Fic: Introductions
“Asshole,” Sam muttered from somewhere very close by, but Eric didn’t have to open his eyes to know that Sam wasn’t really mad. His tone was more worried than anything else.
The next thing Eric noticed was that he was starting to get cold. Again without opening his eyes he deduced he was cold because he was lying prone on the ice, and had obviously been so long enough for it to make an impact through his clothing.
“You would,” Sam’s voice was a whisper now, mere inches away from his ear. “You would do something like this just to get out of it.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
That voice with its tiny quaver belonged to Scot, and sent Eric’s eyes shooting open. Looks of relief greeted him from all around, but only Sam and Scot were squatting by his side.
“Do we need to call an ambulance, Eric?” A worried teammate asked from above him. “I’m really sorry, man. I didn’t mean to come at you that hard.”
The final facts settled in. He’d been playing a pick-up game, like he’d done many Saturdays for the last two years, but this occasion had been different. This time, he’d offered to do something that had never even crossed his mind in the years before: introduce Sam to his hockey buddies.
Sam had been by a few times to see him play, but always as an anonymous face in the crowd. In the eight months since they’d taken in Scot, the boy had met more of Eric’s friends than Sam had, a situation that suddenly screamed for rectification. After all, he and Sam were engaged now, and one couldn’t marry someone who was kept hidden. Sam deserved recognition; he deserved to be able to come out with Scot and watch Eric play; to cheer him on without fear of drawing attention that Eric would later chastise him for. That period of Eric’s life was behind him now, and he was determined to turn the page with grace as he stepped into his new role as supportive and proud lover.
Except grace was obviously not what he had achieved. Telling himself it was the right thing to do was all well and good, but fears and insecurities built up over a lifetime did not go away that easily. None of the people who showed up for pick-up games were extremely close friends, but then again, none of Eric’s friends were extremely close, probably because he made sure to keep them at arm's length. That of course meant he wasn’t really sure how anyone would react, and as he’d started the game with Sam smiling at him blissfully from outside the rink he’d gotten considerably more nervous and more distracted.
And although one might think he’d have learned his lesson about getting distracted while playing hockey, he obviously had not....because at some point he’d allowed himself to get bowled over and had zoned out for at least enough time for Sam and Scot to worriedly make their way onto the ice.
Luckily, he didn’t feel anything other than a dull body ache, and it seemed he would live to make his mistakes again another day.
“Nah, I’m fine. Just a little dazed, I guess.”
He rolled over on his side and stood quickly to demonstrate his point, ignoring Sam’s panicked requests that he not move because he might have broken something. “See? All good.” He shook out his legs to dislodge some of the ice chips as he removed his helmet.
Sam’s expression was still deeply concerned, and Eric moved a little closer to his side to reassure him with a smile.
“That was pretty awesome, Eric,” Scot piped in. “You were like smack, and then you went flying.” He demonstrated the scene with his hands, slapping them against each other and sending one shooting off in a wide arc. “You didn’t bleed at all, though.”
“Thank God for small miracles,” Sam muttered, staring down at the ice and looking uncomfortable.
Eric suddenly became aware they were standing in a tight circle of his teammates, none of whom had any idea who Sam was, although it was probably obvious by now he was someone of importance in Eric’s life. It would be appropriate, Eric mused, for the introductions to begin, but nothing seemed to be coming to his lips.
“Man, I guess I don’t know my own strength.” Kevin, who had evidently done the bowling-over, chuckled.
“Eric’s used to taking the hard knocks,” another teammate offered from behind him.
Sam continued to stare at his black loafers, which stood out glaringly among all the blades that balanced on the ice. He was chewing on the corner of his lip nervously, and even though no words were making themselves available to correct the situation, Eric knew he had to do something.
So he casually slipped his hand around Sam’s waist and drew him close against his side, resolutely ignoring the nervous jump in his pulse.
“I was just a little distracted today,” he shot back. “I won’t let you get one over on me again. Just wait till next week. You’d better watch your back.”
Loud guffaws broke out amongst the gathered crowd, along with Kevin’s “Ooh, I’m shaking in my skates.”
The group began to disband then, and Scot, who had already been wearing his figure skates, sped away to dance in circles around them. Eric still held Sam firmly around the waist and he was trying not to look directly into people’s eyes as they moved together like that, but it was rather unavoidable. He saw a couple looks of confusion but more than a few knowing smiles, putting his mind at ease as everyone shouted their goodbyes and headed off.
“Alright, if I need to take you to a hospital, you’d better tell me right now,” Sam said in a low voice.
“Hospital? What? No, I told you, I’m fine.” Eric hugged Sam a little tighter for emphasis.
“Sure you’re fine,” Sam grumbled. “That’s why you’re hanging on to me for support right now.”
“Hanging on to you?” Eric repeated, dislodging himself from Sam’s side and pulling back abruptly. The force of his withdrawal knocked Sam off his balance, and he slipped backwards, landing with a thud on the ice.
Eric blinked a few times at Sam from his new higher vantage point. “I wasn’t . . . I wasn’t hanging on to you.”
“You weren’t?” Sam pulled himself into a sitting position, drawing his knees to his chest. “So you were . . . oh.” A smile crept onto his face. “Oh,” he said again.
“Need some help?” Scot asked, stopping by on one his turns around the rink.
“Nah, I got him,” Eric said, grinning as he extended his hand down to Sam. Sam grabbed it and Eric yanked with more force than was necessary, causing Sam to collide into his chest. Before either of them could pull back, Eric added his lips into the crash, brushing them into Sam’s.
It could hardly be called a kiss, as it lasted for only about a second. But it was remarkable, for Eric, at least, because he didn’t dart his eyes around in a paranoid attempt to determine the reaction of onlookers. Instead he kept his gaze directly on Sam, and he kept Sam close against his chest, smiling at the warmth and at Sam’s dazed grin.
“Okay if I introduce you next week?”
“Yeah,” Sam said a little breathlessly. “Yeah, that’s okay.”
Scot stopped in front of them and executed a twirl. “Ready guys?”
“Yeah, we’re ready,” Eric said, and as they turned to exit the rink he slipped his arm back around Sam without a second thought.
***