IncuBUST

Hot Chocolate

"Alright, let's get that hot chocolate, shall we?" he said standing up. I blinked and looked up at him. My skates were tucked beneath his right arm, slush dripping slowly off the blades. I stood up and felt a cold spot soak into the bottom of my left sock.

"Sure," I said with a small smile. He led me back out to the lobby and towards the snack counter. There was a short line. He bought two hot chocolates and handed one to me. I took a sip. It was pretty good for ice rink hot chocolate. He set my skates by the wall of lockers and took my hand directing me towards a rubber-floored staircase.

We ascended in silence. I concentrated on the feel of his hand on mine. It was nice. We came out onto a balcony lined with bleachers looking out over the rink. It was all but deserted. There was a little old lady with curly blue hair to the far left. She was bundled in a bright pink sweater and knitted silently as she watched the skaters below.

"I thought this would be better than sitting at the snack bar," Barapha said sitting down on the bleacher closest to the railing.

"It is," I replied sitting down beside him. I drank some more hot chocolate, feeling it burn down my throat. Why did I feel so awkward? I glanced at him and then down at the ice. He moved closer until his thigh was pressing against mine.

"Is this okay?" Barapha asked. I looked up at him. He was holding his cup of hot chocolate in both hands. It was steaming wildly. Was what okay? He glanced down at me and smiled. He looked strangely sad.

"Is it okay to just sit quietly?" he asked sounding almost ashamed. My brow furrowed and I replied, "Of course." He set his right hand on my knee and drank his hot chocolate. I leaned my head against his arm and looked out over the ice. Taylor was trying to teach Sissy how to do a two-foot spin. It was amusing. I could hear her giggling all the way from here.

Now that I knew he didn't expect me to talk, the awkwardness was fading. I felt tempted to ask if he was okay, but I didn't. Sometimes I didn't feel like talking either. Maybe Barapha was a secret introvert.

About fifteen minutes passed. The hot chocolate was gone. The old lady who had been knitting at the far end of the bleachers had left. A random Taylor Swift song was playing. The flashing lights attempted to match the beat.

"So, how is your human?" Barapha inquired after several more minutes of silence. I sighed and hugged his arm replying, "She's gone."

"You killed her?"

I straightened abruptly and looked at him replying, "No! She moved in with her aunt and cousins. Why would you--" I cut off at the look of innocent bewilderment on his face. It was a perfectly valid question. A lot of Dark Fae eventually killed their claimed humans. Like a lot of farmers eventually killed their livestock. I shook my head and mumbled, "Sorry."

"You seemed quite attached. Why did you let her move?" he asked and I glared out at the ice.

"The woman was her legal guardian according to her father's will. I had no right to keep her. She didn't actually belong to me," I muttered.

"Right. I forgot she was underage," Barapha said then he leaned down to press his lips against the top of my head.

"Now that she is gone, I can come over whenever I want," he murmured, his cool breath ruffling my hair.

"Not sure how Sissy will feel about that," I replied and he laughed.

"Don't let her fool you. Your sister loves me."

I smiled. He seemed more himself now. He pulled away from me and glanced down at the beat up digital watch around his left wrist.

"Shit," he muttered. He leaned over and began tugging at the laces of his skates which had remained on his feet the entire time we had been sitting up here.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He pulled off one skate and started on the other.

"My break's over," he replied wrenching off the other skate.

"I thought you were a skate guard," I said wondering why he had bothered removing his skates.

"I work the rental desk for the last two hours of my shift," he said scooping up his skates and standing. I collected the empty cups and stood to follow him. He glanced at me and smiled.

"You can stay up here if you want," he said, "No one will bother you." I shrugged noncommittally. I didn't want to be alone, but neither did I want to be surrounded by people.

"Your skates should still be by the lockers if you want to go back out on the ice."

I looked out across the rink and saw that the ice had become even more impossibly crowded. I grimaced at the thought of trying to shuffle my way through the masses. I heard Barapha laugh quietly and he said, "Or you could help me at the rental desk." I nodded enthusiastically and replied, "That honestly sounds like more fun."

He grinned and hooked his free arm around my shoulders before leading me back down the stairs.