Page 42 of Mr. Frosty Pants

“You don’t have to convince me.”

“I pretended she was you.”

Joel’s heart clenched, and he took a swallow of cola to wash the feeling away, but it didn’t come loose. “Yeah? Funny. I wished it was me.”

Casey leaned in even closer, eyes drifting down to Joel’s mouth, but then he glanced sideways at the dark figures drinking and talking at other tables. “I’ll save it for later, but I’d kiss you now if I could. Right here.”

“Youcould,” Joel said, raising a challenging brow. “It might not be the smartest thing you’ve ever done, but we just established that you’re an idiot.”

Casey’s eyes took on that stubborn expression Joel knew too well, and he leaned across the narrow table, tilting his head and pressing a kiss to Joel’s mouth. It was fast, lips plush and soft, a barely sticky thing, but it was enough to make his point.

Joel’s toes curled up in his boots, and his fingers tingled. It was impossible not to smile helplessly.

“There. But that’s not the kiss you’ve promised me all night,” Casey said, eyes glowing. “That was an extra. A bonus kiss.”

“Sure. Bonus kiss. For leveling up.”

“Yeah? What’d I level up to?”

“At this point in the game, you’re now playing for me to invite you in tonight.”

Casey’s brows rose. “Oh, that’s on the table?”

“Maybe. It depends on how you do the rest of the evening.”

“This isn’t a game,” Casey murmured, tracing the frosted glass of his beer. “Not to me.”

“That’s good because it’s not a game to me either.”

A fling, sure, but not a game. The most deadly-serious fling Joel could imagine having. It was the culmination of his life’s romantic dreams thus far and the probable end of them too.

Casey grinned and reached across the table to take Joel’s hand in his own. Their fingers fit together easily, and Joel tried to remember the last time anyone had taken his hand quite like this. Becca sometimes held onto his arm while they were walking, but no one since his mother had sat with his hand in their own just to feel a connection. He shivered, but he wasn’t cold. His insides burned with joy and ached with anticipated pain.

But first the pleasure, Joel. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

“I know we left the topic behind on the ice, but the whole reason I wanted to get away from there was so we could talk more privately about what you said about your dad.”

“Ah.” Joel snarled his lips. “Do we have to?”

“No, but…” Casey squeezed his hand. “See, the thing is… My dad never punched me, but when I was a kid and I disappointed him, he could be cruel.”

Joel frowned. “Yeah, he always said such dick things.”

“That’s not…” Casey glanced away, his chest rising with a deep breath. He smiled ruefully. “I don’t like to talk about this. Or think about, if I can avoid it.”

“What?” Joel gripped Casey’s fingers tighter, a sharp twist arcing through his giddy anxiety. “What happened?”

“When I was a kid, I went to seeTuck Everlastingat the theater with some friends. When my dad picked me up, I was still crying. Spoiler alert: it has a sad ending.” Casey tugged his hand free of their connection and drank more beer.

Joel’s fingers felt cold, but he didn’t move them, keeping his hand outstretched in case Casey wanted them back.

“When we got home, my dad got out his belt.”

“No.” Joel’s gut tightened.

“He spanked me with it. And that day I learned that boys don’t cry, especially not in public, and good boys don’t embarrass their fathers ever.”

“Casey…”