[mid-june] #15 & #1 back on the ice

[puckandpie]

Ever since Jack first mentioned wanting to try his skates on again, it's taken nearly all my willpower not to ask about it every single day. It's enough to know that the desire is there at all after everything. It's been months and months now and I was really starting to think maybe he's given it up for good, but just one single statement had been enough to get my hopes soaring all over again.

When he'd mentioned it again a few days later, totally unprompted, I'd jumped at the chance, this time getting a projected day and time out of him and penciling it into my schedule. (And maybe moving around a couple other things to make room for it.)

To my delight and surprise, Jack hadn't even once attempted to squirm out of the date we'd planned and now here we are, walking back into DIA with our skates instead of our swimsuits and I feel like I'm about to vibrate right outta my skin with excitement.

"We can use my pass," I tell him, marching right up to the counter to have it stamped for the both of us. "I come here often enough that I get free skates all the time. And they'll even take music requests sometimes.

Melissa, the girl behind the desk today, smiles wide as I hand over my card and I feel my face flush a little when her eyes immediately slide to Jack and then widen with interest. "New friend, Eric?" she asks, all coy as she gives punches two holes in my card.

"Not new, actually," I tell her, stuck somewhere between nervous and smug when I look over at Jack. Even now, I'm not sure how much he wants strangers to know so I decide to err on the side of caution and smile at her kindly. "We've known each other for years. Went to school together back home. Jack, this is Melissa. Melissa, this is Jack."

Comments

[eatmoreprotein]

My skates have stayed tucked away in my closet with the rest of my hockey gear since I got here, and I have a lot of mixed feelings about taking them out. The rest of it stays for now. We're just skating today. One step at a time.

Bits is right by my side as we walk into the facility, and it feels like any one of those times that we walked into Faber. But it's not. I know it's not. There are stakes riding on this skate and that should make it easier, but I don't know.

Thankfully, I'm distracted from my thoughts when we reach the counter. The girl looks me over in a way that I can't quite decipher. "Hello, Melissa. Yeah, I decided that it was time to come keep him company on the ice. Hopefully I'll get lucky and he'll show me some moves."