PAINTED LOVE

FIFTHTEEN

sebastian hayes

. . . . . .

I am a boyfriend.

I have a girlfriend. A hot, beautiful, funny, smart and kind girlfriend. Not just a girl I found at the side of the streets, but motherfucking Loïse Madden.

She might be oblivious to it, but I don't know a single guy at campus who doesn't look back when she walks past. She always thinks the boys don't like her, because they didn't at high school but any of us would pay some goddamn money to kiss that petty mouth of hers.

I walk into the locker room to get my hockey clothes on and pass Dean.

"Yo Seb", he greets. I greet him back and receive another pat on my shoulder.

"So, uh", he starts. "What's up with you and Loïse? I heard there were some troubles?"

I chuckle. He's so fucking dumb. But he's one of my best friends and I wouldn't want him any other way.

"There were", I admit. "But it's all cleared up now, we're better than every actually", I say, oblivious to the grin that's stuck on my face.

Dean wiggles his eyebrows. "Oh, I get it. No need for further explanations."

I chew the inside of my cheek. I never found it an issue that Loïse is a virgin, and I still don't. I'm just a bit anxious for our first time together, since I've never had sex with a virgin, so I have no fucking idea on how to not make it hurt or, hell, even bleed. I know that I'm ready for sex with Loïse, but I was ready from the moment I laid my eyes on her, when I bumped into her at that party.

I laugh silently, knowing that that bump was my fault, but I was too cocky to admit it and she was too petty to just let it go.

"You almost done?", Elias asks from beside me. I snap out of my dreaming about Loïse and meeting her and my thoughts on how to make her first time at least a little bit good. I realise I haven't even taken off my shoes yet, and practice starts in five minutes.

I nod my head to Elias and proceed to change as fast as I can.

. . . . . .

Skating on the ice feels like flying on pink clouds today. I feel lighter, happier and more confident whenever I get the puck. We're teamed up. I need to beat George, our second center-player, but he usually sits on the bench when I play.

It's not like he's a bad player and therefore needs to sit his time out, but he's a senior and already had his "time of glory" in which he used to play all the time. He injured himself last year, which is also why he's more resting than playing. But he's happy to be on the ice right now and he's not going to go easy on me in this training match. Too bad for him, I'm not going easy on him either.

The match starts, the puck gets slided in the middle of the ice field and I waste no time to skate up to it and grab it right before George can. His eyes are focused on the puck, where I'm going with it. Yet, he forgets to watch the other players too. I pass it up to Elias, who elegantly catches it with his hockey stick. He skates forward, passing the wingman from the opposite team, and passes it back up to me. I'm already at the goal. The easiest option here is to just shoot and hope it turns out well.

But as I said, I won't go easy on them. The defensemen are putting themselves up in front of the goal and instead of shooting the puck and have them catch it, probably, I shoot it to Dean. He's standing on my left side. He catches it, and as I expected, the defensemen's line-up falters.