Lie and Tie

Ashley’s POV:

I looked at the clock in my car one more time before pulling my key out of the ignition and getting out of my car. I walked quickly into the Garden and handed over my ticket. There was still a lot of time before the game started and the guys were going through some pregame warm-ups. There were some fans who came extra early to watch this and I looked around at them all. As I was scanning the crowd I saw a little hand wave before she called out, “Coach! Hey Coach!”I grinned as I recognized Zoey and her family standing next to the glass. I went over to them and gave Zoey a hug before turning to her mother, “Hi, Rachel how are you?”

“I’m well honey, how about yourself?”

I sighed and smiled, “Getting there.” She nodded understandingly.

I then turned to Zoey, “You ready for me to come back and be your coach again?”

“Yeah! I missed you so much! I can’t wait for lessons to start up again!”

I grinned and turned back to her mother, “I’m really sorry that I couldn’t do the summer portion of her lessons and that you had to find another coach for that.”

She waved me off, “Trust me, I understand I was in college once I remember how busy end of the year and beginning of the year can be and how you want to travel during the summer. It’s really nothing and it actually works out great because her summer coach doesn’t teach winters because of similar reasons. It’s all good and we are happy to have you back.”

“Thank you.” Just then I looked beyond her and onto the ice and caught Tyler watching me closely. I caught his eye and he motioned for me to come over to one of the doors so we could talk. I said my goodbyes to Zoey’s family and walked around the rink, climbed over the railing and stood at one of the doors to the rink.

Tyler’s POV:

I woke up real early and got to the rink for morning skate. Afterwards I came home and napped before getting back in my car and heading back to the arena. I felt locked in a rut. As I drove past Maggie’s I found myself tempted to stop in and see if Ashley was there today but then thought of all the awful ways that could play out before I kept on my way to the Garden. Once there I geared up and hit the ice, all without saying a word to anyone.

It wasn’t that I was necessarily ignoring anyone, I just wasn’t engaging in communication with them. I would nod and acknowledge them as needed but nothing more. As we were skating around for warm-ups Zee skated up to me and said “Look to the goal,” before skating away. At first I was completely confused and angry with his comment. Then I noticed who was behind the glass near the goal. I was frozen and stunned. She was just standing there with a smile on her face talking to a family as if she had run into them at the grocery store and not at a hockey arena; a place that she hates that just so happens to be her ex-boyfriends “office.” Just then she caught my eye and I motioned towards one of the rink doors. She got the hint and said goodbye to the family and walked over. As I was skating over I could feel the entire team watching the two of us. I opened the rink door and closed it behind me.

For a moment we just stood there and stared at each other. Then I found myself grinning mischievously down at her after noticing she was wearing a Seguin jersey. She frowned before breaking out in a grin and laughing, “What?”

“I like your sweater.” She looked down real quick before looking up again and saying, “I don’t know I still think I should have gotten the Marchand one.” I scoffed at her before we lapsed into another comfortable silence. After a minute she shuffled uncomfortably before blurting out, “Hockey. It’s hockey. That’s our lie and tie.”

I knitted my brow together in confusion. I had absolutely no clue what she was talking about. “What do you mean Ashley?”

She looked up at me sadly, “I lied too. And I’m sorry. But here is the truth. I came to Boston because I got a full scholarship here. I got a sports scholarship, for ice hockey. I played almost the entire freshman season as a right wing and then in one of the last games, I went through the glass and got carried out on a stretcher. I woke up from my coma a month later. It took me forever to be able to do simple tasks like walking up the stairs, again. I didn’t want to leave Boston though and I didn’t want to leave the ice. So last year, sophomore year, when I had recovered enough I started coaching figure skating. That little girl you saw me with, that’s Zoey. I coach her and she is amazing. I love figure skating and I had done it all through high school only to drop it once I got here for college. I don’t like hearing about ice hockey and all that because it reminds me about my incident and how my time as a hockey player ended. And that’s what I mean about our lie and tie being hockey. We both lied about hockey and yet that’s what we share in common the most.”

I stared down at her in complete shock. This was so much more than I had expected to come from her mouth and for a minute I wasn’t sure if this was real or just a dream that I couldn’t wake up from.

“Ashley, I-“ but I stopped myself and cupped her face in both my hands and kissed her. I felt her wrap her arms around my neck as she kissed me back and I could hear the rest of my team high fiving and cheering on the ice.When I pulled away she looked up at me with a smile.

“Ashley Saige Jones. Even before I found out you were a hockey player, I knew I was undeniably in love with you.” She laughed and replied, “Tyler Paul Seguin, I like you so much better as a hockey player than a boring lawyer, but I was still in love with you as a lawyer.” And she reached up and pulled me down for another kiss.

Notes

Thank you all so much.
1. for sticking with my story when i go through updating droughts.
2. for always commenting and motivating me to keep updating.
3. for being such great subscribers.

now i hope you will all continue the wonderful above things and follow this story into its next part which is under another title.

so once again thank you all for sticking with me during this story and if you would like to find out what happens after this final chapter of Lie and Tie, then please continue reading it in part two:
Tied Together

please subsrcibe to it and I hope to update more often.

Also i would really love to hear what you have to say about this last chapter so please comment!

As Always:
Love!
-E