Page 97 of Ice Me Out

Jamie stands up, offering his hand to help me off the couch.

I’m grateful because right now I doubt my legs would support my weight.

“Yeah, let’s go shower. Connor, do you want to join us?”

“No, thanks.” Connor chuckles. “These showers are a tight squeeze for two people. I don’t think they could take the three of us.”

My boyfriend shrugs.

“Suit yourself. See you here in a few? We’ve barely eaten any of the pizza and now I’m fucking starving.”

“Me too.” I agree.

Connor’s eyes meet mine again. The pad of his thumb drags over my bottom lip. “See you guys once we’re all presentable again.”

I watch his perfect hockey ass as he walks into his room.

Mine and Jamie’s plan didn’t work and I’m none the wiser about who was behind mask number six.

I guess I’ll have to try harder to get Connor to kiss me. But as far as tonight’s concerned? I don’t regret one thing.

Chapter23

The Art Center

Bex

The last couple of weeks have been hectic, but in the best way.

“You look happy.” Luke observes, parking his SUV in front of the Art Center.

I don’t even need to think about it. “I am. This is the happiest I’ve been in years. Probably since our senior year of high school. I didn’t realize how losing you and Matthew almost at the same time left my heart so empty. All of a sudden, he was the only meaningful relationship in my life.”

We both know who I’m referring to.

“I hate him.” Luke says. “Not just because he didn’t accept me for who I am. I couldn’t change his feelings about me, Bex. When he told me to choose between my family and my ‘filthy urges’, I had to walk away. I hope you understand that.”

I take my twin brother’s hand in mine. “Of course I do. We’ve talked about this, sweetie. He was a pathetic excuse for a father. Who you love shouldn’t have mattered to him. His love for you should have been unconditional.”

Luke nods. “Yeah, but I’ve made peace with his views a long time ago. I didn’t decide to be gay, to bring shame on him or anything. He didn’t get that this is how a person is born. He saw my sexuality as an aberration, a choice.”

Yeah. Dad was absolutely against anything LGBTQ. He rejected clients on the basis of their sexuality. “Even if a person’s sexuality was a choice, his job as a father would have been to accept you and to love you. Even if he didn’t approve.”

Luke agrees. “True. But like I said, that’s something I’ve stopped dwelling on a long time ago. What I can never forgive is what he did to you. He should have protected you and loved you. Instead, he treated you like an asset, a cash cow.”

“It took me a long time to see that, babe.” I say. “But I’m glad I did, and I have you to thank if I could turn my life around.”

A mischievous smile dances on my brother’s handsome face. “Right. You were saying that you’re happy. Does that have anything to do with a certain hockey player who looks totally smitten with you?”

Heat rises to my face. “A little? Look, I’m under no illusion that this is love or anything, but Jamie is… I like him.”

“From what I can see, he likes you too,” Luke says.

I shrug off the giddy feeling I get every time I think about Jamie. “I don’t know how much of that is real and how much is fake.” I admit. “He has to look smitten if we have to sell that he’s a changed man.”

“But?” Luke smirks.

My brother knows me well enough to guess what I’m not saying out loud.