Page 120 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 3

That was a week after his nineteenth birthday, though I hadn’t been invited, of course. I was returning to Northwood soon for my sophomore year, and he was leaving home for the first time, going to Chicago. Something had finally broken free from the ice between us. I’d gotten him a gift. Helluva trouble to find it. But it was packed in a neat, blue box with a golden inscription. The ribbon was a lighter shade of blue, like a morning sky over a deep ocean.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“Happy birthday,” I said, licking my lips as if there would still be traces of him left there. That had been my first time with a guy, as was his, and we hadn’t gone beyond each other’s mouths, but it had been more exhilarating than anything I could have imagined. “It’s also a parting gift, I guess.”

“Should have gotten me two gifts, cheapskate,” Seth whispered, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Don’t like you that much,” I muttered.

His cheeks burned brighter as he untied the ribbon. “Fuck, D. You should have,” he said as the brand name was revealed.

“A future marine biologist,” I said, shrugging. “Felt right.”

He shot me a scolding look, then opened the box, already knowing what was inside. The brass compass sat on a fine silk cushion.

Seth threw his head back and laughed so loudly I was sure his family would hear us, sure his brother would come running. “You asshole,” Seth said, gleaming. “You took out the needle.”

I nodded. “So you could get lost at sea,” I said agreeably.

He shook his head, still laughing. “Fuck you, D. It’s too sweet.”

We shared a look that was all playful hatred, masking the mutual recognition that this had lasted way too short.

“Thanks,” he said. “I didn’t get you anything.”

“No more than I’d expect from you,” I said, but the humor was leaving my voice. A year before that, just before I’d left home for the first time to join the Titans at Northwood, Seth had walked with me into a forest not too far from our homes, and we’d kissed. It had terrified me, awakening a dormant feeling that I had been aware of for years.

The kiss had shattered something in me, breaking it like I’d broken the compass, and I hadn’t been able to find my way back. Then, Seth left, and so did I, and a year passed before we were in the same little town again. But if I hadn’t wanted to remember our first summer together, I absolutely refused to think of the last.

My coffee was done, fresh and hot and bitter like sins. I poured a full mug and carried it out to the front porch, memories threatening to drown me.

Chapter Two

SETH

“That’s the last of the boxes,” Nick said after dropping it on the floor. He’d barely broken a sweat. Years of conditioning and clashing on the ice had made him into something superhuman, and you could trust him to point that out in all the ways.

“Good. Thanks. Um…” I shrugged, practically tilting my head to the door.

“Hungry?” he asked, not getting the message.

“We ate two hours ago,” I said. “I don’t burn calories the way you do.”

Nick scratched the back of his head. “How often do we get to hang out?”

Not often, I thought to myself. The reason for that wasn’t a great mystery either. My big brother was a controlling know-it-all, and hanging out with him for more than fifteen minutes at a time involved all the usual repertoire of lectures, criticisms, and unsolicited advice, often based on his musings rather than experience. “We’re practically neighbors, Nick. We’ll hang out.”

“We could have been neighbors,” Nick said, pulling the chair from the desk and sitting down, surrounded by a sea of boxes. He’d had me in the passenger seat of his car for the last three hours, but he’d behaved nicer than I’d expected. He almost fooled me into thinking there wouldn’t be the talk today. “I don’t get why you didn’t transfer to my college.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. “Northwood has the best biology lab in the tristate area,” I said, reciting the same speech I’d given him a million times. “If I wanted to study just anywhere with a decent lab, I would have stayed in Chicago.”

“Sure,” Nick said, folding his arms on his broad chest. “But Northwood?” His contempt dripped from the word. “I mean, is it really that great?”

“Yeah, Nick,” I said, sitting on the edge of my new bed for the first time. “If it weren’t that great, I wouldn’t have spent a year making sure they would accept my transfer application.”

Nick smiled apologetically. “You’re right. Of course.” But the things he wasn’t saying were the real issue. He drew a deep breath and relaxed a little, tilting his head to examine me more closely. “Damon studies here. Did you know that?”

“Your bestie?” I shrugged. “I think someone mentioned it to me.”