus cafe. “Figured you might be needing this,” he grins, taking a sip from his own before holding it up in silent cheers.

“Archer Gray, I knew there was a reason I kept you around, and it isn’t just for your bad rep and good looks,” I sigh, pulling the cup into my greedy hands and taking a sip, letting it warm me up from the inside out.

“Now, now, don’t go flirting with me, Mrs. Peters, what would your husband say?” he teases, clinking his cardboard cup against my own, and before I can even respond, a shrill voice cuts me off.

“What the hell do you mean, Mrs. Peters?” someone snaps, and when my eyes flick upwards I find the angry stare of a girl in our class.

Brianna Michaels. She is gorgeous and smart, but is more well known for hanging around the hockey team and trying to lock down one of the players. I’ve seen her go after Maddie’s boyfriend Nova at least a hundred times, but I’m pretty sure she has been with all the guys at one point or another, or most of them anyway.

I open my mouth to answer her, but Archer beats me to it. “Didn’t you hear, Hallie and Josh got married over the weekend,” he beams, giving her a wicked look I can’t seem to work out, as I force a smile to my face in preparation to accept another congratulations.

Our wedding announcement ran in the morning paper, with a picture I hadn’t even seen yet, and I am honestly not sure how the Mayor did it so fast, but I can’t be totally surprised. Which is how I found myself accepting well wishes from people all day, some of whom I didn’t even know, but I accepted them all with a smile, and this will be no different.

Yet no well wishes come. Instead, Brianna looks at me distastefully before she laughs. “Yeah right, don’t be ridiculous, as if Josh would ever marry her.”

Game, set, match, burn.

I’ve never been one for confrontation, it’s not in my nature, and as her words hit me like a brick wall, I have to force myself not to react.

“Oh yeah?” Archer drawls, taking more delight in the situation than I am. “Then how do you explain this?” He pulls the folded up newspaper featuring the picture of Josh and me from Saturday, and displays it flat on the desk in front of him for her to see. “It was a lovely ceremony, half the team was there,” he boasts, and technically he isn’t even lying.

Brianna snatches it up and her jaw drops, like actually drops open wide as she stares at the picture of us, her smile long gone. “This is unbelievable,” she mutters, before casting her dark stare towards me. “I didn’t even know you guys were dating, and no offense but you’re not exactly his type.”

Another hit right in the fucking gut.

Why is it when people say no offense, they always follow it up with something really offensive? I’m all for being a girl’s girl, but seriously, right now, fuck this bitch.

I smile as sweetly as I can manage. “Well I’m a private person, and my husband respects that, and I haven’t slept with anyone else on his hockey team, so maybe that holds some appeal to him.”

Archer snickers beside me as her jaw drops even wider at the sound of someone dishing her the same disrespect she goes around giving others. “That’s funny because out of the many girls I know Josh has slept with, he didn’t respect any of them, and trust me, there are a lot. You might wanna remember that while you”re on your knees for him,” she smiles, before adding. “Maybe I’ll remind him of all the fun we’ve had together next time I see him.”

Bile rises in my throat and I have no reasonable comeback to her statement, because what can I say? That as his wife, I in fact, don’t know anything about what he is like in the bedroom? How stupid would that be?

“Oh fuck off you little viper,” Archer snarls, clearly done with her mouth. “Josh hasn’t touched you in over a year, and I have to be a bottle deep into anything before even thinking about coming near you, so do us all a favor and disappear.”

His words have my eyes bugging out of my head, nevermind hers, and I can’t help but feel sorry for her a little. That is, until she flips her hair and replies, “Give my love to Nova, he always had the best dick anyway.” Before sauntering away to the other side of the room.

“Well that was fun,” I say dryly, trying and failing to shake off the whole interaction, when Archer crowds into my space.

“Fucking ignore that bitch, Hals, Josh has had a no touching rule on you from the moment you arrived, and now we all know why. Unlike her, he actually cares about you, hence that pretty little diamond ring you are now toting around. So some people might be jealous, but fuck them, you’re the one who gets to keep him forever.”

His words are kind and are obviously meant to make me feel better, but really they hurt me more than everything Brianna just said, because they aren’t true. Yes I am wearing his ring, and I am his wife, but that’s it, it’s just a ring and a piece of paper, nothing more. I will never know him like those girls do, and he will never know how much I wish all of this was real.

“Thanks, Arch,” I force out, because short of confessing my love for Josh to him– which he wouldn’t understand–I have nothing else to say. I focus back on my drink and drain the rest of my hot chocolate, just in time for our professor to arrive and our class to begin.

I spend the next hour making notes, yet not really taking in a single thing our teacher is saying, and by the time we are done and are ready to pack up, I feel so drained that I could literally pass out. I should go home, I have a ton of homework to catch up on from over the weekend, and I know climbing into bed with Percy would make this day feel a whole lot less horrible, but for some reason I can’t make myself do it.

“Are you heading over to practice now?” I ask Archer, as he moves to leave, and he pauses to look at me.

I’m not sure what he sees on my face but it has him holding out his arm for me to hook mine through. “I certainly am, would you like me to escort you to the viewing area so you can perve on your husband, Mrs. Peters?”

I scoff a laugh in the hopes of trying to deny what he just said, but then I remember he believes the lie we have painted, the one that isn’t that hard a lie for me as I reply, “Yeah, actually, I think that is exactly what I need.”

Which is how I find myself freezing my ass off at the rink as Archer leaves me to rush off and get changed, and I move round the bleachers until I reach my best friend. “Looks like we both had the same idea,” I muse, as I find Maddie sitting in one of the lower rows with her phone out.

She has always been a staple here, constantly coming to watch Josh’s practice and games to show him some support, and I’ve joined her many times, but I think her presence has more to do with the team captain than her brother these days.

Her eyes flick to mine in surprise, before she moves her bag to make space for me. “Nova and I are having dinner with his mom after this, so I said I’d meet him here,” she smiles wistfully, and it makes me so happy to see her so comfortable and in love.

They are still in the honeymoon phase, so it’s basically night after night of listening to her headboard bang against the wall, but hey that’s what ear defenders are for, right? I’m so happy for her, hence why it was easy to agree to Josh’s insane wedding plan, because it means she gets to have this.

“How is my favorite sister-in-law?” she asks with a smirk, and I roll my eyes as I plonk myself down next to her.

“Tired and cranky,” I tell her, as I search my bag for a snack and she laughs. “I didn’t sleep last night, and then they were sold out of my usual lunches in the cafeteria which means I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I mean, you could”ve just had something else,” she starts before she trails off and laughs again. “Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a second there.” Then she takes pity on me and reaches into her own bag, pulling out a chocolate muffin and handing it to me.

“Neeve?” I question, wondering if the muffin is from one of her bodyguards” wives who always sends food and treats for us, and she nods. “God, I love you,” I mumble, taking a big bite, before adding, “And I love Neeve.” The muffin is delicious and hits just the spot, right in time for the players to start filtering out onto the ice.

I spy the number nineteen first, and his eyes automatically search the stands until they land on Maddie, and then he is skating over towards us without pause.

“You’re not wearing my jersey, Princess, I thought I warned you about that,” he teases, ignoring his coach as he yells at him to start warming up.

“Nova, I can’t wear it everyday and then in bed, it would get too dirty,” she complains, but all he does is shake his head.

“Looks like I will have to make something else dirty instead,” he drawls with a wink, before turning around and skating away.

Maddie blushes, but my focus is now on the other Peters sibling as he skates onto the ice with a face like thunder. I have always loved to watch him play, ever since that first day, and even now, over a decade later, it still feels just as special. This is his home, his comfort, the only place he doesn’t let anyone get to him, and as he whisks around the ice I can’t help but feel envious of the rink. He pours his heart and soul into this game, and I know it’s the only one true love he will ever have.

He flies around the ice twice before he finally spots me, and when he does, he surprises me by breaking from his warm-up and skating over to me. “I didn’t know my wife would be joining me today,” he boasts loudly, causing both his coach and some of his teammates to look our way, and I hear Maddie groan beside me.

“Oh I’m not here for you, I’m here supporting my team, go Flyers,” I reply in the same tone, and his answering grin has my heart thundering in my chest.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to show off for you today huh?” he winks, skating backwards away from me as he rejoins his warm-up. It’s only then I hear a few members of his team that weren’t in attendance of the wedding asking him about it and he snaps, “Yes, I got married, what the fuck has it go to do with you?”

Maddie stifles a laugh. “And there’s the asshole we know and love.”

I watch as Daemon skates up next to him and gently guides him away, saying something I’m sure no one else can hear as I smile, “Yeah, there he is.”

We spend the next thirty-minutes watching them stretch in every manner possible, and I am practically drooling at the end of it. My eyes stay permanently fixed on the number twenty-two spread across his back, and when they finally start practicing, I swear I can feel the blush everywhere. Maddie and I talk back and forth about class, and the disastrous dinner with her parents yesterday, but mostly our focus remains on the ice, and thankfully because this isn’t my first time here, she doesn’t question my interest in it too much.

By the time the boys are sweating and skating off the ice to get changed, I am beyond starving, and even Josh in his jersey couldn’t make me less cranky. I head outside with Maddie to wait with her even though she isn’t coming home with me tonight. Usually I would just head straight home, but just as I am about to do that I remember the role I am playing as his wife and hang back.

Nova, Archer, and Alexander appear first with their other roommate Jake Harper, with Nova moving straight for Maddie and sweeping her into his arms. Jake bids them goodbye then, stating that he is picking his girlfriend up from work, as my best friend turns back to me.

“Hals, do you want us to wait with you?” Maddie asks, smiling inside her boyfriend”s arms, and I am already shaking my head.

“No, I’m all good, you guys go, I’m gonna head home with Josh,” I nod my head to the rink behind me, as I blow out a breath in the cold air.

“Mads, I know you don’t wanna hear this, but your best friend is now permanently banging your brother,” Alexander taunts her while eying me with a smile, before Nova knocks him in the back of the head.

“You’re right, Reign, she doesn’t wanna hear that,” Nova snaps, shaking his head at his friend, before moving to leave and dragging the others with him. “Come on and leave the girl alone, see you later, Hals.”

I watch them leave, waving goodbye, and then turn back to the doorway of the rink to wait for Josh. A number of players leave before him, including his housemates Landon and Levi who I smile politely at, until finally, Josh appears with Daemon.

“Hals, you’re still here,” he muses, moving towards me and without pause leaning in to drop a kiss on my head. I force myself not to startle, especially as there are still a few players exiting and lingering around, all with their eyes our way. I guess a quickie marriage while we are still in college can be considered quite the scandal.

Ignoring them all, I focus on Josh only as I reply, “Yeah, I figured we could go grab dinner or something?” I don’t know why I feel nervous to ask him to dinner but I do, especially when we have an audience.

Before he can respond, Daemon takes a step past us and moves to leave. “I’ll see you at home,” he mumbles, but I halt him in his tracks.

“You can join us if you like, Daemon, the more the merrier,” I smile, and he looks at me with a truly puzzled look, as if no one has ever extended such an invite before. It makes my heart ache for him, and I ensure to keep my smile in place to let him know I truly mean it.

“No, but thank you,” he whispers, before turning away from us and pulling up his hood, scurrying away into the night.

I watch him leave, totally confused, until I turn back to Josh and repeat, “So, dinner?”

Josh looks around at a few of the players still lingering, then gently guides me away from them before he starts. “I actually have somewhere I need to be,” he says inconspicuously, and I swear I can feel my heart in my throat as I imagine the worst, reminding myself that our deal isn’t real.

“Oh, okay, no worries,” I grin, my cheeks now aching from smiling, even though I can feel tears gathering at the back of my eyes for some reason.

“Do you want to come with me? And then we can grab dinner after?” he adds, and I look at him in surprise. Even with his ring on my finger I am not used to him actually wanting to be around me. Not when he has spent the last couple of years pushing me away and avoiding me as much as possible.

“You want me to come with you?” I ask in confusion, and his answering grin is blinding.

“Sure, why not? Come on, my car is right over here,” he nods his head towards the direction of his car, and then is moving us towards it before I can even answer.

Tossing his gear bag in the trunk, he rushes to open my door for me, before rounding the other side of the car and climbing in.

I pull on my seatbelt as I question, “Where are we going?”

Josh just looks at me with a smile I’ve never really seen on him before. “You’ll have to wait and see,” he quips, starting the engine and I scoff.

“Joshua, you know I hate delayed gratification,” I remind him, knowing full well that he knows that I hate to wait for anything. Food, traffic, answers, all of them the bane of my life.

All he does is smirk. “Hmm, give me a couple of hours and I bet I could change your mind on that,” he winks, pulling out of the parking lot and driving in the direction of town.

We are only in the car for about ten minutes, talking about our day and practice, when he pulls into another parking lot, one I recognize instantly. We are at the local ice rink, one I know to be shut on monday evenings, yet still he kills the engine and begins to climb out.

“Well, are you coming or not?” he tosses over his shoulder, before he slams the door and moves to grab his bag from the trunk.

There are other cars in the lot and I note that the lights are on inside the rink, which only adds to my confusion as I climb out the door and walk after him. “Josh, what are we doing here? I thought this place was closed during the week.”

“It is,” he replies instantly, moving towards the door and opening it for me, and then gesturing for me to step inside.

I walk down the hallway, lowering my voice as I snap, “Then I repeat, what the hell are we doing here?”

Josh doesn’t answer, guiding me through the reception area until we reach the rinkside and my eyes widen as I take in the numerous families idling around waiting for something. Before I can ask Josh what it is, my ears are assaulted by the sound of multiple kids screeching his name in greeting.

“Josh!” They scream, abandoning their parents and storming towards him in their little group, as I stand frozen to the spot in shock. Yet my husband seems anything but surprised, the kids collar themselves around his legs and torso, all talking over one another, and all he does is smile.

“Sorry I’m late guys, practice went a little over. Are you ready to get to work?” he asks, and they all scream yes, and he nods his head at their parents in greeting as they all start moving past me to leave.

What the hell is going on?

“Okay then strap up your skates and let”s go,” he calls out, and they all start rushing towards the ice, as he drops himself onto a bench and pulls out his own skates.

I move to sit next to him, mind still totally reeling, and just stare at him until he finally looks at me and admits, “I teach a class here every week, just basic skating and a little hockey, nothing major.”

“Nothing major?” I repeat. “Josh, this is huge, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” If I thought he couldn’t surprise me after the whole will you marry me thing then I was wrong, because watching the brooding boy with the sad smile tighten his skates so he can go and teach some kids has my heart soaring in my chest.

“I haven’t told anyone,” he admits with a shrug, focusing back on his skates as he adds quietly, “I do this just for me, and for the kids.”

How the fuck did someone as amazing as him grow up in the shadow of Hugo Peters and all of his bullshit?

“You’re amazing, Josh Peters, do you know that?” I tell him with a smile, as he finishes with his skates and turns back to me.

“Well if my wife thinks so then it must be true,” he jokes, grabbing some gloves from his bag, and then zipping it up.

“Your wife thinks she is lucky to have you,” I tell him truthfully, wishing in this moment more than ever before, that all of this was real.

As if hearing the direction of my thoughts he laughs sadly, “It’s okay, Hals, you don’t have to pretend, no one can hear you.”

His words have me assessing him in a whole new light, and before I can open my mouth to respond, the doors burst open and a woman with whoI can presume is her daughter comes rushing inside. The mom is dressed in some sort of diner uniform, with her hair piled on top of her head, and a tiredness clinging to her like I have never seen. Whereas the girl looks immaculate with her matching hat, gloves and scarf set, that go well with the pink skates she is holding in her hand. She reminds me a lot of Maddie with her bright blond hair and blue eyes, and I can’t help but smile at her.

“Josh, hey, sorry we’re late,” the mother rushes out, as the girl silently moves to sit on the bench opposite us, as if she has done it a hundred times before.

“No worries, Callia, I haven’t even started yet,” Josh greets her with a genuine, knowing smile, before eyeing the little girl. “And how’s my favorite student, Pen?” The girl says nothing, and when Josh flicks his stare back to her mom she just shrugs. “Okay, well we’ll see you at the diner later?” he adds, and the woman, Callia, nods gratefully, and I am left more confused than ever.

“Thank you so much, Josh, you have no idea how much I appreciate this,” she tells him, before taking one last look at her daughter. “I’ll see you later, okay Pen?”

The girl says nothing and Josh stands to move towards her mom. “Hey, it’s no big deal, don’t worry about her, okay, we’ll be fine.” The woman nods at his words, offering me a smile, before she turns and rushes back out of the doors leaving us alone with a bunch of kids.

I flick my stare to the ice, noting there are around twelve boys ready and waiting for their teacher, yet the little girl still doesn’t move. Without pause Josh pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and hands it to the girl, before tossing me another wink and then moving to get onto the ice, leaving me and the girl alone.

“Hi,” I say in greeting. “My name is Hallie, yours is Pen?” I ask, wondering if it’s short for something, and for the first time, she flicks her stare to me.

“Penelope,” she eventually corrects. “But everyone calls me Pen.”

“Penelope,” I repeat, eyeing her. She can’t be more than seven or eight by my guess, yet her stare gives the impression she is much older. “That’s such a pretty name, aren’t you going to go skate?” Nodding my head to where Josh now has the boys skating back and forth to warm up. I wonder why she isn’t joining in, especially since she has her skates still in her lap.

“Josh teaches me after the boys, he knows I like it better that way,” she starts, looking at me in wonder before she adds, “I don’t get as much time as them, because he has to get me back to my mom, but he always buys me ice cream after.”

Ignoring the multiple questions now floating around in my mind about why Josh does this, or why he looks after her, I instead ask, “Why don’t you like learning with the boys?”

Her eyes are somber and her voice soft as she admits, “They get a little too rough, and I don’t like that.”

I return her smile with one of my own, as I glance over her head and spot the place where they keep all the extra skates. “Want me to fill in for him until he’s ready?”

Her eyes widen, sparkling with excitement in the same way as my best friends. “You skate?” she asks, locking Josh’s phone and finally giving me her full attention.

“I sure do,” I nod, mentally trying to figure out the last time I actually skated, and praying I am not too rusty.

“Are you as good as Josh?” she questions, and it lights a fire beneath me to give her the power to do it for the girls.

“Oh sweetie, I am way better than him,” I wink, and she smiles for the first time as I stand and move to fetch myself some skates.

I wait for her to tie on her own before I offer her my hand, and when she takes it, I lead us to the ice with an adrenaline pumping beneath my skin.

Looks like I am back on the ice with Josh Peters once again.