Page 117 of Ice Dance Hockey

The more I think about his plan, the surer I become, and I like that it was his plan. He wants me to be the more dominant partner, but that doesn’t mean we’re not a team. We’ve been that from the beginning of this partnership and I never want to lose it. It’s as if we were born knowing how to be with each other. We know exactly how to complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. A knot loosens in my belly, one I didn’t know existed.

“He’ll be fucking pissed at us, but it’ll work. Truth be told, I don’t want to miss the Meyer family camping trip either.”

He tilts his head upward and his beaming smile gets rid of the awful loneliness that had gripped me for several heartbeats.

“You probably think I don’t care about you or any of this and that’s not true. I’d be fucking livid if you did what I did. I’d be worried you were going to break up with me. I’m not going to make excuses. I’ll do better.”

His perfectionist is showing. It takes one to know one.

“You’re already forgiven, and I’m going to take care of everything.” Using my thumb, I brush away his tears. “Now, please stop crying when there’s no one I can pulverize for it.”

That gets the laugh I was hoping for. His ribcage shudders with a hitched breath as he sniffles. “Did we just have our first fight? As a real couple,” he clarifies.

“I’m not sure we can call that a fight.”

“You were furious, and I was distraught.”

“We didn’t argue,” I point out. “You came up with an incredible solution.”

“You still have to do all the heavy lifting for that solution, coming up with it was the easy part. And I snapped at you in the forest, though, I was mad at myself, not you. Then you dragged us out of the forest.”

“I did not drag. I guided.”

“I could barely keep up with your long Sasquatch legs.”

“Maybe it was a small fight, but it was quickly resolved, proving that we’re good at this.” I also want to glue him to my side for the rest of the night. “C’mon.”

We make it to the porch swing on Mercy and Jack’s deck where I settle us. The chaotic sounds of children and the adult voices hollering at them drift over us from the kitchen window.

“Jack and Mercy do that too. They fight, but they quickly make up. It’s always over dumb shit and I call them nothing fights. I think, maybe, it’s a good thing. You get stuff off your chest that way because it doesn’t allow the pressure to build. My mom had massive fights with her lovers, and they ended up leaving her. She thought she deserved it for leaving her family.”

Another little tidbit about his mom. They’re all heartbreaking. “Has your mom ever thought about coming back?”

It would take some work, but the Meyers are an accepting bunch. They even welcomed me.

“I don’t think she has it in her to face all that, and this is fucking hard to say because I love my mom, but she can’t survive without being able to manipulate. It makes her feel safe. Doesn’t mean anyone should let her do it to them.”

She manipulated Logan. It’s hard not to be pissed at her for that. I hold out my pinky. “Me and you are making a pact right now. When we fight, it’s for each other even if we hate each other for a minute.”

I can’t imagine hating him, but I want to cover every extreme.

He locks pinkies with me. “I like that.”

I rest my forehead against his. We can do this.

“Logan! Is that you out there? Dinner’s almost ready and we could use a hand,” Merc says from the kitchen window.

“Shit. Yeah, coming!” he calls. “You staying for dinner? It’s taco night.”

“No way am I missing taco night.” Nor am I missing one minute that I could have with him.

Chapter24

Maui

Rhett

Four days in Maui in the lap of luxury at the Elkington family home in Ka’anapali and then four days in the dirt. Should be fine. My siblings came on their own. I’m the only one who brought my significant other. Angelique has a girlfriend. Richard is dating someone, though I’m not sure if they’re official. He’s been keeping his relationship from the media. Maverick doesn’t have a special someone at the moment, only whatever dick he’s interested in for the night.

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