I get up like any other Friday. Cara's coming home tonight, and Mom has been cleaning the house since Monday. I'm not allowed to sit in the living room with an apple in my hand for breakfast. She would say that the apple juice is going to get everywhere. Has it ever before? No.
I shower and put on my favorite winter outfit. Today, it just seems like something is going to happen. I don't know why. My flannel shirt is my absolute favorite. I bought it out in Vermont when I went with the guys a couple of years ago. It remind me of them every time I wear it. I pair it with some black skinny jeans and my, what I call, fashionable zoo keeper boots. I put a beanie on over my side braid.
I say goodbye to Mom and Dad as I tie Dad's bow tie for his business meeting, because Mom doesn't know how, she just knows a regular tie. I grab my backpack and car keys. I start my car and turn on the heat immediately. My car is freezing, and my locker isn't big enough for a winter jacket, so I just have to face it. Schools in Illinois should know that winters are bitter.
The roads are slippery, and every one is going way under the speed limit. I mean, I don't want them to go fast, but driving 10 miles an hour through the middle of town, not okay.
I arrive in the school parking lot 10 minutes before the bell rings. I walk down the halls to my locker and find Aiden already there. He stands there, leaning up against the locker with something in his hands behind his back.
"Good morning, Meredith", Aiden pulls his left hand from behind his back. It's a bouquet of flowers. Daisies and lilies. My favorite flowers.
"Oh my god! How did you know my favorite flowers were daisies and lilies?" I think for a second. "Wait, what are these for?"
"They aren't from me. But I'm not allowed to tell you who they are from. But you will find out soon enough" Aiden smirks. "Look at the card".
I take the little card from the middle of the flowers. I open it. Come to your locker during your free period. I'll be waiting. Don't worry. Yours truly, your secret admirer.
"Um, my secret admirer? Aiden, I have a boyfriend".
"Don't ask me. I was just called to the office this morning and told to give these to you", he shrugs his shoulders, a smirk on his face. "Just meet him or her during free period. I'll be here just in case. I promise".
The bell rings. Aiden runs off to his Anatomy class. I grab my calculus binder from my locker, putting the flowers nicely in. I rush off to class. Just 2 hours until I see who this secret admirer is. I just really hope it isn't Marcus. If it is, I swear I will kill him.
Botany class ends. It's time for free period. I gather everything from my table and shove it in my bag. I walk slowly out of the classroom and my locker is just around the corner. Aiden meets me here just a second later.
"So, you really have no idea who this person is and why they're giving me flowers?" I ask as I pile everything useless from my bag into my locker.
"No clue", Aiden answers. He shrugs.
I close my locker after smelling the flowers once again. Aiden and I stand in silence, watching free period students walk by. Aiden and I look at each other every once in a while. It's been ten minutes.
"Meredith", I hear someone call from a little ways down the hall. I look both ways before it again to my right. "Meredith".
I bounce away from the locker and stand in the middle of the hallway. I look around before people part to the walls. On the opposite end of the hallway, he stands. His dark brown hair is messy, and his red flannel's sleeves are bunched just above his elbows. Oh my god!
"Cole", I breathe out. His face lights up. "Cole", this time I yell.
I drop my bag and sprint down the hallway. My beanie falls off my head and hits my leg as I run. Cole's arms open when I'm just a few feet from him. I jump to him. My legs wrap around his waist. My face is higher up than his, I look down at him. My hands sit along his jawline.
"I don't like you right now", I joke. He laughs.
"I think you're lying", he whispers.
He moves his lips to mine. They dance together. It's been about a month and a half since I saw him last. His arms wrap around my lower body. I hear feet shuffling in the background once again. The people around us go back to their normal things and we stand there, in our own world. Like nothing is wrong, just for this small little moment.
He moves away from me. "I missed you so much".
"I missed you too", I say back.
Cole sets me down, and once again, we kiss for a moment. I wrap my arms around his neck, his hands hold my hips. We stare at each other. This has to be the corniest thing ever, imagine what we look like right now.
"Earth to Meredith", I hear from behind us. I turn around to see Aiden standing there, holding my bag in his hand. "Next time, give me your bag before you run. A few people stepped on it after they were done watching". He smiles.
"Sorry Aiden. I will remember that next time", I say back sarcastically. "Aiden, this is Cole. If you two hadn't already met. Now, Aiden, did you know who my secret admirer was?"
"I might have known. But he swore to me that he would kill me if I told you. And, I wanted to see your face when you saw him", Aiden smiles.
"Thank you", I whisper to him.
Aiden hands me my bag and my hat. "You're welcome", he pauses. "So, I haven't actually met you in person, I was just given your note. I'm Aiden".
Cole and Aiden shake hands. "Cole. It's great to finally meet you. Aiden, I want to say thank you for taking care of her. I know she doesn't want to be here in Illinois. But every time we talk, she can't tell me enough how thankful she is that you have been so good to her".
"I would be jealous of you if I wasn't gay, Meredith is an amazing girl", both of them smile at each other.
"Now, I know I don't go to this school and all, and I don't know if I can, but I kind of want to see the rest of your classes. If that's okay with you", Cole smiles. "Aiden, do you guys have any classes together?"
"Nope, just free period and lunch. Which is right now, and period 7. But, I would ask if you wanted to come to hockey practice. You two could miss French class, because I know Meredith doesn't like Madame Drumme. Come to hockey practice. I know coach wouldn't mind. She has the entire team wrapped around her little finger. Her and my sister. Well, except for Marcus".
Cole tenses for a second, then takes a breath. "That would be fun".
"Yeah, Let's do it", I say.
Well, Cole's home. Wait, no he's not. I'm home. That's wrong too. Our homes are in the same place, and it's not here. Only a month and a half until I go back home.
But for now, Cole is all I need.
YOU ARE READING
One More Day (Counting on Hockey #2)
Romance*book two of the Counting On Hockey series. Read Just Another Goal prior to this book* Meredith and Cole are going into their Senior year of high school. They are inseparable together. Now both playing hockey, and being together for now more than a...
