Page 44 of Heat Transfer

Before Cor could head off to save the day, I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. I grew all too aware of the eyes on us,that this gesture was intimate in a way that hooking up wasn’t. However, my heart was tumbling forward faster than my mind could follow.

Cor’s cheeks pinked, and my chest soared.

Yeah, I was falling hard.

Chapter fifteen

Cormac

This was my first hockey game of the season, which I always enjoyed. However, what made tonight even better was the fact that I was going with Felix. He’d been calling it our date all week, but I hadn’t summoned the nerve to ask him if we were still faking things or not.

One tiny question, but if he said this wasn’t real—that he was just having fun—I didn’t think I’d survive the fallout.

The way our families and lives blended together was nothing short of a dream, but sometimes I got this sense of hesitation like he still held back. Maybe it was because he’d just come out of a yearlong relationship over a month ago. He was newly bi, which always made me cautious, but I still couldn’t get over the ease that existed with him.

I’d never experienced it. After feeling invisible or like the second choice for so long, I wasn’t used to Felix’s attention. It litme up. When he looked at me, he didn’t see a role or a means to an end. No, he saw all of me, and it was a little terrifying.

“Wells Fargo Center is packed tonight,” Felix said as I drove us around the full lot.

“Clearly, everyone had the same idea we did.” I slipped into the first open spot.

Felix scoffed. “How dare they.”

We got out of my car and into the brisk autumn air. This time of year, the nights were a bit more bracing, but I used the excuse to sidle closer to him. He wore the orange, black, and white jersey, and with his black curls tamed and thick black glasses on instead of contacts, he looked so hot I had been distracted the whole drive. Something about him had drawn me in from the start, this air of snarkiness and self-reliance I adored.

I’d been to a ton of games, but never with a boyfriend. Mostly because I’d only had a few long-term relationships amid a spell of shorter ones or had periods of not dating at all. Usually, Rory or Ollie joined me; Ais and Declan weren’t into sports. Except I wasn’t going with a boyfriend. Technically.

I swallowed back that thought and nudged my hand against Felix’s. He took the bait, like I’d hoped, and threaded our fingers together. The second we entered the stadium, the sounds and scents washed over me. A crispness lingered in the air from the ice, and the steady thrum of so many people congregated in one place formed an energy that was impossible to replicate.

“Did I tell you,” Felix said, “that my bosses mentioned the promotion I’ve been aiming for is opening for candidates in a few weeks, and they want me to apply.” He rocked back and forth on his heels while we waited in line for security. “Apparently, Carly put in a good word.”

I snorted. “Thank fuck she missed our makeout session among the antiquities.”

We got through security with ease and turned right, in the direction of our seats. Not that they were any good, but I didn’t need that to enjoy the game, not when I was with Felix. Just getting to be here with him under the bright dome lights, feeling like this was real, was all I could’ve hoped for. The only thing that would make this better was if this wasn’t just the first but the first of many times coming here together.

“You’re aware we’re probably in for a loss, right?” Felix said as we followed the rest of the folks heading to their seats. “The boys have been playing like hot garbage.”

“Quiet, you’re cursing the game.” I swung our entwined hands. “This is home ice. We’ve got the advantage.”

Felix laughed. “Que ridiculo! Don’t tell me you’re superstitious.”

My lips quirked. “Once in a while.” I loved the Spanish he’d slip into regular conversations. Hell, I was pretty much obsessed with every damn thing about this man from the old game collection at his house he haphazardly hid to how he’d fought tooth and nail to be self-reliant, even with the way his brother and parents worried. I loved being here with him. I was floating so high I didn’t ever want to come back down.

And bit by bit, I was convincing myself this was the real deal. That he wasn’t just experimenting or taking a dip in the water.

Maybe it was how he didn’t hesitate to hold my hand in public. Or the kiss he’d planted on my cheek at Marco’s that had been a far cry from driven-by-lust territory. Or the way we’d started to barely go a few days without seeing each other.

All these were doing hazardous things to my heart, and I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life any longer.

We found our seats in the nosebleeds and plunked down into them. The game would be starting any minute.

Felix craned forward, pointing at the ice. “How far of a jump do you figure that is?”

My brows drew together. “For who? Superman?”

“Superman doesn’t need to jump. He can fly,” Felix responded. “God, if you don’t know that, I don’t think we can keep fake dating, Cor.”

His words were teasing, but the qualifier in front of them had my heart clenching tight. Fake. That was what this was.

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