Page 48 of Fresh Ice
They ate in silence, both of them starved after the game and the…extracurricular activities.
“I wanted to ask you,” Levy said when they’d finished and then polished off a pack of Pop-Tarts each. “What are you up to during All-Star break?”
“Are you suggesting I’m not going to be voted in?” Alonso snarked.
“I mean, if rookies normally went, you’d definitely—”
“Oh my God, shush, I was joking. Uh, I don’t know, actually. Are you going to see your family?” A little knot formed in the pit of his stomach. There was no way Alonso was going to see his dad.
“Nah. I mean, some of the boys are going to the beach or whatever.”
“Yeah, I heard. I don’t know if I wanna do that, though,” Alonso muttered.
“No, same. I was actually…uhm, I was actually wondering if you wanted to do a little mountain cabin getaway? There are some cool spots upstate or whatever,” Levy stuttered.
Alonso opened his mouth, totally blindsided. “Oh.”
Levy stared at his empty plate like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “I mean, it might be chill. If you want to.”
Something giddy bubbled up inside Alonso. “Uh, that actually sounds really good,” he admitted.
Levy whipped around to face him. “Really?”
“Yeah. That sounds…nice.”
The smile Levy gave him was blinding. “Sweet. Okay. I looked at some places, I’ll send you the links.”
Alonso nodded, feeling happier than he had in a long time.
CHAPTER NINE
“Are we lost?” Alonso asked, peering at the darkening sky. They’d been driving for what felt like forever.
“No,” Levy said.
Alonso hummed doubtfully.
Levy winced. “Notanymore.”
Alonso snorted. It was hard to get annoyed when Levy hadn’t only driven them all the way upstate but had also planned the whole trip. Even the groceries in the back had been bought and packed by him.
Alonso hadtriedto help, but Levy had been strangely insistent on doing it on his own. Truthfully, it seemed like a distraction for Levy, something to keep his mind off the shit show of their season.
Levy made a triumphant noise as they turned the corner into a forest-edged path. “Here it is. Shit, I was worried I’d never find it.”
“You literally just said we weren’t—” Alonso cut himself off as they rolled towards a cabin that looked as though it had been plucked right out of a Christmas card. All it needed was a little snow sprinkled on top, and it’d be ready for a photoshoot. Too bad it had been unseasonably dry this year, the last snowfall two weeks ago.
Alonso had travelled around America, but just for hockey. The only time he’d gone on holiday was to see his mom’s family in Bolivia, but that was a couple of times when he was little.
School breaks, Alonso’s dad had insisted, were to train.
After Alonso presented, suffering through his heat alone once a year was added to his holiday itinerary, each one worse as his body matured.
Eventually, he’d learnt how to grit his teeth and sweat through the pain. It wasn’t like there was anything else he could do. It’d be too difficult on his body to repress his heats completely, and it wasn’t like he’d be able to share them with anybody.
The little cabin in the woods was a novelty. Somewhere he was allowed to rest for a few days without working out or training. Nobody would be breathing down his neck about what he should and shouldn’t be doing.
Levy parked the car and zipped up his hoodie. “The owner said the keys should be in a lockbox to the right somewhere.”
