Page 125 of Melting the Ice

Brody nodded. “That’s why you’re having him go home with me. To observe.”

Her chin raised, and there was undeniable approval in her gaze. “If anything changes, if you feel like any of his brain function is slipping, you know to call us.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“Iwillbe sending Dr. Robison the full report,” she said.

“You’re gonna have to forgive him. He’s got doctorate envy,” Ramsey inserted.

Confusion creased the doctor’s forehead.

“I’m thinking about going to medical school,” Brody explained. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Well, you’re definitely one of the more detail-oriented athletes we’ve gotten in here. So . . .might be a good path for you,” she said with a smile.

“Thanks,” Brody said, pleased, even though he had to admit he wasn’t thrilled it had been under these circumstances.

With the way Ramsey was playing right now, he wasn’t going to want to follow the protocols. He’d have to keep an eye out. Make sure Ramsey didn’t bend the rules or bully Dr. Robison into letting him on the ice sooner than he should be.

“Come on,” Dean said to Ramsey, after both the doctor and the nurse had left. “Let’s go.”

Ramsey slid off the bed, and Dean caught him as he wobbled a bit.

“Did I crash a date? Oh, man, you brought him to the fundraiser, didn’t you? Did you at least get some extra super-duper romantic skating time in first?” Ramsey questioned as they walked through the hospital towards the front door.

“We did,” Dean said.

“Sorry.” Ramsey made a face. “They weren’t supposed to call you.”

“I’mgladthey called me,” Brody retorted. “But it was fucking terrifying, too, because I didn’t even know I was your emergency contact.”

“Who else would it be?” Ramsey’s voice was light, but Brody knew he was fronting.

“Glad about that, too. That it was me.” Brody unlocked the car door. “Come on, get in. Do you need us to swing by the frat and get some stuff for you?”

“I’ll just borrow some sweatpants. Between the two of you, you’ve probably overflowing with them.”

“Alright,” Brody said.

This time Dean took the front seat without a word, even when Ramsey made an offhand comment about being a passenger princess. But other than that, the drive home was quiet.

Brody finally pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex and realized, as they climbed up the stairs, that they were going to have explain to Ramsey why Dean was in his bed every single night.

Besides the fact that hopefully hewantedto be.

After the bed had broken, Dean had said he’d talked to someone about fixing it, but then the next week had gone by and there hadn’t been any more talk of it. Every night Dean came to his bed and they woke up every morning together—and Brody never wanted it to change.

But now, they were going to have to explain this situation to Ramsey.

Ramsey, who had been giving him a boat load of shit about Dean being his boyfriend. And sharing a bed? That was undeniably boyfriend-y. Maybe they hadn’t used the word yet, but Brody didn’t think it was that far off from the way they’d been talking to each other.

“Uh,” Dean said under his breath as Brody unlocked the door. “I can take the couch, if you need to monitor him . . .”

“What?” Ramsey questioned. “Why wouldn’t you use your own bed?”

You’ve been doing it, you can own it.

“We had . . .uh . . .an unfortunate incident with Dean’s bed. So it’s currently . . .ah . . .out of service. So we’ve been sharing mine.”

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