Page 43 of Ice Cold Heart
On a whim, I snatched up the lace underwear from the floor next to my bedroom door and shoved them in my pocket. A reminder of what was waiting for me back home, not that I needed it. The memory of Avery soaking wet and pleading my name would live in my mind forever.
If only I could convince the girl I wanted more than the memory.
17
Why did shit always go down at Kappa house? Reece had other places he could party, but he couldn’t quit the frat scene.
I parked a couple of blocks away and ignored the stares as I hurried to the party currently spread across the neighbor’s lawn. Christmas lights twinkled on the houses I passed in a colorful blur, and I realized we were only days away from the holiday.
So much had changed since the day I’d gotten tired of Reece’s shit and left for the library. Back then, it had seemed like winter break stretched on forever in an endless loop of reading misery. Now, I’d love it if time screeched to a stop. Gavin and Eva would be back soon, then Christmas, and then break would be over. My free time would be dedicated to practice and games and coursework.
Avery would be around, especially since she’d been tasked with writing articles about the hockey team, but would she let me get her alone? I had three big assignments left for my lit class and a bunch of smaller short stories we were supposed to read. I’d always been able to muddle through a couple of pages on my own, but something about Avery’s tutoring worked in my brain. Maybe because I wasn’t worried about her judging me for my shitty reading—I was too busy trying to come up with ways to get her to smile at me again.
And now I was here rescuing my dumbass roommate instead of spending time with her.
Reece had told me to look for the giant pink flamingo, and his directions were spot on. Someone had found a humongous inflatable bird wearing a jaunty Santa hat and set it up at the edge of the yard. Why? Who knew. I didn’t understand frat guys on the best of days.
I found Mase sitting under the bird’s upraised, bent leg. The scowl on his face was familiar, but the way he was splayed out on the ground as if he couldn’t figure out how he got there made me quicken my pace. As I watched, he hauled himself to his feet and staggered around the standing leg, disappearing behind a group of girls in tight dresses.
“Get the fuck off me.”
The quiet growl reached me over the music, and I broke into a sprint.
“Whoa,” laughed a familiar voice. “Where you going so fast?”
I skirted the girls and the flamingo, taking in the situation without slowing. A group of guys wearing royal blue Easton hoodies surrounded Mase and now Reece. Even in the dark, I recognized Tobias Kane, but I didn’t know the other three guys. Only Mase looked like he was ready to throw down.
“I was just trying to help, man. You looked unsteady.” Kane’s fake concern made his sidekicks burst into laughter.
I shoved myself in front of Mase before he could act on the violence in his eyes. He was the biggest of us, so my body alone wouldn’t have stopped him if he’d decided to tear Kane’s head off his shoulders. I was mostly there to slow him down enough for Kane to get away, as much as I hated the idea.
If anyone deserved to get his ass kicked, it was the guy whose main skill was talking shit.
Reece met me shoulder to shoulder and offered Kane a smirk. “Thanks, but we’ve got him.”
I could be at home fulfilling several fantasies with Avery right this second, but no, Mase had to go and pick tonight to lose his shit. Kane shrugged, and his buddies snickered again.
“I have to say, it turned out for the best our ice was trashed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of meeting your pretty little puck bunny. She looked really cozy with you the other day. Imagine my surprise when I found out she was, in fact, your coach’s daughter. How very messy. Does he know you’re double dipping?”
Mase growled and his weight hit my back. “She’s helping him with a class, asshole.” He slurred the last word, but at least he held himself upright.
Kane laughed. “Not how it looked to me, but hey, I could use some help if she’s playing teacher.”
One of the guys behind him put a hand on his arm. “Are you talking about Avery Dalton?”
Kane shook him off and sent the guy a considering glance. “She’s the one you’re looking for?”
He bristled. “I didn’t think she’d be here, but I’d hoped to find someone who knew how to locate her.”
Reece stiffened next to me, and we shared a look. No fucking way was this guy talking about our Avery. How did a bunch of hockey players from Easton know her? A horrible suspicion snuck into my mind.
She’d never mentioned her previous school. I’d assumed she’d come from New England somewhere, probably because Coach had played for the Boston Rebels before retiring and coming to TU. Several bits of loose knowledge clicked into place in quick succession. His fierce protectiveness, the way he seemed to know things about her, the push to build a championship caliber team in north Texas. Fuck. Coach took the job at TU to be close to his daughter… who’d been in Dallas with her mom teaching at Easton.
While I’d been making connections, Kane clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder with an expectant expression. “Well, boys? Are you going to share your toys or are we going to have to do this the hard way?”
My jaw clenched at the thought of them getting anywhere near Avery, and I had to force my hands to stay loose instead of curling into fists. Mase didn’t need much provocation to escalate the situation, no matter how much I wanted to demonstrate the perils of the hard way.
I scoffed, pretending a nonchalance I didn’t feel. “Avery would eat you alive, Kane.”