“How long have you worked here?” Lyric asked, tossing her burger wrapper into the trash bag Luke had just put in the metal bin. She got a strange thrill at the idea that she was the first to use it for it’s intended purpose.
Luke was powering up the coffee machine, but he paused at her question. “Only about three months.” Lyric watched as a conflicted smile appeared on his face and he returned to what he had been doing. “Rick gave me the job when… when I needed it.”
“Oh.” For a moment, Lyric wondered about his home life. Were his parents unable to work? Were there medical bills that had to be paid? She wondered if he didn’t go to school because he had to work instead.
“Rick’s a great guy.” Luke continued. “He let’s me use the rental skates and rink after closing. Doesn’t even ask for payment.”
“He probably doesn’t want not having equipment to be the reason someone doesn’t skate.” Lyric chuckled. She thought of Rick, limping through their front door at Christmas time. His leg had been twisted in a bad car accident and he couldn’t skate himself anymore. She had to admit, she admired the fact that he wasn’t bitter about his loss, and that he wanted to spread the love he felt for the activity.
Luke laughed with her. “Yeah.”
They fell into silence and Lyric watched Luke work. She couldn’t take her eyes off the way he moved. Memories of him skating played in her mind. She wondered what her dad would think of his skating, if he would be able to see the beauty that she saw.
Her thoughts surprised her. She had never thought of anything related to the cold hard ice to be beautiful before.
About an hour later, she got a text from her dad. He wanted to know if she was still up to going to the game after what they had learned. She thought about telling him no, having the perfect excuse this time.
But she hesitated. He wasn’t treating her any differently, not really. Plus, if she said no, she would have to leave before he got there, and she was enjoying spending time with Luke.
She told him she would meet him there.
“Staying for the game?” Luke asked at almost the exact moment she hit send.
Lyric sighed and nodded.
“I’ll make sure there’s hot chocolate ready for you at all times.” He joked.
She smiled at him. “Thanks.”
They heard the door open and looked up. Michael, laden with his heavy hockey bag, stepped inside. He paused when he saw them.
“Lyric.” Michael dropped his bag and took a seat beside her at the wooden table. “Your parents told me what happened. How are you holding up?”
Lyric caught the worried look from Luke and a spike of anger ran up her spine. Her parents had no right telling Michael so soon, and he had no right talking about it in a public place. Not to mention the fact that, other than the text from her dad, she had started to forget that her life was up in the air.
“I’m fine.” She said through gritted teeth.
“Is it your grandmother?” Luke sounded more worried than a practically stranger should. “Can they not find a match?”
Lyric was grateful that she had an excuse for why Michael was worried about her. She gave Luke a pained smile. “Not yet.” She turned to Michael and gave him a stern glare, silently warning him not to say anything.
Michael chocked on a breath. “Er, uh…” He glanced at Luke. “Change rooms open?”
Luke nodded and Michael hoisted his bag. With one more look at Lyric, he disappeared around the corner. Lyric sighed when he was gone.
“You’re boyfriend?” Luke guessed, returning to his work.
Lyric barked out a laugh, her hand flying to her mouth to cover it in embarrassment afterward. “Uh, no.” She cleared her throat. “We grew up together. He’s more like a brother than a boyfriend.”
“Oh.” Luke glanced in the direction Michael had gone.
It occurred to Lyric that Luke might know Michael, or rather, know of him. If he had been working here for three months, he would have seen Michael come in for practices. He might have even stuck around specifically to watch the practices, since he seemed to like skating. In that case, it would have been impossible for him to not notice how skilled Michael was.
“You like him?” Lyric asked teasingly.
Luke’s attention flew back to her. “I’m in no position to form that sort of relationship.”
His response caught Lyric off guard. She had expected him to either laugh and say no, get angry that she was implying he was gay, or possibly even admit that she was right. Although, she supposed that he had, in a way, confirmed.
But still, what was with that response? What did he mean he wasn’t in position?
Lyric shook her head at herself and went back to asking him about his job. That seemed like an easy topic.
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