Page 5 of Ice Cold Heart
He held out his pinky. “Promise.”
I stared at his finger for a long moment before hooking mine through it and meeting his warm brown eyes. He was definitely closer to the good guy than the asshole. A smidgen of guilt pricked me when he grinned.
Guys like him didn’t really exist. Eventually, he’d want something I wasn’t willing to give, and he wouldn’t capitulate so easily. If I kept my head on straight—remembered he wasn’t a unicorn so much as a horse with a plunger stuck to its head—maybe I could relax enough to have some fun.
I couldn’t let myself get lost in him though. He had the potential to encourage all kinds of unfortunate decisions, and I couldn’t lose everything a second time.
On cue, my bag started buzzing. I frowned at Cole’s phone, still in my hand, then realized someone else was calling me. Only a few people had my number, and I didn’t want to talk to any of them.
I handed him his phone back and pulled mine out in time for the call to go to voicemail. A text came through a few seconds later.
Unknown number: Avery, stop being childish and call me back.
Rage burned away my tentative happiness. I may not have had his number saved anymore, but I’d recognize the insulting tone anywhere. Scott Whelan. The supposedly perfect ex-boyfriend I’d caught in bed with my mom.
3
Iwas going to break my promise. Four days had gone by since the library. Four days of trying to get my mind off Avery with extra workouts and binging Next Best Ninja reruns with my favorite girl. Henry didn’t care that I was pining for another female as long as I let her make a nest in my blankets.
Ducks were easy. Human women, not so much.
After spending the afternoon at the rink checking my phone every five minutes while I was supposed to be doing edge work drills, I admitted I was hopeless. Practice wasn’t helping, and I’d tripped on the last set. Luckily, no one else had been around to see me nearly dive face first into the ice.
The driveway was full when I got home, which meant all my roommates were probably around. I went through the gate and dropped my bag outside before coming in through the sliding glass door, Eva’s rule. She’d instituted it shortly after she’d moved in, claiming she couldn’t handle the stench.
Years of playing hockey had acclimated me to the smell, but Grandpa had always made me rinse off with the hose before coming into the house. I smiled at the memory and lifted my arm to sniff my shirt. Not great, but nothing a shower wouldn’t fix as long as I made it upstairs without drawing Eva’s attention.
The shower was my last-ditch effort to stave off the urge to text Avery. I took my pinky promises seriously, and I didn’t want to ruin my chances before she’d even decided to give me a shot at friendship.
Eva and Gavin were curled up next to each other under a blanket on the couch, and I purposely didn’t look too closely. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d walked in on my best friend’s naked ass. Not even the first time this week. Without classes or games, we’d all been spending more time at home.
“Cole, before you go upstairs, I need a favor.” Eva’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
I took the risk of turning to face her, relieved when the parts I could see were fully clothed. “What do you need?”
As usual, Henry came running when she heard my voice, her little feet slapping the floor until she got close enough to demand I pick her up with an imperious quack. Eva may have been the queen of campus, but Henry was the queen of this house.
I scooped up the duck, doing a quick check to make sure her diaper was secure, and peered toward the hall bath where she’d been hiding. “What was she doing in there?”
Gavin shrugged. “Who knows? Probably eating some important plumbing.”
Eva jabbed him with her elbow. “Not funny. The toilet has been making a weird noise all day.”
“It was a little funny,” he muttered, and I had to silently agree with him.
Henry had tried to eat enough cords that we’d taken to child proofing anything remotely cord-like. Twice. We’d all forgotten she had wings since she basically refused to use them unless she was getting into trouble. Our baby girl was a passenger princess, all the way.
“Can your favor wait until after I’ve showered?” I asked Eva.
Her nose wrinkled, but she ignored my stench. Not my fault she stopped me on my way upstairs. “This won’t take long. I was invited to participate in a cheer skills camp over winter break in San Diego, and we were hoping you’d be willing to watch Henry.”
“Why can’t Gavin watch her?” I figured I knew the answer, but I wanted to make sure.
“He’s coming with me.”
My gaze shifted to my best friend, watching the interplay with a carefully blank face. We didn’t have any games scheduled for three weeks, and Coach encouraged us to use our time off to see family. Gavin didn’t have any family other than Danny, so he’d been here every break running extra practices and drills. He deserved to take some time off.
I shrugged. “No problem. Henry sleeps in my room half the time anyway. When are you leaving?”