Sasquatch to the Moon

27: Håkon's Speech

HÅKON

I didn't really expect too much out of the post-diner speeches thing. I mean, Leo's best friend got up and told a goody story about the two of them, Leo's mom told a long winded story about the first time she met Isa, my parents and entire family declined to add any comments. My parents gave Leo their blessing and nothing more. I presume they'll die mad about him, though, they might give him more slack when they come to realize that the hot guy in a forest colored suit sitting a little too close to me has his hand on my upper thigh under the table and his foot hooked with mine. We're communicating back and forth with my finger taps on the table and his hand tapping on my thigh. We're fluent in it. I glance at him, then at the last thing he left on his plate, we go through a sequence of quick taps and I finish off his asparagus. He looks at my water, then his empty one, tap tap tap tap tap and he finishes my water. But, again, I feel like my parents will suddenly adore Leo once they find out I'm gay as a maypole and not about to give it up to make them happy. I've been doing that a little too long. 

When Vera tells a story, the first one in english, Milo's eyes light up and his hand clamps down on my leg, then he spends the whole time trying to call the shots on what she's saying.

"Alright, Håkon, you're next," Vera looks to me.

"Huh?" I manage.

"You're the one that caused all this, I think it's fitting you'd close out the talking." She gestures at me with the mic and I swallow hard, glancing at Rocket.

"C'mon, you gotta," he elbows me, giving me a short knowing look. He knows I didn't prepare for this and hate public speaking without anything prewritten

"Agh, fine," I stand up, gesturing for the mic. Vera gives it a hefty toss and it hits my palms, dropping right through. Milo's hand flies out, snatching it right out of the air like he didn't even think about it.

"Whoops," I mumble. "Good thing I've got a goalie around."

"Clumsy ass," he hands it up to me.

"Yeah, yeah," I smack his shoulder, then climb up onto my chair like Vera was.

"This is where he gives us the post-game speech." Leo calls, "we played well tonight, we just need to work on getting pucks in deep and sealing up our edges."

I laugh, shaking my head. "I'll spare you the agony." Then I clear my throat because fuck I was not prepared for this and shit I'm not as good in front of people as Milo is and damn I'm bad at coming up with stuff on the fly.

"If you didn't know," I start. "I was called up early to the Swedish national team, the under 18 IIHF team. I was just a little too young but they weren't going to tourney until the next year, then I'd be of-age, but I was practicing with the squad early, a sixteen year old in a group of 18 year olds." I pull in a breath, thinking about my next sentence. "I wasn't old enough, well, my parents didn't trust me enough, to head out to practice on my own, it was a half hour away from home to the rink at the time."

I look to Milo for a second for moral support and he gives me a tiny thumbs up so I keep talking. "Being the baby of the team, all the older guys took a liking to me, probably just making sure I didn't get mauled, or whatever, keep in mind I wasn't this big at sixteen. One of those guys was Leo." I gesture at him. "Captain, at the time. And, because I wasn't to be trusted alone getting back and forth to practice by myself, Isa drove me, just to do her homework in the stands while I sweat for five hours every weeknight." I tip my head at Isa. "Still have no idea how she put up with sitting in an ice rink for five hours every night of the week, spare the few days here and there when she actually had something social to do."