Fire on Ice (Fire on Ice Series) (12 page)

“Sure,” I replied and she hung up.

Then I just stared at my phone waiting for her to call back and I felt as pathetic as pie-face.

I took a deep breath when I heard my cell phone buzz and waited a few rings to answer it. I may have been as pathetic as a love sick kid but she didn’t have to know it.

“Hey,” I said when I answered.

“So,” she said. “Did you find anything interesting on Google?”

“A few things,” I replied trying not to get enraged again.

“And what did you think?” Her voice sounded so sad and weak when she talked about it, it made me want to fucking kill Austin Douglas.

I knew I should have taken a deep breath and composed my thoughts before I responded but that would have been the smart
thing to do and no one had ever accused me of being smart. “I think if I ever see that sick fuck I’ll beat the shit out of him.”

There was silence at the other end of the line and I thought I heard a soft sob. I knew I should have told her we’d wait to talk about it when I could see her and hold her. I wanted some way to be able to take all of her pain away. And I wanted to make sure no one ever hurt her again.

“Did you see the video?” Her voice was so small and timid, I didn’t think I heard her right.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“The video,” she said between sobs. “Did you search for it on the internet? Did you watch it?”

Holy shit.
She actually thought I’d search for the video that sick sack of shit made and watch it.

She sniffled and I could hear the anguish in her voice. “My lawyers got most of the sites to take it down but you can still find it online if you search for it. As soon as one gets taken down another one seems to pop up in its place.”

“I don’t even want to hear about you studying with Kyle. Do you think I want to watch a video of you with another guy?” I didn’t know if it made her feel better or not but that’s how I felt.

“Do you still want to go out with the star of the Prom Queen Sex Tape? I could be the only person on the planet who had her first and only sexual encounter made into a sex tape.” Her voice had an edge of anger to it that I was almost glad to hear. I wanted her to be angry about what the prick did to her. It was better than being miserable, or even worse, feeling like it was her fault.

“Well, we did have a bet,” I challenged trying to cheer her up a bit.

“So you feel obligated to take me out?” she countered. “Is that it?” I was glad to hear that little bit of spunk that I loved return to her voice.

“Well, I’ve never reneged on a bet.”

“So where are you going to take me?”

“I’ll pick you up at 10 a.m.,” I said. “Wear something casual.”

“Does that mean you’re not going to tell me where we’re g
oing?” she teased.

“That means you’ll have to wait to find out. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you Sunday at 10.”

Twelve

Taylor

Kyle was pouting when I plopped my book bag down next to him. He told me to meet him at our usual place in the reference section of the library, a place that hardly ever got used.

“Why the long face?” I asked.

“Was it the hockey player? Is that why you made me leave last night?”

I took the seat next to Kyle. “It was getting late and we were done studying.”

“But I like hanging out with you,” he whined. Kyle was my best friend but he whined more than I did.

I put my hand on his forearm. “I’m hanging out with you now.”

He looked at me with sad eyes. “No, we’re studying again. We’re not hanging out.”

“We’ll probably get lunch,” I replied trying to cheer him up. “They have a new spinach and black olive wrap at The Twisted Mug.”

Kyle loved The Twisted Mug almost as much as I did. “Okay,” he sighed. “But I’m still not happy about that hockey player.” I knew Kyle would be even less happy if I told him I had another date with him on Sunday.

“He has a name,” I remarked. “It’s
Kian.”

“What kind of name is
Kian anyway?” I could already tell that whatever I said about Kian, Kyle would have something negative to say about it.

I didn’t want to believe that
Kian was right. That maybe Kyle did want to be more than just friends and that’s the reason he stuck around. I decided to test the hypothesis.

“So what if I told you that
Kian took me out to dinner on Thursday night and he’s taking me out again on Sunday.”

Kyle’s eye
s went so wide, they looked like huge saucers. “Did you tell him about Austin?” he muttered.

“Why does that matter?” I sniped.

He gulped. It looked like he wanted to say more but was holding back. “Why did you ask me that?” I pushed.

He looked down at his book
, avoiding my gaze. I had a feeling I knew what he was getting at but was too afraid to actually say it. He thought if I told Kian about the sex tape he wouldn’t want to be with me.

“Do you think that no one will ever want me because of what happened? Is that it?” I knew I should have kept my voice down because we were in the library but Kyle was making me mad.

When he shushed me, it made me even angrier.

“Don’t tell me to be quiet,” I said in a loud whisper. “And answer my question. Do you think that I’m some kind of used up piece of trash that nobody will want?”

When he finally looked up at me, he was blinking furiously. I had only seen him do it a few times before when he got really nervous. “That’s not what I said.”

“It may not be what you said but it seems to be what you i
mplied.”

“He’s a professional athlete,
Tay. He can literally walk down the street and have his pick of any girl.”

Now I was the one with the wide eyes. “So what you’re sa
ying is that if he can have any girl, what is he doing with me?”

“It’s a valid question. Have you asked yourself that?”

I was so enraged and so humiliated I could feel myself start to shake. “Did you ever think for one minute that maybe he likes me?”

“He’s a player,
Tay. On and off the ice. Guys like that don’t settle down with one girl. They like variety. You’re like a new flavor of ice cream. One he’s never tasted before and he thinks he has to have you. But how long do you think that’s going to last? Do you think he’s going to wait by your side for as long as it takes?”

Kian was right. Kyle was talking about himself when he said
wait by your side for as long as it takes
. That’s exactly what Kyle was doing. Waiting for me to see him as something more than just a friend, or as Kian so eloquently put it, Kyle was
waiting for his chance to get into my pants
.

I wasn’t sure if
Kian would wait. I wasn’t sure about anything. But I wanted to find out.

“You know what, Kyle
?” I pointed a finger at him. “Kian’s not from a wealthy family like you. And he’ll never be a college graduate like you’re going to be. But at least he’s honest about his intentions, which I’m finally figuring out that you’re not.”

Kyle’s mouth gaped open but no words came out.

I grabbed my book bag from the table. “I’m going to study at home.”

As I turned to leave, I heard Kyle ask, “Does this mean we’re not going for lunch at The Twisted Mug?”

I didn’t even bother with a response as I walked away.

***

By two o’clock I was tired of studying and my suite was starting to feel claustrophobic. I wanted to go out but I had nowhere to go. I knew Kian wouldn’t get home from the game until it was late and it was sold out anyway, so I couldn’t see him play even if I wanted to. And I was still a little gun shy about going to another game. 

Since I was starting to get used to taking risks, I decided to phone my sister to see what she was doing for the evening. To say she was surprised by my call would have been an understat
ement.

“What the fuck?” she practically screamed into the phone. “My little sister actually wants to go out? I didn’t think I’d ever see the day. Whatever Mr.
Hottie is doing to you, I want to bottle it and sell it. We could make a fortune.”

I wanted to tell her it didn’t have anything to do with
Kian but I knew it would be a lie. Finally crawling out of the big hole I’d dug for myself had everything to do with Kian. One would think as a psychology major, I would have analyzed our relationship to death but I didn’t want to. I just wanted to take it one-day-at-a-time and enjoy it.

“So, are you going to take me out or not?” I asked.

“I was planning on going to a cast party. Are you in? I know how much you love hanging out with actors,” she said sarcastically. She knew I hated hanging out with actors. I found most of them completely over-the-top, unnecessarily dramatic and even a bit pretentious.

“Count me in,” I stated, which was met with a gasp from my sister on the other end of the line.

“I know you’re probably not in the market considering you have the Hunky Hockey Star hot on your heels but there’s a new guy who just auditioned for a show and he’s fan-fucking-tastic looking. He’s a walking billboard for Tall, Dark and Handsome.”

“And you’re not going after him because…?”

“Oh, believe me, I tried to walk down that pathway already but he put up some major roadblocks. I asked him if he was gay and he told me he was straight but that I just wasn’t his type. It’s been my experience that when a guy says that it’s because he doesn’t like his women quite so curvy. Call it a hunch but I have a feeling you’d be just his type.”

I harrumphed. “You are right. I’m not in the market.”

“You know what they say,” she teased. “You don’t want to buy the cow until you’ve had a chance to try the milk. You haven’t tried the milk yet, have you?”

I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see me. “No, I h
aven’t tried the milk yet. We’ve only gone out a few times.”

She laughed. “For most people, a few dates are all it takes.”

“You should know better than anyone that I’m not like most people,” I stated.

“I know, Little One. You’ve been through hell and back. But I’m glad that you’re finally coming out of your shell a little bit. I’ll swing by your place at seven. How does that sound?”

“Okay,” I agreed.

The cast party was being held at my sister’s friend, Robyn’s house. His parents were loaded and they bought him a small house off campus to live in while he was in school. Like my sister, he had been in school a little longer that the traditional four-year plan. It made me wonder if that was common for theater majors, or maybe it was just my sister’s friends.

When Robyn greeted us at the door, he was wearing harem pants, a wife beater and a sweatband on his forehead. He looked like an odd cross between a 1990s rap star and fitness guru from the 1980s. He gave my sister a rather risqué hug that included significant groping of her butt.

When I looked at what my sister was wearing, a flowing pink flowered gown that made her look like a hippie straight out of the Haight-Ashbury 1967 Summer of Love, I wondered if I was even dressed appropriately in my black jeans and salmon V-neck sweater.

“You didn’t tell me this was a costume party,” I whispered to my sister.

She laughed the
n whispered back, “It’s not. I think Robyn went to work out but was probably too lazy to get changed. Or maybe he just forgot.” Okay, but that didn’t explain her outfit. She dressed outrageously but usually not that outrageously.

I was starting to remember why I didn’t like going to cast pa
rties with my sister. I didn’t fit in at all. I was like a little blue jay amongst a room filled with proud peacocks.

When we entered, the place smelled like pot although I didn’t see anyone actually smoking it. My sister inhaled a deep breath. “Hmm,” she said. “I wonder who’s got the
ganga.”

My sister hugged several guys, who I vaguely recognized as some of her previous lovers. I think she’d been with nearly every straight guy in the theater department at one time or another, including several of the professors.

I glanced around the room at the drama queens and theater geeks, who were all drinking and socializing. It kind of made me sad that I never really had the full college experience of going to parties and enjoying the comradeship of a clique. I’d heard some of the other psychology majors talking about going out to grab beers together on Friday nights but I never got close enough to any of them to be included.

As I continued to scan the large living room teaming with theater majors, my eyes fell on a gorgeous guy with dark hair and dark eyes. He was tall and his muscular chest was accentuated by the tight black shirt he was wearing. He had on tight black pants and black loafers. The one word I would use to describe him was intimidating. When his eyes caught mine, a shiver ran through me that turned my blood cold. The guy completely scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to label him evil but he certainly had a menacing quality that made my skin break out in goose bumps.

I was frozen in place when I saw he was headed in my direction. I had the desire to flee but my body wouldn’t obey. When he got so close to me that I could smell his expensive cologne, I swallowed. Hard.

“I’m Blake,” he said as he stared down at me. I felt like he was undressing me with his eyes and it made me very uncomfor
table.

“Taylor,” I managed to squeak out. I didn’t want to be rude but the last place on earth I wanted to be was standing near this guy.
He completely creeped me out.

“You’re not a theater major,” he said as he gave me a little grin. He was definitely gorgeous, no doubt about that, but he also knew it.
I got the feeling he was used to getting everything he wanted, especially with women.

Before I could excuse myself, my sister rushed over to us and put her arm around me. “Taylor, I see you’ve met the newest addition to our little theater family.”

So Blake was the Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome she had mentioned on the phone. The one she thought would find me attractive. She wasn’t wrong but I had zero interest in the guy. Not just because I was falling for Kian but the guy made my skin crawl.

Then Zelda said to Blake, “I see you’ve met my little sister.”

Blake eyed the two of us like we were both fresh meat and he was a hungry lion. It completely freaked me out. My instinct was to get away from the guy but I couldn’t move with my sister’s arm around me.

“Why haven’t I seen you around campus?” Blake asked.

“I’m usually around the psychology building or in the library studying.”

“A smart girl.
I like that.” He moved in so close to me, I could feel his breath on my neck. “Smart girls are usually freaks in bed,” he whispered in my ear.

I couldn’t swallow hard enough to keep the bile from trave
ling up my throat.

“I need a drink,” I said quickly as I pulled away from my si
ster’s embrace.

“I can get you one,”
Blake offered.

“That’s okay. I need to go to the bathroom, too. So I’ll just get it after that.”

Blake didn’t look deterred in the least, which I found disturbing. I guess he couldn’t take a hint or he just didn’t believe a girl would actually blow him off.

“
Gotta go,” I said as I high-tailed it toward the other end of the room.

My sister was on my heels moments later. “Do you even know where the bathroom is?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Do you really have to go?”

I shook my head again. “No, Blake was just creeping me out.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Was he really creeping you out or did you just panic because he was coming on a bit strong?”

“Maybe a little of both,” I admitted. “I don’t know. It’s not like I have a lot of experience with guys.”