Page 147 of Breaking the Ice

“Yeah, a little.” Zach slung an arm across his shoulders. AndGod, he could do that now, in full view of the team. Of course, it seemed like he probably could’ve done that before, too, since they’d all assumed it was already happening without being told.

Gavin was actuallynotgoing to think about that, because if he did, and really considered how obvious they must’ve been, he’d die of embarrassment.

“Coach,” Ivan said intently, “you gotta give us more than that.”

“More than that?” Gavin’s eyebrows raised.

“Like, was theresomething, anything,before that?” Ramsey questioned. The knowing gleam in his blue eyes made it clear he believed there had been.

“Uh,” Gavin hesitated.

“Ivy,” Brody hissed, elbowing him in the side. “You’re being an ass.”

“We need to know who wins!”

“You’re not even in the running,” Brody argued.

“I have a side bet going,” Ivan admitted.

“Oh my God,” Brody said, burying his face in his hands. “You guys areallassholes.”

“No arguments from me,” Zach said mildly. “And you’re not getting any more details.”

“You’re really telling me thatnothinghappened on New Years Eve, when youbothdisappeared for the countdown?” Ramsey asked archly.

Gavin exchanged a glance with Zach. Was Zach also remembering how they’d been discovered in that hallway at the arcade? It hadn’t been Ramsey who found them, but Brody. Ramsey’s best friend.

Brody, who might’ve mentioned it to Ramsey. Who probablyhadmentioned it to Ramsey.

“Wait a second,” Brody said, realization dawning across his face, and shit, there it was. “You two were—Isawyou.”

“What?” Ramsey exclaimed. “You saw them and you didn’t say anything? Not tome?”

“Well, I didn’trealize—it was New Year’s, dude—”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “And Dean was there.”

“Of course Dean was there!”

Gavin inwardly groaned. “Last detail,” he said in a loud enough voice it cut through the bullshit—Ramsey giving Brody shit about his boyfriend and Brody dishing it right back, pointing out that Ramsey had been the one to set them up—“But uh, yes, something happened that night.”

“But you didn’t get together then. The bet wasn’t if they fucked in the bathroom, it was when they gottogether,” Finn said, leaning forward, teeth gleaming as he grinned at Ramsey.

“Fuck you, I won,” Ramsey argued.

“We didn’t—not in the bathroom . . .” Gavin argued, hating himself and hating that he hadn’t managed to shut this conversation down yet.

“Don’t worry, Coach,” Elliott said reassuringly, “you wouldn’t be the only one.”

Zach was just straight up cackling now.

“Thanks for being helpful,” Gavin murmured to him. “What do we do?”

Zach glanced over at Gavin and finally stopped laughing, clearing his throat.

“Okay, we’re going to give Ramsey twenty-five percent of the pot, for the New Year’s guess. Finn gets the rest,” he said, finality ringing in his voice.

Ramsey started to argue—but Zach shot him a look. “We can either accept my decision,” he said, “or I can go into additional detail about collusion.”