Page 103 of Ice Dance Hockey

His voice aches with vulnerability.

“I’ll take care of it.” I fortify my voice with confidence he can depend on. I want to be what he needs—a man he can rely on.

Mercy chooses that moment to swing the door open and stalk out of the house. “Off,” he says, like Logan’s a misbehaved kitten. “You, go.”

Logan sighs and swings his leg from over me, planting a foot on the ground. I hang onto his arm and then stand as Mercy carries on to the unattached garage.

“He’ll be fine,” Logan says. “I mean, I’m probably in for a long lecture of some kind, but … is it weird that I’m okay with that? He wouldn’t do it if he didn’t care.”

Logan’s love language, showing up again. Now that I’m officially his boyfriend, I’m going to pry a bit in the way that I do. “Not weird. I completely understand.”

This time he grabs me, using one hand to pull me to him by the collar of my polo shirt. I get a sweet kiss, but then his eyes manage to mimic blue-gray molten lava. “Do not fuck this up, Elkington. Giving second chances isn’t something I do, but you’ve succeeded in convincing me you were honestly fucked up, and I can forgive that.”

“Mercy gave his approval, didn’t he?”

“Begrudgingly, but only because I wanted this.”

Score two for Elkington. Let’s see if I can go for the hat-trick. I know my guy wants security above all else and I can give him that in spades. “I will not fuck this up.”

I love being his place of safety and I’ll always be that for him no matter what happens.

I did it. I’ve got him. His smile radiates.

“Lo! Let’s go. For every minute you’re late, I’m finding something you can clean with a toothbrush.”

“Dammit. Gotta go.”

He kisses my cheek and I’m left with the ghost of his lips all the way to my car.

Chapter22

Excessively Large

Logan

Why did I tell Rhett I’d sleep with him? Oh right, because I also told him—in a fit of infatuation—that I’d be his boyfriend. And yeah, I know that being boyfriends doesn’t equalhavingto have sex, but I want to, even though I’m nervous. This means I’m going to have to talk to Jack about it. No way am I talking to Mercy about it. I don’t know Bea well enough yet, and I think Ari would have a heart attack.

It's been a week since we made things official. I’m trying to show Mercy that I’m mature enough to be in a real relationship so that he’ll stop worrying so much, by not spending all my time with Rhett. But fuck, I want to spend all my time with Rhett and I’m fucking disgusted with myself.

I wasn’t supposed to be this person. Merc is right, I need to chill. I’m going to have a mostly Rhett-free day. I have to update the Elkington family calendar, and I’ll respond to his text messages, but that’s it.

Casey is here. I’m at the kitchen table with Jack and Stanley as Casey moans about his situationship problems.

Jack shakes his head. “I still can’t believe you fucked Sutter. Multiple times.”

Casey’s been hiding that little fact from Jack and came clean with it recently when he needed some advice.

“I know, but it needs to end. He’ll be my rival team in just a few weeks. I’m ending it as soon as training camp starts.”

But from the antsy way he says that, I doubt he’s going to end it. Sure, he wants to, but doing it is a whole other monster. Could I end this thing with Rhett if I wanted to? If we didn’t have to also do this for show? I’m not sure. I’m in too deep. When I think about it for too long, I hyperventilate. Things are moving too fast and, yet, I don’t want to slow them down.

Jack scratches the back of his head. “You sure you don’t wanna just … see him?”

“Like, as in a real relationship? Fuck, no. It’s Sutter. He’s a huge dick who unfortunately has a huge dick that he knows how to use. Dammit, I’m addicted to his dick. Do they have dick sobriety clubs? Cuz I could sure use one.”

If I thought he meant that, I wouldn’t interrupt, but it’s the perfect segue. “Um, how do you do that?”

Their facial expressions twist to concern. “Have sex?” Casey says, crunching the candy knocking against his teeth for dramatic effect. The man’s obsessed with watermelon Jolly Ranchers. I don’t know how he can stomach so much sugar.

---