Breaking the Ice

one

It had started to drizzle, the light rain making the lights from nearby streetlamps hazy. I wandered through the empty parking lot, trying to process the events of the day.

It had started with hockey, as many things in my life do.

My hockey practice had ended earlier than usual, but I ended up staying a little late to help Robert, the owner of the rink, clean up a bit. He was an older man, with coffee-colored skin and graying dreadlocks that swung past his shoulders. An old friend of my mom, Robert had been a constant in my life since I was a baby. He had owned the skating rink for something like twenty years, having opened it after an injury took him out of the National Hockey League. Previous to crushing his ankle, he had been one of the best players in the NHL; now, however, he staggered around with a slight limp and could barely skate without help.

"Alright, I'm just about ready to head out," I sighed, checking my watch. It was a little after six, and dinner was usually on the table by seven.

Robert smiled, pointing to the small pile of miscellaneous items we had collected during our cleanup. "Do you mind running a couple of things down to the lost n' found before you go?"

I nodded, scooping the assortment of water bottles and forgotten hockey jerseys into my arms. "I've got it. See you next time, Rob."

"Thanks for helping out today, Luke. Tell your mother I said hi," he said, grinning, before returning to his work.

After helping out with the Zamboni and sorting through some rental skates, I was tired out, ready to go home. Hurriedly making my way to the men's locker rooms, I stumbled through the door, trying not to drop the collection of objects stacked in my arms. They teetered slightly, the little tower of water bottles and hockey pads crumbling. I fumbled, trying to keep them from falling, when a second pair of hands reached to help steady them - long, nimble fingers working to quickly gather them all up into my arms.

I shifted my gaze to thank the person who helped me, but the words died in my throat.

My first thought was: wow.

He was a good few inches taller than me, with a lean build hugged in gray sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. A dainty, contoured face, bleached-blond hair, and the most beautiful pair of eyes I've ever seen: speckles of green and gold swimming in a deep blue, like the ocean's waves glittering in the moonlight.

He was nothing short of gorgeous.

The boy gave a warm, close-lipped smile and made striking eye contact, retracting his hands back from my arms and going to hold open the locker room door. My skin sizzled under my clothes where he had touched me. As he turned his mesmerizing gaze away, I finally found my words. "Thank you."

"No problem. Glad I could help," he shrugged, hoisting his skating bag higher on his shoulder. He shot me an odd look as I passed through the door, subtly looking me up and down before following behind me. "What is that stuff anyway?"

"Lost and found," I replied, turning to the little office connecting the two locker rooms where Robert stored missing belongings. "I don't suppose you're missing a pack of condoms, are you?"

The boy's attention shot to me, eyes wide and dancing with humor. "You're serious?"

I laughed, carefully reaching into the front pocket of my sweatpants and pulling out a decorated keyring, sifting through it to find the key to unlock the door. "Yeah, we found them in the ladies' room."

Dropping his bag on a bench between a row of lockers, the boy chuckled. "Some people just can't keep it in their pants, huh?"

Shrugging, I finally found the right key and unlocked the door, pushing inside and dumping the items on a table. I began to sort through them, tossing jackets on the clothes rack and water bottles in a large bin in the corner. "It happens more often than you might think. Last week there was a half-used bottle of aloe vera in the men's showers. Don't think anyone's getting burned in autumn."