Pretending to date on thin ice

POV’s Tate

I took a deep breath as I walked outside the Evergreen University Hockey Center. Outside, the weather was absolutely perfect; summer was just starting to give in to fall. There was a slight breeze in the air, but the sun still warmed my face as I took a sip of my iced coffee.

I hadn’t been to the rink in a while, and I’d nearly forgotten how the cafe inside–Skating Sina’s–made some of the best coffee on campus. It made me glad that Eren had needed a ride home from hockey practice since his car was getting detailed. Since I was driving here anyway, I’d also given Mikasa a ride, since her figure skating session was scheduled for the block right after Eren’s practice. The Hockey Center has three rinks, so it tends to get especially crowded around this time. Both the Men’s and Women’s hockey teams have practice, and the figure skating soloists and pairs schedule their time slots for both in the mornings and after class.

Eren takes 2,000 years to get ready after practice, so I’d taken it upon myself to pop in and grab a coffee. The only downside to Skating Sina’s is that they have really shitty lids. They constantly pop open, so they’re literally pointless. Still, for coffee this tasty, it's worth it. It was even worth potentially running into Caleb.

We’d been talking throughout August and early September, but… let’s just say he’s a great guy, but it wasn’t going to work out between us. I’ve been slowly trying to distance myself from him, but he hasn’t really gotten the memo yet. He keeps trying to call me and fix things between us, but there’s nothing he can say or do. It isn’t up to him. It wasn’t really up to me either…

Anyways, he also happens to play for the Scouts, so running in to grab this coffee could have ended with a really awkward encounter. Thankfully, hockey players take their sweet ass time getting out of those locker rooms. Who knows what ridiculous things they’re busy chatting about in there?

I’d once asked Eren, but he told me it was just guy talk. Whatever that means.

The parking lot was starting to calm down. Everyone who had a practice slot coming up was already here, and all the hockey players still hadn’t left yet. My car was parked towards the back since I’d pulled in around rush hour. I slowly began to stroll over to my distant black Jeep, chewing on my paper straw.

All my classes for the day were done, so all I had left for today was to finish grading some papers for the History of War class that I was a TA for. Tomorrow was Friday, and mercifully, I didn’t have any classes then, so my next twenty-four hours would be spent finishing up my work, going over law school applications, and sleeping.

God, I was so tired. This coffee was a saving grace. I could already feel the life rushing back into me. Just as I was about to cross the parking lot, I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. I paused, pulling it out of my jeans.

I let out a long sigh as I read the name: Caleb.

Shouldn’t he have been chatting it up with his buddies in the locker room?

I almost didn’t want to know what he was texting me at this hour. God, did Eren tell him I was here?

I opened the text.

Caleb: Tate, can we please just call? At least explain what’s going on, and I’ll leave you alone.

Explain what’s going on. Fat chance of that. There’s no way he would ever understand.

I stared at the message, feeling that familiar squeeze around my heart as I started walking again. A part of me wanted to turn around and go back inside the rink, break into the locker room, and kiss the shit out of Caleb. But doing that wouldn’t change the fact that I still wouldn’t be able to be with him–and that I still wouldn’t be able to tell him why. It wouldn’t be fair of me to text him back or even call him. Because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that I still wanted him so badly. And he would see it, and he would fight for me, and it would ruin his life.

I was still staring at my phone when I heard someone shout from behind me:

“Hey, look out.”

I barely had time to look up when I felt someone grab my arm and yank me back. My coffee went flying out of my hand. It all happened so fast, I barely registered the thud of a hockey bag falling to the ground and a hockey stick sliding into the street. It landed right where I had just been standing, before a car ran over it. There was a sickening crack as the stick broke in half.

“Holy shit.” The words fell out of my mouth as I froze.

The grip on my arm tightened. “Are you fucking stupid? Watch where you’re going.” The rough voice broke me out of my trance, and I turned around to face my savior.

Shit.

Standing in front of me was the Captain of the Scouts hockey team, Philip Crane, his grey sweatshirt covered in what was left of my iced coffee. The plastic cup was rolling on the ground beside him, but I barely noticed it as I was currently pinned by a set of icy grey eyes. His raven black hair was slightly damp, likely from showering after practice. The material of his soaked sweatshirt clung to his chest, revealing the faint outline of a nice set of abs. I shook my head, forcing myself to shift my focus off his sexy, chiseled features and onto the situation at hand.

I’d almost just become road kill.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry.” The words flooded from my mouth as I glanced back at his discarded gear and broken hockey stick.

His perfectly straight nose wrinkled slightly as he scoffed. “You need to watch where you’re going,” he muttered with annoyance.

I heard the faint sound of a car door opening as I spoke again, “I know, shit, I’m so sorry. Thank you so much, you literally just saved my–”