Rivals on Ice

Chapter 9: He is back

Tyler sat on the porch swing waiting for Zane's text.

No answer.

"He's angry." He said to himself.

He heard foot steps.

"Who is angry ?" A voice echoed from behind.

His mum came and sat next to him .

"A friend." He said.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow."

His mum looked at him .

"Okay , I'm happy you came ."

As they continued chatting they heard Judith shouting Tyler's name.

His mum laughed.

"Here you are." Judith said walking towards him.

Tyler looked at her .

She gave a mischievous grin.

"Spit it out before it chokes you."

"Can you take me somewhere ?" She asked.

"Where?"

"You'll see it when we arrive,and please carry some money." She looked down at the floor while talking.

"No." Tyler said.

She looked at her mum.

"Just go with her ,spend some time together before you leave."

Judith tried to hide her smile.

" You look horrible when,you do that."Tyler scoffed.

Judith smiled widely showing her teeth."Is this good?" She asked.

They left the house and walked for almost thirty minutes.

"I'm tired .Where are you taking me." Tyler asked.

"Patience." Judith said.

They stopped in front of a mall.

Tyler gave a half-smile and turned to leave.

Judith held his hand .

"Let's go in."She uttered.

"I have no money." Tyler said.

She gave that pleading look again.Puppy eyes , eyebrows pulled together in the middle and mouth shaped into a small pout.

Tyler sighed.

She held his hand as they entered the mall.Aftet being checked by the security, Judith went and took the trolly.

The mall was vast .It had everything in it.Clothes,food accessories ,video games ,arcade, restaurants,cafe .All things you could need to buy.

"This way." She showed with her hands.

Tyler was surprised with the amount of shopping she had done .The trolly was full.

"Last thing ," Judith said and took a black Gucci handbag.

They placed the goods at the cashier.He was shocked.Never in his life had he used all that money for shopping.

He looked at her as he gave out his card.

She looked away and touched her pony tail.

****

Zane arrived at his house after his jog.His door was open.He looked around.No one was there .

He opened the door slowly and was astonished to see his brother sitting watching a movie while eating cookies.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Mike turned.

"Visiting my brother."

The door bell rung while they were talking.

Leo came in.

Zane sighed.

"I don't like visitors."

"I'll go freshen up." He said and headed to his room.

Leo's eyes met with Mike's.Their eyes stayed fixed on each other .He walked towards him slowly.

Neither of them smiled.

The space between them seemed to shrink with every step but the tension only grew heavier.

He stepped closer until there was barely

any space left between them.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

His hand rose slowly ,his fingers settling beneath his chin .He tilted his face upward, gently leaving him nowhere to look except directly into his eyes .

The world around them seemed to disappear.His gaze lingered searching his face as if trying to memorize something.

Mike swallowed,but didn't pull away.A faint smile crossed his lips.

Leo leaned close enough to hear his breath.His voice dropped to a whisper.

"Don't look at me like that unless you want me to forget we are supposed to be careful."

He brushed his thumb lightly along his jaw before his hand fell way.

He then sat on the other couch facing Mike.

The distance between them returned,but the tension didn't.

A few minutes later ,Zane returned back

finger waving his hair.

"You won't be able to jog everyday from now " Leo said.

"The weather forecast shows it's gonna be rainy this month, especially during the evening."

Zane nodded .

"Prepare breakfast ." Zane told Mike.

Mike looked at him surprised.

"Leave my house if you can't." Zane scoffed.

Mike groaned.

" I'll help you."Leo said as he headed to kitchen.

Zane looked at Mike," Leo is willing to help you."

Mike sighed and headed to the kitchen.

****

Judith refused to let go of Tyler.

"I'll miss my flight." Tyler warned.

"Promise you will come back and send me pocket money every month."She cried.

Tyler sighed.

" Okay ."

He hugged his mum then waved them goodbye.

He sat next to the window with his headphones on.Time flew fast and in no time he had arrived.

He turned around looking for James who had promised to pick him up but he was nowhere to be seen.He called him only to hear his ringtone near a man who was lying on a bench covering his face with a hat .

"James ." He called.

The man did not answer but begun snoring.The people nearby looked at him . Tyler stretched his hand to take off the hat from his face to confirm if it was James.

Before he took it,the man woke up immediately panting heavily as if coming from a nightmare and threw a punch which Tyler luckily escaped.

Tyler stepped back scared as he stared at the man who was zoned out .The crowd gathered around.

"What the hell !" James!"Tyler shouted.

James came back to his senses and smiled mischievously.

" Prank!" He shouted.

After some time the crowd had disappeared.Tyler stood there looking at him .

" You almost gave me a black eye , don't repeat that prank again."

" It's not a prank, i***t, Fabian was beating me up and I was trying to fight him back ,in my dream."James said.

" Ooh , really."Tyler paused.

" Yeah ,but we also fought in reality,but coach gave us the worst punishment."He rubbed his face with his palm.

****

Leo stood behind Mike ,his arms around his waist .Mike held his hands and turned to look at him.

They both smiled.

Leo held Mike's belt and pulled him closer to him.

"Cute ." He said.

Mike blushed .

"Food is ready,let's go eat ." Mike said.

Leo smirked.

"Okay ." Before Leo could leave Mike held his right hand and caught him.

One hand closed around his wrist, the other finding his waist, pulling him back with a suddenness that stole the breath from both of them.

Their eyes met.

There was no hesitation this time.

He kissed him like he had been starving for him.

It was strong, almost desperate—the kind of kiss that carried every word he'd swallowed, every moment he'd wished he could have him close again.

His fingers tightened in the fabric of his shirt, holding him as though letting go would mean losing him all over again.

Leo melted into him, answering with the same intensity. Their lips met again and again, unhurried only because neither of them wanted the moment to end. There was tenderness beneath the force of it, a deep ache beneath every breath.

When they finally broke apart, they stayed close, foreheads touching, breathing unevenly.

“I missed you,” Mike whispered.

The answer came almost immediately.

“I know.”

A pause.

“I missed you too.”Leo answered.

And then he pulled him back into another kiss.

They heard footsteps approaching and retrieved immediately.Leo knocked Mike's head with his finger."He's the worst cook." He said loudly enough for Zane to hear.

Zane came and tested the food."He's improving."

They headed to the dining.Leo kept scrolling his phone while eating.So did Zane.

"Can you two concrete on the food first?" Mike asked.

Zane looked at him."Don't order me around."

Leo put his phone on the table.He held his spoon to start eating when he received a notification.

He could feel Mike's eyes all over him.He slowly picked up the phone without looking.

"He's back." He said.

"Who is back ?" Mike asked.

"Wolves captain,Tyler Lockwood."

Zane turned and looked at him.

"Do you two have problems with him?" Mike looked at Leo.

"Not me,your brother." He defended himself.

"Mind your business." Zane said.

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