Ice Cold

45

Wren Ridley

With Christmas having come and gone, and the new year upon us, Landon had to move back to the dorms to continue his hockey season. We hadn't really talked about what we'd be doing during that time while I couldn't move back into my dorm for another three weeks.

During that first week, I drove down to New York to watch one of Landon's games, which also turned into a visit with James who insisted on showing me around the city in the freezing cold.

"If you make us late for Landon's game, I'm going to kill you in your sleep," I told him as it got later in the day.

"We're not going to be late, chill out," James assured me.

We weren't late, but we cut it close which irritated me and James knew it. He insisted on bothering me the whole time and distracting me from watching Landon.

I had never cared much for hockey, but I loved seeing Landon on the ice. He was in his element out there, looking confident and poised and elegant. James yapping in my ear the whole time was not a welcome distraction.

After spending an entire day with James, I was glad for the almost four hour drive back home to be alone and listen to my book the whole way. I couldn't even complain about the traffic because it wasn't like I had anything to do or anywhere to be. I got about half way through an audiobook in the amount of time it took me to drive back.

By the second week, I had basically moved into Landon's dorm room. Neither of us would say it, but we were both quite attached to each other. It was bordering on clingy, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I had never had such a connection with someone that made me want to be with them all the time, and I could tell that it was the same for him.

Even though at times Landon was acting a little strange, it was clear that he wanted me to be there. I couldn't tell if the times he acted strange was because of our situation, the way we were so caught up in each other that at times it was a bit overwhelming, or if it was something else like that asshole on his hockey team starting something with him again.

Either way, I tried my best not to point it out so to not upset him. But at times, I couldn't hold it in. And of course, he would brush me off and tell me it was nothing, then kiss my face and make me forget that I ever had a concern at all.

When Landon was gone for hockey practice or games, I had to keep myself busy which was good for the writer in me, but also left me extremely bored. I continued writing and read over my own words hundreds of times to the point where it didn't even feel like I had written what I was reading.

One day Landon came back while I was doing this and I didn't even notice until he stood right behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"What are you working on?" he asked, leaning down to kiss my head.

"Nothing of substance," I muttered, closing out the page I had been staring at for probably close to an hour.

"Are you ever going to tell me about it?" Landon asked, backing away from me to lean against his bed.

I turned to face him, closing my laptop.

"If it ever has a chance of getting published, then yes."

"So it's a book?"

"It's trying to be," I replied, getting up to stand in front of him

"Would you let me read it?" Landon asked, his hands finding their way to my waist. Lately, our hands always seemed to find their way to the other person like they were magnetic. I couldn't say I minded it. I liked Landon's hands on me.