Page 4 of Cold as Ice

Not like he’d died and gone to heaven.

More like he’d journeyed to hell.

Or even worse, like he didn’t want to be having this conversation at all.

Like he couldn’t wait for Elliott to move on.

“I’m actually impressed by the whole sober guy attitude,” Elliott said, dredging up another one of his killer grins. Laying on the charm nice and thick. “We can just stand here and I can flirt with you and you can stare at me. That works too.”

“Does it?” Malcolm seemed surprised by this.

“Is it so crazy I’d want to meet you? Hang out with you?”

“We met,” Malcolm said dismissively. “And for the rest, I’m sure we’ll see each other at practice next week.”

Nobody had ever called Elliott a freaking quitter. He retrenched. “Actually, we met last year.”

Metwas probably an oversimplification but Elliott wasn’t going to admit that to Malcolm, or even to himself. Technically, Coach Nichols had introduced Elliott to the whole group and Malcolm had given him a single solitary nod.

Some of the other guys—Brody and Ivan and Ramsey—had come over to greet him, chat him up a bit, probably with the hope of convincing him to ultimately attend Portland U.

But what none of them knew was that Malcolm’s solitary nod had done more to recruit Elliott than any of their friendly overtures.

“Okay,” Malcolm said. Still dismissively.

Elliott couldn’t help his frustrated outburst. “Why are you at a party if you don’t actually want to talk to anyone?”

Why are you at a party if you don’t want to drink or dance or flirt?

Because his hands were empty and he was against the wall, like he’d chosen it, and he definitely didn’t seem to want to flirt with Elliott—or Elliott to flirt withhim—even as a way to pass the time.

Malcolm’s mouth pressed firmly together. That kind of pissy look might turn Elliott off with anyone else. But his body—hiscock—wasn’t cooperating and hadn’t gotten the memo.

“I didn’twantto come. I have some reading for econ to do, but . . .” Malcolm looked up and there was Ramsey Andresen, their teammate, wandering over. “But Ramsey convinced me.” He made a face. “Wouldn’t take no for a goddamn answer. So here I am.”

Malcolm didn’t need to finish his thought for Elliott to know what it was.So here I am, being bothered by you.

Elliott didn’t know what to say.

Never once in all his fantastical, X-rated imaginings had he thought that once he and Malcolm met that he’d fail to entice him.

That he’d fail to even convince the guy to have a basic conversation with him.

That he’d rather go back to his probably spartan apartment and read abouteconomics.

Elliott was more than a little horrified, stuck in silence as Ramsey approached.

“Mal. Being the life of the party as usual?” Ramsey’s mouth quirked up as he greeted the other guy. He wasalsoattractive, in that blond gregarious way, but Elliott wasn’t particularly attracted to him. His eldest sister Nina would have told him it was because it would be like fucking himself.

She was probably right.

Malcolm rolled his eyes. “I don’t know why you bothered to make me come, Andresen. This is a waste of fucking time. Why would I want to drink watered-down booze that’ll give me a bitch of a headache in the morning? As for the apparently ‘great company’ you promised, I’m not impressed.”

“It’s to be fucking social,” Ramsey said, grinning. He turned to Elliott. “Good to see you, kid.”

Elliott’s spine straightened. He was not a kid, and he wasdefinitelynot a kid when it came to Malcolm. “Thanks for theinvite. This seems like a cool party.Seemedlike a cool party.” He shot a glare he barely even meant in Malcolm’s direction.

Ramsey laughed, pounded Malcolm on the shoulder. “This one just wouldn’t know fun if it came up and bit him in the ass.”

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