Big A bit his lip as he waited outside the hockey arena. He'd promised Chi Ren that he would come and skate with him after his practice. This would be the first time he would be meeting his friends. He wasn't sure how they would act with him.
"Big A!"
He jumped at his name and spun. Chi Ren was rushing upto him with the biggest smile on his face. A blush crept up Big A's cheeks at how happy he felt at seeing him. It faltered a little when he noticed several tough looking guys watching behind Chi Ren.
"You made it!" Chi Ren beamed.
"I said I would, I could have been sleeping though!" he grumbled, trying to hide his nerves.
"I know but exercise is good for you."
He wrapped an arm around his shoulders and started walking him into the arena. Big A noticed the lack of introductions. However, he wasn't sure if he was disappointed or relieved.
Chi Ren's arm stayed around his shoulders as they walked through the building. He was guided to the stands.
"Sit here while I practice and I'll come get you when I'm done, okay?"
Big A nodded as he took the seat. It was cold and he was instantly glad he brought extra clothes. Quickly, he put his extra sweater on as well as his gloves and scarf. He felt a little better as he noticed the team enter the rink.
He sat there watching the practice with an absent curiosity. He wasn't interested in the actual game play but he was focused on Chi Ren. Watching how he moved and concentrated was more mesmerizing than he thought it would be.
Big A's imagination ran wild as he watched Chi Ren kneel on the ice to stretch his hips. An image of Chi ren kneeling exactly like that in bed with Big A underneath him. He could feel his cock stirring so he quickly pushed the thought away.
Within a blink of an eye the bell to signal the end of practice came and he watched, disappointed, as they left the rink and disappeared. Big A, unsure of what to do, waited … and waited.
Twenty minutes passed with no Chi Ren, then thirty minutes. It was almost an hour after Chi Ren left the rink before he finally emerged. He looked like he'd just showered and changed into something else.
Big A noticed his friends weren't around. Again he was unsure if he was disappointed or relieved.
'Were they waiting in the locker room?' he wondered.
"Hey!" Chi Ren called out. "Sorry for the wait, Coach gave us a pep talk and then I needed to have a shower. Did you enjoy your first hockey practice? Ready to get on the ice?"
Big A gave him a small smile and nodded slightly answering both questions. Chi Ren beamed and held out his hand. Big A took it with a slight blush. Their hands remained locked as he was guided to the locker area.
Chi Ren helped him get his skates and laced them up. His feet felt suffocated but he ignored it. He, once again, noticed his friends weren't there. Big A wanted to ask but Chi Ren stood up and guided him, awkwardly, to the ice. Big A followed thinking this was gonna be hell.
---
Big A groaned as he sat down on the bench. He was sure he had many bruises all over his backside and legs. He lost count how many times he'd slipped. Chi Ren would chuckle and help him stand up again.
"I'm never doing this again!" he grumbled.
Chi ren chuckled as he helped him remove his skates. He was gentle which made him smile inwardly.
"I mean it, I'll be walking funny for weeks at the clinic. I'm not going to be able to lean over my patients, even sitting down."
"You'll never get better if you give up at the first bump," he teased.
"I don't care, I am a dentist. I need to be physically fit enough to work and I can't be if I'm sore in places I never thought I could be."
Chi Ren chuckled softly and shook his head. They left the locker room and headed outside.
"How did you get here? Do you need me to give you a ride?" Chi Ren.
"I came in my car," Big A said quickly.
"Oh okay … how about something to eat? Are you hungry?"
Big A's stomach growled just at that moment making him blush even harder. Chi Ren chuckled louder and once again wrapped his arm around Big A's shoulder.
"Come on, let's go feed that monster first before anything else."
Chi Ren took him to a small little restaurant. The food was delicious and Big A found himself relaxing. As they left the store Chi Ren's phone buzzed. He smiled as he typed.
"Whose's that?" he asked, trying not to sound jealous.
Chi Ren answered obliviously, "My teammates. They are just confirming the next practice."
At the mention of his friends Big A remembered that he hadn't actually met them.
"Oh ok," he wasn't sure how to ask.
"I have booked it for next week. Do you have Saturday off?"
"Erm … yeah I think so."
"Great," he said, putting his phone away. "Do you want to come again?"
"I'll come but I'm not skating. I'll just watch," Big A insisted.
Chi Ren smiled, "We'll see."
---
The next Saturday, Big A was once again waiting outside the arena. He wondered if this time Chi Ren would introduce him. He wasn't sure what title he would have, friend most likely, but at least he would be introduced.
However, just like the previous time, Chi Ren didn't introduce him at all. Once again, he was ushered to the stands, left to watch and waited about an hour for Chi Ren.
Somehow, Chi Ren had convinced him to get on the ice again. He hadn't fallen as much this time but enough to remind him of his previous bruises.
This became the routine. He would meet Chi Ren and would not be introduced to his friends. He would watch the practice and then skate. Big A started to become concerned. Even though he wasn't sure what it was between them he, at least, thought they were friends.
Sometimes it seemed as if Chi Ren was pursuing him and then it felt like they were just friends hanging out. His mind was confused and he had no idea what to do. It felt like he was being kept hidden away.
---
That particular Saturday, he had to work so he couldn't meet Chi Ren. He sighed as he sat eating his lunch. Bai Lang, his boss's boyfriend, and said boss, Jin Xun An sat giving him a strange look.
"Why do you keep sighing?" Jin Xun An asked.
"Boyfriend troubles?" Bai Lang teased.
"No! Or … maybe … I don't know!" Big A stammered.
"Tell us," Bai Lang suggested.
"Well I'm not sure what it is. I've been meeting Chi Ren on my days off, I watch his practice and then he's been teaching me to skate. Sometimes it seems like something is there but then there are times when it just feels like friends hanging out."
"How do you feel about him?" Jin Xun An asked.
"I … I'm not sure. I think I like him but …" he trailed off.
"But you are holding back because you have no idea what he feels?" Bai Lang finished for him.
Big A nodded and sighed once again. Jin Xun An and Bai Lang shared a sympathetic look at each other.
"Maybe you need to take the plunge and ask him. If it's confusing you then you need to know where he stands. Only then can you be sure what you feel," Jin Xun An suggested.
Big A nodded but then tensed, "He doesn't introduce me to his friends. I've been to his practice at least five times now and each time … nothing. He just moves me away, doesn't come get me after practice until everyone is gone."
"Maybe he thinks you're not ready to meet new people. You were standoffish to him for a long time before you warmed up."
"Or maybe he's embarrassed because I'm not butch or athletic like his friends."
"I don't think that'll be the reason," Bai Lang offered.
Big A sighed and stood up. He wanted to be alone, he thanked his friends and went upstairs to his office. His head was a mess.
---
Chi Ren looked at his phone concerned. He'd texted Big A earlier asking if he'd had lunch but it showed he had read it but he hadn't answered. It has been several hours now.
He'd finally gotten to a point where if he messaged the younger guy he would answer, not right away if he was at work but at least a short time after, maybe in between patients.
His teammates noticed him staring at his phone as they sat at their usual diner they went to after practice.
"Trouble in paradise?" one of his friends teased.
Chi Ren frowned at him, "I don't know!"
He put his phone away and sighed.
"He has read my message but hasn't responded," he told them.
"Maybe he's busy, he is a dentist after all," another friend suggested.
"Yeah, the practice he works at is always busy. I've been there before," another added.
"Yeah maybe," he conceded, returning to his food.
---
It had been days now since Big A hadn't responded to any of his texts. Chi Ren had continued to message him his usual messages.
'Good morning, remember to have breakfast.'
'Goodnight, I hope you sleep well.'
'Drive safely to work and don't work too hard.'
'Are you coming to watch me practice?'
Each message got left on read and that was all. By now he was really concerned. Lu An, his oldest friend, had noticed the increasing concerned look on his face. He looked at his phone over Chi Ren's shoulder.
"He hasn't responded?" he asked.
The locker room quieted as they all turned to face him. Chi Ren sighed and shook his head. He put his phone down and stood to get changed.
"Maybe he's just really busy!" one offered.
"No, he isn't at least not the times I message him. I know his routine a little," Chi Ren told them.
"You think he's purposefully ignoring you?" Lu An asked.
"Yeah, and I have no idea why!" he grunted in frustration.
He'd turned to see his friends and stopped at their expressions.
"What?" He demanded.
"You really don't know?" Lu An asked.
"No! I have no clue. I've gone over everything, he meets me here, I show him where to sit so he can see me really good and then we skate together for a bit. After that we have something to eat. In between that we text all the time. That's all!"
"Chi Ren, my friend, sometimes you are really dense!" Lu An chuckled.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Think about it. Chi Ren, each time that he came here you moved him away and sat him on his own to watch you. You did that everytime."
He stared at his friends not knowing what they were getting at. They had basically just repeated what he'd said.
"Seriously, dude sometimes I wonder how you graduated!" one of his friends chuckled.
"Stop being cryptic!"
"You never introduced him to us!" Lu An said softly. "You moved him away, sat him on the opposite side of the arena and then waited until we left to go to him. He's probably thinking all kinds of things about that."
Chi Ren's mind was working overdrive. It was taking forever to connect the dots.
"Dude, you've been going after him for months but have you actually told him how you feel about him? Have you introduced him to people in your life? You've introduced him to hockey but that's it. I've seen you guys sometimes and …"
His friend trailed off, unsure how to explain.
"And what?" he asked.
"Well, it doesn't look like a guy trying to date someone. It looks like buddies hanging out, just like when you hang out with us. If I were Big A I would be confused as hell about how you feel."
An explosion happened inside his head. All their interactions over the past month or so screamed into focus. He had indeed isolated him unintentionally.
"Well … I did that because … Big A is introverted … you guys can be loud … And … And …"
"And you didn't talk to Big A about how he actually felt about meeting us?" Lu An finished for him. "You assumed and took that decision from him."
"SHIT!" Chi Ren cursed.
His friends shook their heads as Lu An patted his shoulder.
"You've also probably not told him how you feel about him. You go from flirting to friendship and back again. If he's as introverted as you say then he's probably protecting himself by distancing himself from getting hurt."
Chi Ren cursed again and quickly sped up getting changed. He raced out of the arena and headed straight for the clinic.
Chi Ren burst through, startling the staff and some patients. Jun Xun An smiled at him, a knowing smile that was lost on Chi Ren right then.
"Are you looking for Big A?" he asked.
"He's working today, right?"
Jun Xun An shook his head, "No, today is his day off, I thought he was with you."
Chi Ren's face paled, "No, he …. I assumed he was working since he didn't show up at the rink."
"Sorry, today's his day off."
He took out his phone and called Big A. However, he groaned in frustration when it went to voicemail again and again.
Jun Xu An gave a rare smile and then walked to the receptionist desk. Chi Ren watched as he wrote something down before handing it to him.
"I don't usually do this but … I think I can make an exception here."