Page 108 of Melting the Ice

Dean grabbed his phone from his locker and scrolled through the messages of congratulations. Most of them were from people he didn’t really know. Admirers. Agents who weren’t Ian who wanted a chance at signing him as a client when he finally declared for the draft.

But there was a message from Ian.Killer game,he’d written,if you want to grab something to eat, let’s do that. Also I found a friend of yours, he’s gonna come with us.

Dean didn’t know who the friend could possibly be, or how Ian would’ve known about him or her.

He was dreading it, as he walked out of the locker room, but to his shock, there was Ian, his auburn hair bright in the dark corridor, and standing next to him was Brody, his smile possibly eclipsing Ian’s hair.

“There’s the MVP,” Ian said, teasing him and patting him on the back as he turned to Brody.

“You came to a game?” he asked stupidly.

He’d come. Dean had assumed Brody’s presence had been in his own head, but he’d actually been there, in the stands, wasting one of his rare Saturday afternoons off, to go to a game for a sport he didn’t even particularly care about.

“It was so great.Youwere so great,” Brody said and tugged him into a hug.

It wasmostlyplatonic.

But the way Dean didn’t want to let go of him, wanting to hold him close forever, definitely edged it nearer to non-platonic territory. Unfortunately kissing Brody was way off-limits, but Dean wanted it anyway. Wanted to press his lips to Brody’s and prove once and for all who he was, and that this wasn’t a casual thing. Not anymore. Not at all.

Ian must’ve known too, because he was smirking when they finally broke apart.

“I ran into Brody waiting for you, too,” Ian explained. “And I recognized him.”

“You looked him up,” Dean said.

Brody was smirking, now, too. God, he was going to get a big head, from everything he was probably imagining that Dean had said about him to his prospective agent—and his friend.

Well, Dean was ready and willing to take him down a peg. Or two. Or ten.

In fact, he was looking forward to it. Had been, from the last orgasm they’d shared.

“Yeah,” Ian admitted. “I did. There aren’t many Brodys on the hockey team who also have a bio major.”

“Guilty as charged,” Brody said, not sounding upset at all that Dean had been telling Ian about him. “Come on, let’s get some food and talk about how fucking awesome you were today.”

“I’m still stuck on the fact that youcame,” Dean murmured as they headed out of the athletic complex.

“I wanted to surprise you,” Brody said, smugly.

And well, it wasn’t unearned because he sure was fucking surprised.

“Yeah, it was a good one,” Dean said. Wanted to say more, but they were still surrounded by fans and players, streaming out of the area around the football stadium, and then there was Ian.

He had a feeling Ian already suspected what was going on, but he wasn’t going to say a word about it unless one of them did first.

Brody suggested Jimmy’s, and they all nodded, switching directions.

“I’ll tell you this,” Ian said, glancing between them as they walked over to the diner, “you keep playing like this and I’m gonna get a fucking unreal number of calls wondering if you’re gonna declare for the draftthisyear.”

“He can do that?” Brody asked, and Dean could tell he was trying to ask casually, but he knew Brody, and the way his gaze sharpened wasn’t casual at all.

“Oh, he can, if he wanted to,” Ian said.

“But I don’t want to. I want to get my degree.”

“He wants itall,” Ian said, smacking Dean fondly on the back. “I admire that about him.”

“I do too,” Brody said, with an approving nod.

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