Page 6 of Ice Cold Heart

Eva snuggled closer to Gavin, who immediately shifted his attention to her. “Tomorrow.”

“And how long am I in charge?”

“You’re not in charge.” Gavin insisted. “Mase is in charge. You’re duck-sitting.”

Eva elbowed him again, hard enough to make him grunt. “At least a week, maybe two. It was kind of a last-minute invitation, so thank you.”

“Anything for you, Eva.” I pointed at Gavin. “You owe me.”

He didn’t bother looking my way as he flipped me off. I chuckled and jogged up the stairs with Henry chittering at me. Gavin was our leader—captain of the hockey team, a year ahead of the rest of us in school, and he usually drove. Me, Reece, and Mase had never had to function together without him, but how hard could it be?

My door creaked as I closed it, and I made a mental note to take care of it later. I was mostly certain Gavin had been kidding about Mase being in charge, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Mase’s idea of leadership involved being the one to call in food delivery from his basement lair, and Reece would spend every second of the break trying to beat his own personal record for hook-ups.

I was definitely in charge.

Henry perked up when I opened my drawer to grab a random pair of sweats, but I’d learned my lesson there. She loved the idea of drawers right up until someone closed her in one. I set her down in Gavin and Eva’s room on my way to the hall bath.

Unlike all my other roommates, I didn’t have an en suite shower. Technically, Gavin’s bathroom was shared between the two rooms on his side of the hall, but Eva basically lived with him now. They had no problem sharing the space.

I shut the bathroom door firmly behind me and turned the lock. Henry had a habit of barging in when she thought we were playing in the water without her, and Reece was almost as bad. He had no concept of personal space if he needed something.

My roommates were my best friends, and we’d all throw down for each other, but sometimes I wondered what I’d done in another life to deserve them.

Eva’s trip took my mind off Avery for a solid fifteen minutes, but by the time I’d finished getting clean, the urge to text her had returned. I got dressed in my sweats, hung up my towel, and seriously considered seeing what Reece was up to tonight. Hopefully something far, far away from my phone.

Knowing Reece, he was going to a party to find female companionship. I could use the distraction of playing his wingman. He didn’t need the help, but his antics always made the night entertaining.

Henry was waiting at my door. She looked up at me and gave a disgruntled quack. I smiled at her reprimand and let her back into my room. The lady had spoken. Reece was on his own tonight.

I texted Eva to let her know Henry was with me, turned on some TV noise for her, and flopped back on my bed. Restless energy zipped along my nerves, making it impossible to relax. The tight ball in the pit of my gut insisted I should be working on reading the book currently mocking me from my bedside table.

Instead of reaching for more torture, I grabbed my phone. The guys teased me about being the golden boy, but I fell to temptation just like the rest of them. I wanted to know more about Avery—what did she do for fun, what made her smile, why did she look so wistful when she stared at my book?

I flipped my phone back and forth in my hands, staring blindly at the duck sleeping on my bed. If Avery were any other person I wanted to get to know better, I’d just text. Friendship didn’t have to be complicated, despite my near constant erection when she was around.

What did Reece say? Work hard, play harder. Well, I was ready to play.

I snapped a picture of Henry with her beak tucked under her wing and sent it to Avery before I talked myself out of it. No one could get angry at her little face. Three dots appeared almost immediately, and I had a moment of panic sweating while a thousand horrible responses flashed through my head.

Avery: An unsolicited duck pic? I think you might be confused on the spelling…

A laugh took me by surprise, and I let my head fall back onto my pillow in relief. In my defense, it wasn’t three a.m. and I hadn’t shown up with a hair doll. Technically, I hadn’t broken my promise, though the guilt pooling in my gut felt a lot like I had.

Me: Disappointed?

Avery: Not in the slightest. Who’s the duck?

Me: Henry. She lives with us. Starting tomorrow I’m playing duck daddy.

Avery: I’m not sure what to say to that.

Me: You’re supposed to ask to come over and meet her.

I knew I’d made a mistake the second I hit send. Avery had already warned me not to push, and I couldn’t last more than a minute before I tried to see her. I blew out a breath, disgusted with my lack of self-control. She had every right to block me, and I could only blame myself.

Avery: Can’t right now. Family business. Maybe later?

I stared at my screen in shock, legit surprised lightning hadn’t struck me down inside my bedroom for my hubris. Was she really agreeing to come over or was she messing with me again? Hard to tell with text. Only one way to know for sure.

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