Page 84 of Breaking the Ice

“Uh, thanks. You can put it in the fridge,” Gavin said, trailing after him after Zach had slipped out of his shoes, moving through the house towards the kitchen.

Zach opened the fridge and froze. And yep, that was exactly what Gavin had been expecting when he saw what was sitting on the mostly empty shelf.

“I uh . . .might’ve got yours, too,” Gavin said, shrugging and trying to act like them buying each other their favorite beer for Christmas wasn’t weird. Or watching game tape for Christmas and eating pizza wasn’t just as weird.

Zach glanced over at him, the look as intimate as if Zach had touched him. AndGod, Gavin wanted to be touched.

“Thanks,” Zach said softly.

“We’re . . .equally thoughtful,” Gavin said stupidly.Equally besotted, his brain corrected.

“Yeah, we’ll go with that.” Zach grinned and slid a hand around his shoulders after he’d put Gavin’s beer in the fridge next to his own. It was half a hug, or it would’ve been if he’d moved away, but he didn’t, fingers curling into Gavin’s sweatshirt. He could feel the heat of Zach pressed against his whole side, even as the fridge’s open door blasted him with cold.

“Maybe we should go . . .um watch the first game,” Gavin said. He could hear the tremor in his voice—the desire to stayjust like this. If he looked over, he wondered what he’d see in Zach’s eyes.

Frustration, maybe, or affection? Or a mingled combination of both?

“Alright.” Zach’s voice was low, rough. He finally let go, and reached into the fridge, grabbing one of his beers. “You want one?”

Gavin should probably stay sober. Sober-ish, anyway. He remembered far too well what had happened this summer, when Zach had come to the cabin. He’d definitely gotten tipsy and that had definitely contributed to opening this whole can of worms.

But instead he nodded, and Zach grabbed him one too, opening both of them with the magnetic opener on the side of the fridge.

Their fingers brushed when Zach handed him the bottle and Gavin realized that he hadn’t really stepped back, even when Zach had let go of him.

He took a step back now and didn’t run to the safety of the living room, but he didn’t look back either, to make sure Zach was following him.

But of course he was.

Gavin took his seat on the couch and set his beer on a coaster next to his laptop. Zach followed suit, and at least he kept to his side, pulling his laptop out of his backpack.

Gavin guessed that Zach was keeping his distance, making sure that their thighs didn’t touch, even accidentally, but of course even when they weren’t, it was all Gavin could think about.

He started the game, but he swore they were halfway through the first period before it even felt like he was watching the screen and not obsessing over the two inches between him and Zach.

“What do you think of that second center?” Zach asked, reaching over to pause the video.

God, the second center. Gavin tried to remember who that even was. If he’d even registered his presence on the ice.

“Um,” Gavin said, hesitating, mind still racing.

Zach chuckled darkly. “You weren’t even watching.”

“I was too!” Gavin argued, even though he knew Zach was right. Maybe his eyes had been on the screen, but his brain had been somewhere else.

“Other team’s skating circles around him. He’s given away three pucks already.” Zach looked over at him. “You gonna tell me what’s on your mind?”

He really didn’t want to admit the truth. Not when they were back on a couch and drinking beer, and so much of this reminded him of that night in Michigan.

“We should consider moving Mal down to the second line for this game,” Gavin said, ignoring Zach’s question. “Take advantage of this matchup. He’d demolish this kid.”

Zach elbowed him. “I can’t believe you’re actually serious about that. If you split up the boyfriends, they’d sulk the whole game.”

“They wouldn’t. They’re pros.” Gavin hesitated. “Well, Mal is at least.” Elliott would absolutely throw a hissy fit, which frankly made Gavin want to do it more.

“Just switch the first and second line—you probably don’t need to do it for the wholegame,” Zach said.

“Yeah, probably not.”