Meanwhile, I’m drowning in my gear right now.
The others don’t look like they’re doing so hot either. August has tripped over his own feet multiple times (I laughed at him and then caught a couple elbows to theribs), Blair gave up four laps ago and is currently laying in centre ice panting like a dying animal, Miller keeps taking breaks to puke in the trashcans next to Blair, and Lucas keeps muttering curses under his breath saying he’s never going to speak to Claire again.
I don’t really know what we’ve done to deserve this, but apparently we’ve pissed someone off cause this is fucking brutal.
Tony let Claire lead practice tonight, which is only ever a bad thing cause she likes to push us miles past our limits, while Coach will only make us sweat a little.
“How. Much. Longer?” I force out through laboured breaths, fighting to catch up to Claire so she can hear me.
“You’re all big babies,” she rolls her eyes. “Go get some water and then hit the showers.”
Thank fucking god. I think if I had to skate one more lap, I’d be lying down next to Blair.
Claire skates to the sidelines, joining Tony on the bench, and as I pass them on my way to the locker room, I overhear Tony asking her if she’s okay. She tells him she is, but he doesn’t look convinced, “you don’t have to lie, I know this is hard for you. You’re gonna be okay, sweet girl.”
Weird.
When I join the others, they’re giving Blair shit, mostly for lying down in the middle of the ice like a toddler having a temper tantrum, but also for quitting while the rest of us stuck it out.
August wraps a towel around his waist as he exits the showers, “seriously man, you gotta work on your cardio. That was pathetic.”
Blair tosses an elbow pad at him and flips him off, “my cardio is fine,thank you.”
“Sex doesn’t count!” Lucas tosses over his shoulder, zipping up his bag and running a hand through damp hair.
A couple of the guys try their best to hold in their laughs while my best friends continue bickering. They’ve learned very quickly to keep quiet while we’re fighting, otherwise they get ganged up on and become the centre of our attention.
Most of the time, it doesn’t end well for them.
“Sex totally counts bro, that shit is hard work,” Blair retorts. “But maybe Claire’s holding out on you, so you wouldn’t know.”
Lucas’s face screams murder just long enough before he springs into action to allow August and I to grab him. “Say one more thing about my girlfriend and you won’t have to worry aboutanythinganymore, cause you’ll be dead!” He screams, trying to rip himself out of my grasp.
“Low fucking blow,” August grumbles to Blair, “you know she’s off limits.”
If I weren’t so busy trying to stop my friend from killing my other friend, I probably would have punched Blair in the face myself. But, I know he regretted the words as soon as he said them, I can see it on his face.
Lucas being in a relationship is taking some getting used to. We love Claire more than anything, but I think we sometimes forget we can’t make jokes like that anymore.
When there was a rotating door of girls coming in and out of the house every week, that was a different story.
“That was too far, I’m sorry.” The sincerity in Blair’s voice is clear, he didn’t mean to hurt Claire or even bring her into it. He was just trying to snap out a response.
Lucas finally calms down enough that August and I feel comfortable letting him go, but we keep an eye on him.
When I walk out of the change room, I notice Claireleaning against the boards and staring out at the ice. She has a thoughtful look on her face, like she can’t decide how she feels about whatever is running through her mind.
“Do you miss it?” I ask, leaning on the boards next to her.
She shrugs, “sometimes, but I’m happy with my choice. Running this arena takes up so much of my time, and Lucas is always complaining that he doesn’t see me anymore. Besides, I’ve been thinking of coaching after graduation.” There’s a note of hurt or longing in her voice, like she’s trying to put up a front even though she doesn’t have to do that with me anymore.
I don’t fully understand why she would quit something she loves so much, especially because she was so damn good at it, but I can understand wanting to move on.
From what I can gather, skating was the one thing she had that wasn’t about her brother, but now that the world knows they’re siblings, they might try to spin it.
“Clarity, what’s going on?” I ask, thinking back to the conversation I overheard before.
“I’m waiting for you guys,” she laughs, “I thought that was kinda obvious.”
