Page 10 of Full Body Hit: Part 2
The days eroded him, though. Lack of sleep, the strange, delayed responses from Aunix, the fears treading grooves into Chase’s head—it was wearing him down.
“Fine,” he eventually said to Auston after practice, not looking at Sammy, who appeared to dislike Auston more by the day for some odd reason.
It was still morning, so he stopped by his apartment first. He changed into one of the sweaters Daddy had gotten for him. He needed the extra comfort.
The place Auston had picked for lunch was surprisingly normal. He’d expected some crazy-healthy place, but it was a normal sandwich joint, and Chase immediately perked up at the selection.
“Hey,” Auston greeted, interrupting Chase’s perusal of the menu board.
Chase turned, catching Auston appraising him oddly, inspecting his clothing with a frown on his face. Chase covered his hands with his sleeves, feeling exposed, but the expression cleared from Auston’s face, creasing into a smile.
They sat by a window after ordering. Wind buffeted at the glass, whistling through the street. The plants hanging from the streetlights swayed with the force of it.
Auston’s thick, dark hair was tousled, hanging over his forehead. Chase had to turn his gaze away, the sight of that square, handsome face a little too much to take.
“Um…so. Did you wanna talk about my game or something?” Chase asked.
“What? No. This isn’t…I just wanted to have lunch.”
Chase blinked, lost. He’d prepared mentally for a breakdown of his game, like his mom loved to do. Not…whatever this was. “Oh. Okay.”
“Just wanted to…catch up.”
Chase fought to keep his eyebrows level.Catch up. As if they’d ever been side by side. “Right.Uhm. How are you?”
“Good. How are you?”
Jesus Christ.They were both adults, right? Teammates. They’d spentsometime together—on the ice, on airplanes, in buses.
In a hotel room.
Not that Chase was thinking aboutthat.
“I’m good.”
“Really? Because the last time we talked, you said you were a little blue. And you seem kind of tired.”
Chase straightened. “Like, on the drills today? Because—”
“No.” Auston sighed, and Chase couldn’t help but hunch into himself at the obvious disappointment, the exasperation. “Chase…I’m not asking about your hockey. I’m asking aboutyou.”
“Right. But I’m fine.”
Auston stared at him. The look peeled layers off Chase’s armour, penetrating through it.
“I mean…I am a little tired. But is it affecting—I mean. I don’t think it’s affecting me too badly.” Chase wasn’t even sure if it was a lie. Yeah, he was exhausted all the time, but it wasn’t as if he were avoiding his responsibilities. He went to practice, to games. He hung out with Sammy and Noah. He hadn’t even given in and called Aunix since that first time.
Aunix hadn’t picked up. He hadn’t called back. He hadn’t even acknowledged it.
What more did Auston want from him?
“That’s good. Just feels like there’s something on your mind. I get if it’s personal, but if you wanted to talk about it…” Auston trailed off.
“I mean…it’s really silly,” Chase said, giving in. What was he going to do—sit there for an hour while Auston peered at him with those big, dark, concerned eyes?
“I bet it’s not,” Auston countered.
“No, itis. Someone I care about is just kind of…not talking to me right now. And he’s really busy, so I’m not complaining or anything. I totally get he has more important things in his life than me.”
