Roman walked out of the classroom with his shoulders high.
Dealing with the miscreant boys that tried to bully him, made him happy in a way that it shouldn’t.
Normally he was planning to ignore, but seeing the comical expression of surprise and restraint in their faces as he was leaving the classroom made him happy.
He still stands on his principle of keeping bullies in their place early before they grow wings.
That thought gave way for a more important thought.
The hockey coach sent for him.
For what exactly?
Roman’s stomach twisted into a tight, nervous knot.
Is he mentally prepared to meet his coach?
Ever since he entered Vesperridge Academy, entering the ice rink, meeting his coach, and his team mates was his top priority after all this is the main reason why he was given a scholarship to the academy.
He is finally going to be able to play hockey in a standard ice rink.
But then the image of the hot curly haired blonde boy with piercing green eyes came into view.
His disapproving glares and rude smirk.
Roman felt his excitement dulled.
His heart rate increased significantly and a dull thud at the back of his head.
Porter Ralph told him the boy is going to be his captain.
His name is Luciano Anderson.
‘Luciano Anderson.’ Roman murmured it quietly under his breath to know the way it would roll off his tongue.
Even his name sounds expensive and dangerous.
Roman shook his head quickly.
He shouldn’t be thinking like that.
The boy was rude, arrogant and insufferable.
Yet Roman could not deny one thing.
He was both excited and anxious to meet him again.
He dreamt of his face the entire night even though he shoved him rudely.
He wanted to see him again.
When he thought of his plan to befriend him, a bitter chuckle escaped his lips.
Seeing how the boys reacted to his presence today, he was no longer confident of his plan to befriend Luciano Anderson.
He is just going to play hockey and avoid him.
If his Lackeys were like this, imagine how scary Luciano would be.
He was already ahead of Roman who seemed to be dragging his feet behind.
“Alright.” Roman said and walked faster to meet up with him.
The older student was wearing a black shorts with a striped white and black long sleeve soccer shirt.
He was wearing a black and white trainers sneakers with a knee length white sock.
His hairstyle was a buzz cut.
He was walking with a long steady stride.
His tall frame, carriage and composure is definitely that of an athlete.
Rolls of lean muscle peaked out from the exposed skin in between his socks and shorts and his arms.
Roman wondered what sports he plays, definitely not hockey.
They stepped into a sleek, mirrored elevator at the end of the corridor.
The senior pressed a glowing button, and the elevator began its smooth, silent descent into the lower levels of the building.
The silence between them stretched, the boy looked straight into space.
Roman was uncomfortable with it and decided to break the ice.
“Do you play hockey?”
The boy turned to look at him for the first time, he was taller so he had to look down a bit.
“I don’t play hockey.” He said.
“But I am the assistant goalie.”
Roman nodded his head.
He had been wrong earlier.
“My name is Roman.” He said.
“Yeah I know.” The boy said, he turned and continued staring into space.
Roman blinked; he expected him to introduce himself too, he wondered whether the boy was plain rude or just lacked basic social skills.
The ride down was brief, the door opened.
They stepped into a polished dimly lit floor that looked like an underground garage.
The air down here was significantly colder, smelling of ozone, and shaved ice.
The boy was walking briskly, his tall legs making long strides.
Roman had to jog a little to keep up with him.
They walked until they got to a door with a glowing digital security lock.
The boy imputed the password, his long finger moving across the keypad with such a speed that Roman could not keep up with the numbers.
They entered into a short passageway that led to another door.
The moment those doors opened, Roman’s breath caught in his throat.
The ice rink spread before him like a frozen kingdom.
Bright white lights reflected beautifully against the smooth glassy ice surface.
The massive arena stretched endlessly before his eyes, surrounded by rows upon rows of dark spectator seats rising high into the distance. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
It like the professional ice rink he saw on TV
The cold air rushed against his face instantly.
Roman could smell fresh ice, metal, rubber and sweat mixed together.
Several players were already practicing in the middle of the rink.
They walked down the stairs with rows of spectators chairs flanked on each side down to the middle of the rink.
The boy walked towards a man wearing a blue t-shirt with broad shoulders showing some papers with graph-like diagrams to a group of players.
“Coach!” The man turned sharply, his eyes immediately landed on Roman and it narrowed.
Like most coaches the man does not look old.
He is at most in his early forties, with a jawline carved from granite and short, peppered hair.
His face was stern but not cruel.
His sharp jaw was dusted with light stubble while faint lines around his eyes hinted at years of stress and discipline.
There was nothing soft about him.
“Here is the boy.”
The coach did not talk at first he looked him up and as if accessing his worth in gold.
“Mr Roman Milkov.” He said putting out his hands, his voice firm and hoarse.
“Just call me Roman sir.”
The coach’s grip tightened painfully for a second, testing Roman’s strength, before he pulled his hand away.
“You don’t get to tell me what to call you but you will call me Coach. Is that understood?”
Roman looked at him, a spark of amusement lighting up his own dark eyes.
He didn’t back down from the pressure.
“Understood, Coach.”
“You seem like the stubborn type. This is exactly what this team needs.”
Roman’s eye looked over the man’s shoulder and he saw him; the green eyed devil.
Even from a distance, Luciano looks different from everybody else.
As if the entire rink naturally revolved around him.
Roman’s breath hitched.
At that exact moment, Luciano looked up too.
Across the cold, echoing expanse of the arena, their eyes locked.
And somehow, despite the freezing temperature of the rink, Roman suddenly felt unbearably warm.
Don’t be bothered about the many characters, all of them are working together to bring our MCs together