Overtime with my Ex's Best Friend

Lucas Kingston walked into school like he owned it.

Same confident stride. Same easy smile. Same way of looking at me like I was still his.

I saw him before he saw me. He was standing by the front entrance, talking to some guys from the hockey team. Laughing at something. Running his hand through his hair like he didn't have a care in the world.

My stomach turned.

Then he spotted me. His face lit up. He walked over like we were still together. Like the past year didn't happen.

"Mia." He pulled me into a hug before I could step back. His arms wrapped around me like he had every right.

I stood there stiff as a board.

He pulled back and looked at me. "I missed you."

I didn't say anything.

"Come on," he said. "Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Cold. You're always cold when I first get back."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe because you leave."

He laughed. Like I was being cute. "I told you. I had to go. Hockey. School. You know how it is."

I knew exactly how it was. He chose hockey over me. He chose everything over me.

"Lucas," I said. "We're done. We've been done for a year."

He waved his hand like he was brushing away a fly. "You just need time. I get it. I was gone. But I'm back now."

"You're back for two weeks."

"Two weeks is enough."

I shook my head. "It's not going to happen."

He stepped closer. Lowered his voice. "Don't do this, Mia. Not in front of everyone."

"Don't do what?"

"Make a scene."

"I'm not making a scene. I'm telling you the truth."

His jaw tightened. He didn't like being told no. He never did.

I walked away before he could say anything else. My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking.

I hated that he still had that effect on me. Sophie found me by the lockers.

"I saw Lucas," she said. "He looked pissed."

"Good."

"He hugged you."

"I know."

"And you just stood there."

"I didn't know what else to do."

Sophie tilted her head. "You could have pushed him."

"I was in shock."

"Sure you were." She didn't look convinced. "Mia, you need to be careful. Lucas doesn't give up easily. And Cole..."

I looked up. "What about Cole?"

"I saw him watching from across the courtyard when Lucas hugged you. He looked like he wanted to break something."

My stomach flipped. "Why would he care?"

Sophie gave me a look. "Don't play dumb. You're not dumb."

"I'm not playing anything."

"You're avoiding it."

I slammed my locker shut. "I'm not avoiding anything. I'm trying to survive senior year. I'm trying to focus on skating. I don't have time for Kingston brothers."

Sophie held up her hands. "Okay. Okay. I get it. But just so you know, Cole's not Lucas. He's different."

"Everyone says that."

"Because it's true."

I didn't respond. I didn't know what to say.

Because I knew Sophie was right.

And that scared me more than Lucas ever did.

School dragged on forever.

I couldn't concentrate in class. I kept thinking about Lucas. About his arms around me. About the way he acted like nothing changed.

I kept thinking about Cole too. The way he looked at me from across the courtyard. The way his jaw tightened when Lucas hugged me.

Why did I care?

I shouldn't have cared. Cole was just another hockey player. Just another Kingston. Just another guy who would leave when things got hard.

But I couldn't stop thinking about him.

That night I couldn't sleep.

I tossed and turned for hours. My brain wouldn't shut off. So I did what I always did when I couldn't sleep.

I went to the rink.

The doors were unlocked. They always were. The night guard knew me. He let me in whenever I needed to clear my head.

I walked inside and froze.

The lights were on.

Someone was on the ice.

Cole.

He was alone. No teammates. No coaches. Just him and a bucket of pucks.

He was shooting. Hard and fast. Slamming pucks into the net like they personally offended him. His shirt was soaked with sweat. His jaw was tight. His movements were sharp and angry.

I watched from the shadows. I should have left. I should have turned around and gone home.

But I couldn't move.

He shot another puck. Then another. Then he stopped and bent over, breathing hard.

"Are you going to stand there all night?"

I jumped. "I didn't mean to"

"Spy on me?" He straightened up and turned around. "What were you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"So you came here?"

"Same reason you did, I guess."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he skated over to the boards where I was standing.

"You saw Lucas today," he said.

"Everyone saw Lucas today."

He nodded slowly. "He hugged you."

"I know."

"You just stood there."

"What was I supposed to do?"

He shrugged. "Push him. Kick him. Something."

I laughed. It came out bitter. "You sound like Sophie."

"Sophie's smart."

"She is."

There was a long pause. The ice creaked beneath Cole's skates. The lights hummed above us.

"Why are you really here?" I asked.

He looked away. "Couldn't sleep."

"That's what I said."

"I know." He turned back to me. "But you didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"Why are you really here?"

I opened my mouth. I closed it. I opened it again.

"I don't know," I said finally. "I guess I just needed to be somewhere cold."

He nodded. Like that made perfect sense.

Then he skated toward me. Closer and closer until he was right in front of me. His face was inches from mine. I could see the sweat on his brow. The tension in his jaw. The storm in his grey eyes.

"You know Lucas was never good enough for you, right?"

I couldn't breathe.

"He didn't deserve you," Cole said. "He never did."

"He was your brother."

"I know what he was. I also know what he did." His voice dropped. "He chose hockey over you. He let his dad bully him into breaking up with you. He didn't fight for you. Not once."

My chest ached. "How do you know all that?"

"Because I was there. I watched him walk away. And I hated him for it."

"Why?"

Cole looked at me. Really looked at me. The kind of look that made me feel like I was the only person in the world.

"Because I would never have let you go," he said. "Not for hockey. Not for anything."

My heart stopped.

And for one crazy moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Then Cole stepped back. His jaw tightened. He looked away.

"Forget it," he said. "Forget I said anything."

I reached out without thinking. My fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"I can't," I said. "I can't forget it."

He looked down at my hand on his wrist. Then back up at my face.

"Then what do you want me to say?"

"I don't know." My voice was barely a whisper. "I don't know what I want."

He stared at me. For a long moment, neither of us moved.

Then he pulled his wrist away gently. "You should go home. It's late."

"Cole"

"Please. Just go."

I wanted to argue. I wanted to stay. But something in his voice told me to listen.

I walked out of the rink. My heart was pounding. My mind was spinning.

I didn't know what was happening between us.

But I knew it was something.

And that scared me more than Lucas ever could.