Page 36 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

“That’s total crap,” Gray said. “He pulled away. Besides, are we even friends if he can’t make space for me to be happy independently from him? And then he had the balls to say…” A pained expression crossed his face for a moment, then he smoothed it all away. “You know what? I shouldn’t bring this shit here. He made his choices. It’s just ruining a nice evening if we talk about it.” He squeezed my hand harder. “You make me happy, Avery. And I repay that by complaining.”

“You can tell me when something’s bothering you, Gray,” I said. Dating wasn’t something I had a lot of experience doing, but this seemed like a no-brainer. “It’s not ruining anything. We can’t always be in a good mood.”

“Of course we can,” Gray said, grinning. I wasn’t sure how he did it. How was he so abruptly and easily happy? He had to be hurting under that smile. But when I didn’t bite that bait, his smile faded. “I know what you’re thinking and don’t you even dare. You’re not gonna step back so my so-called friend can hang out with me more.”

It had crossed my mind. It was almost unnerving that he could read me so well. Except, it was actually sweet. Even my best friend had trouble picking up on my cues. Not Gray, though. He knew my thoughts just as they unfurled in my mind. “He’s single, huh?”

“Yep. He has this super cynical view of dating. I gotta be honest, so did I. Before you. I think that’s what kept us orbiting each other. Our friendship boiled down to going out and being wingmen.” He exhaled and thought about it while drinking his bright wheat ale.

“All my close friends are in relationships,” I said. Sebastian had a long-distance thing going on. Tyler was dating some girl, too. Sawyer was practically married. Beckett and Caden were proving to everyone that no amount of their old rivalry could stand in the way of what they felt for each other. “They’re too busy with their lives. School, hockey, partners, friends. It’s just the way things go.”

“Figures,” Gray said. He shrugged. “It’s up to Spencer to figure it out. I can’t do that for him.”

He chose me. And that night, he slept in my room, in my bed, in my arms. He left early, before the commotion of hungry athletes preparing their breakfasts began, and left kisses all over my face as a promise to see me again soon.

As November passed, I began wondering what my life would have been like without him. Gray touched everything in my world. He left his scent in my room, his supplies in my bathroom, his letters filled my drawer, the longest chat on my phone was with him, and there was never a time when we didn’t have something planned for later.

The first week of December brought us to the inevitable. The Titans played against the Breakers and Coach Murray put me on the frontline. An odd excitement filled me for days before our clash. We hadn’t faced each other on the ice since starting this thing. To see him as a respected leader of a team that wanted to beat us was both thrilling and scary. Two things warred in me equally: I wanted the Breakers to lose and stew in misery, but I also wanted my boyfriend to reap all the rewards. It wasn’t going to affect my willingness to fight, though. No matter what I felt for the man, the captain was my enemy. And he felt the same.

The night before the game, he had booked us a hotel room, and we had a match of our own. We both won. And after, we had agreed to show no mercy to one another.

“I adore you, Avery,” he said happily. “But I’m going to kick your ass tomorrow.”

“Your vivid imagination is my favorite thing about you,” I replied.

When the first period began, I wondered if I was pushed to the ice by my team and the coach to test my loyalty. It probably wasn’t the case, but I didn’t want to give them any reason to doubt me. Even so, I took a moment to appreciate my boyfriend’s incredible physique when he skated across the ice to clash with Beckett.

The battle was as fierce as any I had played before. With grit and sweat, we struggled against our foes, and I shielded my heart against the joyful laughter I would recognize in my sleep. For every point they scored, we fought to score one of ours. We remained deadlocked for the first two periods and my darling boyfriend seemed to be having the time of his life.

Some small part of me wanted to pause and simply watch him. He was undoubtedly skilled, his body conditioned for this specific purpose, and his focus sharp. The few times we neared one another, I spotted his smile, but he evaded me more than he had before. It was only close to the end of the third period that he had no choice. The battle was at its peak; my guys were sweating and almost bloody while chasing the victory. I was bruised, although I had noticed Gray checking over his shoulder when Spencer rammed into me. The look on his face flickered between worry and relief when I skated away almost unscathed.

For all our efforts to stay away from one another while giving our best to our respective teams, I was on a collision course with Gray in the final minutes of the game. He was covering Cole, who led the puck across the rink. My guys rounded on Cole in a show of brute force. Beckett’s bait-and-switch tactic was old news and the Breakers had learned to expect it.

I was the closest to Gray and he was the biggest threat to my team. After him, Spencer was the danger, but Jordan was on top of that task.

With no good choice, I skated fast to the thick of it, engaging my boyfriend in a skirmish and buying Beckett and Caden the moment they needed.

With his impressive strength, which I had experienced in far more pleasurable encounters over the last few weeks, Gray carried me to the side, twirling and locking limbs with me. We crashed into the boards, the air almost completely kicked out of my lungs.

He pressed me hard but spoke in a low voice only I could hear. “You good?”

I grunted my ascent.

“Stick around after,” he said, his weight still on me for a moment longer. The sheer love for the fun of this game glimmered in his eyes. “I got you something.”

“See you in front, loser,” I said, my voice light with humor as the Titans scored the winning point, and the rink erupted in a battle of cheers and desperate, frustrated curses.

But Gray never despaired over a lost game. He had put up a great fight and we both knew it. “Fair enough,” he said, winking at me. “I’ll be winning elsewhere tonight.”

My stomach fluttered at those words. He had earned it fair and square. I couldn’t wait to slip away from the celebrations and meet him. It always felt the best after a hard game, winning and losing alike. The testosterone ran high and the longing to dominate was strong. We were in for a long night of settling scores.

My arm throbbed where Spencer had slammed me against the boards even while I showered. The bruise seemed worse than it should have been, aching deep under my skin. I didn’t complain. It was a physical sport, after all, but knowing that Spencer had problems with me dating his best friend added to the injury. It also gave me an extra reason not to tell Gray. He would flip if he suspected foul play. And I didn’t want to get in the way of their friendship any more than I already had.

I dressed in warm clothes after showering, promised the guys to join them at the Thinker for a round of drinks, and left the locker room. Gray was waiting for me, his back turned to the exit, and his shoulders slumped. He had an orange beanie with a fluffy ball perched on the top of his head. His hands were in his pockets, his dark blue winter jacket tightly hugging his broad shoulders.

When my feet crunched the frosted grass as I crossed the small path of the lawn to get to him, Gray turned around. His smile was instant and genuine. “Congrats,” he said.

“Oh,” I said. “I didn’t expect that.”