Page 7 of Rivals

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Trevor was convinced that this was going to be a date.”

“He’s a smart one.”

“Yeah, he is.”

I took Alex’s hand as we left the café. The chilly snap in the air felt great against my face. Even better was the warmth of his hand, while the cooler air wrapped around us. It was very comfortable.

I’m not sure who lead the walk. We were in his neighborhood, but every now and then I’d lead us down a block just because it seemed nice. I heard more about his job, which sounded great. I had no idea he was a writer at heart.

We window shopped a bit, and sometimes went into stores that were still open, trying to take advantage of the just-started Christmas shopping season. It became clear that he liked to look at clothes, whereas I gravitated towards housewares.

It was surprising how long we’d just walk—quiet and peaceful. We never broke our handhold, unless we were looking at something in a store. This was the best date I’d ever been on. It was like I’d known Alex forever, which I guess I kind of had, but it was new at the same time. We ended up in a park and sat down on the edge of a dry fountain.

“Is it too corny if I say that I don’t want this night to end?” Alex asked. “I didn’t know a date could be this great.”

“Me either.”

We sat across from each other, cross-legged on the fountain’s rim. Our knees touched. “What’re your friends going to think when I show up at the game tomorrow? A guy they don’t really know.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s not like they don’t know about me.

My guess is they won’t say anything. Why do you ask?”

“Little nervous I guess.”

I squeezed his hand, trying to be reassuring. “Don’t be. They’re good guys. I wouldn’t hang with them if they weren’t. Besides, they’re gonna like you. You play good hockey.” I kissed his hand. “Plus you’re with me and that’ll make it okay.” I placed another kiss where I’d put the first one. He shuddered. “You getting cold?”

“No. Not at all. That kiss did that.”

“Glad you liked it.” The little bit of light around the fountain glinted in his eyes perfectly. The green was amped up, like looking into shimmering stained glass. I knew I was looking too long, but it was impossible not to. “Here’s my corny comment. Your eyes are amazing. I’ve loved them from the first time I took a face off against you as a sophomore. The green is stunning. It was the first thing that attracted me to you. Those eyes starting out through your face mask.”

“For me, it was your hair, super dark, kinda curly.” He reached across and ran his hand through it. “Our second game against each other, you warmed up with your helmet off. I had a hard on the whole game. Do you know how hard it is to skate with that in your cup?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve been there. Always because of you.” I unfolded my legs, which were starting to stiffen up. I ended up grunting as I stretched out. “Sorry. That crash into you took more of a toll than I expected.”

“Are you letting yourself get out of shape?” Alex’s mischievous look delighted me even as he poked fun.

“Remember, it was me who beat you.”

“It was planned. I couldn’t let you look bad in front of Trevor.”

I couldn’t decide if he was kidding or not.

I stood up to stretch so I could pop all the kinks I was feeling. “Let’s see how your off-ice conditioning is. See if you can catch me.” I took off running across the grass before he could get up.

I heard his footfalls behind me. I started zig-zagging, heading towards the trees. I ran all the time in the hills of San Francisco, so on this flat ground, even around trees, it was easy to maintain speed. I spun around and ran backwards so I could see where Alex was. I couldn’t find him.

Going into the trees might have been a mistake, too many options. I turned around and charted a course to bring me back out into the open. I looked around, keeping an eye out for Alex. He was good at being stealthy. I heard nothing, except for the noise I was making.

“Gotcha!” I was just about to clear the tree line when Alex jumped in front of me. He kept moving, backing me into a tree.

“Shit, man, how’d you do that?”

“I played in this park as a kid. You can’t get away from me here. Once you went into the trees you were doomed.”

“If this is doomed, I’m good with it.” I pulled him towards me so his body was fully against mine. It was my turn to shudder. “And no, I’m not cold. You against me, it’s a dream come true.”