Page 25 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

I was glad we weren’t rushing, even as I wanted our limbs tangled in bed and our bodies exhausted with pleasure.

“Boys and girls, huh? How was it figuring that out?” I asked.

Avery gave an innocent shrug. “It was never really important. My folks…” He pressed his lips together, shot me a look of compassion, and, at my smile, continued. “They’re cool. Really cool. My uncle on Dad’s side has a husband and three kids. Dad’s always been very protective of him, especially after my uncle introduced my parents to each other.”

My eyes grew wide with wonder. It was a dream life.

Avery’s eyes caught the neon light of the sign for a local brew. They sparkled. I was completely absorbed as he went on. “They were open-minded since I could remember. I always knew about the spectrum. When I was old enough to read, they got me books with all sorts of diverse characters instead of showing me those heteronormative children’s movies.” He cracked the tiniest of smiles at that. “It’s never been a huge part of my personality, you know? It never changed anything.”

A benign sort of envy flickered through me. I was happy for Avery, but at the same time, I felt a loss for myself. That could never be me. And I told him so. “They know only because I was a stupid little dreamer,” I said. “I thought they’d gotten all the clues and were just waiting happily for me to tell them.” I didn’t want to remember that night. It was a fever dream in my memory. “I can still hear the silence that filled the room when I realized they weren’t going to wheel in a coming-out cake for me.” I laughed, but it fooled no one. Cold anger washed over Avery’s face as I fidgeted and gave an over-the-top shrug. “We don’t talk much. They’re glad I’m away. They fund my lifestyle and I’m not shy about milking it.” I felt no guilt at all about that. Not about the limo, not about the houseboat. It felt appropriate that I should spend their money on a date. “They don’t call and I don’t visit. Mom’s torn, I think, but Dad isn’t, so she keeps the tap running for me, but she still won’t do more than a phone call on special occasions. And she never asks about my dating life. Or anything, really.” I didn’t realize it, but my voice had turned darker and dryer as I spoke. I washed down the bitterness of those words with my wheat ale.

“I’m sorry,” Avery said.

“Ah. Don’t be. It’s better that way.” I shook my head dismissively. “I’m free.”

“You are,” Avery said seriously. “You are free.”

We shared silence for a time. “How do you like that?” I asked, pointing at his beer.

“It’s alright. I’m not crazy about craft beers,” he said and pushed it across the table. “Try it.”

It was a small, simple thing, but it made me happier than I could fathom. I took his beer and drank. Foam painted a mustache above my upper lip as I savored the taste of the beer. It was bitter and rich with hop. It was excellent. “You don’t know what’s good,” I teased, but my words stopped abruptly when his hand closed around my chin and he wiped the foam away from my lip.

Avery picked up a napkin for his fingers as if this had meant nothing, but my heart hammered. It was the sweetest, most casual gesture of intimacy I’d ever been awarded. And when his phone buzzed with Sawyer’s name lighting up the screen, I recalled myself back to Earth.

Avery gave me a soft smile and picked up. I couldn’t hear Sawyer’s words, but I put the pieces together from Avery’s answer. “No, yeah, I found them.” His gaze locked onto my face. “They say they plan to put up a fight before getting their ass kicked.” And something like pure joy moved over his face. “Will do, buddy. Have fun.” He hung up. “Sawyer says hi. Sort of.”

“Which probably means he made a vague threat about my ass in two weeks,” I said.

Avery bit his lower lip. If it was any indication, I was guessing he enjoyed himself immensely. We chatted about this and that and I told him again how much that night with him had meant to me. I told him, without hesitation, that it had been the best date of my life. I had decided to compensate for the fact that a dare had brought us together with abundant honesty. It didn’t make me look pathetic if I admitted that the weeks of chasing him had been the most fun I could remember.

Neither of us was touching our beers, I realized. Neither wanted the night to end just yet.

So we stayed. I lost myself in the stories of Avery’s childhood and the support he enjoyed at home. I told him what a contrast it was to my upbringing, which had always been rigid and religion-oriented. And we concluded that we made a good pair. That was the word we used. A pair. ‘Couple’ seemed too serious, although it teetered on the edge of my tongue. Too soon, I told myself. And I was happy with being a pair with him, however silly that sounded.

Whatever this thing was, I knew for certain that I wanted more of it. And that was the thought I carried with me after the lights went out and we had to leave. The parting kiss scorched me like no other had before. And the longing that opened in my chest once Avery and I went in opposite directions told me there was more to this dating thing than I had expected.

Chapter Eight

AVERY

As fate would have it, Coach Murray made me sit out the game against the Blizzard Breakers two weeks after Sawyer had promised we would kick their asses. It was only a friendly game, so I didn’t cry over it. We all had a bigger game on our minds coming soon. We were meeting the Vikings for a big deal game and the tension was palpable. If I was sad to miss my chance to clash with Grayson, I consoled myself by remembering we had games lined up for the rest of the year. I would get my chance.

And outside the rink, we collided constantly. His relentless efforts mellowed me so much that I often found myself expecting him. He was a wild torrent of sweetness. I would run into him in our university library, where he had no business being. I would run into him at the Thinker, where only his rivals gathered. He would make sure to be at the parties I mentioned I might visit with Sawyer. But best of all, he never stopped taking me places.

I wasn’t the type to swoon. And even so, I couldn’t deny the little glimmer of hope in me. I couldn’t ignore how my body heated near him or how my palms sweat slightly. I couldn’t pretend my heart didn’t beat faster when he threw his arm over my shoulders. So, maybe I actually was the type to swoon.

Our schedules clashed more often than not. And yet, Grayson searched for any wiggle room he could find. Those were starting to be my life’s most anticipated and desired moments. I was aware of the tugging sensation in my chest. It wasn’t too different from wearing a tie, which Grayson held in a tight grip. He never let go.

Week after week, he returned for more. And each time I felt he would get bored soon. I knew he would quit if I didn’t hurry the hell up. And whenever he kissed me goodnight after a date, I braced myself to be ghosted in the morning. Only, the last thing I saw on those date nights was a message from him.

Another incredible night with you. I could get used to this.

When Sawyer, who had been spending most of his nights with his boyfriend, Noah, told me he would be moving out of our room mid-semester, it was both a surprise and a bummer, but it opened a door in my heart that I had kept shut for so long. It reminded me that, at some point, I absolutely wanted Grayson to come over and stay the night. I didn’t know when, but the idea that it would happen became a fixed point in my future. I wanted it more and more with each encounter.

He gave up on the postcards, thankfully, because I’d told him how half my team house and the courier were starting to get invested in this thing. Not that either was stopping me. My teammates didn’t care nearly as much as I had expected. Beckett had made a passing joke that I should use my direct access to the enemy captain to learn about their tactics. One evening at the Thinker, he suggested that I should make sure Grayson couldn’t skate by any means necessary the next time we played against them. It earned him a shoulder punch from Caden, followed by a brief and heated lecture.

I wouldn’t have given their bickering a second thought, except that some days later, when we prevailed against the Vikings, Beckett swept Caden off his skates in front of the entire audience and cameras for a huge kiss. It made my heart clench. It was a surprise to us all, considering how much bad blood there had been between the two, but my mind raced away from me and converged around Grayson.