Page 25 of Riding the Pine

“Going out after?” Artemis nudges my knee with his as he rubs at the tape on the blade of his twig.

I nod. “Assuming we fucking score. Not showing my face if we end up having to have a pity toss at the end of the game.”

He snorts in response. “Apollo’s on it. He’s going to set his skates on fire to make it happen. No sweat.”

I haven’t seen Athena in… well, it’s been longer than I’d like. But every time someone on the team talks about going drinking,my stomach clenches. I’ve stopped, completely t-total, which is probably weird for someone so young, but I hate not having all my memories of the night Athena put me to bed.

It still nags at the back of my brain that I may have said something inappropriate to her, something potentially damaging to our friendship, even though she has assured me I didn’t. Something has been… different since that night.

There’s every chance it’s been in my head, that I’m seeing something that isn’t there, but at the same time, in the pit of my stomach, there’s a voice saying I stepped across a line. I can’t shake it.

“Scottie?” Artemis purses his lips together, a deep ‘v’ forming between his brows. “Where’d you go?”

Just thinking about your sister, man. And how I’m ass-over-tits in love with her. No biggie.

My cheeks heat as I shrug. “Zoned out.”

He stares at me for a looooooong time before heaving out a sigh. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve been…” He waves a hand at me. “Not yourself lately.”

I nod. “I’m good.” Please don’t stare at me anymore, you might see into my brain and see my deepest, darkest secrets.

He nods, but with hesitation, as though he doesn’t quite believe me before looking away, and the pressure of his stare being shifted from me sends relief to my limbs.

I’m sure he’d be fine with me having a crush on his sister, maybe even a date or two, but there’s a very clear divide between their lives and mine. We are not the same, no matter how down to earth they are. And if something were to develop between Athena and me, there’s every chance something could go wrong, and of course they’d take her side in any breakup.

I can’t risk breaking up with my best friends over a girl, even if that girl is the most amazing woman to ever walk the earth. Because, while losing her brothers would be crushing, it wouldabsolutely destroy me, that pain would pale in comparison to how I’d feel having hurt her, or worse, lost her.

I dig at my chest with my glove, like it might be able to take away the pain building up in my heart, but it can’t.

A life with Athena de la Peña as only my friend beats any life without her in my world at all.

That’s how it was, how it is, and how it has to be.

It’s after the period break and we’re back on the ice. It takes all of four seconds for Apollo to get his stick to the puck. When he has it, he dekes past two of our opponents, every person in the rink leaning forward to the edge of their seats.

As he splits the D coming into our offensive zone, people in the stands start standing a couple at a time to get a better look at where he’s going, and what we all hope he’s about to do with the puck.

He fakes the goalie out of his net, and there’s a collective gasp as everyone readies their plushies.

It’s my favorite game of the season. The kindness and selflessness of the people in the crowd as they haul sometimes trash bags full of toys to launch onto the ice to donate to sick and less well-off kids warms something in my heart.

It doesn’t stop there, either, the de la Peñas always go above and beyond when it comes to charitable donations. The fact they’re humble, and genuinely nice guys really helps because I don’t think I’d be able to stomach some rich assholes throwing their money around. But these guys, they’re special, and they truly want to do good in the world with what they have.

Apollo brings back his stick to line up the shot, causing someone in the crowd to start celebrating a fraction of a second before he’s even taken the swing.

But the goalie is so far out of position that it’s got to be a shoo in. There’s no way Apollo de la Peña misses at that distance, and the team heave out a collective sigh of relief as he lights the lamp,the crowd goes wild, and teddies start pouring onto the ice in masses.

There’s no limit to how many bears or plushies you bring, but they must each be wrapped individually to save from them getting damaged or stuck to the ice.

Having seen a bear have its arm ripped off because it got stuck to the ice, we emphatically encourage everyone to follow this rule. So much so, that we even have volunteers in the crowds walking around with spare bags to prevent sodden, stained, and sometimes stuck toys.

Teddies rain onto the ice for what feels like an age, and I suck in a long, slow cleansing breath as I witness the generosity of Cedar Rapids in effect.

The rest of the game is fairly standard and by the book, we end up winning 3-1 and while part of me wants to go home and sleep, something inside drives me toward the bar next door to our rink, affectionately referred to as the trash can.

We’re about ten feet into the sports bar when our captain, August Kade grinds to a halt in front of me, flanked by two other players as I walk straight into their backs.

“The fuck?” I stutter to a stop.

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