Page 31 of Ice Me Baby

“Are you proposing we share her?” he asks defensively.

“No. Nothing like that. It would be like…” Well shit, how do I explain this? Then I remember an old friend of mine. “Hunter. You remember Hunter?”

He gives me a look that says he doesn’t follow. “Hunter? The mixed martial arts fighter dude?”

“Yeah. He owns that mechanic shop in Lindberg.”

“I remember him. What does he have to do with this?”

I try to shimmy out from under Liz’s body, careful not to wake her, so I can sit up. “Him and three of his friends are dating one girl.”

“So… they share a girl?”

I shake my head as I try to explain. “Yes, but no. The way I understand it, each of them have a relationship with her. They have their individual relationships, and then they have a group relationship.” I point to Liz’s sleeping form. “We would both have separate relationships as well as one together… if you'd like.”

He’s quiet for a moment before hesitantly saying, “So we wouldn’t be sharing her?”

I snort. “No, Dean. We wouldn’t share her; she’s not a hockey puck we pass back and forth. We’d have to work as a team.”

“A team,” he hums, considering the possibilities. His gaze flicks to the sleeping form of our guarded therapist. “How will we convince her to take a chance on us?”

My eyes shift from my best friend to the woman beside me. I reach out and brush a black curl off her cheek. “We give her what she needs most.”

Dean’s voice is hushed as he asks, “And what’s that?”

My eyes meet his. “Someone who will choose her.”

Eyes narrowing, he nods. “We will show her she can trust us. That we won’t betray her.”

I hum, turning back to stare at our therapist. I’m not sure how to pull this off. There are rules against players and staff dating. And I know Liz well enough now to know she will deny herself happiness if it means not breaking the rules. “We can start by showing her friendship and go from there. She won’t jump into a relationship after what happened in her past. I have a feeling her relationships, if any, have been fleeting.”

Dean grunts. “The stalker thing doesn’t help, either.”

The thought of her stalker hunting and scaring her makes my blood boil. I’m normally a chill person, like water off a duck's back. It’s hard to ruffle my feathers, but it seems that when it comes to our sunshine therapist, I don’t have the same outlook on life. “We protect her,” I say with determination.

He snorts. “Duh.”

Chapter Twelve

Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Monroe

The words play on repeat as I try to wake myself from this nightmare.

“I miss your skin against mine.” The voice sounds deep and distorted.

“Go away!” I scream at the same time a fist beats against the door again. I want out of this nightmare. Someone… anyone. Help me! Then I hear my name, as if it’s an echo.

“Liz? Liz, wake up.”

At the moment, I don’t care who’s calling my name as long as it gets me out of here.

I wake with scream, and my arms fling out as if to protect myself. I hear a thump, then a groan as my vision slowly clears. Looking around, I realize I’m in Mac and Dean’s room. Wait… I’m in their room? I roll over to find Dean next to me on his bed, his eyes wide as he bites his lip.

With a grin, he says, “You’ve got a solid right hook on you.”

I groan and crawl to look over the side of the bed. Mac is lying on the floor, a hand over his cheek, his eyes squeezed shut. He must have landed in an awkward position when fell off the bed. Or, I suppose, was punched off the bed.

“I am so sorry, Mac!”

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