Page 98 of Iced Out

Well, God fucking damnit.

“Changing, clearly,” I mutter, stripping the tie from around my neck and grabbing a pair of jeans and a thermal from my closet. The only thing worse than being underdressed for an occasion is beingoverdressed.

“Dress clothes just to go to dinner?” Oakley muses, stepping into my room and closing the door behind him.

“Did you forget the world I come from?” I arch a brow at him over my shoulder as I unbutton my shirt and return it to its hanger. “A suit and tie for dinner was my life growing up.”

His nose wrinkles up in the way I love. “Sounds fucking terrible.”

It wasn’t so bad. Not the clothes part, anyway. Sometimes it’s nice to dress to the nines. It was the company I could’ve done without.

“How’d you get in here anyway?” I ask, changing the subject as I strip back to my boxer briefs. I can feel Oakley’s penetrating stare on every inch of visible skin, causing goosebumps to break out across my entire body.

“Hayes,” is all he says, and when I look up, I find him crossing the room and taking a seat on my bed. There’s a pensive look on his face before he adds, “He didn’t look very surprised to see me, actually.”

This right here is a moment I’ve been dreading—and it has nothing to do with the anxiety of meeting his family for dinner.

“Probably because…he knows.”

Oakley’s reaction isn’t what I expected. I was almost certain he’d be pissed and call the whole thing off. Which is exactly the last thing in the world I want, hence my delay in telling him.

But he’s not pissed. In fact, he smiles a little and shakes his head. “He figured it out, didn’t he?”

I nod, slipping into a pair of dark wash jeans. “I never mentioned anything to him obviously, but he’s seen you here a lot lately. I guess he put two and two together somehow. Said if we’re going to keep fucking like wild animals at all hours of the night, we need to take the party to your place sometimes.”

I leave out the part where Hayesdefinitelycaught us kissing a few weeks ago, which was confirmed when he mentioned knowing about Oakley and I sleeping together. And the only reason he hadn’t said anything was because he wanted me to say something about it to him first.

But then we kept him from getting decent sleep one too many times, and he couldn’t keep quiet any longer.

A sharp, disbelieving laugh comes from Oak. “Damn.”

I shove my arms in a new shirt and yank it over my head. “You don’t care if he knows?”

If I’m being honest with myself, I’m gladsomeoneknows. Makes it a little more real. But I know how Oakley feels about this being kept private, just between us.

Which is why the shake of his head catches me by surprise.

“We were kidding ourselves by thinking absolutely no one would find out. And if you trust him to keep it to himself, then it’s fine by me.” He pauses, fucking with the snapback resting backward on his head. “It’s better than all my roommates finding out, you know?”

Yeah, I’m sure Braxton in particular would be thrilled to know his bestie is boning me seven ways to Sunday.

My fingers twitch as I fix my hair in the mirror again, a slight irritation rushing through me. Of course I’d have to change what I was wearing and ruin it when I’d just gotten it to lay just how I like it.

Come on.

“Are you nervous?” Oakley asks, pulling my focus to him instead.

He must be noting my actions as a nervous tick. And he’d be right. Because, yeah, I’m nervous. Really fucking nervous, and not just because Oakley’s dad was an all-star forward in the NHL for years. It’s because they’re his family, and I’m realizing their first impression means a lot to me. A lot more than it probably should, all things considered.

My lack of answer must give me away if the way Oakley’s gaze softens is any indication.

Rising from his place on the bed, he closes the distance between us. His hand smooths the errant strand of hair I was fucking with before moving to cup the back of my neck. “It’s just dinner, Quinn. Don’t worry.”

I swallow and plaster on a smile. “I’m not nervous.”

His brows furrow, and he releases the hold he had on the back of my neck. “Cut the shit right now.”

“What are you talking about?”

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