Shoresy shuts my door behind him after coming in. We each undo our laces, taking our shoes off, careful not to track slush into the apartment. Even under my heavy socks. My feet feel cold. I let Shoresy look around while a go into the kitchen and get my kettle started.
"You got settled in fast," he says from my living room, looking at the paintings and other things I had on the walls and around the room.
"Spent the last two days getting everything done," I tell him. I hand him a bottle of water. "Here, I won't actually make you drink tea."
"Wanna know a secret," he asks as he takes the water. I nod. "Never even tried it before," he smirks.
"What," I ask, incredulously. "You've never tried tea before?"
"Not a day in my life."
"We're changing that. Come here." I motion for him to come over to where I'm standing as I open up a cabinet and show off the different types that I'd bought the previous day. "Pick whatever looks good." Shoresy stares at the options, looking over the flavors for a moment. He eventually grabs a box that holds spiced orange bags inside. "Good choice," I say, grabbing it from him.
As the kettle heats up the water, I grab some honey sticks from a drawer and cut up a lemon. I then grab a couple of mugs from the cabinet, having to go up on tiptoes to reach them. I feel Shoresy's gaze on my the whole time. A moment later, the kettle whistles and I remove it from its heat source.
I put a teabag into each of our mugs and pour the hot water over them, letting them steep. As we wait, Shoresy pulls his sweatshirt over his head, revealing a dark gray tshirt underneath. It lifts slightly as he takes off his sweatshirt, showing off part of his torso. I look away quickly.
"You keep it warm in here," he says, draping the sweatshirt over the back of a chair.
"You think? I'm still pretty cold. Feel my hands," I say, holding them out. He takes them in his large hands and gasps.
"Fucking hell, Elsa," he starts. "Are you gonna break out in song and freeze the kingdom," he jokes, referencing the Disney movie. He squeezes my hands between his and blows between them, using his hot breath to warm me up. It's a sweet gesture. "Better," he asks after a few moments.
"Yeah, I think so," I smile. I stare at him for a moment before I remember our tea. I quickly remove and throw away the teabags before adding the honey and lemon. I take a quick sip, testing out the taste. "Okay, try it," I say, satisfied with how it tastes.
Shoresy hesitantly picks up his mug and holds it in his hands. He brings it up to his nose, smelling it. I smile as I watch him tense up slightly before bringing the mug to his lips. I wait as he takes his first drink.
"So?"
"This tastes like how autumn feels," he says before taking another drink. I grin at him, happy that he likes it. "I take back what I said about it being dirt water."
"I knew you'd like it if you tried the right one." We take our mugs into my living room and sit on the couch, getting comfortable. I take a drink of my tea. "How long have you been playing hockey," I ask him.
"Since I was a kid," he answers. "I didn't get started until I was 10 or so."
"Nice," I say, approvingly. "What do you do during off season?"
"Train for the upcoming season," he smirks.
"So hockey's, like, it for you," I reply.
"It's my life. I love it."
"That shows in how well you play. Your passion comes through. Makes it fun to watch you."
"I'm glad you had fun. I knew you'd like the game." He smiles and takes a drink of his tea. "What about you? What does a Yank like yourself do?"
