Kiss My Ice

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16.

I was surprised to see that the so-called "party" Chris had invited me to, was taking place at The Green Mile: a mini golf course. And, from what I could tell from the mostly empty parking lot, there were not very many people here yet.

"Hey there sunshine," Chris greeted with a wide smile. He was the first of the small group to have noticed my arrival. It appeared to be Chris, Riley, and a few other guys I recognized from the hockey team. "Glad you made it."

"I thought you said that this was a party?" I asked, my gaze falling to the five guys standing behind Chris and Riley. Seven people wasn't much of a party.

Riley laughed, wrapped her arms around Chris's shoulder. "Chris was just messing with you by calling it a party. This is just a group of friends having fun with a friendly game of mini golf."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Then why did you call it a party?"

"Well, we are celebrating our win," one of the guys behind Chris piped in. "So technically, it is still a party."

Chris smirked. "Would you prefer the whole team? I'm sure you are disappointed that Aiden isn't here."

"No," I snorted, earning a laugh from the guys.

"Why don't we go ahead and get started," Riley said, thankfully changing the subject. She dropped her arms from around Chris and joined me at my side. "The game is all paid for."

"Do you know everybody?" Riley asked as the group began walking towards the course.

I scanned the five guys. They all looked familiar. I could have told you that they were on the hockey team, but I admittedly, did not know their names. Apart from Aiden and Chris, I didn't know anyone on the hockey team.

My cheeks flushed with heat. It was a bit embarrassing that I couldn't even tell them one of their names. Thankfully, no one seemed to judge. Instead, Chris just smiled and went down the line introducing me to everyone. All five guys greeted me with smiles, seemingly nice.

Nathan, Josh, Brett, Tyler, Brendon, I repeated each name in my head several times, matching the name to the face. I couldn't forget their names if I had to play a game of mini golf with them.

"Here you go," Josh, I believe was his name, said as he handed me a club and yellow golf ball. I took the club with a soft smile. "You uh, you look nice." Josh's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink and I had to force myself to not giggle. I didn't want to embarrass him considering how sweet he was being.

"Thanks," I answered cheerfully. My outfit wasn't anything extravagant, but I guessed it was a big change for him considering my usual attire at the rink. A pair of ripped jean shorts and a baby blue tube top weren't prime clothes for figure skating.

"Brett," Chris laughed, pulling my attention away from Josh and over to where the rest of the group had gathered at the first hole. "You can't do that."

I laughed, seeing Brett had stuck his foot in front of the hole, blocking Riley's red golf ball from making a hole-in-one.

"I wouldn't have thought that you boys would need to resort to cheating so early in the game," Riley snickered.

"Hold up," Tyler quickly said, holding his hands in defense. "Let's not group all of us into one collective group when it's clearly just Brett who cheats."

Brett grinned, feeling no shame in his cheating ways. "I gotta start early this game so that I might have a chance. Riley always kicks our butts."

Everyone laughed, including me. It wasn't surprising to learn that Riley was good at mini golf. With how easy she moved a goal with a puck, it was only natural that she would be good at mini golf. That said, in theory everyone here would be much better at this game than me.