Page 42 of Cold as Ice

“It’s nice and sweet,” Ivan claimed.

“Toosweet, probably,” Elliott said.

Whatwouldit look like if he tried to seduce Malcolm? If he really,reallytried? If he touched him more and more like he had last night? If he kept gently invading Mal’s personal bubble. Until he liked it.

Until headmittedto liking it?

If it happened, Elliott wouldn’t even look twice at the Austins of the world.

“You’re right,” Elliott said, interrupting Ivan’s long diatribe on sweet coffee drinks.

“You mean you’refinallygoing to stop drinking that abominable stuff that’d strip the paint off my car?” Ivan asked. “Or—” He paused, looking closer at Elliott’s face. “Oh, you mean, about Mal. Well, of course I’m right. Or maybe Ramsey’s right, really.”

“Well, definitely don’t tell him that,” Elliott said.

“So you’re—”

“Don’t say it,” Elliott interrupted.

“Why the hell not?”

“Plausible deniability?” Elliott tapped his fingers on the counter. Then picked up his cold brew when the barista slid it over to him. He walked over to the condiments station, topped it off with some skim milk. Closed the lid and shook it, gently.“Also, ’cause I’m kind of terrified it’s not gonna work out again and I . . .”

Ivan put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay. Whatever happens. Nobody ever died because of blue balls.”

Elliott laughed. “That’s ’cause you don’t get any.”

“You don’t think Martina busts my balls?”

“Iknowshe does.” Elliott pushed open the door and they stepped outside. “You just like it.”

“True,” Ivan admitted wryly.

They had about an hour before practice started, but they headed towards the athletic complex anyway. There was some thin sunshine attempting to break through the thick clouds covering campus, and Elliott tilted his head back towards the sky. Wanting to soak in what little of it there was.

“You’re gonna text that guy, then, and tell him it’s off?”

Elliott took a long sip of his coffee. “Yeah. I think so. I . . .you’re right about that, too. It wouldn’t be fair. Maybe I’ll tell him it could happen later, I just have to see how this thing goes, first.”

“Mal’s not going to be an easy nut to crack,” Ivan warned.

Like Elliott needed to be told that Malcolm McCoy would be difficult to seduce.

Ha.

There was a reason he’d considered this route before and to use Ramsey’s terminology,chickened out. Why he was still considering calling it all off now.

But then as they turned towards the rink, there was Mal’s distinctive head, ahead of them, his dark curls, a hair too long, blowing in the breeze, and his head was tilted back too, just as Elliott’s had been, only a moment before.

Elliott swallowed hard.

He’d been chasing this high since last year. But only Mal made him feel it.

“No,” Elliott agreed, “he won’t be easy. But that doesn’t mean he’s not worth the effort.”

Ivan made a satisfied noise, and Elliott looked over to see him smiling encouragingly. “There you are, that’s the Elliott I know,” he said, patting him on the back.

“Should you be so excited that I’m going for our liney’s dick?”

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