Skating Through by Jennifer Cosgrove

Author:Jennifer Cosgrove [Cosgrove, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NineStar Press, LGBT, YA, high school, sports, hockey, BFF, coming out, coming-of-age, homophobia
Publisher: NineStar Press, LLC
Published: 2018-10-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

BEN SCRUBBED HIS clammy palms on his thighs before jumping down from the bench. The motorcycle shut off, and it was so quiet he could hear the ticks of the engine cooling down. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and left the comfortable shelter of the trees behind. It had probably been a mistake to wait at the bench, because he obviously startled Marcus when he walked out of the trees.

“Shit!” Marcus bobbled the helmet in his hands for a second before hanging it off the handlebars. He gave Ben a tight smile. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” You scare me, too. Ben kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe, unable to look Marcus in the face. “Um.” He heard a big sigh before there was finally a response.

“Yeah.” Marcus let out a small laugh, if something that sad could be classified as a laugh. Ben looked up, assessing him. Marcus ran a hand through his hair, and it was his turn to look away. “We’re really dramatic, aren’t we.”

It was Ben’s turn to laugh. “Ryan tells me that all the time.”

“Same with Rachel.”

Ben’s lips twitched in a small smile. “She’s terrifying.”

“God, I know. I wouldn’t even be here if I wasn’t afraid to tell her I didn’t go through with it.” They looked up, and their eyes met for a long moment before they both laughed at how ridiculous they were being. The tension eased a bit, and Ben tilted his head toward the bench under the trees.

“Want to go sit down?”

“Sure.”

Ben led the way but didn’t sit on the bench with Marcus, knowing he’d need to move to get through whatever was coming next.

“Look, I—” He stopped and growled in frustration. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m a mess. Probably someone you don’t want to have anything to do with.” Marcus acted like he was going to interrupt, but Ben steamrolled over him. If he stopped now, he’d never get it out. At least he could walk home in a few minutes and die a peaceful death. “I’m not out.”

“I know that.”

Ben stared at him for a few seconds before continuing. “I don’t know if I want to be out. I don’t know if I can. Especially at school.”

“Because of the team?”

“Yeah. How did you—”

Marcus leaned forward, his hands hanging loosely between his knees. “I might not be involved in sports, but I pay attention. I know how toxic that environment is for guys like us.” Ben blinked at the like us comment but waited for him to keep going. “But you know that more than I ever could.”

“The guys on my team aren’t that bad. They say stupid shit, but they’re not bad.” Ben willed Marcus to understand what he was saying. “But that’s only my team.”

“Would they be willing to have your back?”

“I don’t know.” Ben was tired. All of the things he’d been too scared to think about were being dredged up and put under a microscope. He sat heavily on the bench, on the other end from Marcus, leaving plenty of space between them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.