“I’ll take a caramel latte and a cake pop,” I ordered.
We sat down at a small table near the window, with the mural of a pink rabbit.
“How was practice?” Kai asked.
“Our meetings went well. I’m definitely glad I took some time to study the other team. While we might not win, I do think we’re gonna go in pretty prepared,” I replied, feeling good about everything.
“I think getting all the way to the finals is amazing, regardless if you win or not,” Kai said.
“It is. Coach told us how proud he was of us, and he’d still be proud of us regardless if we win or not.” Our coach was tough, but fair, and he meant every word.
“How does tomorrow go?” Kai asked. “What's game day like? On meet day for the swim team, I’d have a really good lunch and pack my water bottle and snacks. Though we also had the best snacks. Team Mom would have a whole tent. It wasn’t just juice boxes and string cheese. She’d have actual food for us too. Chili on a bag of corn chips after a meet was something.”
“That sounds pretty delicious,” I replied. “When it’s a home game we usually have morning skate and then we go home for a few hours to relax and get ready. Often wetake a nap. I’ll make a protein smoothie. Steven usually eats a hotdog, sometimes with chili, it's tradition. I guess growing up one of his teammates’ parents owned a hotdog shop and would usually provide dinner for them.”
They called my name and I went and got our coffees, Kai’s ramen, and my cake pop, then sat back down.
“Where was I? Oh, we’ll head to the arena, eat as a team, and have a little meeting. We’ll warm up, get dressed, and go out on the ice for warm-ups, and then there’s the game,” I explained, taking a sip of my latte. “It’s slightly different when we have an afternoon game, but not that much.”
“Do you have any superstitions? Steven always wears the same socks, right?” Kai grinned and took a bite of ramen.
“Yes. Though I make him wash them.” I laughed. I relaxed and ate my cake pop as things between Kai and me grew easy.
It was nice having a moment with just us. Kai smelled so good. I really hadn’t been attracted to someone’s scent like that before. Not even Steven.
“What are you working on for your PhD? Can you tell me?” I asked, fascinated by what Kai was studying.
“I haven’t figured that out yet. But I have pictures of the work I’ve been doing with my professor.” Kai showed me photos of the fishponds they’ve been working on all year.
“That looks amazing.” I took another sip.
“I’ve had a lot of fun at my college. Where else can I take classes on volcanoes and the leadership of hula,and have it count towards my degree?” Kai finished their ramen.
Kai’s phone buzzed. They looked at it and laughed.
“More gossip from the lab group chat?” I asked.
“My cousins. I bought a car for my ex. He said he was going to pay me back, but he never did. Since my name is on the title, my cousins took it, relocated it to Auntie’s, rekeyed it… and now they’ve given it a paint job.” Kai showed me a photo of a car that was purple with flames on it.
“I love it. It was really nice of your cousins.”
“Right? Now when he goes looking for it he won’t even find it,” they laughed.
I remembered a conversation Steven and I had at lunch today and got out my phone.
“Um, I have some dates if you are still interested,” I said tentatively, texting them to Kai. “This is when the Renn Faire is and then there’s another festival that you might like as well. No pressure if you don’t want to do any of this. It’s totally fine. It’s just that we’d like to see you again,” I confessed.
“I want to see you dressed as a pirate. Steven and I were talking about costumes this morning.” Kai took another sip of coffee.
“Should I be afraid?” I leaned in conspiratorially.
“No. The costumes are great. I’ll take a look at the dates and see what fits. Now that everything’s different, I did tell my brother this morning that I wanted to do that graduation trip. I'm also going to try to go to LA,” Kai said.
“I’m glad you’re doing both of those things. Hey, not to pry, I don’t know if you’re on suppressants full-time or not. But if you need safe heat partners during our off-season, you can come to us. We can use our cabin. I’m not trying to cross any boundaries, but I wanted to offer. Our feelings will not be hurt if it’s not an option for you.” I put a hand over theirs, because they were looking a little tense.
They relaxed a little. “I’m honored. Thank you. I have to think about it.” Kai’s lower lip quivered. “Not because I don’t feel safe with you, but because I do. Your job is here, and right now my life is in Hawai’i.”
“I understand and I feel the same way. It's too bad Hawai’i doesn’t have a hockey team. Rhett would kill me if I got my ass traded.” I laughed. “I’m grateful for every moment that I do get to spend with you. I know you have a lot to figure out, but I’m still hoping you’ll at least come be a pirate with us.”
