Ginny's POV

NEVER DATE A JOCK. It was the one rule I had when it came to boys, but apparently, I was terrible at following it.

"Jeremy's going to kill me," I said as I rushed across the parking lot with my cousin Jennie at my side. It was my boyfriend's first hockey game of the season, and we were running twenty minutes late. I glanced at my watch and cussed under my breathe---make that thirty minutes late.

We'd been slam by customers at the mall all afternoon and struggled to get out of time. It didn't help that my car took her sweet-ass time to start. Poor Katie hadn't adjusted to our recent move to Beverly Hills, California. She'd been loudly protesting the sudden change ever since my dad dumped us here at the start of summer break.

Her tantrums only grew worse once the winter arrived and the snow set in, but I couldn't even blame her since I was struggling with the cold too. Neither of us belonged her, we were supposed to be cruising around in the Virginia sun, not stuck in this hellscape for my senior year.

As if to belabor the point, my foot skidded on a patch of ice, nearly sending me sprawling onto my back. I was even more out of my depth than even Katie, and I was really begining to wonder if my dad hated me. I knew he was off chasing the job of a lifetime in Europe, but leaving me with my uncle in the middle of nowhere, in California during winter was just so cruel.

"He's not going to kill you," Jennie said.

"He's in the middle of a game, and I'm sure there's a big crowd. He'll just assume you're somewhere among the masses of his adoring fans".

"Maybe." Jeremy was laser focused on hockey these days, so I couldn't imagine him searching the crowd for my face. Not when he had a game to win. " But I'm sure one of the puck bunnies who constantly chase him around school will tell him I was late."

There were a lot of puck bunnies at the prestigious West Beverly High, but only one who particularly concerned me: Ashleigh. Josh said they were just friends, but I got the feeling I had well and truly derailed her plans to tie him down and become his hockey wife when I'd shown up over the summer. I knew she wouldn't hesitate to inform him that I'd missed the majority of the game.

" I'm sure he won't mind. Especially not if he wins." Jennie continued her attempt to reassure as she pushed through the heavy doors of the hockey center. Even after we entered the building, I was disappointed to find a chill still lingered in the air. It was an ice rink, after all, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

"It's his first game of the season, and I've missed half of it," I argued. "He'll be disappointed." We hurried alon the concourse, which was deserted because everyone was already in their seats. It must have been an exciting game because I could hear the crowd going wild. "I'm trying to be a supportive girlfriend."

"Uh, he's lucky you're dating him at all, considering you've had a struck no-jock rule in place since the moment you realized boys existed."

"I've already told you Josh's an exception to the rule. He's nothing like my Pops..." My voice trailed off because my other father was the last thing I wanted to talk about. Not that there was much to say.

My Dad got knocked up and then abandoned by a superstar football player in college (my Pops). He thinks my Pops left him cause he was ashamed of being with him considering how popular he was. My Dad had thought he was his fairytale, but instead he'd turned out to be the villain in those cautionary tales parents told their teenage daughters to scare them into wearing protection. I'd grown up being taught never to trust boys with killer smiles and strong arms, and to run in the opposite direction if a guys life revolved around a sport. I'd always followed my Dad's advice---until this summer.

Josh might have been a hockey star at my new school, but I'd never felt like he was some cardboard cutout jock who couldn't be trusted. I'd come across plenty of them over the years, and he was different.

We'd met at the library over the break. I'd run in there to shelter to a sudden downpour and found him volunteering in the children's section, reading books to wide-eyed little kids. I hadn't realized he was an athlete at the time, or I never would have given him a chance. But we'd been drawn together from the start, and the universe kept throwing us into each other's paths over the summer. I'd well and truly fallen for him by the time I found out he was the captain of Beverly High's hockey team, the Angels. Dating him might have broken my rule, but who was I to mess with fate?

"I mean, I seriously hope he's nothing like your Pops." As always, Jennie didn't sound convinced. She was a hockey hut, so you'd think she'd be Josh's biggest fan. But she'd been warming me to be careful ever since she found out we were dating.

"He's not," I insisted. "Josh's kind and sweet and thoughtful. You know I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't."

"Kind, sweet, and thoughtful are not the adjectives I'd use to describe Josh Forrest. Are you sure you didn't break your no-jock rule just to piss off your Dad for ditching you here? "

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Because you know I wouldn't judge you if that was the reason... "

"That's not why I'm with him."

"Are you sure? Because he can be such a jock."

"He's not that bad."

Jennie stopped and turned to me.

"Ginny, everyone at school thinks he walks on water. Hell, he thinks he walks on water.

Yeah, my cousin's opinion of Josh really wasn't good. I could tell she was only trying to look out for me though. She knew why I'd spent so many years avoiding athletes at all costs. "Technically, he does kind of walk on water," I said. "It's just a little frozen..."

Jennie rolled her eyes but then laughed. "I'm just saying, maybe you don't know him all that well. You only started dating him this summer."

Jennie was right, but we'd shared an incredible few months together, and meeting Josh had actually made my forced move across the country seem worth it. It's not like I was completely oblivious to what she was hinting at though. I had certainly seen a different side to him since school started, especially when we were in public. As captain of the hockey team, he had so many people relying on him and looking up to him. I couldn't imagine what it mist be like to live with the weight of a while towns expectations on his shoulders. Josh was a good guy though. Jennie just needed a little longer to see it too.

"Well, we won't be dating at all if I'm any later to his game. Come on." I grabbed Jennies hand and dragged her towards the rink. As we finally caught sight of the ice, a raucous cheer ripples through the crowd. I shuddered and not just because I was beginning to think I might actually be warmer outside. I was not a fan of hockey.

I'd only been to one game before, years ago, but it hadn't taken me so long to realize the sport wasn't for me. I couldn't understand why anyone would volunteer to play in a literal freezer. I could never keep track of the puck as it whipped around the ice, and the game itself was so violent. The ice, and the game itself was so violent. The players and fans both seemed to goal. Also, did I mention the cold?

"I miss the sun."

Jennie laughed and hooked her arm through mind. "We'll make a hockey fan of you soon."

"Doubtful," I grumbled, but Jennie probably didn't hear me over the noises of the crowd. The excitement in the arena was electric, and I was sure Josh would be relishing the intense atmosphere.

Jennie dragged me up into the stands, grinning broadly at a couple of guys who had torn their shirts off and painted the number twenty-three across their chests. She winked at one of them as she went, and the two guys elbowed each other as they waved back.

"Are you here for the game or the eye candy?" I asked.

"Can't it be both?" There was a wicked glint in my cousin's eyes, and she tucked her lone streak of pink hair behind her ear as she glanced back at the shirtless guys. Jennie could could be such a flirt and was never the least bit afraid of talking to guys. I wished I had half her confidence. I certainly never would have spoken to Josh if he hadn't approached me first.