Page 8 of Melting the Ice

“Sure, sure. Whatever.”

“If you two are done chitchatting, I think we could start with a two on one,” Sunny, one of our assistant coaches, said.

I lifted my head to see him gesturing to where Haldy was standing across the ice.

“Yeah, yeah. Just discussing strategy, Sunny.” Dom smirked and then skated off to get into position.

I turned my attention to where it should be, keeping Haldy or Dom from scoring on Tucks in net. That was the only thing I needed to be focused on.

“You ready, Micahtron?” Tucks asked.

“Fuck off,” I bit out. I didn’t bother to glance behind me and glare at our netminder, Gabriel Tucker. He probably had a fucking grin on his face or some shit.

Haldy let out a chuckle, and I narrowed my eyes at the forward.

I wasn’t surprised the whole damn team knew about the nickname. Nothing was secret with this group of idiots. I was just surprised they managed to keep quiet about it until now.

“How about we focus on me keeping you both from scoring?” I yelled.

Dom grinned. “Good luck with that.”

“Give it your best shot,” Tucks called out, and I heard him slap his stick against each of his posts. At least he wasn’t praising the posts like he typically did during actual games. There was seriously something off with anyone who willingly stood in net and took pucks flying at his face every game. Goalies were definitely a different breed.

Then, Sunny dropped the puck in front of Dom, and I tracked his and Haldy’s every move, keeping them from slipping the puck behind me and into Tucks’s net.

Everything was going to be fine.

Yep.

Just fine.

JOSIE

I scanned my cart one last time before heading to the checkout.

“Chocolate chips,” I exclaimed, spinning my cart around and almost crashing into someone.

“Shit. Sorry! Chocolate emergency,” I said, flashing the woman a smile as I skirted around her and made my way to the baking aisle. It was an aisle I didn’t frequent because I didn’t have the patience to follow an actual recipe and bake. I preferred to just wing it when I was cooking, and if it didn’t turn out, extra cheese would fix it.

But I wanted to make something sweet for Micah, and I knew he loved oatmeal cookies, so a pouch of oatmeal cookie mix was already in my cart, and chocolate chips would make them even better. I tapped my fingers on the cart handle, enjoying the classic rock floating down from the speakers. They had a pretty decent playlist, and at twenty-two, I’m not sure what that said about my music taste.

“Here you are.” I grabbed a bag of milk chocolate chunk chips and tossed them on top of the rest of the groceries in my cart, then headed back to the checkout.

I dropped the bags on the kitchen island in Micah’s condo, grateful that the grocery store was a short walk from his place since I was currently without a car.

Stupid Blaine. I shook my shoulders in an effort to shove out any thoughts of that idiot. Or maybe it was directed more at me for being an idiot without a real backup plan if—or maybe I should say when—things went sideways. It’s not like I thought it was going to last that long.

Not that I was sad about currently staying with Micah. He’d looked so freaking hot in his workout gear before he’d headed for practice this morning. He’d left early, saying he was grabbing food at the rink, while I’d stared at him and sipped my coffee.

Dammit, hockey did a body freakinggoooood.

Then, my insides shook for a different reason entirely. The couch had been more than comfortable last night, oversized and perfect, but the thought of being wrapped up in Micah’s arms in his bed had crossed my mind a few times. I knew it was a waste of time to think about that, especially after he’d made his feelings clear when we kissed way back when, but it didn’t stop me from lusting after his growly hot body.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Crap. It was already time to pick up the dogs. I put away the rest of the groceries, along with some snacks that didn’t include thetwigs and bark that Micah seemed to enjoy. Maybe he’d be less grouchy if he ate more tasty food? Pocketing a handful of dog treats into my heavy coat, I picked up my bag and headed back out to grab Lola, Oscar, and Sheldon. A brisk walk in the snow would help me cool down.

***

I peeked my head into Micah’s relaxation room later that afternoon, unable to resist snooping. I’d gotten back from my dog-walking job, showered, and vegged on the couch for a bit until curiosity overtook me.

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