I was profusely sweating.

Coach Silva and Merton decided that the day before we left for our away games, we would have an off-ice practice. Which basically meant it was a lot of working out, running around, and circuit training. To say that it was exhausting would be an understatement. My legs were burning and I couldn't wait to lie down in my bed and do nothing for hours.

"Finish this workout and you can go!" Coach Silva announced and I sighed in relief.

Off-ice practices were definitely not my thing.

I pushed through the last workout, my breath roughly ripping through my chest as I did so. As soon as Coach Silva blew his whistle for us to stop, I lied down on the floor along with the rest of the team and rested.

"Don't forget we are meeting here at nine AM tomorrow so we can use the ice for practice as soon as we get there," Coach Merton reminded us. "Don't be late."

The coaches left the gym while the rest of us were still catching our breath on the floor. The only one standing upright was Fox, though that didn't surprise me. He casually sipped on his water with one hand on his hip and looked down at the team in irritated disbelief.

"If you guys can't handle this, then it's going to be a long season," Fox let out with a scoff, walking leisurely toward the exit of the gym.

I let out a pained groan and heaved myself off of the floor, following Fox toward the locker room. When I entered the room, he was standing by his locker and pulling his sweaty shirt over his head. I redirected my gaze so I wouldn't get caught up in staring at his impressive torso. I was afraid if I looked too long I would reminisce about our time together over the summer and I wanted to keep those thoughts out of my head.

"Did you not have to do circuit training in prep school hockey?" Fox asked in an almost mocking tone that was laced with anger and annoyance.

"I did," I told him, stepping by him to get to my locker. "Hated it then too."

Fox scoffed and shook his head. "You were sloppy."

I rolled my eyes and let out a little laugh. "You were watching me? How sweet."

Fox slammed his locker door and turned his body toward me. I made sure to keep my eyes off of his glistening chest and keep them directed at his hate filled expression.

"Don't say shit like that to me," he seethed.

"Calm down, I was just kidding," I told him, keeping my voice light.

"Well don't," he hissed. "Just because you get to be out and proud doesn't mean everyone else does."

His voice was reminiscent of a snake, low, hissing, and venomous. It made my hair stand on my arms and I struggled to figure out why he was even bringing this up.

"What the hell? What are you talking about?" I dared to ask, my voice raising in annoyance.

"You saying shit like that to me, isn't cool," Fox explained in a low voice. "If you do that in front of the others, I'll pound you."

"God, Fox. I didn't mean anything by it. Can you just chill out?"

He just shook his head with a scowl directed at me.

"And you think I get to be 'out and proud?'" I continued, pointing my finger toward my chest.

"You do," Fox answered, raising an eyebrow at me.

I let out a humorless laugh. "You say that as if I didn't literally get kicked out of my house."

"You still get to be who you are," Fox replied, his voice strained.

"Yeah, I do," I responded. "And it cost me nearly everything," I seethed through gritted teeth. "No one is stopping you from—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Fox shouted at me. I let out a deep breath and shook my head at him.

"Just because you're frustrated with your situation, doesn't mean you can take it out on me," I angrily told him. "I don't have it as easy as you like to think I do."

And with that, I stormed out of the locker room and I swore steam was coming out of my ears.

When I got outside to Josh's car, I groaned and threw my head back when I realized the car was locked. I should have known, but my anger at Fox had clouded my thoughts and all I could think about was my rage.

"Didn't you shower?" Josh asked, walking toward the car as I leaned against it.

"I will at home," I mumbled, tearing the car door open after Josh unlocked it.

Josh glanced at me as he slid into the driver's seat. He glanced at me a few more times before starting the car.

"Are you pissed at me or something?" Josh asked me as he started driving.

"Don't wanna talk," I grumbled, leaning my head against the window.

"Look, I'm sorry for acting weird about Trevor, okay?"

I stayed silent and let out a sigh. Thinking about my argument with Josh was only going to make me even more angry.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," Josh softly confessed.

My neck snapped to look at him with an incredulous annoyance.

"By who? Trevor?" I scoffed in disbelief. Trevor was just about the nicest person I had ever met.

"No," Josh shook his head. "I'm just worried if you get a boyfriend, then people will start to mess with you."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Then can you just take my word for it that I don't like Trevor like that?"

"But he likes you–"

"Josh," I sent him a glare.

He sighed. "Fine."

Josh was usually perceptive enough to realize when I didn't want to talk about something, but I had come to find out that wouldn't stop him from talking about it if he wanted to.

Josh and I wordlessly went into the house after he pulled the car into the driveway. I quickly ascended the stairs to take a shower in the upstairs bathroom and after I finished and was drying myself off, there was a knock on the door.

"What?" I asked, wrapping the towel around my waist and opening the door to reveal Josh.

"You have company," Josh told me with a boastful look.

I raised my eyebrow at him in question. "Who?"

"Trevor."

My eyes widened and I darted my head out of the doorway to look down the hall, pulling the towel tighter against my body.

"He's here?"

Josh nodded. "He's downstairs. I suggest you get dressed if you don't want to give him any ideas."

I glared at Josh before I scurried out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. I quickly pulled on some clothes and headed down the stairs to greet my visitor.

"Hey, Trev," I said, my voice sounding as confused as I felt.

Trevor smiled widely at me. "Hey, Elijah. Sorry to drop by like this."

I shook my head. "It's fine."

I looked over to my Dad and Mindy who were sitting on the couch with the TV, but neither of them were watching it. Instead, they were watching the interaction between Trevor and I.

"Why don't we go upstairs," I suggested, motioning my head toward the stairs. Trevor nodded and walked over to me.

"Keep the door open, please," Dad lightly demanded, causing my face to flush.

"Dad," I hissed, shaking my head at him, before leading Trevor up to my room and tightly shutting the door once we were inside.

Trevor looked around my bare room with an interested look on his face.

"Your room is nice," he said to fill the silence in the air.

It really wasn't that nice. I hadn't decorated it at all and there was nothing personal about it. It was as if it wasn't really my room. I just slept here, but it didn't feel like a place to call my own.

I awkwardly cleared my throat. "Thanks. What are you doing here?"

Trevor's eyes widened as if my words had reminded him that he came here with a purpose. He fumbled taking something out of his pocket and shoving it toward me. I looked down at the item Trevor presented to me and saw that it was a rainbow colored bracelet. It was different colored strings tied together in an intricate design.

"We made these at GSA today and the club thought it would be a good idea to make one for you," Trevor rushed out. "To wish you good luck for your away games this weekend."

I grinned at him, taking the bracelet from his hand to get a better look at it.

"It's great. Thanks, Trev."

He nodded and returned my smile, holding up his wrist to show me his similar bracelet. I wouldn't call the two bracelets matching, but it was obvious that Trevor had made both of them.

"Want to tie it on for me?" I asked, presenting Trevor my wrist and holding out the bracelet for him to take. He quickly nodded and began tying the bracelet.

"Is that too loose?" he asked me before finishing the knot, looking up at me with a strange expression.

"No."

Trevor finished off the knot and took a step away from me. I smiled down at the bracelet, that now handsomely decorated my wrist, and then looked over at Trevor whose face was flushed pink.

"I should probably get going," Trevor announced after a moment of silence.

"Okay."

Trevor seemed to be having a debate with himself in his head. After a moment he rushed toward me and pulled me into an unexpected hug. I stumbled backward slightly and put one of my arms around him, shocked at his action.

"Good luck," he whispered in my ear before pulling away, looking slightly embarrassed.

I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck in discomfort.

"Thanks, Trev. See you Monday."

And with that, he gave me a small wave and exited my room. My eyes stayed glued to the doorway where he left for a few moments before Dad appeared there.

"There was no funny business up here, right?" Dad asked, looking around my room as if he would find any evidence.

I let out an annoyed sigh. "No, Dad."

He warily glanced at me as if he was deciding on whether he wanted to believe me.

"Okay," he replied after seeming to come to a conclusion in his mind. "But just because you can't get pregnant doesn't mean I'm okay with you having boys up here with the door closed."

My whole body heat up at his words and my eyes shifted toward the ceiling so I wouldn't have to make eye contact with him.

"Got it," I stated, my posture rigid and uncomfortable, matching the way I felt at that moment.

"Good," Dad replied, clearing his throat. "Goodnight, Elijah. Get some rest."

I nodded. "Goodnight."

Thankfully after that, my Dad left the room and I could leave my spot in the center of the floor and make my way over to my bed. Nothing could mortify me more than my father talking about my sex life. However, the unexpected gesture of affection from Trevor was also a source of my discomfort for the night.

I decided I shouldn't read too much into the incident with Trevor. There should be nothing strange about a hug, yet here I was obsessing over what hidden meanings and implications it could have. It was just a friendly hug.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep once I shut off the thoughts in my mind.

***

Josh and I were running late.

I didn't know how it happened, but we were both scrambling to get ready this morning and barely made it out of the house on time. It was made clear to us that the bus would be leaving no later than nine-thirty and that we were supposed to meet at the school at nine to avoid anyone missing the bus.

It was currently nine-twenty and Josh and I were still a ways away from the school. He was breaking just about every traffic law I could think of to ensure we would make it to that damn bus on time and I let him. I didn't want to face the wrath of our coaches, or worse, Fox Ridley.

I held onto the handle above my seat and Josh whipped around a corner, causing me to slam into the passenger door.

Josh pulled into the parking lot at nine-twenty-eight and the two of us quickly grabbed our things and sprinted over to the bus where our team was already boarded. We threw our bags into the storage compartment of the bus before rushing to get on.

"You were supposed to be here at nine," Fox said in an irritated tone as Josh and I ran up the steps of the bus.

I ignored him while Josh said, "We're here, aren't we?"

Josh and I sat down across from Fox and Ian toward the front of the bus. Everyone else was chatting and didn't even notice our late arrival, but of course, Fox would be the one to notice like he noticed everything.

I leaned my head against the window and put my headphones in, closing my eyes and hoping to get some more sleep for the hour and a half long drive.

It seemed as though I was only asleep for a few minutes when I felt somebody shoving my shoulder lightly. The force startled me, causing me to shoot straight up in my seat.

"We gotta go to practice," Josh told me, standing in the aisle and leaning toward me. As he stood in the aisle, Josh was holding up the line of our team behind him and causing a chorus of protests and sounds of annoyance.

I nodded at him, throwing my head back with a yawn. Josh headed off the bus a few moments later while I gathered myself.

"Let's go, Ellis," Ryan said, smacking my bus seat as he walked by.

I heaved myself up off the seat and made my way off the bus and into the rink where the rest of my team was after getting my hockey bag from the storage compartment.

I quickly got ready in the locker room before making my way to the ice and skating around with some of my teammates while the rest of the team got ready. I was still tired from my sleep, my eyes feeling heavy.

This was going to be a long practice if I couldn't keep my eyes open.

**