“And I’m tired of it, too.”
Slowly, he turns to face me, confusion in his eyes. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that whatever happens tomorrow, whatever complications my life brings, tonight I want to stop lying. Tonight I want to give you something real.”
“Like what?”
I reach out and cup his face in my hands. His skin is cold from the air but warm underneath. He trembles slightly under my fingertips.
“I can’t tell you everything,” I say. “But I can tell you this. What you do to me, what I feel when I’m around you…that’s not fake. That’s not me playing games or jerking you around. That’s real.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
“Because I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t risk everything to chase you down just to lie to your face.”
“Risk everything?”
“Being here with you, like this, it’s the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. And I’m doing it anyway because the alternative…letting you think I don’t want you…is so much fucking worse.”
He stares at me. “You want me?”
“I want you so much it’s fucking killing me.”
“Prove it.”
The challenge hangs between us, a dare. Like he’s testing me to see if I’ll back down when things get real.
But I don’t back down.
I kiss him instead. He makes a sound against my mouth…surprise or relief or need, maybe all three. Then he’s kissing me back, our tongues coiling in an explosion of heat and desire.
This is different from the bathroom. Less angry. Like we’re both desperate for something only the other can provide.
My cock strains against my pants, aching to break free when he pulls away.
“That’s not proof,” he says, his voice rough. “That’s just kissing.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to stop holding back. I want you to show me that this matters to you.”
“It does matter.”
“Then prove it.”
I stare at him, understanding exactly what he’s asking for. What he needs from me to believe that this is real.
Without breaking eye contact, I drop to my knees in front of him.
The cold seeps through my pants immediately, but I don’t care. All I care about is the way Tate’s breath catches, the way his eyes watch me, the heated stare making my dick throb and ache.
“Zane, you don’t have to... ”
“I want to.”
“Here? In the rink?”
“Here. Now. Before you have a chance to convince yourself this isn’t real.”
