My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 40

Nina

“Fancy seeing you here,” Justin said with an oddly warm smile. “Can I sit with you?”

I bit my lip and glanced around quickly, half expecting Lisa or someone else to be snickering nearby as if this was all a prank -- but there was no one else. It seemed as though he came alone. Why was he acting so different all of a sudden and dressed like Enzo? It all felt a bit weird and I didn’t really want to stick around to see what would come of it.

“I was actually just leaving,” I said, shutting my laptop and standing as I slipped my things into my bag. Justin looked immediately saddened, but what could I do? He was my ex and I had made it clear, multiple times, that I wouldn’t be open to any sort of friendship or relationship with him after I found him cheating on me with Lisa in my own bed!

“Oh,” Justin said with a sad frown, his shoulders drooping. “Well, see you around, then.”

I managed a pitiful smile before turning on my heel and practically running out of the coffee shop.

What was all that about?

Jessica and Lori were waiting for me when I got home. Jessica was sitting on the floor with a little handheld mirror as she did her makeup, and Lori was texting on the couch when I entered.

“You’re going out with us tonight,” Jessica said matter-of-factly, not looking up from the mirror.

I stopped in the kitchen and cocked my head. “Oh?” I replied, a bit annoyed that it seemed that my roommates had decided for me already. “And where are we going?”

“Some new club in town,” Lori replied. “It’s their grand opening. Free drinks.”

I sighed, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get out of this if both Lori and Jessica had already made up their minds. I loved them, but they were both extremely stubborn.

“Alright,” I said, tossing my bag down on the counter and heading to my room to shower and get changed.

“How was your date?” Jessica asked, looking over her shoulder at me with a smirk. I paused at my door, not wanting to think about Justin randomly showing up like a clone of Enzo.

“It wasn’t a date,” I replied. “We were just studying. And… It was nice.”

Jessica grinned and returned to her makeup.

…

A few hours later, Jessica, Lori and I were standing in line outside the club, waiting to get in.

“I told you to bring a coat,” I said to Jessica, who was shivering and rubbing her arms. She was wearing nothing but a skimpy, sparkly pink dress with heels while Lori and I were both comfortable in the cold with our jackets on over our outfits.

“It’s too much trouble,” Jessica replied. “I hate having to deal with coat check.”

Lori and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

“Next,” the bouncer said, waving us forward. He let us through without so much as checking our ID’s, which he had been doing with all of the girls so far. It seemed that they just wanted as many college girls as possible inside, which was a somewhat gross practice in my opinion.