Ice Cold

41

Landon Reily

The blast of warm air as I entered the coffee shop made my cheeks burn. Wren held the door open for me and got in line where Anthony was manning the register. His gaze lingered on us for a moment then he quickly looked down at his screen.

"Well, good morning, Anthony. Long time, no see," Wren greeted in a teasing tone when it was our turn at the counter. "How is this fine morning treating you?"

"Good morning, what can I get for you?" Anthony responded in a bland tone, acting as if he didn't know either of us.

"I see, you're embarrassed, but it's alright," Wren said. "We'll have two medium hot peppermint mocha lattes."

I frowned at that. I was used to Wren ordering my coffee, but he had been ordering the same thing for me for a while now. Trying something new made me nervous.

"Name for the order?" Anthony asked.

Wren looked back at me with a grin, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable Anthony was with what happened this morning.

"James's roommate," Wren replied.

Anthony looked at him with a deadpanned expression, clearly annoyed with Wren's antics.

"Your order will be right out," Anthony replied and motioned for us to move to the side so he could help the next customer in line.

"You really have to be the most irritating person in the room wherever you go," I said to him, sticking my hands in my pockets to warm them up.

Wren shrugged, a grin still decorating his annoyingly handsome face.

"That's just who I am," he said.

"Why did you change my drink?" I asked as I watched it being made.

"It's seasonal," Wren said. "Perfect for Christmas time. You'll like it."

Once we got our drinks, we went over to our usual table, and Wren stared at me until I tried the drink. I took a small sip and set the cup down. Wren looked at me expectantly.

"You like it," Wren stated.

"It's alright," I replied. "I prefer the caramel."

"Hm," he hummed, taking a sip of his own drink. "So, are you ready for finals?"

I was dreading finals, actually. It constantly felt like I had too much on my plate with school, hockey, therapy, Wren.

"Not really," I admitted, and I felt kind of stupid for it. I was talking to someone who was probably ready for finals at the start of the semester.

"I can help you prepare," Wren offered.

I was saved from having to answer by Anthony walking over to our table and taking a seat beside me.

"Can we help you?" Wren asked, raising his eyebrows at him.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted this morning," Anthony replied, though he didn't sound all that sorry. His voice was stilted like he was reading from a script.

Part of me felt bad for Anthony, but that was mostly overshadowed by my embarrassment due to the fact that when he barged in the room this morning, I was barely clothed under a blanket with Wren. Not that Anthony probably even noticed that. He was too busy with James.

"No need to apologize," Wren said. "I found it quite entertaining. Though, I am dying to know more about what happened last night that made you so angry."

Anthony glared at him. "You can ask him about it."

"And I will."

"I don't know how you put up with him," Anthony said to me with a scoff.