Page 35 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

It took all my strength not to collapse over him when he pulled back, wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand. He shot me a dark smirk and helped lead me to bed, where I snuggled up with him for an endless moment of peace and calm. I was happy. I was ridiculously happy to hold him and be held by him in turn.

And when we were close to starving, we finally separated our tangled limbs and showered quickly. Breakfast was almost over in the restaurant, but we managed to pile our plates with French toast, ham, and several kinds of hard cheese with cheese spreads on the side. We feasted and fed one another jokingly, then walked around the secluded camp, enjoying each other’s presence.

I’m glad you are here. I’m glad you exist. I wondered if telling him those words would be odd or romantic. Would it spook him?

“I don’t want to go back,” Avery said softly as we reached the edge of the forest. The ground dipped sharply downward and the forest had been cleared long ago, leaving windswept hills for miles in front of us. The horizon was once again edged with trees, faint and barely a few shades darker than the gloomy gray sky. The valley at the bottom of the hillside had a brook running through the middle of it and a riverbed for what this stream would become in spring when the long winter’s snow melted.

“We don’t have to,” I said.

Avery chuckled. “We kinda do.”

“I meant tonight,” I said, looking at him and grinning. It had been just a backup, on the off chance he enjoyed being with me enough to open that possibility. “I booked two nights,” I said. “In case…you know? In case you liked it.”

Avery’s eyes widened for just a fraction, then narrowed in thought. “Hm…I can skip the first lecture. The next one’s in the afternoon.”

My ears perked and my smile spilled across my face before I could contain it. I grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face me. “This has been the best weekend ever and it’s not over yet,” I said heartily. “I mean it. I’m glad you’re with me, Avery. I’m glad that you…exist.” Clumsy, maybe, but I said the words while looking into his eyes.

His lower lip moved between his teeth. Whether he wanted to say something or not, I didn’t know, but he pulled me in after a moment, and our lips found each other. We kissed as the cool wind whispered through the forest and rolled down the side of the hill. We offered one another the heat our bodies produced and the heat rose when we were near each other.

And long after the kiss passed, I still held him, our heads on each other’s shoulders.

There wasn’t a place in the world or my imagination where I wished to be more than where I was right now.

Chapter Ten

AVERY

My life was upended, my routines dismantled, and my heart no longer served solely to pump blood. When pressed hard by myself, I couldn’t remember where the hours had gone every day before Gray crash-landed into my life.

The new obligations were a joy. Aside from the old routines that involved sitting in lectures while daydreaming about Gray, attending drills and practice in the evenings while wishing I was with Gray, and actually catching up with him to share a couple of hours while conditioning, we found other ways to be together.

Those gym hours were incredible. Gray had devised that plan for both of us, fine-tuning our schedules so we could work out together. He also found a well-equipped gym between my campus and his. And on two of the six gym days, we had time to share after workouts.

I stepped up, too. The new and exciting concept of being in a relationship with someone as joyful and attractive as Gray gave me a push. My ideas were far more modest than the extravagant getaways or rooftop dinners. What I brought to the table was a sort of honest intimacy we could share when walking through parks, sitting on the bank of the lake, or trying new pubs every so often. We went to places where nobody knew us because Gray was mine and mine alone. I didn’t want to share this time with anyone. Though I knew my friends would love him, I didn’t want to hurry. The time we carved out for one another was too precious to share, even with those who were the closest to me. Just now, I didn’t want my friends to meddle or his to occupy his attention away from me.

As the first few weeks passed since the fateful question he had asked, something of a second life emerged. It was a happy one. It was a life I could almost surrender to and drift into for good. It was a world in which I wanted to take more and more space around me.

To his credit, Gray wasn’t a playboy who only lived for the chase. I had been wrong to think that. He didn’t stop flirting with me just because he had already won me over. If anything, he flirted harder. A random red rose for me to carry around for the rest of the night was not something I had ever thought I could enjoy, yet when I got it, it was like a mark of belonging to this wonderful person. I carried it to a rustic basement bar where bikers and classic rock’n’rollers formed the majority of the crowd, and I carried it with pride.

One evening, as we caught up with each other’s day, Gray rubbed his eyes and slouched, his gaze locking onto the second round of drinks we had ordered.

“Are you tired?” I asked. “We don’t have to sit here. We can go.” I walked my hand over the wooden table and covered his hand with it.

He turned it around and squeezed my hand. “Go? No way.”

“You look like you’re going to fall asleep,” I pointed out.

He forced a smile to his face. “I’m not tired. It’s not…” He sighed. “Are your friends giving you shit that you’re suddenly always busy?”

I raised my eyebrows a little and thought about it. Sawyer had been giving me knowing smirks, Beckett had started calling me an Arctic Breaker, and Caden had been jumping in to tell me to ignore our captain’s teasing. “Not really.” I cocked my head. “I’m assuming yours are.”

Gray rolled his eyes. “Spencer is. It’s bullshit. I’m neither his babysitter nor his husband, but he’s been weird and sulky for weeks now.”

It was an absurd feeling that took hold of me. Intruder. I felt small and annoying like a pest. I knew how ridiculous it was, but a stupid little thing like that turned me into a bed bug before I could take control of my emotions. “Oh.” I pulled back and tried to parse through my feelings.

“Like today,” Gray said. “I went into the kitchen to grab my protein shake from the fridge. Spencer was sitting there, his empty, dirty plate still on the table, and his eyes glued to his screen. All he ever does is watch TikTok and spam my inbox these days. I didn’t say anything to provoke him, but he had this…I dunno, almost venomous tone when he asked if I was seeing my boyfriend. Like it was sarcastic, you know? And I said I was. And the fucker just snorted. It’s annoying because we’ve been best friends since forever, but instead of being happy for me like friends should, he’s mad that I’m not…I dunno…his.”

My throat tightened and I took a couple of sips of my fruity ale. “Maybe he feels like you abandoned him.”