Jeremy flashes him a genuine smile that causes Sergio’s stomach to flip.Come on, Sergio, you can do this.
“I can’t believe you remember that.”
“Of course, I remember. And you were right to request it. It was a real treat to watch you skate without the barrier of the lens.” Feeling bold that this little twist to the conversation hasn’t led to him being shut out yet, Sergio takes a risk. “And I’m glad I don’t have it with me this time, either.”
“Even if you did,” Jeremy says, giving a soft shake to his head, “no one would be asking you for the prints.”
“That’s not true. You were made for the ice.”
Jeremy averts his gaze and braces himself against the half wall as he slides a blade guard on. “Maybe before,” he says, his chin tucked towards his chest. “But not so much anymore.”
With one arm wrapped around Henry, Sergio rises to his feet and offers his free hand to Jeremy to help him step off the ice. “You’ll probably tell me you’re out there playing around—”
“I am,” Jeremy interrupts before Sergio can finish voicing his praise. He doesn’t let that stop him.
“I know. And that’s what makes you so beautiful to watch.” Sergio pauses as Jeremy places a guard on his other blade, giving him time to steady himself again and face Sergio directly. “You look … free.”
Jeremy tilts his head, giving Sergio a contemplative look. “I guess I am,” he says and holds Sergio’s gaze, even while tugging at his left eye.
Together, they share a moment of silence, standing and staring at each other while Henry looks back and forth between them like he’s watching a tennis match and waiting for one of them to make a match set point.
Sergio lets go of Jeremy’s hand, then reaches to cup Jeremy’s cheek. He runs his thumb across his cheekbone and waits for Jeremy to pull away. He doesn’t.
Sergio leans in, placing the gentlest of kisses on Jeremy’s lips. Gentler than any kiss he’s ever placed on Jeremy’s or anyone else’s lips for that matter, worried that anything too fierce will burst this first moment of perfection Sergio has experienced in he no longer even knows how many days.
He holds his breath, waiting for Jeremy to respond. When Jeremy opens his mouth slightly and kisses him back, it takes all of his strength not to drop Henry and scream out in joy.
Chapter seven
“So,” Rose says, surprising Sergio later that night as she appears beside him by the bar at the New Year’s Eve party. He’s still riding the high from the success of his kiss while waiting for the whiskey neat he ordered for himself and a sparkling water with a twist of lime for Jeremy. “Henry told me you kissed Jeremy.”
This is new. She’s usually too busy talking to sports reporters and chatting up potential sponsorships for Allison to pay any attention to what Sergio is doing at the New Year’s Eve party. And honestly, going by the look of judgment on her face and the way she’s crossed her arms, he’s one hundred percent sure he preferred it when she paid him no mind at all in the last hours counting down to the New Year. It’s none of her business that he and Jeremy shared an innocent kiss.
“So what if I did?” He shrugs and lays a tip down on the bar for the bartender who’s sliding Sergio his drinks. “You’re the one who was so adamant that I make nice with him.”
“Make nice, not make out,” she quips and uncrosses her arms to grab a glass of champagne for herself. She takes a sip, keeping her eyes on Sergio the entire time, making him apprehensive about whatever it is she’s about to say next. She is his best friend’s wife and therefore family. But in the context of family dynamics, to Sergio, she feels more like a younger sister who can do no wrong in everyone else’s eyes, but goads her older brother when no one is looking, always making him look as if he’s the problem. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, Sergio. But whatever it is, I don’t like it.”
“Why do you assume I’m playing at anything?” Sergio rolls his eyes, averting them from Rose and over to where Jeremy is standing, awkwardly dealing with Chadwick Levinson. He catches Sergio looking at him, and a smile plays across his lips, lifting his cheeks and causing his eyes to slightly crinkle.
“Because I know you too well, Sergio.”
“You obviously don’t know me well enough if you can’t see that I genuinely like Jeremy.”
It’s Rose’s turn to roll her eyes. “You only like someone for as long as it takes for you to get your dick in their mouth.”
“Come on, Rose, you know that’s not true. I likeyouand I’ve never once considered doing what you just suggested.”
That’s a lie. He very much did once think about it at the moment he, Holden, and Adrien all first saw her two Olympics ago in Calgary. That lasted only a fleeting second as Holden immediately proclaimed his love for her while she rushed by, carrying all her skating gear on her back to the practice rink. Holden’s heart eyes were so large that Sergio’s interest in Rose went right out the window. Instead, he relentlessly teased Holden about his crush for the entirety of that Olympic Games. So naturally, Sergio doesn’t think that counts. And thankfully, he’s never mentioned it to anyone. Sometimes he can manage not to dig his own grave.
“I seriously doubt that,” she says. “But regardless. Can we please get through this week without you breaking my best friend's heart?”
“Why do you assume I’ll break his heart?” Sergio asks, genuinely wondering why everyone except Holden seems to think so little of him. Even Henry has expressed his disapproval in matters that concern how Sergio interacts with Jeremy. In Henry’s defense, however, up until this afternoon’s kiss, all interactions have been less than stellar.
Though, to Sergio, at least by his reasoning, none of this casual judgment of him is fair. He knows himself and his motivations better than any of them could ever pretend to. Sergioiscapable of falling in love with someone other than himself. At one point, he thought that was going to be Jeremy. And now here fate is giving him a second, well, thirtieth, fiftieth, eightieth chance at rekindling their connection and potentially fanning their flame.
Rose sighs. “Because history repeats itself.”
“I didn’t come here intending to break anyone’s heart. Hell, I didn’t even know Jeremy was going to be here, let alone living withyou,” he says, pointing at her. He grabs the two drinks he ordered from the bar. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I would like to take Jeremy his drink and save him from having to continue talking to that insufferable Chadwick Levinson asshole. Andmaybeeven seal myself a second kiss from Jeremy when the clock strikes twelve.”
