The Ice Rink

{This story is a P-a-t-r-e-o-n exclusive. The link is https://www.p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word. I also have a basketball system story on my p-a-t-r-e-o-n if you wish to check it out.}

{The story on P-a-t-r-e-o-n is at 185 chapters.}

{Book 1 has been completed.}

~~~(POV: Scott Autumn)~~~

Jess holds my hand as we walk up the stairs to the indoor skating rink.

"Let me punch in the passcode."

My mind immediately retrieves the information, and the door clicks open once I do. She enters before me, and I follow her in. We're both lightly bundled due to the temperature change in here. While we walk towards the benches to put on our skates, Nicky comes over.

She smiles as I stand up, and I hug her. The height difference is apparent as I pick her up from the ground. She laughs as I bring her back down.

"It's so good to see you, Scott. The last time we talked was when I crashed at your place from a party nearby. Thanks for that, by the way."

It's no problem for me. She's a party goth girl, and she's my friend.

Her head tilts, and she looks behind me to see my sister, whose staring a little too hard.

"This must be the sister you told me about! I didn't know you two looked so alike! Blond hair and bright blue eyes must run in the family of one of your parents!"

She steps past me and holds out her hand. Jess is quick and stands up herself and grabs her hand.

She's wearing a nice smile, and Nicky is reciprocating. Once they stop, Jess decides to start a conversation.

"It's nice to meet you too, Nicky. I appreciate you being my brother's friend. He hardly has any. I worry that he's going to miss out on the best part of life sometimes."

Since when did this conversation become about me? Maybe one day I'll understand.

Nicky laughs a little too hard, in my opinion... While I don't care about having friends or not, it'd be nice if people didn't make fun of it. It's like making fun of a shark that can only live in saltwater, and you're trying to put it in freshwater.

"He's a sweetie... He's always turning me down for parties and stuff, but I understand why. He's on a different wavelength than me."

That's... true, I guess.

Way to make me sound like a jerk. Was she asking me on dates all those times?

"Say, you're his sister. What types of girls does he like anyway? It'd be nice to tell my friends. They all have little crushes on him."

This is a turn that I calculated, but I hoped it wouldn't happen. Normally, I'd be worried about how Jess will react, but she handles it like a pro.

She gives a bright smile and places her hand on her chin in a mock thinking pose.

"From what I've seen, he's never prioritized a relationship. If he did have a type, it'd probably be a girl that he's comfortable being around and has known for a long time."

Way to describe yourself, Jess. I'm thankful that Nicky wouldn't suspect us of... Incest.

Nicky squints her eyes and folds her arms. A small grin coming on her face. Maybe she would suspect it...

"He'll never find a girl if that's true. He doesn't spend time with a lot of people, let alone women."

Nicky is more astute and observant than I thought. To be fair, my limited conversations with her weren't keen on seeing how smart she was.

Jess keeps up the perfect facade and tilts her head to the side.

"That's why he doesn't have a girlfriend, cause of his contradictory methods of lifestyle. He loves being alone so much. It gets in the way of him having a relationship. Doesn't that sound like Scott to you?"

Nicky starts to giggle and slowly nods her head, admitting defeat.

She turns to me and comes in for a final hug.

"Alright, I'm heading to a party, and I want you to lock up once you're done. Don't forget to reset the alarm system before you leave, either. Mu aunt will have a field day with that."

She turns and heads for the exit, and I turn to look at Jess. Except I'm met with the icy cold stare of winter itself.

Jess tends to be jealous, and I'll admit I do too. I didn't think she'd get mad about this, though. She sighs as her gaze softens.

"It's not like I can get mad over it... Just ticks me off knowing that she has a crush on you... And all her friends... And that she's been to your place before..."

Ouch, any more ammo left in that gun? We head back to the bench and put our skates on. Her smile is back already.