Page 15 of Ice Block

I avoid her as much as I can, but our friends are married, which makes it impossible. When we have to be around one another, my chest gets tight, that damn feeling steals my breath, and my heart races like I’ve just finished sprints at practice. I stroke my cock multiple times a day, thinking of her, trying to relieve the ache. What I wouldn’t give to have one more night with her.Would that soothe the ache in my chest? Would that banish the thoughts plaguing me?Sighing, I drag my hand down my face. Fuck, if I did relationships, this would be so much easier. I’ve thought about reaching out so many times. Her number is in our group chat. I’ve even typed out messages and hovered over the send button, only to delete them and throw my phone across the room.Goddamit, I want her.But the paralyzing fear of not being able to care for someone haunts me. I can’t bring myself to open that part of me that was ripped away so violently so many years ago. A thick wall of ice blocks that piece of my heart, and I’m not sure it will ever melt.

DING! DING! DING! BANG! BANG! BANG!

I jump at the sound.Who the hell is here?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Vladi! I know you’re home. Open this damn door right fucking now!”

Holy hell.What is Larsy doing here?I rush to the door, nearly tripping over my feet with worry. Also, not wanting my door kicked in.

“Why the hell are you beating down my door?” I shout, cracking open the abused wood.

He storms in, fists my shirt, and slams me against a wall.

“You fucking slept with Maggie after the Bourbon Gala?!”

Shit.

“Andyou told her not to tellOlivia?What the actual fuck, Vladi?!”

My lips thin.This was one of themanyreasons I didn’t want this getting out.

“I don’t understand why this is any of your business.”

“My business? You asked my wife’s best friend to keep a secret from her, which is basically keeping a secret from me. And, in case you forgot, I drove Olivia home afteronegame and you got all pissy about me not telling you what was going on in my life. I kept that from you fortwo days. Funny, isn’t it? Seems like we are in the same situation here, but you’ve kept me in the dark formonths!”

“Technically, she wasn’t your wife at that point in time,” I argue, watching the anger burn in his eyes.Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say.

“God, this explains so much!” Hayes takes a calming breath, letting go of my shirt and dropping his palms on my shoulders. “Vladi, you’re my best friend. Why didn’t you tell me about this? We’re all adults. People hook up all the time.” He steps back and runs his fingers through his hair, messing up the already mused strands. “I’m only slightly irritated that you slept with Maggie. What I’mfuriousabout is why you chose to keep this from me. We don’t have secrets, man. We never have. What the hell is going on?”

Brushing past him, I grip my book, shoving it back on my shelf. “It was just a one-night stand. She had a bad day. So did I. We were just helping one another out. Nothing more.”

“Then why does she hate you? Liv said Maggie wants to rip your insides out and hang them from the top of the arena. What did you do to her?”

This is one question I’m happy to answer with truth. “I fucked her, Larsy. I fucked her all night long until she was boneless, satisfied, and sleeping. Then I left,” I turn, leaning against the bookcaseand crossing my arms over my chest, trying to dispel the tightness pressing down on me. “What more is there to say?”

The red on his face tells me he’s not enjoying that answer either, his body language mirroring my own. “Explain ‘then I left’ to me. How did you leave things with her?”

Shit, he’s going to be even more pissed now.I could lie, but he’ll see right through me. “I just left, okay? I…” I swallow hard, cracking my knuckles as I try to find the words. “I had to get out of there. I panicked. I was…feelingthings.”

He tilts his head, narrowing his brows. “You were feeling things? What kind ofthingswere you feeling that you had to leave without saying goodbye?”

Seems like my Little Red Riding Hood confessed her sins, yet I’m the one paying for them.

“I took her home, likeyouasked after you almost took Olivia’s pathetic ex-boyfriend’s head off. Need I remind you that you asked me to, and I quote, ‘make sure Maggie makes it home safely.’ So I took her home…safely.Multiple times. And, to be fair, I told her ahead of time I don’t do relationships. We both agreed whatever was going to happen was only for one night.”

Hayes takes a step toward me, his body tight with rage. “Keep talking or I’m going to your basement bar and smashing all of your vodka.”

My eyes narrow. “Don’t threaten my vodka collection.”

“Then don’t keep any more secrets from me! I know that’s not the whole story. Keep. Talking.”

I swallow down the knot forming in my throat. “I…I didn’t mean to leave. I was fully planning one more round with her. Honestly, it was the most fun I’d had with a woman in a long time. Her body is gorgeous, breathtaking, unlike any woman I’ve been with before. She let me do things to her I’ve wanted to do,neededtodo, for so long. And she…she did things to me. Not just sexually, though she was damn good at that.”

I drop my head back, looking at the vaulted ceilings of my home. “She gave me shit all night long, and I fucking loved it. She is funny. But also feisty and confident. She doesn’t let anything, or anyone, stand in her way.”

I consider leaving it at that, not telling him the real reason I freaked out. But I know him, and he’ll see right through it.

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