Page 64 of Fresh Ice
Alonso blinked at him, confused, but caught on when he saw Levy’s intense expression. “Oh. Right. Yeah.” He turned to his dad. “I’ll be in the room in a sec.”
His dad grunted in assent, saying nothing further until he stepped out of the elevator.
Complete silence fell over the small space as it continued up for a few floors. Alonso’s eyes burned, throat tight, even though he wasn’t sure why. He wanted to hide away from the prying eyes of these people he had come to know and appreciate.
“Hey,” Levy said to his parents when they reached their door. “Give us a sec?”
“Of course, honey.” Cynthia gave Alonso a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek, Cody ruffling his hair, before the two of them went inside.
Alonso didn’t know what to say. He knew how Levy felt about his dad—they never explicitly talked about it, but his negative opinion was obvious.
Levy didn’t say anything, though. He pulled Alonso into his arms and just held him there for a long, long time.
Alonso buried his face in Levy’s neck and breathed shakily. If only he could stay there, wrapped up in Levy’s body. In his scent.
Eventually, Levy tilted his head so his lips were brushing Alonso’s ear. “Come home with me.”
Alonso frowned, pulling away slightly. “Huh?”
“Don’t go back to Alberta. Come to Minnesota with me. Stay the summer there.”
Alonso shook his head. “I…I mean, I can’t do that.”
“Why? Please. Olive, baby—I know you’re not ready to talk about your dad. I know that you’re not ready to fully see how fucked up it is, the way he talks to you. The way he treats you. But it is, and you going with him makes me fucking crazy.Please, Olive. Please come with me instead.”
Alonso untangled himself from Levy. He could practically feel his defences rising up, those old, chipped walls he’d had to construct to survive.
His dad didn’t treat him unfairly. He had pushed him into the player he was now. All Alonso had was because of him.
“Ican’t.Levy, I don’t have anything with me. My clothes, my gear.” He lowered his voice. “My suppressants.”
“You could go home for a few days, pack, and then come to Minnesota. I’ll even go with you if you want. You can show me your new place.”
Alonso shook his head again even as the idea crept deeper into his mind.
Whynotspend the summer with Levy? It wasn’t like they would slack on their training, and the weight that had been pressing him down to the mud since leaving New York would finally lift.
Levy must have seen the indecision on Alonso’s face, pouncing. “We’ll have fun. And we’ll train hard—my gym isgreat. I have twenty-four-hour access to the rink, too. Like, I have to book ahead, but I can go after-hours if I want.”
Alonso bit his lip. “I mean…I don’t wanna be a burden, or—”
“Dude, I’m literallybeggingyou to come stay with me. I have my own apartment and everything, remember? It’ll be like the regular season, only better.”
The word was bubbling up, unstoppable, he wanted it so damn much. “Okay.”
It took Levy a second to process, but then his face lit up with the biggest smile Alonso had ever seen. “Fuck, really? Oh, man. No take-backsies. I’ll go with you if you want, I can—”
“No, it’s okay. I can pack by myself, Levs.”
Levy looked at him sceptically. “Okay, but if you bail on me I’m coming up there and dragging your ass down.”
Alonso laughed. “I won’t bail.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Okay. Let’s tell my parents. They’re gonna be psyched.” Levy grabbed Alonso’s hand and dragged him through the hotel room.
