Page 46 of Home Ice

It’s nice to know Hawke thinks so highly of me. “Oh, trust me, there are. But half an hour is still a long drive when you’re working two or three jobs.”

Hawke taps his fingers on the table and lowers his voice until it’s almost inaudible. “I could give you money, you know?”

“I do know. And that won’t be happening.”

He doesn’t push, and I know he expected my response. It’s still a novelty to be back with someone who knows me so well. Well enough to immediately change the subject. “Tell me about these men in Burlington. Don’t leave anything out.” He leans closer. “I want all the details.”

“You know I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Yeah, and now I know it’s because you weren’t interested in any of the girls you dated.”

I hang my head back, squirming out of my skin at even the thought of trying to talk about sex back then. “Because you all would have guessed immediately. I can only imagine what I would have said.”

“Her lips tasted like strawberries.”

I blink at him. “Huh?”

“That’s what you said. After your first kiss. I thought it was fucking weird but thought maybe she was just wearing too much lip gloss. Or that you really like strawberries.”

The secondhand embarrassment reaches through the years and slaps me in the face. “As you can tell, I was very straight.”

“The straightest. Until this mysterious college guy. Did I know him?”

Back then, we were both closeted and only hooked up in secret, but according to his recent social media, he and his boyfriend are happy together. So knowing that I won’t be outing anyone, there’s no reason not to tell him. That doesn’t stop me from being hesitant. “Trevor Albarran.”

“Our goalie?”

I smirk. “He was very flexible.”

“Huh.” I’m not sure if it’s shock that’s taken over Hawke’s face, but he doesn’t look like he knows what to say next. His hand finds his hair, tussling the messy curls like he’s trying to shake a thought free. “He was … hot.”

“He was.”

“And was it, like, once or …”

“Nah, we had a regular thing.”

“You guys were dating?” Something in his tone sounds off.

“Would it annoy you if we were?”

“No.” His answer is too fast for me to believe him. Looks like I wasn’t the only one with possession issues.

I take pity on him. “We weren’t dating. We hooked up when we needed to, but he was more tense about being found out than I was.” I laugh as a memory comes back to me. “You almost caught us once.”

“I did?”

I nod. “We were on an away trip, and you came back to the room when you were supposed to be going out with the team. We locked ourselves in the bathroom, and I told you I had the stomach flu. When you left to grab me a few things, he bailed, and I don’t think we hooked up again after that.”

Hawke scowls. “I came back to the room because I didn’t want you to be alone. I thought I was looking after you!”

I smile innocently at him. “If it helps, I really loved the way you fussed over me.”

“Except you were never sick. You were just horny.”

“The attention made me want to fake sick more often.”

“Fuck you.”