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worry about sounding goofy to me. I get all bouncy inside whenever I’m with Beau. Plus, you’ve had to listen to enough of my wacko life stories!”
    We turn onto the sidewalk leading to the rink.
    “So, I’m not a crackpot feeling like this?”
    “Well, if you are, I am!” Melissa laughs. “I’m just happy I have someone to swap goofy gaga stories with.”
    “But Beau is officially your boyfriend. I haven’t even had a real conversation with Noah, and there’s no way of knowing if he likes me — at all!”
    “What boy wouldn’t like you, Linds? You’re positively gorgeous and so tiny and smart. It’s just a matter of letting him know you’re interested, and he’ll be all over you.”
    A taste of bile floods my mouth. I flash back to my Stomp date and his octopus arms.
    “Uuugh! Bad word choice, Mel. I don’t want him all over me, but I do want him to ask me out.”
    “Gone” by Toby Mac chimes from my hot pink phone. I carefully slide it from my bag while keeping the other hand on my handlebars and flip it open.
    WHERE R U
    “Hang on, it’s Emma.” I put my feet on the ground so I can text back.
    B THERE N 5
    I read out loud to Melissa,
    CUTE GUYS WITH PADS AND SKS. GOING 2 TAKE THEM ALL FOR MYSELF IF U DON’T HURRY
    Melissa pushes off on her bike again and laughs.
    LOL CANT U W? ON OUR WAY
    Click. I shut my phone, slide it back in my bag, and race to catch up with Melissa.
    “She’s a trip.” I shake my head and snort. “That’s why I love her: she always makes me laugh.”
    When we get to the rink, there is absolutely no one in the hallways. Our gym shoes echo on the polished white floors.
    “I took skating lessons for like a month here when I was a kid, but that was forever ago.” I turn my head. “There are two sheets of ice. I’m guessing they’re on the full sheet, but I don’t know.” I keep walking, but I feel like I’ve had too many Diet Cokes — all jumpy.
    Through the enormous glass windows, I see them skating on the full-sized rink.
    “Okay, how do we get down there?” Melissa asks, shoving her gloves in her kangaroo pocket.
    I’m searching for Noah, but in their helmets and pads all the players look the same. “Uh, this way.”
    There are a few more people here than I expected. I guess because of the scrimmage. Still, they’re mostly parents, so it’s easy to spot Emma, Raven, and Gracie in their colorful puffer vests and jackets. They’re sitting directly above the penalty box.
    “Shew!” I try to hold my breath, grabbing the seat next to Emma. The whole rink smells like the oldest, moldiest sponge that’s been left in a sink for months, past its prime, times a thousand. “It’s rank in here!” Our voices have a hollow, tinny sound in the arena.
    “I warned y’all about the stench,” Raven drawls.
    “Yeah, there’s nothing stinkier than hockey equipment,” Gracie adds. “I won’t get near Drew until he gets all that gear off and showers!” She holds her nose with one hand and attempts to wave the smelly air away with her other.
    Emma leans into me and points. “Noah’s right there — number five.”
    I follow her finger and see him racing down the ice with the puck cradled in his stick. He slaps it into the goal and looks up. He probably heard Emma shouting his name.
    I want to duck under my seat or at least hide behind Melissa, but I’m frozen. Noah’s head nods as if he’s seen me. He skates over to his fellow players, who punch their hockey gloves against his. I’m guessing my cheeks look like I applied my raspberry ice lip gloss to them!
    For the rest of the scrimmage and during dinner at Raven’s, I try to focus on my friends. Melissa’s a mess because Beau’s parents forbid him from dating during basketball season. They don’t think he has time for school, basketball, and Melissa. Raven decided not to play softball this spring so she can focus on soccer. Emma’s annoyed because she always has to babysit her five younger siblings,