Page 61 of Ice Cold Heart
Avery gave me a weak smile. “Spam texts. Annoying, right?”
Something in her tone was off, but I trusted her to ask if she wanted help. She stood, leaning into me for a soft kiss.
“Good game tonight.”
I rested my hands on her hips, desperately trying to keep things PG for Mrs. Lipnicki, who would definitely be watching. “But…” I prodded her.
She smiled against my mouth. “But if you keep looking at the stands the other team’s going to take advantage. Doesn’t matter how pretty your stick handling is if you can’t find the puck.”
I grunted. “Harsh but fair.”
“Story of my life,” she said. “Come on, farm boy, I have plans for your naked body that don’t involve your elderly neighbor calling the cops.”
Avery pulled away to open the front door, but I had a better idea.
“Hold on. I want to show you something. Stay here for a second.”
She sent me a confused look as I took her messenger bag and darted past her into the house. I did a quick circle of my room to drop off her bag, upstairs bathroom for towels, then back down and out the door. Avery hadn’t moved.
I caught her hand and tugged her off the porch toward the sidewalk. “This way.”
She frowned. “Cole, if you’ve waited this long to murder me, well done, but if you’re not suddenly revealing yourself as a serial killer, I can’t think of a single thing within walking distance more interesting than what your bedroom has to offer.”
She wasn’t wrong, but she was still all up in her head. “Ever been skinny dipping?”
“No…?” She dragged the word out into a question and stared at me suspiciously.
I chuckled. “There’s nothing like being naked under the stars.”
“Cole, it’s February.”
“It’s a warm February.”
“Not at night, it isn’t.”
I slowed to a stop as we came around the backside of our street to the pond in the center of all the houses. It was big enough for there to be a little pier for fishing, though I doubted there was anything more than guppies in there. A concrete trail circled the water, but a good portion of it was blocked by a copse of trees on the far side. There were no lights, though the moon was plenty bright.
She let me lead her to the pier, where I dropped the towels and pulled my long-sleeve over my head. “You don’t have to go in. I get that new things can be scary. No shame staying in your comfort zone.”
Avery narrowed her eyes. “No shame, huh?”
I grinned, knowing I had her at least half way. “I said what I said. This is where Henry’s duck friends live. I’m not sure why she’s never tried to get over here considering she can fly. Then again, maybe she doesn’t realize she can fly.”
Avery snorted out a laugh. “You need to get your duck in a row.”
“Can one duck make a row?” I countered, drawing her closer to the dark, murky water.
She eyed my naked chest. “I’m sure Henry would demand a row all to herself.”
“Henry knows what she wants.” I dropped my sweats and undies, and I might have flexed a little as her gaze traveled over me.
My muscles were sore from playing a grueling game before this, but I wanted to get her mind off whatever was bothering her. If that meant freezing my balls off in front of all my neighbors, I’d do it with a smile.
I jumped off the pier and tried not to cry like a baby when my entire body tensed up at the impact with the cold water. Skinny-dipping was a staple of my youth, but we’d been much farther south… and we didn’t go in February.
Avery choked out a laugh when I surfaced, but at least she was grinning. “Are you insane?”
“Your turn, city girl.”