On Thin Ice

14

The week went by quickly with the team winning our hockey game on Thursday night. Luckily for us, we had the weekend off and although I loved the game, I was happy to have a weekend to not have to worry about hockey or school.

Josh and I still hadn't spoken much, but I was able to get the car from him for the weekend, so that I was able to pick up Fox from his house on Saturday afternoon, him insisting the two of us hang out. I wasn't complaining. I was just glad to be able to be around someone who didn't annoy me the whole time.

"I think I understand why you don't usually drive," Fox commented, holding onto the handle above his seat.

I didn't think I was a bad driver, but apparently Fox had other ideas about my driving.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a pot hole right there," he warned instead of answering me, pointing toward an area in the road.

Before I had the chance to dodge the pot hole, I hit it straight on, causing the car to shake. I let a timid, embarrassed smile creep on my face as I glanced at Fox briefly who wore a slightly irritated but also frightened expression.

"Keep your eyes on the road," he commanded, causing me to turn my gaze away from him. "I guess it's true that gays really can't drive," he mumbled.

"Does that mean you can't drive either?" I asked him with a teasing smile as I pulled into the parking lot of our destination.

He gave me a deadpanned look before morphing it into a sarcastic smile and exaggeratedly nodding his head.

"Funny," he bitterly replied, opening the car door and getting out.

I chuckled, following him out of the car and into the restaurant. It was just a casual place, nothing special. Fox decided he wanted to eat here today and invited me to go with him. At first I didn't realize he meant just the two of us, but when he clarified that it would be just me and him, I was pleasantly surprised.

We sat down at a table near the back of the restaurant and began to look through the menus. The food was fairly cheap and the options were typical of what you would expect at a diner. The waiter came to us quickly and took our orders before leaving Fox and I alone.

"Wanna go to my place after this?" Fox asked, sipping his water through his straw.

"Sure," I nonchalantly replied, hiding my excitement. I couldn't let it show that I was overly excited to be spending time with Fox. That would surely scare him off.

When the food came out, Fox immediately dove right into his big juicy burger and practically moaned at the taste of it.

"Don't tell anyone how I've been eating," he warned with his mouth full.

I chuckled, taking a bite of my own sandwich. "You keep eating like this and I'll be faster than you on the ice."

Fox scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Please, you skate like you have lead in your shoes."

I sent him an offended look, my mouth agape. "That's rude and not true at all."

"Whatever you say."

I shook my head at him, about to argue with him further, but my words were caught in my throat when I caught sight of someone I thought I'd never have to see again. My mother's husband, Dave, along with some other men from church. They were probably grabbing lunch together after having volunteered to clean the church today. People from the church all rotated Saturdays that they would volunteer.

"Shit," I cursed, tilting my head down so I could shield my face.

"What?" Fox asked through a muffled voice.