Page 43 of Melting the Ice

Well, maybe he and Brody could at least be friendly. Surely he could conquer this craving to revisit their experiment, and if hecould, then they could go back to the way they’d started to be before the whole damn experiment.

ThatBrody had relaxed him just fine.

“Yeah, I do,” Dean said. He set his water bottle by the big mat on the other side of the gym. Originally he’d planned to do some ab work and then put in a hard run, because nothing wore him out like strengthening his core.

But he usually stripped off his shirt first.

Brody’s shirtless.Are you gonna make this even weirder than it already is?

Forcing himself to stop overthinking, he lifted it up and off, tossing it down next to his water.

As he went down to the mat, he could feel Brody’s eyes hot on his shoulders. Skimming down his chest.

His body was a tool, sure, a surefire way he was going to change his life, but he was proud of the way it looked too. How hard he worked to maintain it. To improve it. To make it the very best it could be.

And if Brody wanted to look and enjoy it too . . .well, Dean wasn’t going to go out of his way to stop him.

On the other side of the room, he heard Brody moving around, changing machines. Then the inevitable sound of metal clunking together as he started another set.

But he didn’t look. Didn’t let himself. It was only his history of intense focus to the exclusion of everything else that kept his gaze locked onto the mat.

After a few warmup stretches, Dean picked up the medicine ball, took a deep breath and began.

Fifteen minutes later, sweat was dripping down his face, his core was burning and that was of course, the moment Brody reappeared in his line of vision.

“Hey,” Brody said.

Dean swallowed hard, his abs aching, as he swiped a hand across his forehead.

“You’re sure working hard over here,” Brody said, the corner of his mouth tilting up in a teasing smile. Dean felt his abs twitch, and that was a goodanda bad thing.

“Well, you . . .uh . . .know what they say,” Dean said.

“What do they say?”

Dean wanted to kiss the tilt off that mouth.

But he didn’t, because that would’ve been crazy, and he was trying very hard not to fall into crazy right now.

“Uh, yeah, that there’s no point in working if you’re not working hard,” Dean said. Felt like apologizing.Stupid. So fucking stupid. “Or at least that’s what Coach Stevens says to us.”

“You must like him,” Brody said, and when Dean nodded, he added, “‘You know, since you’re hard work’s biggest fan.”

Dean laughed, the sound startled right out of him, and he regretted that, because his abs were beginning to burn.

“I didn’t know hockey players could make jokes,” Dean said. If Brody was going to tease, to try to return them to the relatively easy acquaintanceship they’d occupied before the other night, then he wasn’t going to let that opportunity pass him by.

“Oh, we’re full of them,” Brody claimed. “Haven’t you ever met Ramsey?”

Dean rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling. He couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, a few times, and he’s sure something.”

“Oh, so it’s just me you didn’t think was very funny,” Brody teased. Dean opened his mouth to argue that no, he hadn’t thought that at all, actually, but before he could, Brody continued. “I was going to do the bench press, but I didn’t want to do it alone. You okay to spot me for a few?”

“Sure, if you’ll do the same.” Dean hadn’t intended to work on his chest or shoulders, but if Brody was going to do it and he was going to be forced to watch, then at least he could return the favor.

Because that was what roommates slash friendly acquaintances did, right?

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