Iced

I crossed my legs under the table, pressing on a few buttons in front of me to cue some transition music. My mic was off, my cables all rolled up and packed away, and my bag and coat were waiting on the table near the door.

A long, low whistle echoed through the room and I widened my eyes at the intruder, moving my hand across my throat in a joking threat. Dan rolled his eyes and stepped outside. I gathered my things into my arms, not bothering to put my coat on yet, and followed him into the hall as Zack slipped in and murmured a quiet, rushed hello.

I slapped Dan’s shoulder jokingly once I caught up to him.

“You’re lucky my mic wasn’t on,” I warned him teasingly.

“Oh please. I saw the light was off.”

Dan rolled his eyes and pressed the down button for the elevator before turning his gaze back to me.

“So where are you off to all dressed up? Hot date?”

My cheeks flushed and I shoved his shoulder. The elevator dinged and we got in. I was happy that no one else was in there so I wouldn’t have to hear anyone talking about it the next day. Some of the ladies in the building were notoriously gossipy.

“I’m just having dinner with an old friend from high school...” I trailed off, trying to ignore the smirk on Dan’s lips. “What?!”

“If it was just a casual dinner you wouldn’t be so dressed up. As your boss I suggest-”

I waved a finger in front of his fatherly face. “Oh no no. I do not need any dating tips from you grandpa.”

Dan clutched his heart, a look of fake pain crossing onto his face. “I’m wounded Sloane. Grandpa? Really? I’m not even thirty-six! Plus does this look like the body of a grandpa?”

He motioned with one hand down his torso and legs, striking a silly pose that left me choking back my laughter. Dan, while my boss, was also the first person at the station whom I was very comfortable with and trusted completely. With his slightly greying black locks and bright, energetic attitude, I felt very relaxed. I had heard more than my fair share of horror stories about creepy bosses.

Dan was far from that. He was engaged to a beautiful woman named Veronica and he had a very protective air around him. He was like a father figure to a lot of people at the station and we all trusted him with everything.

The lobby was almost deserted except for a security guard sitting behind the main desk. He didn’t even glance up as we left - too engrossed in the book he was reading to pay us any mind.

Dan took my bag and helped me slip my coat on.

“So what’s mystery man’s name? Do I know him?”

I peered outside, trying to spot Harry’s car before Dan could scour me for information. Sadly he was nowhere to be seen even though my watch said it was nearing 9:15 already. I had ended up running a bit late but I didn’t think he would leave if I was late.

Turning back to Dan, I let out a little sigh. “His name’s Harry. And yeah, you probably know him.”

Dan didn’t press the issue, but stood by the glass with me as I waited for Harry. A few moments later his large black SUV glided up to the curb. Dan’s eyes widened as Harry practically jumped out of the car and ran inside the building. He shook his brown curls out with an apologetic smile on his face.

“Sloane,” both Dan and him said at the same time. They met each other’s eyes awkwardly and Dan motioned for Harry to speak first.

“I’m sorry I was late. I’ll explain in the car,” Harry said, glancing at Dan.

I nodded and waved to Dan to come closer. “Dan this is my friend Harry. Harry this is my boss Dan.”

They shook hands and Dan started rambling on about hockey, a slight flush of excitement coming into his cheeks. I laughed and stepped between them.

“Okay, okay. Dan I think you’ve had enough of work today, don’t you?”

Dan grinned at me and patted my head. He said a quick goodbye to Harry and was out the door in a few seconds.

“All set?”

I nodded and Harry held the door open for me, allowing me to step into the bitter night’s wind. I shivered and rushed around to the passenger door, not waiting for him to open the door for me - I was far too cold.

Harry was frowning once I finally turned towards him. He opened his mouth but I just waved his excuses away before they were even out of his mouth.

“It’s okay, really. I was running a bit late myself. I got downstairs just before you arrived.”

Harry’s forehead relaxed and the tense spot between his eyebrows disappeared.

“Johnny and I had a meeting with coach. He wasn’t too happy with how we both have been acting towards each other lately.” He shrugged, his fingers finding the volume on the radio and turning it down.

“How have you guys been?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

Harry’s cheeks flushed slightly. “It’s nothing Sloane, really. Johnny’s just being an asshole at practice and coach has been paying attention.”

Sighing, I nodded. That was very typical of Johnny. Once he didn’t get something he wanted he would pout and whine until he did. Obviously as he got older he had gotten a little more hostile about it, but it wasn’t anything uncontrollable.

The ride to dinner was quick, filled with Harry’s silly stories about practice the past few days. I told him all about my hectic work schedule for the next few weeks. I had to give it to him - Harry actually seemed interested in what I did for a living, unlike some of the guys I had previously gone out with.

Back in California I had gone out on numerous dates, mostly set up by friends, that had just gone straight down the drain. Usually the guys were football players with arms big enough to make up for their lack of brain. They were only interested in football and getting girls. Easy enough to shoot down.

There had never really been a guy since Johnny. He was my first love and still was the only man I had ever loved. I really had tried to move on in college, but by my second year I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to find someone who got me like Johnny did.

Going out with Harry was different for sure. He was polite but still the same Harry I knew. Harry 2.0. When we pulled up outside Area Four he all but leaped out of the car to hold my door for me, one hand capturing mine to help me down. It took everything in me to control the blush that was ready to spread across my cheeks as he murmured how beautiful I looked.

Area Four wasn’t too crowded when we got inside, so it was easy for us to find a booth in the corner of the restaurant under their artsy lighting. We made small talk before ordering and when the waitress flounced away with an extra swing of her hips Harry cocked an eyebrow at me.

“What?”

He shook his head with a chuckle. “You’re just different than any girl I’ve taken out before.”

I tilted my head a bit, his gaze staying straight on mine. “What do you mean?”

“Well for one, you’re not doing anything like that,” he lifted a finger to point to our waitress, who was staring at us from cross the room with a nasty look on her face. “Most girls I’ve taken out have gotten really protective or showy, or whatever it is. I don’t even know. Girls,” he sighed dramatically.

I chuckled at his expression.

“Harry, I graduated from a school that had girls like that everywhere, but most of them were already famous or on their way to becoming famous. I have no intention of that, so why would I act that way? And as for being protective, I think any girl that was lucky enough to go out with you would feel that way.”

Harry grinned at me, his eyes lighting up under the dim atmosphere.

“So before we get our food I have something for you.”

“Harry-”

“Oh no. You can’t get out of this one Lo. I still feel really bad about the other day with Johnny, so I got you these.”

Harry reached beside him and pulled up a small bouquet of flowers. I blushed when he handed them to me, staring at them in awe. They were beautiful - bright oranges and pinks were the outstanding colors.

“How did you get these? It’s winter Harry!”

“I know some people,” he added very noncommittally.

I slid over in the booth and squeezed him tightly, my arms around his broad shoulders.

“Thank you, really. They’re beautiful.”

Harry blushed as I slid back to my spot. We chatted quietly for a few moments before our dinner was placed on the table in front of us. As we ate, Harry and I reminisced about high school.

“God you hated me so much,” I mused with a chuckle.

Harry’s mouth dropped open and he placed his fork down onto the table. “I did not! I was shy and you knew everyone. I didn’t want to talk to you ‘cause of your dad too! Jesus he was the coach of the hockey team! He was the whole reason I came over from England.”

I giggled. “You always gave me weird stares! I thought you were plotting my death or something.”

Harry groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead.

“Plus you never participated in the whole hockey family ritual things we used to do! You were antisocial. Yeah, that’s what it really was.”

“I was shy. Plus it was weird how close you were to the entire team. I didn’t know if it would be bad luck for me to join in on all that stuff.”

I rolled my eyes as I took a bite of my pizza.

“Do you remember when you guys played in that tournament when we were juniors? I think we were in Rhode Island for it.”

Harry cocked his head to the side and chewed slowly. I could all but see the gears turning in his head as he tried to remember which tournament I was talking about. After all, the boys had been successful enough to participate in many regional and state tournaments.

“The one against that all-boys’ school?”

I nodded eagerly. “Remember how excited you were to have the puck in the third period? You had a breakaway and were skating backwards to avoid something and you totally wiped out straight onto your ass. God you were such a show off!”

Harry and I cracked up. “I fell so fucking hard.”

I nodded. “I’m pretty sure everyone in the place was laughing. You looked up at the glass with the funniest, most confused look ever and we all just died.”

We ate dinner fairly slowly, and we ended up stumbling out of the restaurant around midnight with laughter echoing into the quiet streets around us. Harry and I had filled the night with the funniest stories that we remembered from high school. He even made me share my most embarrassing moments in college, like the time I decided I wanted to rush a sorority - then quit three days later.

Harry helped me into his SUV, the flowers clutched tightly in the crook of my elbow. He blasted the radio on the drive back to my place, us singing along horribly the entire way. On a particularly bad high note I dissolved into a mix of laughter and tears while he told me to stop mocking him.

Harry even walked me up to my apartment, my arm in his. I pulled away from him once we got to my door so that I could take my keys out of my bag.

I placed my hand on his arm, “God Harry why didn’t we ever hang out sooner? We could’ve been the best of friends in high school.”

He shrugged, a smile still on his red lips. “Because you intimidated me Sloane.”

“No! Why?”

“Because you’re so beautiful. I didn’t want to get rejected by someone so gorgeous.”

My face was probably as red as a tomato at that point, so I placed my hand on my door to distract myself. It didn’t have the much-needed effect, but it did get Harry’s gaze to detach from mine for a moment. His eyes flickered down to where my hand was before settling on my face again.

Harry stepped closer, the tips of his loafers just touching the tips of my heels.

“Sloane, I’m going to kiss you right now, okay?”

My eyes went wide but I didn’t have a chance to respond. Harry’s hands found my lower back and scooped me right into his body. His hands covered the width of my body, heating me up instantly. I dropped the flowers in my arms as I placed my hands around his neck.

It was like all the cold had been sucked out of my body and replaced with fire. He pulled away all too soon though and I found that we were both gasping for air and staring at each other with wonderstruck eyes. His seemed a little more relaxed though.

“Good night Sloane.”