Page 48 of Ice Block

“Okay, my turn.” Kara says, excitedly shifting in her chair. “Never have I ever…wanted to fuck a Russian in my hotel room.”

I give Kara an even more annoyed look.If I didn’t love the hell out of these ladies, I would be finding a new friend group.“I donotwant to fuck him.”

“The hell you don’t, Maggie!” Shelly yells out, high-fiving Kara next to her. Then she starts a chant of “Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!” and everyone chimes in.

Fuck, if it isn’t the truth. Maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe it’s just these three being my besties, but I can’t hold back how I’ve been feeling all week anymore. “Okay, okay, fine! I want to fuck him. Is that what you all want to hear? He’s sexy as hell and sleeping in bed next to me, which is fuckingtorture, so yes, I want to fuck Vladi!” I shout at the top of my lungs like Leo screaming off the front of the boat. I chug back the rest of my drink and slam it down the table, expecting cheers and laughter from my friends. Instead, all my girlfriends’ eyes go wide, and I see Liv’s jaw on the floor.Something is wrong. My stomach drops, my heart is racing, and not from the booze. Something isverywrong.

“What?! Do I have something on my face? What are you all staring at?!” I ask, my voice panicked.

Kara, her hand over her mouth, juts her chin in the direction behind me, and a pit forms in my stomach.What the hell is going on?Slowly, I turn around to see none other than my roommate, who I just publicly declared I want to fuck, standing behind me with Hayes and Zack at his side. His wide eyes meet mine for an instant before I snap my head back to the table in front of me.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. All the mortification I have subjected the bride to has now suddenly been thrust back at me.

Hayes clears his throat. “We, uh…we just wanted to walk you ladies back to the rooms and see if you needed help cleaning up. Vladi mentioned there were a lot of…tastefuldecorations, and I see he was right.”

Do not panic, Maggie. Breathe. There’s a small, microscopic chance in hell he didn’t hear you.Spots dance across my vision.Melissa Joan Heart, I could really use your help right now, sopleasecalm yourself down.I can’t look him in the eye. I refuse to acknowledge the burning in my eyes, my chest. There must be an earthquake happening that no one else can feel because my hands will not stop shaking. I can’t cry. I am MaggiefuckingJames. Maybe I can just laugh this off? Act like it was a big joke?Shit.I bite the inside of my cheek. I know that damn wolf will see right through me.He sees everything.Panic continues to build in my chest, clawing up to my throat, which is unbelievably tight right now. There is only one thing to do.

Run.

30

vladi

Istand frozen as Maggie jumps from her seat and sprints for the door. Olivia and all her friends call after her, but she ignores them, bolting like she’s being chased in a police pursuit. I glance around the room, through the sea of blow up cocks, but every single person is staring directly at me.What the fuck just happened?The woman I crave more than air itself just publicly declared she wants to fuck me. And then she ran out the door.Do I go after her? Do I act like Ididn’tjust hear her say that?

I look to Larsy, hoping he will tell me what the hell I need to do here. He simply puts his hand on my shoulder and tilts his head toward the empty doorway. I don’t have to ask him what he means. He’s my brother, my teammate, my friend. His approval is the only thing I need as I race out the door to chase down the woman I want so badly I can hardly breathe.

I can see her stumbling across the sidewalk in her impractical high-heeled shoes, heading toward our room.She’s running. She’s running from me. From us. If she gets away, it’s over.There is no next time.

“Magdalina!” I shout as I burst into a sprint, my legs racing as fast as my heart is pounding in my chest. She slips into the elevator, frantically pushing the buttons as I push myself harder than I ever have, but the door closes before I can reach her.Dammit.I run for the stairs, knowing I have the stamina to quickly climb the six floors. If I’m lucky, it will make at least one stop before reaching our floor. My mind and pulse are racing as I burst out of the stairwell and scan the hallway looking for any sign of her. Empty. My heart sinks.Did I lose her?

DING!

I jerk my head toward the sound as she steps out of the elevator. Her eyes meet mine for a split second, fear and something I don’t dare name swimming within them, before she turns and continues her fast pace toward our room. I sprint after her. She makes it to the door, shoves it open, then tries to slam it shut behind her.Not. Happening.I make it just in time to jam my foot between the door and the frame. I’m not letting her shut me out. Not out of this room and not out of her heart.

“Go. Away,” she screams through the cracked-open door.

“In case you forgot, this ismyroom.”

She lets out a loud sigh. I can just picture her flared nostrils on the other side of the door. I bet she’s probably biting the inside of her cheek too, which I’ve noticed she does when she’s nervous. Or flustered. Or turned on.

“FINE,” she huffs as she lets go of the door, finally letting me in as she storms away. I close the door, latching the lock behind us. She faces away from me, and I know she doesn’t want to look me in the eye.

She dropped the puck, and the game’s in motion–there’s no going back now.

“Goddammit! Why is it always so cold when I walk in here?” She marches over to the thermostat and starts cranking the temperatureup. My blood pressure explodes watching her touchmythermostat.

“What thehell…you’vebeen the one making this room so damn hot? I’ve had maintenance up here twice!” I nearly roar, striding over to scoot her aside and push the temperature back down to sixty-five.

“What the fuck, Vladi?Youare the one who’s been setting it at sixty-five?! I’ve been freezing my ass off all week!” She uses her hip totryand push me to the side to hit the button on the thermostat again.

“Leave the fucking temperature alone, Magdalina. This is my thermostat, goddammit!” I grumble, batting my hip against hers, pushing back in a battle of wills over the temperature.

“Youleave it alone! You and your damn ice body are not going to melt like a snowman if it’s seventy degrees in here,” she says as our hands collide on the device, both of us fighting to gain control.

“If you touch that thermostat one more time...”

She looks at me, her face a bright shade of red and a fire deep in her eyes. “What,Wolfie? What are you gonna do about it?”

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