Page 45 of Heat Transfer
When I looked up at him, his dark eyes grew a little more serious, and he opened his mouth, tilting forward slightly.
The announcer blared over the speakers.
Felix leaned back, and I didn’t want to push my luck by asking what he’d been about to say. Part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
The players assembled on the ice, and everyone around us sank into the moment as the game began.
“I need beer to get through the rest of this.” Felix scrubbed at his face.
I let out a groan and sank back in my seat. He wasn’t wrong. The Flyers weren’t playing their best tonight, and we were already to the first intermission. Maybe wehadcursed them earlier. “Yeah, a beer couldn’t hurt.” I pushed out of my seat and waited for Felix to extricate himself.
He hopped up with ease and slipped his hand in mine again. The constant contact was making me insane, but I also didn’t want it to stop. Even with the blip of awkwardness after his earlier comment about fake dating, the rest of the first period, we’d returned to our normal back-and-forth. I’d never found the comfort that I did with him even in most of my friendships. That tug in my chest pulled a little tighter with a sense of yearning I’d never quite escaped.
We wove our way through the crowds to the food hall, where already plenty of lines had formed.
“If I’m going to be drinking overpriced beer, I’m going to splurge for craft, not piss water.” Felix steered us toward one of the stands.
I shrugged. “I’ll drink whatever.”
His lips curled into a smirk. “I know you will.”
Fuuuuck. Heat rolled through me in one fierce sweep, and he squeezed my hand for emphasis. This man would be the death of me, and he probably wasn’t even aware of it. I’d been told that with my quietness, I was hard to read, but Felix seemed to pick up a lot of cues other people didn’t.
“But seriously, if they just passed the puck a little more, we wouldn’t be in this position,” Felix muttered. I hummed my agreement. During the game, we broke down every pass and goal, and I’d never had this much fun. It was the same way we both got with historical swords—a little obsessive—and I loved that he matched my energy.
“A Prima Pils and a Blue Moon,” Felix ordered. I hadn’t even realized we’d reached the front of the line. Before I figured out what he was up to, Felix handed over the cash, and the guy cracked open two bottles.
Felix passed me the Blue Moon. “Since you hate hops,” he teased.
My heart squeezed tight. The little details he noticed lit me up inside. So different from boyfriends I’d been with for months who couldn’t even say how many siblings I had, let alone what beer I liked to drink. “Thanks.”
I took a sip, and the crisp liquid coursed down my throat with a shiver. The beer at games might be overpriced as fuck, but nothing beat having one while enjoying the game. The crowd was energetic as hell tonight with the home game, and even with the Flyers starting slow, win or lose, we’d all be in it together.That sense of camaraderie was something I loved about the games, but it hit even deeper with Felix by my side.
Because that was what had been missing from my relationships. There had been attraction but not this level of comfort. With Felix…I had everything. And if this was a passing exploration for him, I wasn’t sure how I’d find this sort of magic again.
“Want to head back to the seats?” Felix clinked his bottle against mine. He tipped the long neck back, and when he swallowed, his lips were glossy. The temptation to just lean in and kiss him again rose fiercely, but I still wasn’t sure where the lines were.
I wanted him to be mine in the worst way.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I said, taking the first strides forward. “Also, don’t suppose you happen to be free tomorrow? My entire family’s demanded you come around again to another Brannon dinner.”
Felix snorted. “And miss out on those hijinks? No goddamn way.”
I hadn’t taken another step forward when I caught sight of someone too familiar. My stomach dropped.
Goddamnit. Luke.
I grabbed Felix’s hand and tried to lose myself in the crowd before he spotted us, but his gaze landed on mine. A second later, Luke strode in our direction. He’d still been sending the occasional text, which meant his dates probably weren’t sticking, and Felix’s comments about telling him to fuck off circled in my brain. I didn’t speak up enough—not with Luke, not with my family. If I did, Dad would’ve retired a few years ago. At least I’d quit responding to Luke, which was a start.
“I’ve missed talking to you, Cor.” Luke stopped right in front of me. He didn’t acknowledge Felix, even though we were holding hands.
“We’ve been broken up for a while.” I kept my voice low, everything in me ready to bolt. I hated scenes, and Luke was the type to make them. How I’d even fallen into that relationship in the first place had just been testament to how lonely I’d gotten.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t still be friendly,” Luke said, giving me a slow up and down scan. “I enjoy your company.”
I didn’t enjoy his. Not the persistence or the pushiness or the clinginess.
I bit the inside of my cheek. How could I politely tell him to fuck off?