Edges Of Us

The Blood

The rink at 5 AM was dead quiet except for the low buzz of the lights and the scrape of skates on fresh ice.

I was already on the ice doing warm-up laps when the door banged open. Mason walked in, duffel bag slung over his shoulder, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

He dropped his bag and started pulling out his hockey skates without saying a word.

I stopped near the boards. "Gage said figure skating elements. That means figure skates."

Mason looked at me like I'd told him to wear a tutu. "I'm not wearing those."

"Then good luck falling on your ass every five seconds."

I pushed off and did a lap, trying to ignore him. This was supposed to be my quiet time. My ice. Now it was polluted by Mason Reid and his bad attitude.

He stepped onto the ice in his heavy hockey skates and immediately proved my point. Three feet in and he wobbled like a newborn deer.

I bit back a laugh.

"Something funny, Cole?" he snapped.

"You. Obviously." I circled him slowly. "Hockey skates have two edges. Figure skates have one. You're fighting the ice because you don't know how to find your center."

He didn't answer. Just pushed off harder, trying to prove me wrong. His left foot slipped. I moved on instinct and grabbed his arm before he ate it.

For half a second we were locked together - my fingers wrapped around his forearm, his hand gripping my shoulder for balance. He was heavier than he looked. Solid. Warm.

Then he pulled his arm away like I burned him.

"Let go," he growled.

"You're welcome," I shot back, stepping away fast.

He straightened up, breathing hard. "This is f*****g stupid."

"It's what Gage told us to do."

"I meant you." He gestured at me with his chin. "All of this. You walk around like you're better than everybody."

That one actually stung. "And you act like you own the whole damn school."

"Because I do."

We glared at each other.

"Fine," I said, skating backward. "Basics. Weight even on both feet. Stop trying to muscle through everything like you do on the ice."

"I'm not-"

"You are. That's your whole thing. You push until something breaks." I crossed my arms. "Skating doesn't work like that."

His face went cold. "You don't know s**t about me."

"I know enough."

He pushed off the boards, wobbled again, then came straight at me like an i***t with something to prove.

He almost made it.

Then his edge caught wrong and he crashed hard into the boards with a loud bang that echoed through the empty rink.

I winced. "You good?"

"Perfect," he muttered, face pressed against the plexiglass. When he pushed himself up, blood was dripping steadily from his nose.

"Shit." I skated over without thinking. "Hold still."

I grabbed his chin to tilt his head back. He tried to pull away but I held firm.

"Stop moving." I pulled off my hoodie and pressed it against his face. "You're bleeding everywhere."

"I'm fine," he mumbled into the fabric.

"You're too f*****g stubborn."

"And why the hell are you being so bossy?"

Before I could answer, he shoved the hoodie away, grabbed the front of my shirt with his bloody hand, and kissed me.

It wasn't soft or romantic. It was rough, angry, and completely accidental - like all the adrenaline and frustration just exploded between us.

His mouth tasted like blood and something I didn't have a name for.. His grip on my shirt was tight enough to wrinkle the fabric. For two stunned seconds I froze.

Then I shoved him back hard.

We stared at each other, both breathing like we'd just sprinted ten laps.

"What the f**k was that?" I snapped.

Mason looked just as shocked as I felt. His eyes were wide, lips still stained with blood.

"I-" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing more blood. "I don't know. f**k. That didn't... that wasn't-"

He looked horrified.

So was I.

"Stay the hell away from me," I said, voice shaking with anger.

He didn't argue. Just grabbed his bag and got off the ice as fast as he could, leaving bloody handprints on the boards.

I stood there alone in the middle of the rink, heart pounding, the taste of his blood still on my lips.

What the actual f**k just happened?