by Will Knauss
“Oh yeah. High school was all about getting into a college with a good program where I could get noticed. Don’t get me wrong—the education was important too, you know, in case I didn’t make it to the pros. I admit, I’d been worried about bailing my senior year, but I wasn’t going to pass on my chance to get into the draft.”
“I thought you finished college? I could swear Pam told me you had a degree in… oh, what was it?” Aaron searched his mind for the missing detail.
“Communications.” Caleb’s smile warmed Aaron far more than the coffee. “I split my senior year between online and summer school. It took a couple years to get it done, but I finished.”
Aaron studied Caleb further. He was full of surprises. Sticking with school while he was a rookie was impressive, and even more so because he likely could’ve finished much later.
“My turn.” Caleb broke into Aaron’s thoughts. “Always wanted to be a teacher?”
“Ever since I was tutoring in high school. That moment when someone connects with the information is so fulfilling. I get to do that every day, and I love it.”
“Just like you did with me.” Aaron tingled as Caleb spoke softly. “I’d love to come watch you teach some time.”
“Really?” Sure, he had people sit in on his classes from time to time, but why would Caleb what to do that? Would Aaron even be able to concentrate with him there, or would he be stuck stammering? “It’s not exactly a spectator sport.”
“Well, you’re going to see my teaching skills, of a sort, in action. I should get to see yours, no?”
“I suppose. Would you be willing to talk to the class about what it’s like being a pro athlete?”
“Hey, now, don’t try to change what this is about.” Caleb bumped his shoulder against Aaron’s. “I want to see how you do it.”
Aaron recovered quickly even though the brief touch from Caleb had sent a wave of excitement through him. “Yeah, but if you don’t talk to the class, they’re not going to pay attention since there’d be a celebrity in the back of the room.”
Caleb cocked his head and looked at Aaron as if weighing carefully what he’d heard. “Okay. I don’t want to be a disruption.” Caleb’s dazzling smile nearly destroyed Aaron’s composure because it was breathtaking. “Name the day and I’ll give some sort of career-day-type spiel, and then I’ll watch you do your thing.”
“I’ll look over the plans for next week and let you know what day’s good.”
Caleb gave a sharp nod. “Perfect. Say, what do you think about getting the pie to go and taking that stroll?”
“Good idea.”
“We can get to the part of the evening where you show me all the new sights of our bustling little metropolis.”
There was plenty he could show Caleb in this neighborhood. “Of course. I’d love to get a place in this part of town one day, so I know the area pretty well.”
“Great.”
They flagged down Javi, who quickly had their dessert ready to take with them. “Here’s the pie,” he said, handing them a bag with the restaurant’s tasteful logo stamped on the side. “The chef said that tonight was his treat and that, if you’re not too busy, he’d love to get together while you’re in town.”
“Please tell Nate thank you and that it was superb. And I’ll give him a call.” Caleb pulled out his wallet and removed some bills. “Thank you, Javi, for taking such good care of us.”
Javi took the cash and looked at it with wide eyes. “Thank you, that’s very generous. I’ll make sure this gets into the tip pool for tonight.”
Caleb smiled, looking extremely pleased. “Have a good night.” He clapped Javi on the shoulder before turning to Aaron. “Let’s walk.”
Chapter Seven
CALEB worried that Aaron wasn’t having a good time. The evening was supposed to just be two people catching up. Yes, Caleb found Aaron more attractive than ever, and he’d love the chance to take things further. But he wouldn’t risk the renewed friendship, or Pam’s wrath, just to get what he’d wanted since he was sixteen. So far Aaron hadn’t seemed interested in going down that path.
“You sure this walk’s a good idea?” Even as he asked, Aaron led them away from where the SUV was parked and down a sidewalk filled with storefronts.
“If my foot acts up, I’ll let you know,” Caleb said as he looked at the buildings around them. “This area has really transformed. Pam said there’d been changes, but this is quite impressive.”
“Most of it’s happened in the last year. Nate moving in and updating the look of the building before he opened has a lot to do with it, from what I’ve heard. New places are still popping up in this area too.”
“I remember when hardly anything was open after seven, even on the weekends.” Caleb traded nods with the people who acknowledged him. “It’s weird seeing all this activity and it’s almost nine.”
“Pam and I spent many weekend nights sitting in the same booth at Denny’s because it was the only place open late.”
Caleb enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Denny’s was the place he and his teammates would go after hockey games because it could easily accommodate a couple dozen hungry teenagers. “It still around?”
“Oh yeah. Most of the new places are too expensive for the high school crowd, so they still end up there.”
“It’d be fun to get Pam and hang out in your old booth.” Caleb laughed at his idea. “If you’d let me, that is. You two never wanted me to hang around there.”
“You were a junior and her brother. It just wasn’t right.” Aaron became more animated and Caleb liked it. It was the freest Aaron had been all evening. “As the local sports star, I think you’d decide who could sit with you. And I’m sorry to say, our booth is gone. They remodeled, and that side of the restaurant is all freestanding tables and chairs.”
“I can’t believe Pam let them do that.”
“Right. Although she blames me since I wasn’t here to help stop it.” Aaron’s mood faltered. Caleb knew Pam would’ve only meant that as a joke, so the reaction was strange. “Sometimes she acts like I didn’t miss her because I didn’t visit, but it just never worked out.”
“What’s important is that you’re back now. One day she won’t hold that over your head. Either that, or you could try to get Denny’s to put her booth back.”
Aaron laughed so hard that he snorted, and Caleb’s heart soared. Whatever funk had threatened had been pushed aside.
“Oh, this is nice,” Aaron said, stopping to look in a storefront window. “We were just talking about this.”
The large oil painting captivated Caleb. Broad, vibrant brush strokes depicted the woods and pond he and his friends had played on every winter before they’d gone their separate ways. The perspective was looking through trees, with the ice and players in the distance. Tree branches were bare except for a few evergreens, and snow covered the ground while the slate-gray sky hinted that more snow was on the way. He was transported back some twenty years, as if the painter had been a voyeur during one of Caleb’s many afternoons there.
“It’s beautiful,” Aaron said, standing close to Caleb.
Caleb said nothing, lost in the painting and the memories it conjured. He didn’t know art, didn’t know how to describe why this picture pulled on him. There were photos of him at the pond, some with a similar point of view, but they didn’t capture the feelings this did.
“I might need to come back when the artist is here,” he said quietly. “It’s really breathtaking.” He gazed at it for a few more moments before his attention drifted to Aaron’s soft smile reflected in the glass. The way the corner of Aaron’s mouth quirked up into a slightly lopsided grin caused butterflies to churn in Caleb’s stomach. It was so damn sweet. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s a gorgeous painting. I’m sure the artist would love to know your reaction.” Aaron said, putting his hand on Caleb’s shoulder before quickly removing it.
The ge
sture implied a casual intimacy. Something Caleb didn’t mind at all, but Aaron obviously didn’t feel was appropriate for two friends out for a casual stroll.
“Kids still play on that pond, right?” he asked.
“Of course. They were out there all the time last winter, even during snowstorms.”
“That’s the best time to play.” Caleb tore himself away from the window, and they meandered along the sidewalk. “It snowed during the outdoor game the Rangers played in a couple of years ago. You’d swear all the players had become ten years old again. Both teams had a blast and wanted it to go to overtime so we could keep going.”
“I watched that. It looked fun, but, man, the people in the stands looked cold.”
“It helps to stay moving and to have heaters on the bench,” Caleb said with a wink.
It was hard in moments like this to forget that this wasn’t a date. It was a wonderful evening and the best nongame night Caleb could remember in a while. So many feelings had flooded him when Aaron had put his hand on his shoulder for that brief moment. He wasn’t sure what had spooked Aaron, but he wished for the contact again.
What would it dating Aaron be like? Caleb had fantasies about it in high school. He’d envisioned Aaron asking him to prom. He’d seen Aaron in his tux that spring, and the image was seared into his brain—even more than a decade later, he could conjure it up. There’d also been a dream where Aaron took him to Homecoming and they ended the night making out under the bleachers.
As they walked Caleb continually fought the urge to hold Aaron’s hand. The street gradually turned from storefronts to houses. Caleb had always liked this part of town, with its slightly older homes that usually had a lot of character. His parents’ house was in a cookie-cutter-type neighborhood, and while they were nice houses, they just weren’t that interesting. It was nice that the artsy, revitalized part of downtown they’d just passed through led right to these older homes.
Aaron suddenly stopped. “No way.”
They stood at an intersection, and to their right was a smallish house, which, other than a mowed lawn and trimmed landscape, hadn’t seen much upkeep. There was a For Sale sign in the yard with a notice that the price was newly reduced. It was a corner lot, which provided a large front and side yard. Caleb thought the word cottage would best describe the house since it took up only about a quarter of the available space.
Aaron went across the lawn to the sign and pulled out an information sheet from the plastic holder. He groaned as Caleb approached.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve been hoping this place would drop in price, but it’s still out of my price range,” he said, showing Caleb the new list price. “It came on the market six months ago. I’d love to refurbish it. It’d be so cute. Imagine all the trim and shutters a pristine white, and the cedar shake siding back to its darkish red color.”
“You’ve thought a lot about this.” Caleb loved the dreamy look in Aaron’s eyes and the passion in his voice.
“Yeah.” Aaron furrowed his brows in disappointment. “I know that one day I’m going to come by here and the word Sold will be across this sign.”
“What’s it like inside?” Caleb asked, wanting to hear more about this place that captivated Aaron.
Aaron grinned broadly. “It’s trapped in the fifties and sixties. It needs work desperately. But even as is, it’s cute.” He looked wishful, as if considering the possibilities. “I wouldn’t make it all modern—some of that fifties Cape Cod style is what I like—but the kitchen cries out for updated appliances, and the floors need a lot of love.”
Caleb grinned as Aaron went on.
“Two bedrooms, including one that takes up most of the upstairs. There’s a garage around back. And this yard… can you imagine what could be done out here?” Aaron spread his arms wide to encompass the space, and Caleb could easily see many things that would make it incredible.
“Have you put in an offer?”
“I haven’t had the nerve,” he said, stepping away from the fence and seeming to come back to reality. “It really is out of my price range.”
It was a nice house, and even in its current condition, it looked solid. Aaron’s vision appealed to Caleb. While his loft in the city was well-appointed, even before making this trip home, he’d often considered getting a house outside the city that was simpler, more cozy. It seemed Aaron was going for that feeling too.
“Come on. Let’s go before I decide to break in and become a squatter.” Aaron laughed as he said it, but there was a tinge of regret too.
Caleb was seeing a whole new side of Aaron, and it made him want to know even more. It wouldn’t be a completely bad idea to spend the off-season in Foster Grove.
Even as he rolled these thoughts over, Caleb recognized the feelings that were rising up after a long dormancy. He was crushing on Aaron Price, just like he always had.
Chapter Eight
AARON had dreaded this afternoon since he’d gotten home Saturday night and thought about what he’d committed to. He could handle seeing Caleb again. Saturday had been amazing, but he wasn’t going to date Caleb. So why did he care if Rick was on the hunt? There wasn’t an answer—other than that he did care.
Aaron went straight to the rink from school because he wanted to arrive before practice to get laced up and comfortable on his skates. It hadn’t been a lie that he knew how to skate; it’d just been a few years. He hoped walking around the lobby for fifteen minutes would help remind him what it felt like to be in skates and get him ready for the ice. As he paced, players, already dressed for practice, arrived with their parents. Aaron liked seeing that when Caleb strolled into Wonderland Ice Palace, he didn’t have the cane. It took only a moment before he was surrounded by kids excited to see him. It took Rick blowing his whistle to remind the kids to finish preparing for practice.
Whatever vibe there’d been between Caleb and Rick at the café wasn’t there. It was stupid to think it would be. This wasn’t the place for it.
Rick called Aaron over to where he stood with two other adults who were also on skates. Rick introduced him to Ian and Kelly. “Thanks to Aaron for joining our volunteer ranks this afternoon. Caleb’s going to take the team through plays and drill, and it’ll be more important than ever that you three make sure the players are on point and paying attention. I’ll split you up among the different groups, and as always, you’ll help move barriers and cones to keep practice running smooth.”
Rick blew his whistle again and announced it was time to hit the ice. Kids stampeded toward the entrance. Aaron and the other assistants followed the trail of eight- and nine-year-olds from the lobby to the rink.
“It’s good to see you.” Caleb fell in step next to Aaron, who concentrated on how he was walking. “How was the rest of your weekend?”
Aaron’s heart got fluttery with Caleb next to him. “Busy, but good. Had to grade a test and review book report outlines.”
“Oh man, I hated outlines.” Caleb visibly shuddered, and Aaron didn’t know if it was from the chill in the air or the memory of the school work.
“Everyone does.” Aaron chuckled. “We learn in Teacher 101 that it’s an ideal way to irritate students.”
“Somehow I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true. Just like how coaches use suicide drills to frustrate and exhaust. So, you ready for this?” Caleb seemed energized and ready to tackle the practice session.
“I think so. It’s a different way to spend an afternoon,” Aaron said, trying and failing to match Caleb’s enthusiasm.
“Wanna grab a dinner after?”
That wasn’t going to make it easier to keep from getting too involved. After the amazing Saturday night, Aaron needed to keep some distance between them, otherwise his heart would send him down a slippery slope.
“Sure. I’d love to.” The words tumbled out of Aaron’s mouth before he could stop them. What was he thinking? Which part of his brain pushed the button to allow him to say that?
&nbs
p; “Great.”
They were at the door to the rink when Caleb grabbed Aaron’s arm and prevented him from stepping on the ice.
“What’s wrong?” Aaron looked at Caleb, who kept a firm grip to prevent him from going forward. Everyone else was on the ice, and he didn’t want it to look like he was shirking his responsibilities.
Caleb gestured down with his eyes, and Aaron followed the gaze.
Oh crap. The skate guards were still on.
“Thanks,” Aaron said as he took off the plastic blade protectors. Caleb maintained his hold to help him balance as lifted each foot to get the guards. “That would’ve been embarrassing.”
“Everyone does it. I’ve had more than a few falls because I forgot about them.”
Once Aaron put the guards on the small ledge that ran around the boards, Caleb released him, and Aaron wished he could do something else that would require him to grab on again.
“Well, thanks for saving me.” Aaron looked for an escape before he did or said something else wrong. “I’m going to go help get those cones in place.”
Aaron took off. He didn’t fall, but he moved with caution and a lack of speed he didn’t see in the other assistants. It was painfully obvious he hadn’t skated in some time.
Caleb walked—or sort of slid—across the ice to one of the benches. Aaron didn’t know how he navigated the ice in his sneakers so easily. The players, meanwhile, didn’t get in Caleb’s way as they did their warmups, skating around the cones and following Rick’s orders on when to change direction.
Caleb and Rick talked at the bench as Aaron and Ian watched the skaters do the drills. Sometimes Ian would call out to speed it up. More and more Aaron’s focus drifted from the players around him to the conversation at the bench. As he watched, Caleb occasionally moved his dry-erase pen over the small whiteboard he had with the diagram of the rink on it, although he wasn’t actually writing on it. When the two broke out laughing, Aaron tried to squash the pang of jealously at not being in on whatever was funny.