What Are The Odds?: A college hockey romance. (Phil-U Book 1)

Grace.

I sat on the entry steps to the Athlete’s Centre, muffling a yawn. Jetlag was still kicking my ass. I’d been awake since four-am. I was an early riser by default, thanks to a lifetime worth of five-am alarms. But even I’ll admit four-am was still considered the middle of the night. Certainly not an acceptable time to get up. Still, after ten-minutes of staring at the dark ceiling, I’d cracked. Picking up my gym bag, I’d slipped from my room as quietly as I could and come straight here. I’d been surprised to find some students already exercising. The rowing team were partway through a conditioning practice, and the soccer team were lining up outside of their team bus. After changing in the swimming locker rooms, I slipped in my headphones then headed outside. The football team generally didn’t start their trainings until six-thirty, so their field was free. At least that’s what I thought. I was surprised to find a girl already stretching. Like me, she was covered head to toe. Full length leggings. Long socks pulled over the top. A jacket zipped right up to her neck. She looked over when I approached, lips turning into a polite smile, before she hit the track. I got to work stretching, tucking one leg behind me to wake my quads. My body wasn’t used to the brisk air. All my muscles were stiff. After working through my stretches, I set off around the perimeter of the field. It took a while for my body to warm up. Once it did, I increased my pace and used the power of the music pumping through my headphones to ignore the tightness in my chest. I’d always enjoyed running. The mental game that came with it motivated me. I could stop at any time. I could slow down my pace. I could call it and convince myself I’d worked hard enough. Or I could push harder. I could increase my speed. I could set mini milestones. I could tell myself I could have a breather when the song ended, only to convince myself I had one more kilometre left in me when it did. While my pace was good, the other girl running was much faster. She had long brown hair that was braided down her back. It swayed as she ran. I returned to my starting point just as my fitness watch tracked over to four-kilometres. That would do for today. My regular swimming practice was scheduled to start in fifteen-minutes, and I needed to catch my breath. I sat on the still-wet grass, stretching out my calves that had been protesting towards the end. I didn’t mind the cold so much now. After one more lap, the other girl slowed. With her hands rested on her hips she paced back and forth, breathing in and out slowly and controlled. When she slipped out her headphones, I followed the prompt and did the same.

“I’ve been running this same track every morning for the past three-and-a-half-years, and this is the first time there’s ever been someone else out here at this time.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realise–”

“No.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “I meant it was nice, not feeling so alone out here.” She smiled. “I’m Riley.”

“Grace,” I returned, smiling back.

She was beautiful. Her large eyes were offset by a petite nose, and she had naturally pink lips that made it seem as though she had makeup on, though I was quite confident she didn’t.

“Did you just transfer?” she asked.

“Kind of. I’m in the athlete’s exchange program for my senior year.”

Her eyebrows piqued in interest. “Are you a runner?”

I shook my head. “Swimmer. Are you on the athletics team?”

Something flickered across her soft features. I didn’t know her well enough to register what that was though.

“No. I prefer doing my own thing.”

“That’s a shame. Seems like the team would be lucky to have you.”

A steady stream of people were starting to arrive to the gym. I spotted Stella and Ava climbing the steps. Along with Elijah.

“Is running part of your swimming program?” Riley asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Not like this. This early start is entirely put down to jetlag. What’s your excuse?”

She shrugged. “I like to get my workout in before all the egotistical athletes turn up for the day.” Her lip quirked. “No offence.”

I laughed. “None taken.”

I’d already been exposed to many egotistical athletes. I wish there was a way I could avoid some of them too. I stood up, dusting my now damp leggings. Riley and I walked together towards the Athlete’s Centre, leaving the quietness of the football field behind. When we reached the building steps, Riley stopped. She momentarily glanced at the doorway like it was the gateway to hell. She really must hate athletes.

“It was nice running with you, Grace,” she said, turning for the carpark. “I’ll hopefully see you around.”

*

I walked into the classroom with Stella. We were the first ones here. It was a nice change from hurriedly rushing through the door last time. I chose the table at the front again, purely because my legs were too gassed to carry me up any stairs. Stella sat beside me, propping her feet on a spare chair. Despite having only known Stella for three weeks, it was like she was a lifetime friend. She was one of those types of people that was incredibly easy to be around, and she somehow already knew about my entire life back home, as if she’d grown up as my neighbour. Students filtered inside, quietly taking their seats. Many appeared as though they’d just scrambled out of bed. I on the other hand had been awake for almost six-hours. Right now, I was feeling good. Though I expect I’d crash and burn after lunch. The atmosphere in the room shifted when Levi walked in. Intentional or not, his presence was commanding. He made his way over.

“Morning, Grace.”

“Hey.”

Stella sat up straighter, discreetly waggling her eyebrows. She was relentless.

“What topic did your group choose?” I asked her.

She groaned. “Warzone stats.”

“Huh?”

“Call of Duty,” she filled in. “Some nerdy ass game. But apparently there’s full tournaments where players compete and blah blah blah.”

“That sounds–” I searched for the right word. “Interesting.”

“Try boring. Speaking of.” She slipped her bag over her shoulder then stood. “That’s my group. I’ll catch you after class.”

She caught up with two guys. Both were scrawny and short, and wearing ironic t-shirts where the message was totally lost on me. I chuckled under my breath when Stella caught my eye and rolled hers dramatically.

“Would you be free one night this week to watch Australian Rules together?” Levi asked, pulling my attention. “I tried watching a game the other night, and it made absolutely no sense.”

Before I could answer, Ryker appeared at my other side. He was holding two cups of coffee. He held one out for me.

“I guessed your order. How did I go?”

I grimaced, sheepishly. “I don’t drink coffee.”

Levi reached around me, a smug smile playing on his lips. “But I do. Cheers, Richardson.”

After a pause of hesitation, Ryker handed Levi the spare before sitting in the seat Stella had vacated.

“How about Wednesday night?” Levi suggested, stealing my attention back.

I nodded. “Wednesday works.”

Ryker flicked his head in our direction. “What’s Wednesday night?”

“Grace is coming round to watch an AFL game.”

“Yeah?” Ryker powered his laptop. “I’m free. Count me in.”