"Silence swelled like music."
They stayed in the rink longer than they should have. The morning practice crowd had come and gone, maintenance had dimmed the lights for the afternoon lull, and still they sat there on the bench beside the boards, neither quite ready to leave this strange bubble they'd created.
Silver had shifted closer without realizing it. Or maybe she had realized and just didn't care anymore. Their shoulders touched now, the warmth seeping through layers of fabric. Eli's good hand rested on his thigh, fingers drumming an absent rhythm that matched her heartbeat.
"We missed breakfast," she said, mostly to fill the silence that had grown too heavy.
"Not hungry."
"You're always hungry. You ate three bagels yesterday."
A small smile tugged at his mouth. "That was yesterday. Pre-existential crisis."
"Ah yes, the infamous post-crisis appetite loss. Very dramatic of you."
"Says the girl who literally skates through injury for the drama of it all."
