Ice Cold - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Landon Reilly
I didn't realize what I was hearing when the door opened at first, so my eyes stayed shut and my head lay comfortably on Wren's chest like it was a cushion just for me. It wasn't until the door shut and Kyle spoke that my brain had caught up to the fact that it was the next morning and my roommate had walked in on me cuddling with Wren.
"Oh wow," Kyle said, still standing in front of the door.
My eyes shot open and I picked my head up to look at him. He stood there with an amused expression, biting on the straw of his coffee cup with a grin. I wasn't as panicked as I thought I'd be. Kyle wasn't cruel, and Wren could always find a way to make any situation casual and calm.
I looked down at Wren, whose eyes were now open, then back at Kyle, unsure of what to say or do.
"Don't mind me," Kyle said, walking over to his side of the room. "Act like I'm not even here."
"You don't want us to do that, trust me," Wren replied, sitting up behind me. My face heated at his words, and I turned around to shoot him a lethal glare.
"What is wrong with you?" I asked.
Wren shrugged, grinning at me before placing a chaste kiss on my lips and getting up from the bed.
"Afraid I have to go or else my schedule is really going to be derailed," he said, making his way to the door. "Kyle, always a pleasure." And with that, he opened the door and left the room.
Kyle and I were silent for a moment, me watching the door and him watching me.
"I had a feeling there was something going on with you two," Kyle said after a few moments. I looked over at him with a blank expression. "There is something going on, right?"
"Something like that," I said with a sigh, getting up from the bed to go to the bathroom.
There was something going on with Wren and me, that was undeniable. He didn't say anything different when I told him I considered him to be more than a friend. There was no more denying it or trying to push each other away, on my end at least. It was exhausting trying to hold onto that hatred and that anger for him. If there was anything that going to therapy for the last few weeks had taught me it was that I needed to have a support system and I needed to let myself be happy, so that was what I was trying to do.
Would being with Wren really make me happy? That I was yet to find out. But being with him allowed me to be myself, my more authentic self. And I liked him more than I thought I ever would despite how he could be sometimes.
When I was finished in the bathroom, my phone started ringing, Micah's name popping up on the screen.
"Hello?" I answered, leaning up against the wall outside my room.
"Hey," Micah replied.
"What's up?" He was probably just going to chew me out for not calling him enough like he was my mother or something.
"I was thinking we could hang out this weekend," Micah said.
"I have hockey," I replied in confusion.
"I know," Micah laughed. "We're playing each other. I'm going to be in Providence on Saturday."
"Oh shit."
I hadn't even realized. My team would undoubtedly start watching game tape of the opposing team this week, but I never really thought much about who we were playing until then. I had a game during the week before we would play Boston College on Saturday.
"Yeah, so I was thinking I could stay Saturday night after the game and just catch the train back on Sunday," Micah said. "I assume you have Sunday off too right?"
"Yeah, I do." But that didn't mean I wanted Micah staying the night.
"So it's cool then?"
"Sure."
"Awesome," he excitedly replied. "I can't wait to see you."
"Yeah, me too."
And I truly was excited to see him, but him being here would mean I would have to spend a weekend away from Wren and our newly established... whatever we were to each other.
"And I can't wait to meet your friends," Micah added.
"I'll have to see what they're doing this weekend." I had no intention of introducing Micah to Wren and the others.
"Cool. I'll see you Saturday!"
"Yeah, see you."
We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. I let out a heavy sigh before pushing my door open and going into my room.
"Is it cool if I have someone stay over this weekend?" I asked Kyle. He raised his eyebrows.
"You mean not Wren?"
I looked away from him. "No, my friend from home. We're playing each other this weekend and he wants to stay after."
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, that's cool. I probably won't be around anyway." I didn't even want to ask where Kyle was off to all the time.
After that, I got ready for class, skipping my morning run. I could just head to practice early and get a run in on the treadmill. I was thinking maybe Wren and me would run together this morning, but he was out of the room faster than I could even think about asking him. Maybe he was more embarrassed about Kyle seeing us than he let on.
Jess was already in class by the time I got there, so I did what I hadn't done for a while: I sat beside her.
"Hey," she greeted with a wide smile.
"Hey," I said. "What's up?"
"Oh nothing," she said. "I'm really glad you came with us to the rink yesterday."
I nodded. I was glad I went too, glad Wren was there. It was sort of nice not having to be alone, actually enjoying time out with friends. I didn't picture myself ever making friends in college, yet here I was.
"It was fun," I told her.
A moment later, Cooper walked into the room and the two of us shared a glare. He nodded at Jess in greeting while ignoring me, and sat somewhere behind us.
"What was that about?" Jess whispered, leaning in so I could hear.
"He and I don't get along."
"I thought you guys were friends?"
"No."
"Hm," Jess hummed. "I never really liked him that much anyway."
I smiled over at her, though it felt odd to do it. She smiled back.
I was glad Jess didn't hold anything against me. She was a nice person, and a perceptive one. She probably knew there was always something going on with me, which lead me to snap at her and push her away. But she never held it against me, and when I was ready to move past that, so was she.
I was glad I had her, especially in this class where I had Cooper shooting daggers at the back of my head.
When I finished my classes for the day, I headed over to the rink early to get a run in. I wasn't the only guy there, but there were only three of us in the workout room and we all kept to ourselves.
After practice ended and I took a shower, I got a text from Wren as I was walking back to my dorm.
From: Wren
Do you want to go for a drive?
To: Wren
sure pick me up in 10?
From: Wren
I will be there in ten minutes.
I laughed slightly at the formality of his text message and walked the rest of the way to my dorm. I changed my clothes and sprayed on some cologne before getting a text that Wren was outside.
Wren, of course, had an audio book playing when I slipped into the passenger's seat, and he said nothing as I put my seatbelt on just before he drove away from the dorm building.
He went the usual way he always did when we took these drives, stopping at a drive through for fries and placing them in the cupholders. Wren rested his arm on the center console as he drove, making me want to reach over and intertwine our hands. But I didn't. I kept my hands to myself, still so unsure of what he wanted from me, of what he would accept from me.
Wren eased my confusion when he reached over on his own and grabbed my hand into his. I was relieved that he did. At least that was confirmation that he had similar feelings to me.
We held hands in silence all the way to the beach. Once we were there, Wren paused his book and shut the car off before picking up his fries and turning toward me, releasing my hand.
"What?" I asked him, self conscious about the way he was looking at me.
"Just looking at you," he said casually.
"Why?"
"Because I find you attractive."
I looked away in embarrassment.
"Shut up," I snapped.
I looked out the windshield at the waves beating against the shore. I understood why Wren liked to come here. It was calming and serene. The glow from the moon against the water looking like a painting.
I could still feel Wren's stare on me.
"What?" I snapped, turning to face him.
He had his signature grin on his face.
"I don't know why you still act so shy around me," he said. "It is quite endearing though."
I didn't want to act shy around him. I wanted to be as confident as he was, to know exactly what he thought of me, what he thought of us. But he just made things so fucking difficult. It was like he didn't want me to know him the way he knew me.
"It's because you're confusing," I told him seriously, picking up my fries out of the cupholder and throwing one into my mouth.
"And what about me is so confusing?" he asked, seeming to be genuinely curious.
"I never know what you're thinking," I said. "Or how you feel."
I hated even saying that out loud. I didn't like Wren knowing my insecurities. He could figure them out just fine, he didn't need me to actually say them out loud.
"Why don't you just ask?"
I gave him an irritated look. Like it was that simple to just ask. He never said anything that he didn't want to say or that he didn't mean. If he wanted me to know something, he would say it.
"Landon," Wren said. It still felt so strange to hear my name from his lips. "Just ask me what you want to know."
"What is this to you?" I blurted, hating myself as soon as I said it. I didn't want to be vulnerable with him. I didn't want him to see me as a fool.
"What do you mean?"
"You're so annoying," I muttered in response. "You know what I mean!"
"Are you talking about how I feel about you and me?" Wren asked, a grin forming again on his face. "Are my affections not clear to you?"
"Stop talking like that," I said. "Just talk like a normal person for once."
"Fine, then let me be clear," Wren said, the grin leaving his face. "I am interested in you. I want you and I to be together."
I let out another sigh. "Okay."
"And now what about you?"
I shot him a look of confusion. "What about me?"
"How do you feel about us? Do you want us to be together?"
"I mean... obviously."
I still felt like a fool even though that was what I was trying to avoid. What was I doing, making him reveal his feelings to me? I was just too insecure to let this go on and see how it went.
"It wasn't obvious to me," Wren replied, popping a fry into his mouth.
"How could it not be?" I asked. "I basically said it yesterday at the rink."
"Sometimes I don't know if you really like me all that much," he admitted. And it felt like this was the first time I was seeing any semblance of insecurity from him. It felt strange, but it also made me feel guilty.
"I just have... issues and shit," I told him. "You know that."
He just nodded.
"Well, that we have that settled," Wren started, placing his fries back in the cup holder.
He leaned over the center console and took my lips onto his. It was surprising that every kiss with Wren felt like something new and exciting.
The kiss was empty for a moment, me almost forgetting to start kissing him back. But then I did and it was like we were connected. I placed my hand on the back of his head, trying to pull him even closer to me. Wren's lips moved slowly and methodically, like he had the whole thing planned out in his head beforehand.
I followed his lead like I usually did, my lips moving along with his like he was directing how he wanted them to go.
Then the kiss sped up. He brought one hand to the side of my neck and and the other was moving down my chest. He brought his hand lower and lower until his fingers brushed the front of my jeans. I gasped into his mouth and I felt his lips form a smile against mine.
Wren took his lips off mine and brought them down on my neck. My breaths were getting heavy as he sucked on my skin and moved his hand over the front of my pants.
"James isn't going to be in my room tonight," Wren said against my skin, goosebumps forming down my body.
"Oh," I breathed out.
"So, you want to go there?" he asked, his mouth still against my neck.
"Yeah." I barely recognized my own voice. I sounded so desperate and I hated it.
Wren backed off and it felt like I could breathe fully again. He started the car and started making his way back to his dorm. This time, I wasn't afraid to grab onto his hand.
By the time we got back to his room, I was full of nerves. I didn't know what to expect or what he was planning to do, but I knew I wanted to please him. It seemed like Wren was always the one doing things for me, initiating whatever moments we had. I didn't want it to be like that.
Wren led me to his room, our hands connected. Once we were both inside, Wren shut the door and pushed me against it, his lips finding their way to my neck once again.
I let my hands roam his body, up his shirt to caress his back, and to the front to rub my hand down his smooth, toned abdomen. My hands went lower, to the top of his pants, before I made it to the button of his jeans. I hesitated for a moment before unbuttoning them slowly, waiting to hear any sounds of protest come from Wren.
I heard none, so I continued. I popped the button before slowly lowering the zipper on his jeans. Wren sucked hard on my neck, causing me to let out a loud moan.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Wren asked against my skin.
I didn't answer. Instead, I lowered myself to my knees in front of him, grasping his pants and boxers.
"Have you ever done this before?" Wren asked me.
I looked up at him with narrowed eyes.
"No, Wren, I've never fucking done this before," I said. He grinned down at me, catching my chin with one of his hands.
"And you're sure you want to?"
"I wouldn't be down here if I didn't."
"Well, go ahead then," he encouraged.
My nerves doubled at that moment. All I could think about was making a fool of myself, doing so poorly that Wren wouldn't want me to touch him ever again. He must have known I was feeling this way, of course he would, because he ran his thumb over my bottom lip.
"You'll be fine," he said. "I've never heard of a bad blowjob in my life."
That was only slightly encouraging.
I pulled his pants and boxers down together and paused. I knew exactly what I was doing when I put myself in this position, but now that it was here in front of me, I hesitated.
"Stroke it first," Wren instructed.
So I did just that. I spit in my hand before placing it on him, easing the friction. He grew in my hand and started making little noises of pleasure. I was sure he would be happy with me just getting him off like this, but I wanted to go further.
I stopped stroking and put my mouth on him. Wren let out a breathy moan, looking down at me with hooded, glossy eyes. He put his hand in my hair, but he didn't move my head. He let me do all the work, going at my own pace.
"Fuck..." he breathed out.
That encouraged me more, choking a bit as I continued to take more of him into my mouth.
This sensation ended up being different than I thought it would. I had thought it would be awkward, or that I would be disgusted with myself. But it was neither of those things. It turned out that I liked making Wren feel good. I liked seeing him come undone in front of me. He was always so calm and collected. Seeing him so desperate and needy was the hottest thing I had ever seen.
Wren's breath got heavier as I continued and just as he was about to finish, he took himself out of my mouth and finished in his hand. He was breathing heavy as he grabbed a tissue from his desk to wipe his hand.
After he cleaned off, he walked back to me and pulled me to my feet before kissing me again.
"Why'd you do that?" I muttered against his lips.
Wren pulled away but kept me near. "I didn't think you'd want it in your mouth the first time."
I looked away from him for a moment, but he took my face in his hand and made me face him.
"That was so hot," Wren said. He always knew when I was feeling insecure and unsure of myself. And sometimes, when he was feeling nice, he would reassure me.
A smile formed on my face without me realizing. Wren shot me a wicked grin.
"And I plan to give you lots of practice."