Ice Cold - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Landon Reilly
There was an icy wind tonight. On an early October night, it was colder than expected. I scowled at the sky as my hair blew into my face. It felt like I was being pushed along the path back to my dorm room, away from the dining hall where I just had a late dinner.
The dining hall was quiet this time of night on a Friday because all the students were too busy being out and getting drunk, which was something I wanted to put behind me after I proved to have bad decision making skills while under the influence. Part of me hated taking Wren's advice, but it was the drinking that led me to him in the first place.
I hadn't seen him all week, steering clear of the Brown campus and my usual running route that leads to the coffee shop he frequents, despite the fact that I was really starting to enjoy their coffee.
And instead of going out and getting drunk at the bar with my teammates, where I would inevitably run into Wren, I stayed in my dorm before having a late night dinner. It was better this way.
But the wind on my walk back to my dorm was making me rethink leaving the warmth of my bed at all this evening. That, and the fact that there were groups of drunk college students every so often stumbling down the walkways as I went.
Now my face was cold, my hair a mess, and my annoyance was elevated as I walked by a group of three girls loudly slurring their words as they walked through campus.
I hurried away from them, stuffing my hands in my pockets to protect my hands from the cold.
I was almost back to my building when I heard someone call out my last name, obviously drunk out of their minds.
"Oh... hey Reilly!" Cooper called out. I ignored him, hoping in his drunken state he wouldn't be able to catch up to me. "Reilly!"
Unfortunately, he did catch up to me, and he latched his hand to my shoulder to pull me to a stop. He wasn't drunk enough that he couldn't hold himself up, but his eyes were glossy and his speech was slurring. He had one of those dopey smiles on his face as he stared at me.
"Reilly, hey..." Cooper said again, keeping his tight grip on my shoulder. "Why didn't you.. didn't you go to Rojas's party?"
"Busy," I grumbled, starting to walk away.
Cooper followed me and stopped us when we were up against the side of my dorm building.
"I was hoping to see you there," Cooper slurred, pressing on my shoulder so that it was against the building.
"I don't do parties."
"Aw, c'mon," Cooper replied with a laugh. "Parties are fun. Rojas throws good parties."
I just shook my head at him and looked around. There was no one in sight and the doors to my building were around the corner. I didn't know who Cooper was with or where he came from, or if he had just been wandering around by himself. But I knew I didn't like being this close to him and I didn't want to be there at all.
"I wanted you there because I..." Cooper trailed. "There's more places to get some privacy and I wanted to... experm? Expermend? Exper..."
My jaw clenched as I put the pieces together to what he was getting at.
"Experiment!" he said with a grin. "That's the word. I wanted to experiment because I heard about you."
I shook my head and started backing away from him before I did something I really regretted like punching him repeatedly in the face until all his teeth fell out. Because if he kept talking, he would send me into a blind rage and I didn't know if I'd be able to stop myself.
Cooper followed me as I walked backwards. Then, before I could even register what was happening, he grabbed my face and planted his lips on mine in a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss.
I stood there in shock for a moment as Cooper moved his lips over my still ones before I grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back so hard that he fell to the ground with a groan.
My breaths were heaving and I looked down at him in disgust before turning around and storming away. I barely registered anything as I walked into my building, bypassing the RA that sat at the entrance checking people in. Muscle memory is what brought me back to my dorm room.
I opened the door to the room and slammed it shut behind me, leaning back against it with my eyes closed and taking deep breaths to soothe my anger.
"Are you okay...?" Kyle asked, startling me. My eyes shot open to see him sitting on his bed, which had been empty when I left earlier.
I worked to slow my breathing as I nodded at him. Kyle looked at me with disbelief, clearly knowing something was wrong with me.
"You're breathing like you ran two miles just to get here," he pointed out, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm fine," I told him, stepping away from the door and grabbing my towel from my closet.
I didn't say another word to Kyle as I left the bedroom for a streaming shower.
My breathing was still heavy, but it slowed some as I stood under the hot water. I scrubbed my face with my hands, willing myself to keep the tears forming in my eyes from falling.
I didn't need to fucking cry over this shit.
I didn't know if it was fear or disgust or anger that made my heart keep pounding at the thought of what had just happened. But the scene kept playing over in my head. I still felt Coopers hands gripping my face and his mouth moving messily over mine.
I spit into the drain, hoping to get the taste of him out of my mouth. But I couldn't even tell if that taste was something my mind made up to disgust me even more.
Kyle stared at me when I walked back into the room, but I paid him no mind. I could dressed from behind the closet door to block his view of me before getting into bed.
***
Monday night's practice was even more uncomfortable than I imagined it would be. Cooper kept stealing glances at me, obviously aware of what he had done to me Friday night.
I had successfully avoided him in class and I would continue to avoid him at hockey for the rest of the season even though I could feel his stare like it was physically touching me, could feel his rough grip on my face, could feel how he put his mouth on me.
I had been in a fog when Rojas came over to me and clapped me on the shoulder.
"What's got you so distracted?" he asked me.
It was then that I had realized the ice was empty except for the two of us, practice having ended without me even knowing.
"Did you even hear Coach say you're starting for the scrimmage against Brown on Friday?"
I shook my head. "No, I didn't hear."
It wasn't surprising to me though. The underclassmen would likely all get a chance to start in games before the actual season started and the roster was solidified.
I skated toward the bench, Rojas following behind me. Most of the guys were already in the showers by the time we got into the locker room. I'd rather die than get naked and shower in the same place as Cooper.
Before I could make my escape, I noticed Cooper in the corner of the room with his friends. I could feel his stare, and when I made brief eye contact with him, he and his friends all looked at me and whispered.
"Are they giving you shit?" Rojas asked, not bothering to keep his voice low. Cooper and his friends immediately looked away.
I glared at him and picked my things up, leaving the locker room before he could say anything else.
***
Wren Ridley
There was a reason I rarely ever went to my own brother's hockey games. Several actually. It was cold, there were too many people packed in there, and it was boring.
So when Stella all but begged for James and I to go to Brown's first scrimmage, my immediate answer was no.
She only wanted us to go because she knew Jess would be there, and instead of just asking to go with her like a normal person, she wanted to casually bump into her and act like she didn't know she was going to be there.
"This shit is so boring," James complained, leaning back in his seat on the other side of Stella.
She glared at him. "It hasn't even started yet."
"Then they need to hurry up," he said with a yawn. "Is Jess even here or are we here for no reason?"
"She'll be here."
"And why couldn't you just come with her?" James asked.
"Because she needs us as an excuse to be here so Jess thinks they're just running into each other by accident," I filled in for him.
"You play too many games Stells," James said. "Almost as many as Wren."
Stella flipped him off and directed her attention to the ice.
Both teams had taken to the ice for warm ups and I had kept my gaze away from them, despite the urge to search for Landon among them.
I hadn't seen him since last week at the coffee shop, and I was kicking myself for letting that bother me. I should've been happy to have him out of my life, but instead I felt strange, an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach taking over me at the thought of never seeing him.
It was disgusting. It was wrong. But part of me didn't care.
Eventually, my eyes did land on Landon. He was standing to the side of the net and shooting pucks into it. He looked focused and poised.
"Oh, fuck me," James groaned, curling up in his seat and hiding his face behind his hand.
"What's wrong with you?" Stella asked him.
I tore my gaze from Landon and looked around, grinning as I saw the reason for James's outburst.
"Something's telling me it's because Anthony is right over there," I said, nodding toward where Anthony sat with his friends.
"Oh, no, why would you think that?" James sarcastically replied.
"Hello my favorite barista!" I called out, causing Anthony to turn around.
He glanced at me and Stella, then to James with an unreadable expression, before giving a slight wave to Stella and me and turning back around in his seat.
"I hate you so much," James hissed.
"What? I was just saying hi to the guy who makes my amazing lattes every morning."
"Oh my God!" Stella exclaimed, throwing out her arms to grab onto James and me. "Jess is over there. I'm going to go walk around and see if she sees me."
With that, she stood up and left us.
"We could just leave," James suggested.
"No, I think I'd like to stay," I replied, causing James to shoot daggers at me with his eyes.
"You're an asshole," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
I just grinned at him, and the game started a few moments later.
I wasn't a fan of hockey, but I noticed everything Landon did on the ice. The way his feet moved faster than everyone else's, the shots he took being harder and more precise than players on both sides. And the way he shook his head when he took a shot that was stopped, looking like he was cursing under his breath.
And when he scored, he barely even celebrated, just nodded a couple times while his teammates embraced him.
Brown ended up losing the game to Providence college three to one, not that it matter much to me. Or at all.
Stella had sat down with Jess after bumping into her and the two animatedly spoke through the entire game while James sat on his phone and I watched Landon like my eyes were glued to him.
James and I met Stella outside where she stood with Jess and her friends apparently waiting for their hockey friends to exit the building.
"Can we go now, Stells?" James impatiently asked.
"Just wait a sec, J," she said, not looking away from Jess.
I sighed and leaned back against the building, crossing my arms over my chest.
"So, we were planning on going to this gay club after the game," Stella told Jess.
"We were?" I interjected.
"And you can come with if you want," Stella finished, ignoring me.
"You sure you don't mind?" Jess shyly asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"No! You should definitely come!" Stella assured her, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "Oh, Landon! You should come too!"
My eyes snapped over toward the door where Landon had just walked out of, his hockey bag slung over his shoulder. His hair was damp from having just showered, the ends of it sticking to his forehead.
"What?" Landon asked, glancing at me briefly before looking back at Stella.
"Come out with us tonight," she said. "We're going somewhere different."
Landon opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when one of his teammates called his name.
"Reilly," the guy called out.
Landon walked over to Jess and Stella, ignoring his teammate.
"Sure, let's go. Can we go now?" he asked.
The girls didn't think anything of his reply before starting to lead him to my car. Landon followed behind them and I quickly caught up to him.
"What happened to never seeing me again?" I asked.
"Shut up," he said, not even looking at me.
"You seem to be in a rush to get out of here."
He glared at me. "Can you not be an asshole for one night?"
"Not sure. I've never tried."
Landon only responded by shaking his head.
When we got to my car, I took his bag and threw it in my trunk while Jess, Stella, and James got into the back seat.
"Do you even know where we're going?" I asked Landon, the two of us bring the only ones still outside.
"It doesn't matter," he said, opening the passenger door and getting inside.
I was sure his attitude would change once we arrived. I grinned at the thought and got in the car.