Page 2 of Love on Ice (Love in Terengia #5)

2

A YELLOW SUITCASE

Michael

Oh, my god! Thank goodness Sebastian's apartment is so close to my parents’ place — I'm freezing to death.

As I got ready to go to my brother's birthday party, I thought I'd put on my nice black coat to look proper for this celebration — the one I usually only wear to go to a ball or the theater. I’d forgotten how thin the material is compared to my wonderfully warm, bright yellow puffer jacket that’s now hanging uselessly in my wardrobe at home.

We get to Seb’s at last, and as soon I’m inside his narrow hall, I shrug off my stupid thin coat and my beautiful but impractical dress shoes. Shivering violently, I’m rushing into the living room before Sebastian has even managed to take off his thick winter boots. I crank the thermostat up full and park my butt, hands, and one foot after the other on the white radiator which is getting warmer by the minute — it feels so good!

"Tea?" Sebastian is standing in the doorway, looking at me with a cheeky grin on his lips. "Or maybe a cocoa, like all little kids love? You know, the ones who don't know how to dress properly for winter either?" It’s a double tease because he knows full well that I can't stand the sweet drink.

I would love to flip him the bird but that would mean taking my hands off the heater, and it's not worth it! Instead, I stick my tongue out at him with all the sophistication that my nearly thirty-eight years on this planet have provided.

Sebastian laughs then goes into the kitchen area and starts to prepare tea. I like Sebastian's apartment. I've always lived in an old building — still do — but somehow, I like the open-plan design of the newly built apartment. I love that the living room and kitchen aren’t separated, so we can keep talking while one of us cooks, or gets something to drink, or ... I mean, of course, when my hands aren’t fused to the heater like they are now.

My gaze wanders around the spacious room. Although Sebastian got rid of the Christmas tree at the beginning of January, festive lights are still festooned about the place. He refuses to take them down before Easter and grumbles every year that it's an outrage that they close the Christmas markets at the end of December. After all, it's still cold in January and a hot punch would still be very welcome. I grin as I conjure up the mental picture of his furious face as he repeats this complaint every year.

Otherwise, the place looks like it always has. White Ikea furniture, an expensive blue leather couch from Rolf Benz that he inherited from his parents, and lots of Lego. Sebastian is a big fan of Lego architecture sets but insists on constructing them without referring to the instructions. If the Hogwarts Castle for Witchcraft and Wizardry is taking forever to complete, it's only because it's so architecturally interesting that he wants to take his time, of course — cough, cough — and if you believe that, you'll believe anything .

But that's one of the things I love so much about Sebastian: He’s never lost touch with his inner child. No matter what others want to think of his hobby, he likes to build Lego and he’s okay with that! There's a while until his birthday, but over the last few months, five Lego sets have somehow made it into my closet. I just couldn't resist.

Then my gaze falls on something new. There's a bright yellow suitcase in front of the kitchen island. How could I have missed that ? The cold seems to have frozen my ability to think. I've definitely never seen Seb use this suitcase before. Unlike me, he tends to go for more muted colors — unless it’s Lego.

My eyes narrow into slits as I peer at the case. It’s too big for a carry-on, and its casters show no signs of use. It looks new. Why would Sebastian buy a new suitcase? I would know if he was planning a trip. And why did he pick one in my favorite color?

My best friend comes over with two large, dark blue cups of steaming hot tea. As he holds out the cup to me, the tantalizing scent of Sicilian blood orange rises to my nose. My favorite tea! Sebastian is the best.

I release my hands from the radiator that’s stopped me catching frostbite and gratefully close them around the hot cup. With my eyes closed, I inhale the seductive scent of the tea once more. Life can be so good!

When I open my eyes, Sebastian's still standing right in front of me but his expression has changed, and I don't know what to make of it. At first, I wonder if I’ve done something wrong, but he doesn't look upset. He’s just looking at me more intensely than he’s ever done before. His pupils are dilated, and it looks like he has forgotten how to blink.

Nervously, I almost fumble my cup as I bring it to my mouth. The tea is scalding! I stop myself from drinking just before I burn my mouth.

My frantic movement snaps Sebastian out of his reverie.

Sebastian

My heart is beating fast. The pleasure, almost ecstasy, I saw when Michael smelled his favorite tea has thrown me off completely.

All I could think of was, Is that the way he looks when he's about to come?

Don't say that out loud, Sebastian! Do not say it!

I thought I had better control over myself than to get overwhelmed just because Michael decided to smell his tea. For years I've been training myself to be the clueless best friend while I’m around him, so to let myself go like that …

Michael has clearly noticed something’s off; he’d never have tried to drink something that hot otherwise. I'm such an idiot! It’s a good job Michael can't read minds, or I’d be one best friend down right now.

Pull yourself together! I remind myself.

As a distraction, I take the beautiful handmade cup Michael gifted me for Christmas and place both our cups on the glass coffee table. I take a deep breath and try to clamp down on my libido. Thank god I'm not a teenager anymore and spontaneous boners are a thing of the past!

But it wouldn’t be spontaneous, though, would it? my subconscious pipes up.

Don't make it worse! I mentally shout back.

Michael taps his foot on the floor impatiently, a sign that he wants my attention. It's taking me far too long to put the darn cups down on the table next to us, and with the short recovery break over, it’s time to face the truth: Has Michael guessed what's going on inside me?

Slowly, almost unwillingly, I turn to my best friend. My stomach tightens painfully. What will I find written on his face? But Michael is just pointing to the bright yellow suitcase I've placed conspicuously in front of my kitchen island. It's a load off my mind. Apparently, my secret is safe.

"Are you planning a trip?" he asks.

A broad grin spreads across my face and my stomach flips — this time not from fear. This time, it's from anticipation. I can't hold back any longer. And thankfully, now I don't have to. It's time for my surprise!

I wave Michael's question aside and instead sign, "It’s your birthday present."

Michael looks confused. His birthday isn't for another two and a half months, but there's a reason behind all this. Instead of answering his unasked question, I decide to confuse my Fuzzball even more.

"Your fortieth birthday present!"

That's when Michael starts laughing. "Are you confusing me with my brother? I'll only be thirty-eight in a couple of months."

I ignore his question.

"So? Anyone can celebrate their fortieth at the right time," I announce with a mock-pitying expression.

Michael’s eyes start to twinkle.

The truth is that a few months ago I had the perfect idea of what I wanted to give him for his fortieth, and I just don't have the patience to wait another two years.

"Is this payback because I invited all our friends a year early to a big bash for your milestone birthday?" he asks with a grin on his face.

"You could say that! "

Michael looks fascinated. He loves pranks and surprises, and I can hardly wait to see how he reacts to this one!

But first things first. I sign the traditional Happy Birthday song as Michael's gaze wanders back and forth between me and the yellow suitcase. He’s intrigued, I can tell. My grin gets wider and wider.

When I'm done serenading him, I turn around and roll the suitcase between us.

"Happy birthday!" I say again.

Michael is beaming. No matter how he’s about to react, that smile alone is worth a million dollars.

Michael drops to his knees and runs his long fingers reverently over the smooth canvas of the suitcase. Giving him a suitcase was a completely spontaneous decision, but once I saw it, I couldn't resist. It's just perfect for my Fuzzball.

I sit down on the couch and watch as Michael lies the suitcase flat and then slowly unzips it. As he does so, he bites his lower lip and keeps glancing up at me. He is so cute!

Why can't he be into men?

Pull yourself together, Sebastian! This is not about your unrequited love; it's about your best friend, I think.

When the zipper is fully open, Michael looks at me again with a questioning look.

I nod.

The last few minutes must have used up all of this man’s patience, because while his movements have been slow and measured so far, he now flips the lid excitedly to get to his present inside. I have my cell phone ready and snap one photo after another while Michael stares at the contents. His expression is hilarious !

In the suitcase is my light blue snorkel and mask, and a drybag in the same bright yellow as the suitcase.

When Michael looks up at me, I sign, "Happy birthday! We're going snorkeling in the Caribbean during the semester break!"

While I sign with one hand, I press the shutter of my cell phone camera with the other. Michael is visibly trying not to let his disappointment show, but he doesn't quite have his features under control. His look is a mixture of incredulity and abject horror.

Unlike me, my best friend isn’t a fan of swimming, and swimming in the sea holds a particular horror for him. He hates it when he goes out of his depth or when fish dare to get too close. When Linus and I were ten and Michael was eight, our parents took us to Italy together. We spent two weeks at a campsite near Grado. On the way there, and quietly so their parents couldn’t hear, Linus told his brother thousands of horror stories. He described sea monsters that pull people into the deep, sharks that like to eat small children, and jellyfish that burn your skin off. No wonder Michael wouldn’t even dip his toes in the sea the whole vacation. Of course, now he knows that his fears are irrational, but somehow, he’s never managed to shake them.

For a moment, I wonder if I should be offended by his obvious belief that I would book him that kind of vacation. Instead, I ask him to open the drybag. And he does.

Michael

Gingerly, I take the waterproof bag I gave Sebastian a few years ago out of the suitcase. I’m so confused. Has my best friend seriously bought me a trip that involves spending most of my time in the ocean? For a milestone birthday which is still more than two years away? None of this makes sense.

I open the drybag but keep the opening well away from me — I wouldn’t put it past Seb to have put some kind of joke fish in it that will jump out at me. When my clammy fingers finally get the bag fully open and nothing happens, I breathe a sigh of relief. Sebastian grins broadly at me from his elevated position on the couch.

I swallow and reach in. I bring out several colorfully wrapped packages and two envelopes. There’s a red envelope that says Happy Birthday, and another one which is yellow. I glance inquisitively at Michael, and he waves me on encouragingly with his free hand. His other hand is clutching his cell phone. Oh my god, I dread to see the photos. I can only pray my face hasn’t betrayed what I'm thinking.

I open the envelope and out tumble several sheets cut to fit the envelope and held together with a paper clip. Obviously, these printouts are supposed to represent airline tickets, if I’ve correctly interpreted the cartoonishly drawn plane that takes up the right part of the sheet.

The date for a flight shows the departure time as the early afternoon on Friday of next week. Below that are the departure and destination airports: Vienna - Frankfurt.

Oh my god! I think. Sebastian is serious. You can fly all over the world from Frankfurt. Sebastian is really having me spending my vacation in the Caribbean.

I make an effort to put a smile on my face as I carefully detach the paper clip from the tickets. I tuck the front sheet behind the back and my eyes wander over the second ticket.

Frankfurt to … Toronto !

I can't believe it! Not the Caribbean after all. How could I ever have suspected my best friend knew me so poorly and would do that to me?

Winter in Canada! That means ice skating. Maybe I can even arrange for us to watch a few games of the famous NHL ice hockey league.

I jump up from the floor and wrap a totally surprised Sebastian in my arms. He’s caught so off-guard by my bear hug that he loses his balance and topples backwards — taking me with him. I'm lying on top of him. On his couch. In the middle of his living room.

And it feels … incredible!

His body is hard and angular under me, none of the soft curves I’m used to from previous girlfriends. Sebastian's face is only a few inches away from mine, and his befuddled expression is so cute it makes my heart beat faster.

I hold my breath as my gaze wanders over his face. The short stubble from a three-day beard on his cheeks makes my fingers twitch — I’d like to run them through it.

Would it feel as prickly as it looks? What would it be like to kiss Sebastian’s seductive pale pink lips and feel the contrast between those soft lips and that scratchy beard? And what would it feel like to have those lips and that beard explore my body?

I notice something is stirring in my pants.

Oh my god!

I almost jump off him. Sebastian and I are best friends.

Nothing more! Dear brain, please do at least try to remember that!

Sebastian remains on his back for a moment before slowly sitting up and blinking a few times. Did our unexpected tumble hurt him?

"Are you okay?" My signing has become erratic.

Sebastian shakes his head, then laughs .

"You just caught me completely off guard," he says. "Everything's fine."

I look at him closely. He seems somehow ... different. His breathing is too fast. Having my full weight on him must have almost crushed him. The poor man!

I go down on my knees in front of him. "Are you sure everything’s okay?"

Sebastian smiles at me, our faces close. Not as close as before, but only a couple of inches separate us. What wouldn’t I give to kiss him?

I’m such an idiot! I just hurt my best friend and now all I can think about is how nice it would be to kiss him. A great best friend, I am! And Sebastian really doesn't seem okay. His pupils are dilated. Can you get a brain injury from tumbling around on a soft couch?

"It's really okay!" he tries to reassure me as he licks his lips.

I follow the path of his tongue as if spellbound. I’m suddenly envious. Envious that his tongue and not mine gets to slide across his glorious lips.

"Aren't you going to open your next gift?" he asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I rake my eyes over Sebastian again. He has no obvious injuries and he’s assured me several times that he’s okay. A little hesitantly, I stand up. As I do so, my gaze falls on Sebastian's lap. The black pants he’s wearing are bulging slightly at the crotch. Could that be …? Did our tumble … arouse him?

Just like you? my subconscious adds softly .

Sebastian

Damn!

Michael has just clearly scanned my body, and the pants I'm wearing can't hide the fact that my wayward cock is at half-mast. I wasn’t exactly prepared for Michael lying on top of me like that so suddenly. Although I can't bring myself to get mad at my dick for betraying me — after all, being that close to Michael is something I’ve dreamed of for years.

Can I get away with dismissing it as a normal physical reaction? Like when your nipples tighten if something brushes them. Will he buy that I’ve got no ulterior motives? But as my Fuzzball is now focused on something completely different, excuses can wait.

While I was lost in thought, he’s lined up everything around him that was hidden in the drybag. He takes the yellow envelope with a number 2 written on it and looks up. His expression is radiant, open, and happy. I breathe a sigh of relief. Either he hasn't noticed the tent in my pants, or he’s ignoring it. I’m okay with both options.

I force myself to focus on the real reason we’re here today — the surprise.

Michael opens the envelope and more travel documents pour out. Confirmation for the rental car, an itinerary, and hotel details for our different destinations.

With a rapt expression, Michael flips through page after page. When he reaches the last page, he looks at me with shining eyes.

"I can't believe you organized all this!"

A burst of happiness surges through me that’s more intense than I’ve ever felt. Michael likes my surprise! And what would I do to conjure up that last expression on his face again and again ?

"Ten days; four cities," I explain the plan. "I managed to persuade my principal to give me two days off after the school break ends as well."

"You're awesome!"

The sparkle in Michael's eyes makes my body tense in case he lunges onto me again, but this time, he holds back. Maybe he noticed something after all and now he’s embarrassed.

Before I can dwell on it, Michael has grabbed the package marked number 3 and is frantically tearing open the blue and white striped paper. What emerges is a puck with the logo of the Toronto Maple Leafs — the NHL team based in the Canadian city.

Michael has always been a big ice hockey fan, and what he's about to find out is the best bit of my surprise. He tilts the puck so he can see what's written on the white sticky tape I've wrapped around it. It's the date for the day after we arrive in Canada and the name of another NHL team.

Michael gasps.

"You got us tickets to a game, too?" he asks incredulously.

Unlike him, I've never been that into the sport. Okay, so ice hockey is fast-paced and much more interesting to watch than soccer, but that's as far as it goes for me. But I have to admit, I'm not into watching sports, period. Playing a little tennis or cycling is okay, but watching someone else play sports for hours on end is just not my thing.

Michael, on the other hand, has been fascinated by ice hockey since he was a kid. He even played for a few years and loves the atmosphere in the stadium during a game. And when you have a best friend who’s that into a sport, it's a case of in for a penny, in for a pound . That’s why, as Michael’s best friend, I watch way more games than I normally would, whether they're on TV or live. Actually, if it weren’t for Michael, I probably wouldn't watch a single game.

"Of course," I answer his question. "Canada in winter doesn't make any sense without ice hockey, right?"

Michael shakes his head in disbelief as his eyes roam over the other four packages still in front of him. Although they are all wrapped differently, the colorful paper can’t hide the fact that they’re roughly the same size as the one he has just unwrapped.

Perhaps I went over the top a bit when planning the whole thing and prioritized the hockey games over everything else. But what can I say? I couldn't help myself. Michael is my best friend. I’d do anything for him. And if I'm able to put that kind of glow on his face, then what’s a few hours spent in ice rinks?

While my thoughts circle, Michael has torn open the rest of the packages. He now sits inside a circle of pucks and is looking at them in amazement.

I wave my hand in front of him to snap him out of his reverie, and when he lifts his eyes to mine, I declare grinning, "Ten days…four cities…" I pause for a dramatic effect. "…and five games!"

Michael

I stare at Sebastian, stunned. I can’t believe he did all this for me!

He’s managed to organized a dream trip while putting my favorite sport slap bang at the center of it. Five games in ten days ... Sebastian is completely crazy! Especially considering that, unlike me, he doesn't really like sports that much. I don't know what to say. I don't even know what to think.

I can't help it –– I have to hug him again .

This time, however, I stand up slowly and spread my arms so that he’s more prepared. Sebastian grins at me contentedly as I wrap my arms around him.

Immediately his signature scent rises to my nose — masculine but with the unmistakable aroma of orange tea. If I'm being completely honest, the tea has only become my favorite because it reminds me of Sebastian. I have no idea why he always smells like oranges, but he has done since we were kids.

I make sure my pelvis is as far away as possible this time because his scent always makes my cock take on a mind of its own. I’ve never been turned on by a scent before, but then everything about Sebastian is a turn-on. He’s certainly the perfect man for me.

The scent must have fogged my brain somehow, because before I know what I'm doing, I'm leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek. As soon as his short stubble tickles my lips, my cock gets instantly hard. Damn! Why does this feel so good? I’ve never kissed a man or felt this hot for one. But then, Sebastian isn’t just any man. He’s the perfect man, and I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than feeling his stubble all over my body.

While these thoughts are running through my mind, I feel Sebastian's body tense.

Oh my god, I’ve definitely crossed a line. I hastily take a step back and run my hand through my untamable hair. Should I apologize? What’s normal in a situation like this?

My throat tightens and I start to panic. I need to get my shit together. This friendship is the most important one in my life, and I don’t want things to get awkward between us. I take a peek at Sebastian’s face only to find him smiling — no, beaming at me. Did I misinterpret why he tensed? Or did I imagine it ?

It doesn’t matter! I think. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Sebastian grabs his teacup and takes a seat on the couch. I do the same, but make sure I keep plenty of space between us.

The rest of the evening is fun and relaxed. We browse through a stack of guidebooks that Sebastian has bought. He's a sucker for them, anyway. On the last city trip to Amsterdam we took together, he packed three guidebooks. Each one had thousands of little notes and annotations. But no one can fault his planning.

The anticipation is building already.

Canada.

Sebastian and me.

Alone for ten days.

We’ll even be sharing hotel rooms!

I have no idea whether to break out in a cold sweat or jump for joy.