Standing to my feet, I immediately clutch onto Brendan. I wobble, almost falling down without even taking one step onto the ice.

He laughs at me, smiling his stupidly cute smile. I hate myself for liking him, it's just so stupid. I'm basically proving to myself that my father's words were right and that I am easily distracted from my studies.

But I can't help how I feel... Can I? I mean, my feelings are uncontrollable and although I want to stay away from him, I can't even get myself to not think about him in the smallest of moments.

It started last night when we got into his dorm.

•

"Do you want another blanket?" Brendan asks me for what feels like the millionth time.

It's quite cold in his room, but I have plenty of blankets to keep me warm.

"Yes, Brendan." I groan.

I hear a small giggle coming from his side of the room. A smile automatically forms on my face, hearing his laugh, but I then question his intention.

"Why are you laughing?" I can't help the small laugh that escapes from my lips as I pose the question.

I hear him position himself in his bed and I try to look over at him, but the room is so dark that I can't even see a foot in front of me.

"Because." He reasons.

"Because, why?" I groan again.

He doesn't speak, but I can tell he's in deep thought about something.

"I like the way you say my name."

My cheeks flush red as I think of something to say. No guy has ever said anything like that to me.

How do I respond? Do I compliment him back? I hope I don't make myself sound like a complete idiot.

For some odd reason, the only word that I think of to say is, "Why?"

"I don't know..." He says vulnerably. "I know we just met but you make me feel happy."

I smile even though he can't see me. I'm ecstatic to know that the feelings are mutual and that I'm not left in the dark, feeling strong things that he doesn't feel.

"I feel the same way." I assure him, playing with my blanket.

"Goodnight, Victoria." He wishes me sweet dreams we drift off to sleep.

•

I'm brought back to reality when my skate hits the ice, the surface is so slippery that my heart pounds and I tighten my grip on Brendan's forearms.

"It's alright, you're doing fine." He skates backwards, both of us looking at my skates.

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself down. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of him.

My heart continues to race, but as I think about it, I come to realize that it isn't from the fear of falling in front of Brendan, it's from the fear of falling for Brendan.

We skate along the boards, his arm around my waist in case I fall.

"I know I'm gonna fall. It's inevitable." I tell him while gripping onto the side of the boards.

"You'll be fine!" He stresses. "I promise I'll catch you if you fall."

I shake my head as we round the corner.

"I think I'm going to need more than one day to teach you everything you need to know about hockey." He laughs.

"Yeah, I think so too." I laugh along with him, referencing my lack of stability on the ice.

He leans down to place a soft, quick kiss on my cheek.

I feel electricity flow through my body from his lips, the kiss sending chills down my spine.

Once I can react, my face turns up to his. My eyes must have gone wide.

"What's wrong?" He asks me, gripping my waist to slow us down.

"Oh, it's n-nothing." I try to force a smile from my genuine shock.

"Talk to me." He groans, taking both my hands into his.

Whenever I'm in physical contact with him, it's like there's some sort of energy flowing through my body; an adrenaline rush.

"I am." I laugh. "Did you stop skating because you're scared that I'll be better than you?" I taunt him, trying to get the focus onto another subject.

"No!" He defends, beginning to skate again.

"That's what I thought." I say matter-of-factly, smiling up at him.

"Wow." He pauses, looking down at me.

"What?"

"Nothing." He mocks me from just earlier.

"Talk to me!" I imitate him as he mocks my words.

"Fine, I'll tell you what I was thinking since I actually talk when someone asks me what's wrong." He looks down at me, taking a breath. "I could look at your smile all day."

My face turns red as it did the night before.

I'm not used to all of his compliments. No guy has ever complimented me as much as Brendan has, and that's why I feel so attracted to him.

"And I like when you blush." He says, making me giggle. "It's cute."

I shake my head and try to focus on my skating.

"I make you nervous, don't I?" He asks.

I nod my head and mumble a yes.

"I'm sorry, I can be a little overwhelming sometimes." He apologizes. "I better tone it down since I plan on asking you to meet me here again another day." He winks at me with a smirk playing on his lips.

I laugh, feeling like a little schoolgirl. He makes me so gitty, so nervous, but he also makes me feel important. He wants to hear what I have to say and what I want to do with my life. He honestly cares about me, and that's what matters most.

We skate around for a few more laps until I tumble down and fall on my face. I start to laugh at my embarrassing fall, but Brendan doesn't think it's the least bit funny.

"Are you alright?" He gasps, leaning down to help me back on my feet.

"Yes," I take his hand that he offers me, and I stand up. "I'm fine, thank you."

"You really scared me." Brendan breathes a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm fine." I give his hand a reassuring squeeze. "And I think that was my queue to stop for today." I continue to laugh.

He helps me off the ice and I take a seat on a bench, bending over to untie my skates.

"I can do that for you." He kneels down to take my skates off for me.

"Thanks." I blush. "And not just for tying and untying my skates, but for letting me crash at your dorm and for these lessons where I'm falling flat on my face the majority of the time." I joke.

"It's not a problem." He smiles. "I just love hockey so much that I love to teach it to anyone who's willing to be taught."

Once we return the skates, we walk back to our rooms.

"Let me know when your next practice is. I'll come and watch." I tell Brendan.

"I'll text you when I find out." He pecks me on the cheek for the second time today, turning around and walking down the hallway back to his room.