Ice Cold

29

Landon Reilly

Our game against Boston College on Saturday was not going well. We had yet to put the puck in the net while BC had done it twice, one of the goals being Micah's.

Micah had really refined his skill since the last time I had seen him play. He was faster and grittier, shining in a way I hadn't seen from him before. I couldn't tell if that bettered or worsened my frustrations about the game; that he was shining while I was doing nothing for my team at that moment. I wasn't scoring or making plays. We were being beat in every sense.

Chris Rojas tried his hardest to encourage his team, as he always did, but nothing was working or going our way. It was a mercy when the game finally ended. Our coaches were clearly pissed about the way the game went, but they didn't say much. They would give us hell on Monday, I was sure.

After showering and changing, I left the locker room where I was immediately faced with Micah's grinning face.

"Good game!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around me in a hug.

"Yeah, for you," I said, putting one arm around him and patting his back.

Micah pulled away and he was still grinning.

"You played great," he said, because he was sickeningly kind and would lie to me as long as it made me feel good about myself.

The two of us made our way out of the rink and out to the parking lot. I was planning on just taking him on the campus bus back to my dorm and grabbing some dinner.

"So what are your plans tonight?" Micah asked.

"Just going back to my dorm," I told him. I knew Micah would be happy with anything we did. He was an easy going, just happy to be there kind of guy.

We continued walking until we stopped at the sound of someone shouting my name. I turned around, confused, to see it was Stella who was yelling with Jess, James, and Wren following behind her.

Wren had his hands in his pockets, his head tilted slightly downward but he was looking up at me. The slight breeze ruffled his hair a bit and his cheeks were rosy from the cold. He looked so soft like that. I wanted the two of us to be able to lock ourselves in my room and hide under my blankets, him holding me against his chest as I fell asleep.

It felt strange even allowing myself to want things like that. I wasn't used to it. It never seemed like it could be a possibility for me. But there I was, imagining running off with Wren and wanting him to be close to me.

However, that didn't mean I wanted him and Micah to meet.

"Are these your friends?" Micah asked with a smile, gesturing toward the group.

"Sort of," I replied.

"Of course we're your friends!" Stella exclaimed. "God, Landon what's it going to take for you to call us your friends?" She said it in a joking way, but I still blushed at her words, which caused Wren to grin at me.

"I'm Micah," Micah introduced kindly. "I'm Landon's friend from home."

Stella introduced herself and the others, pointing to everyone in the group. As she did so, something came to my mind.

"Were you guys at the game?" I asked when she was finished.

"Yup!" Jess answered. "Figured we'd watch while we waited for you so we could all go out after."

I glanced over at Wren. His face was blank, giving away nothing. He hated hockey and skating and everything that had to do with it. But he came and watched me play one of the most embarrassing games of my life.