Page 106 of Melting the Ice

“No, you invited me, ’cause you wanted to prove something. Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Ramsey teased.

“I was actually surprised you agreed,” Brody said. Ithadbeen a little bit of a test, asking Ramsey to come with him to the football game. Ramsey was notorious for disliking football. And yet he’d agreed, and he was here.

“Me too,” Ramsey said. “Maybe I wanted a front row seat to you mooning over your boyfriend.”

“He’s not—”

Ramsey held up a hand. “Don’t even argue. We both know you want him to be. And if you’d just find some balls andtalk to him, I’d bet you’d discover he’d be very fucking good with that idea. Your mom told me you two wereverycoupley at dinner.”

“Ugh, you talked to my mom about Dean?”

“Shebroughthimup. Wanted to know what was going on with you two. Said you kept playing footsy under the table during dinner.”

“We were not!” Brody exclaimed. He couldn’t believe his mom would askRamseyabout Dean and not him. He said so, emphatically, and Ramsey patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

“If you want my honest opinion, she’s going to. But she was doing some advanced reconnaissance first.”

“I guess it would come as kind of a surprise to them, me with a guy.” Brody could admit that, at least. Maybe he’d have told her—told both his parents, actually—if things with Dean were more serious.

“You withanyone, and to be honest, not really, actually.”

“Oh.”

Ramsey patted him on the knee again. “Exactly. Tell her. But before you do that, talk to Dean, okay?”

“Wedotalk,” Brody grumbled.

“Listen, if I had that in my bed, I wouldn’t be doing much talking either, so I get it,” Ramsey said, gesturing to where Dean stood on the sidelines, separate from everyone.

“Wedotalk,” Brody said. He didn’t add that sometimes it wasinbed. After they’d worn each other out, and it felt like they were more honest with each other in those moments than they’d ever been with anyone else.

“You tell him you were coming to the game?”

“Actually, no. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Ramsey groaned. “Oh God. You aresucha boyfriend, Faulkner.”

Brody wanted to deny it again, but it was becoming hard to. “Watch the game, Ramsey. Do you need me to explain the rules to you?”

Ramsey cocked his head. “I think I’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Alright.” Brody focused back on Dean, who was about to jog onto the field. During one of those late nights, Brody’s head on Dean’s chest, he’d confided his nerves about this game.

They’ve got a good line. And they’ll double team me. Maybe triple team me. If I can’t prove I can still stop the play then . . .He’d hesitated, then. Brody had heard the unmistakableworry in his voice and what he hadn’t said.I might not make it after all, was his unspoken fear.

He’d almost said,then maybe we can be together. Like for real.

But as much as Brody was afraid he wanted that, he didn’t want it at the cost of Dean’s dreams.

If he didn’t end up in the NHL, then it was because he’d found something else he wanted more. But Dean didn’t have a backup plan. Dean’s plan was to make it, and he’d devoted himself with an intense single-minded focus to that one goal.

But Dean shouldn’t have worried, Brody realized, as the first play unfolded on the field.

Dean gained the edge with a neat little side-step, then stiff-armed the second lineman, and was around behind the quarterback, not even letting him get rid of the ball before he tackled him to the ground.

The stadium erupted as Dean popped back up, kicking his leg out, his muscular arms straining as he yelled in triumph.

“Shit, I can totally see the attraction,” Ramsey said, nudging Brody, who could barely tear his gaze off the guy on the field.

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