Page 40 of Ice Block

“They do that on these damn tours! They flirt with the ladies to get tips. He’s notliterallyflirting with me,” she spits, the storm brewing in her hazel eyes intoxicating to witness. “And even if he was,youare not the owner of me just because we hooked up months ago.”

My heart, the one that finally started beating again, has now dropped into the pit of my stomach.Does she really think so little of me?“That’s it? All I am to you is a one-time fuck?”

The storm in her eyes morphs into a full-on hurricane.

Oh fuck.Thatwas the wrong thing to say; this is not going to end well.“Shit, I didn’t mean-”

“Howdare yousay that to me, you fucking prick.Youare the one who made that night a ‘one-time thing.’ You and your damn walled off emotions desperate to hide from a relationship. You have no right to tell me I’m off limits until you’re ready to do something about it,” she hisses as she storms back to motherfucking Carlos to continue the safety demonstration.

FUCK.

“Bruh! What the hell was with you and Maggie earlier?” Bougie says as he sits beside me, invading my space on the private yacht Larsy rented for thisdelightfully miserableexcursion. We snorkeled and saw some of the most beautiful coral reefs and tropical marine life. But I couldn’t even enjoy it. Not the cool waters or the scenery. Because through it all, I couldn’t keep my eyes offher.The mixture of regret and carnal need swirl through me like the damn fish in the water. I white-knuckle grip my drink as I watch her now. Standing by that damn boat captain again. And now Bougie is here to question me.Yebat.

“Get away from me.”

“Vladster, listen. You pretend to hate me, but I know you secretly don’t. I have magical powers, and I know these things. I’m kind of like a Magic 8 Ball. Did you ever play with one of those as a kid? Wait!” he gasps, leaning in close to whisper, “Did they have those in Russia?”

“I said get away from me, Bougie,” I snark, his ridiculous question giving me a headache. But of course, he doesn’t leave, he just continues talking. As usual.

Dear God, get me off this boat.

“I’ll take that as a no. Okay, so it’s this little black ball, and you ask it a question, then you shake it really hard, and it gives you an answer. The responses are like, ‘Outlook Good’ or ‘Ask Again Later’. We would ask it dumb shit all the time, like, ‘Does my sister eat her boogers’ and it would say, ‘Without A Doubt’ and we’d all laugh.”

“Bougie,” I pinch the bridge of my nose to keep myself from throwing him overboard, “why the hell are you telling me about this ridiculous child’s toy?”

“Patience, my friend. I’m getting there. But just so you know,I ama Magic 8 Ball. I just know shit. Sooo…if you asked me if I thought youreallyhated me, you know what the Magic 8 Ball would say?”

“Please. Tell me. I’m dying to know. Do I need to shake you first?” I ask in my usual dry, sarcastic tone.

He rolls his eyes at me. “It would say, ‘My sources say no’.”

“Wonderful. Can you get away from me now?”

“No can do, Vladioli. I haven’t gotten to my point yet.”

“Fucking get to it.”

Bougie lets out a loud, annoying laugh, setting my teeth on edge. “God, I love you so much, Vladi! My point is, I know you don’t hate me. And I knoweven morethat you have a thing for that brunette currently flirting with Captain Carlos over there.”

I furrow my brows at the ridiculous know-it-all smile he’s flashing at me. “So what if I do? She hates me.”

Bougie lays what he thinks is a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Vladster, trust me and my magical abilities to read people. That girl one-hundo percent does not hate you. In fact,” he picks up an empty can of beer and looks at it as he begins talking again. “Is Maggie madly in love with you?” He shakes the can like it’s the damn toy he’s been talking about. “Oh! Look at this,” he shows me the silver bottom, “It says, ‘It is certain.’ Would you look at that?”

I shake my head, smothering the spark of hope, knowing he is reading too much into this situation. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Listen, man. Take it from a guy who has three sisters. She is flirting with him for one reason and one reason only: foryouto notice. And with the way you’ve been sitting here, broody and knocking back beers while not taking your eyes off her this entire boat trip…” he snorts, nudging me with his sweaty shoulder, “you’ve noticed. You’vereallynoticed. So, my sweet, sweet goalie BFF, the question is, what in the hell is holding you back?”

Fuck this damn rookie. He gets under my skin every moment ofthe day, but this time he hit something real. His words gnaw at the back of my mind. What is keeping me from taking what I know I want? Fear? I don’t let that rule anything else in my life. But this –her?My stomach churns at the next thought. If only I could be with her without holding back.

“It’s complicated,” I growl. “Besides, what would your twenty-two-year-old ass know about love?”

He sighs, an almost defeated look on his face. “I know I don’t want to miss out on it when it comes my way. I know I’m going to do everything possible to make sure the woman I’m madly in love with,” he pauses, a nervousness suddenly straining his face “…you know,eventually…doesn’t get away from me.”

“I’m not madly in love with Maggie.” I shake my head, staring down into my beer before taking a drink. “And she is certainly not madly in love with me.”

“Has your facemask destroyed some of your brain cells? Have youseenthe way she looks at you? For some reason, she’s head over heels for your grumpy ass. You’re not eventhatcool. But, she likes you,” he says, placing a hand on my shoulder as I grunt my disagreement, but he doesn’t remove it.The boldness of this damn kid.“She’s a catch too. And she’s really talented. I’ve got her working with a couple of the businesses I’ve invested in. She’s doing a complete rebrand for the microbrewery.”

“I am aware of her talents, rookie. Thank you for the well-known breaking news.”

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