Page 102 of Breaking the Ice

No answer.

He was going to go out of his goddamn mind if he couldn’t find Zach—couldn’t see him and talk to him and make this right again.

Just when he’d about given up and pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Zach and ask where he was, the door opened.

Zach’s hair was messed up, practically sticking up, and he squinted against the light pouring into his apartment.

“G?” he asked, his expression blossoming into hope before it shut down completely, leaving Gavin more worried and nervous than he’d been even a minute earlier.

“We need to talk,” Gavin said. “Can I come in?”

Zach hesitated.

“Please,” Gavin said. He wasn’t above begging. In fact, he wasn’t above it at all.

Hewantedto beg. He wanted to show Zach that he was willing and ready to do whatever it took. Whatever Zach needed to believe that Gavin was serious, that Gavin cared about him, that Gavin wanted to make this right.

“I don’t know,” Zach said heavily. He looked like he wanted to shut the door in Gavin’s face. Like he was five seconds away from actually doing it. “Are you just here to get me to change my mind?”

At one point, if he hadn’t gotten his shit together, Gavin might’ve been. He might’ve come here just because he’d promised Sidney—given his word. Felt guilty because Zach had given so much and Gavin should at least meet him halfway.

But no, that wasn’t why he was really here. Not anymore.

His eyes had been opened and Gavin couldn’t deny it any longer.

Maybe this would mean Zach would take his resignation back. Maybe it wouldn’t. But that felt secondary to everything else.

“No,” Gavin said, “I’m here becauseIchangedmymind.”

Zach’s lips parted, like he was shocked, and that hurt, but it was an easy hurt to push away. He was going to make this right. Felt the certain weight of it.

“Alright, I guess you can,” Zach said and opened the door wider.

Gavin walked two steps in, heard the door close behind him, and he knew he was going to do it only a second before he did.

He fell to his knees, right in front of Zach, like his strings had just been cut.

“I’m here for you,” Gavin said, gazing up at him. Zach was beautiful, even like this, and so much everything that Gavin wanted and had been purposefully denying himself.

He wasn’t going to do it a second longer.

Chapter 14

Zachblinked,thenblinkedagain.

He knew what he was seeing, but he couldn’t quite believe it.

Had he hallucinated or was Gavin here and was hekneelingat Zach’s feet, like he was pleading for Zach’s forgiveness?

“What—what are you doing?” He could barely get the question out.

“Begging you to forgive me. To reconsider. To . . .” Gavin gazed up at him. “I’m trying to tell you I fucked it up. I want to say I changed my mind, but it’s not even that. I didn’t change my mind . . .Isawit clearly, for the first time.”

Gavin pleading on his knees wasn’t something Zach had even thought to want, but now that it was happening, he couldn’t deny the heat pouring through him, the nearly savage satisfaction at having Gavin like this.

“You want me?”

Gavin choked out a laugh. “You make it sound so simple.”