Frozen Hearts (10 page)

"You're a good friend to him. I know that if I hurt him, you and my sister will probably get together and slice my balls off."

"Hey," Sam said, kicking my shin. "I never said I didn't want you two together. It's just moving at the speed of light and that's not like Tyce at all."

"According to Tyce, it took way too long," I said, chuckling.

Sam rolled his eyes and grinned at me. I opened my notes, leaned back in the chair and started studying. Sam did the same. When we were saying our goodbyes, I caught a fragment of the conversation at the table next to us. The four girls were busy whispering about Erik Fox and the gay boy.

"What a waste," one girl said.

I couldn't resist. I stopped and leaned against their table. "A waste of what?"

All four girls looked up at me with shocked expressions on their faces. "Um, nothing. We were just…"

"I know what you were
just
doing." I sneered. "His name is Sam by the way."

One of the girls snorted into her coffee. I had the urge to tip it in her lap, but I held it together. As I walked away from them, I was acutely aware that each girl had dragged out their phones and they were all texting away.

When I got outside, my own phone buzzed and a text from Tyce popped up asking me where I was at the moment. I quickly shot back a text telling him I was on my way home. He told me he was waiting on my steps. I bolted, sprinting all the way home.

True to his word, Tyce was sitting on the steps, leaning against the door. I waved as I rounded the corner and raced up to him.

"I missed you," I said, grinning at him. He slowly rose to his feet and followed me into the apartment. The minute the door closed, I pulled him into my arms for a kiss. He winced against my lips.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's nothing," Tyce said frantically "Erik, I need you. Please."

His hands were everywhere, running up my back and under my shirt, grabbing at my hair and pulling me into a scorching kiss that left me breathless and unable to see straight.

Before I could protest, which I knew I should be doing, Tyce pushed me into my bedroom and closed the door.

"Shit Tyce, I thought we were slowing things down," I whispered as he covered my mouth with his lips. His tongue dipped into my mouth and my entire body lit up.

"Can't," he breathed. "Need you now."

"Okay, calm down, Tyce. What do you want?"

"Suck me," Tyce whimpered.

"Anything." I sat him down on my bed, dropped to my knees and popped open his pants. He was already hard and wet when I dragged his cock out of his underwear. I licked my hand, letting the spit run down my palm. When I touched him, his pre-cum mixed with my spit, slicking him so my hand moved smoothly up and down his shaft. His head fell to the side and he leaned back on his elbows, panting as I slowly stroked him.

"Not gonna last," he mumbled.

I sat up on my knees and pulled his pants down to his ankles, spreading his legs farther apart.

"Fuck, Erik," Tyce begged.

Seeing him so needy made my cock ache, but I ignored it and concentrated on him.

"Erik, please, put your mouth on me," he whispered with a ragged voice.

He sounded so desperate that I decided to just get down to business. I took as much of him into my mouth as I could manage. He groaned and thrust his hips so his cock almost choked me. I coughed and held him down.

"Need you. Need you. Make me come," he begged. He flopped back on my bed, thrashing his head side to side as I opened my mouth to try it again, but this time I licked a stripe from the base to the tip, blowing hot air out as I went up and down. I had to keep him pinned to the bed or risk him choking me again. More pre-cum beaded up on the tip of his cock. I swiped it with my finger and sucked it off.

"Holy hell, Erik, quit fucking toying with me," Tyce groaned, staring at me. "I need to come."

A sly smile spread across my face and I winked at him. He closed his eyes and sighed loudly. I figured he'd been teased enough, so I took his cock into my mouth, bobbing up and down until his thighs clenched and I knew he was close. The ache between my own legs was killing me. I reached down and unzipped my pants, furiously tugging on my cock. It wasn't long before the tightness in my balls reared up and I groaned loudly when I released into my hand.

"Gonna come," Tyce warned. I debated whether I should pull off or try to swallow. Of course, I waited too long to make a decision, so mid thought, Tyce shouted and spurted into my mouth making me gag and sputter like an amateur.

"Sorry about that," I spluttered. "I'm out of practice."

"Out of practice?" Tyce gasped then laughed. "Not bad for a beginner."

"Shut up," I grumbled. I scraped his cum off my face with my fingers and wiped it on my shirt.

Tyce smirked and dragged me up for a kiss. He winced again. I tried to lift his T-shirt, but he clamped his fingers around my wrist and shook his head.

"What the hell is going on?" I shouted.

"It's nothing serious, Erik. I just don't want you to freak out. I wasn't paying attention. Wrong place at the wrong time."

"Tyce," I said. He turned away from me and grimaced when I placed my hand on his shoulder. I lifted his T-shirt. Red and purple bruises were blossoming on his torso.

"What the fuck happened?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it. It was stupid," he said as he tugged on his hair.

"Come on, Tyce. Don't give me that shit," I pressed. "What happened?"

From down the hall, Dix shouted my name.

"In my room, Dix," I answered.

"You seen Tyce?"

"He's with me," I said, quickly tucking myself back into my pants. Tyce was scrambling to do the same.

He dragged a finger across my chin, wiping his cum on my once clean sheets. "Don't think Dix needs to see you with jizz on your face."

I swatted him in the arm and he jerked away from me, shooting me a glare. The door opened and Dix walked in, staring directly at Tyce. "Fuck, Tyce. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tyce shot back at him.

"You don't look fine," I said to Tyce.

"Leave it alone, Erik," Tyce said.

Dix shook his head and swore. "I'm not keeping this from him, Tyce. This concerns him too."

"Whatever," Tyce mumbled.

"A few guys jumped him. I think one was Rochelle's brother," Dix said.

"Why didn't you tell me," I growled.

"Erik," Tyce shouted. "Don't, okay. I've handled shit like this before. People are going to think I've sullied the image of their hero and come after me."

"But, we've only been together…" I stammered because our relationship was hard to quantify. In my head, I had never been apart from him, but reality was totally different.

"Word travels fast, babe," Tyce said. "Plus you stoked the fire when you had coffee with Sam."

"People really pay that much attention to shit?" I asked.

"People pay that much attention to you, Foxy," Dix corrected.

"What's that mean?" I asked.

"Oh, come on," Tyce said. "You're not that stupid are you?"

"Possibly," I admitted.

Dix shook his head. "You really have no idea how good of a hockey player you are and how much people like you? It doesn't hurt that you're hot as hell either. Christ, I think there's a Foxy Fangirl Club."

"Hockey? Fangirls?" I frowned. I was beginning to think that I was defined by hockey; that no one cared about the person underneath the helmet just the guy who could put the puck in the net.

"Aw, Erik," Dix sighed.

"There's really no use explaining it to him," Tyce said. "He was like this in high school too—totally oblivious to all his fans."

"You guys fucking suck," I said. "I'm taking a shower before we go out to dinner. You're welcome to tag along, Dix."

"I'm not taking a shower with you, Foxy," Dix said. "I know I'm irresistible but, really, your boyfriend is sitting right here and you're hitting on me."

I groaned and Tyce chuckled.

"Dinner, dumb ass, you can join us for dinner," I said.

"Nah, I've got a date," Dix said.

I rolled my eyes because Dix didn't date. He went out and had a good time with the flavor of the week, always citing that he didn't want to get attached to anyone. It was easier to stay single in the world of hockey. It was just easier to be straight in the fucking world, but I tried that route and it gave me nothing but misery. Now someone had jumped Tyce and beat the shit out of him all because of me. Why was it so difficult to let people be happy?

There was no way I was going to mention the car almost running me over in the parking lot or the car chasing me down an alley. I wasn't even going to mention the almost fight in the laundry room with Trent. Things with Tyce and me were complicated enough. All these other people butting into our business were making things harder on both of us. Why did everyone think who I was hanging around with was their concern? I would never understand people. We were back to the fact that just because I was a good hockey player, everyone thought they owned a part of me and deserved to know my business.

When I came out of the shower, Tyce was gone and Dix was sitting at my desk, staring at my laptop.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Tyce isn't thrilled with me talking to you, but fuck, if I hadn't come around when I did, those guys might have really did some damage," Dix said. "Shit, Foxy, the things they were shouting at him. They fucking meant business."

"How did you stop it?" I asked.

"Dragged two guys off him and punched one in the gut and one in the face," Dix said. The other three hightailed it off before I could get a hold of them."

"I don't know what to do. He doesn't want me interfering."

"It's not interfering if you keep an eye on him," Dix said. "You might want to mention something to Sam."

"I can do that," I said.

"Okay, enough of this shit. I need to get ready to get laid," Dix said.

"Good luck with that," I laughed.

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Dix said, grinning. "The ladies love me."

Dix sauntered out of my room, talking smack all the way down the hall. I was glad he was around, not only because he had helped Tyce out today, but also because he was a good friend. But one part of me was now worried about him. He had taken Tyce's side. I thought things were difficult when I was hiding everything. This seemed to be three times worse.

Chapter 6

I finished getting cleaned up quickly, noticing that I had about an hour to kill before we were going to dinner. I opened my shades and sat down on my bed with every intention of studying. The papers and books stayed tucked away inside my bag while I stared out the window and worried about my friends.

Tyce had mentioned he was picking me up so I fired off a text to him. I got a quick reply stating that he just pulled into the parking lot and to get my ass out there. I grabbed a jacket and headed outside. Sam was sitting in the front seat, belting out some tune that was playing on the radio. Tyce smiled at me and shook his head.

"He refused to sit in the back seat. Told me he didn't need another hard-on."

"Hello, I'm right here," Sam sang. "I know you two wouldn't be able to keep your hands off each other. I mean really, when Tyce came home this afternoon, he was wearing his 'I just got my brains blown out' face. I can't take much more of this. All you guys do is think about sex, sex, sex."

"You're the one who only thinks about sex," Tyce shot back at Sam. "I'm actually getting some."

"Burn," I shouted.

"I hate you both," Sam said.

"Just because I'm in the backseat doesn't mean I can't molest Tyce," I said. "I can always reach around the seat and grope him. I have long arms and long fingers."

"Yes, long fingers," Tyce repeated breathlessly.

Sam groaned and placed his hand over his dick. "Stop it," he said weakly. "I should just whip it out and spray cum all over your car."

Tyce swatted him in the head and laughed. "Leave your dick in your pants, buddy. Maybe this weekend we'll hit the bar just so you can try and get laid."

I settled into the back seat and enjoyed the ride to the restaurant. Tyce and Sam picked at each other the entire trip. They were very entertaining and by the time we pulled into the parking lot, I felt quite relaxed. I spotted Arielle's car parked at an angle across two spots. She was weird when it came to her car. She always thought someone was going to ding her door or scratch some part of her sacred baby, so she either parked a mile away from the front door or took up three parking spaces. I don't know why she bothered, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but she was proud of the thing. She bought the Mustang with her own money and had thumbed her nose at my father when he shouted at her for spending her money frivolously. He wanted her to drive something sensible and less expensive. She wanted something a little flashier, so flashy was what she bought. At least it wasn't pink. She had threatened to paint the thing pink to piss off our dad, but thankfully she hadn't followed through and the car remained black.

Tyce found a spot and parked. He winced and grabbed his ribs when he got out of the car, limping to the restaurant. Sam glanced at me and I shook my head, hoping he would drop it. But Sam wasn't going to let it go.

"What happened to him?" Sam asked. "You aren't one of those guys who likes it rough are you?"

"What? No, Christ, Sam."

"So what happened then?

"Some guys jumped him. Dix managed to stop it, but he said it was pretty bad," I said. I was through with all the lies. If someone asked me a direct question, I was going to answer it.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you sit with me at the coffee shop," Sam muttered.

"You think he got jumped because I sat with you at the coffee shop?" I snapped. "Why do people care about that shit?"

"I told you," Sam said. "Because you are Erik Fox and people want to know your business."

"God, I wish people would quit saying that. I'm nothing special."

Sam shot me a glare and rushed to catch up with Tyce. I trailed behind watching their body language. It wasn't difficult to see they were arguing and Tyce was not happy about it. He kept looking over his shoulder at me and frowning.

Tyce had his hand on the door when his phone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen and his face paled.

"Um," Tyce paused. "Something came up and we're supposed to meet Arielle at Jack's bar in about fifteen minutes."

"But I saw her car when we pulled into the lot. Why would she want us to go to Jack's if she's already here?"

"Erik," Tyce said firmly and grabbed my arm. "Let's go."

"Fuck that. Now what's going on?"

Before Tyce could give me a reason, the restaurant door swung open and banged Tyce in the ribs. He bent over and gasped as my dad came barreling out the door, followed by my sister and my mother. My dad stopped dead when he caught sight of me.

"Holy fuck," he shouted, leaping toward me. It always surprised me how agile he was for an older man. Arielle somehow jumped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Dad," Arielle screamed, pummeling her hands on his chest.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" He shoved Arielle, causing her to stumble. Her ankle gave out and her high heel fell off. She clenched her jaw and I could tell she was trying not to scream. God, if Marshy had been here he would have clocked my dad. My mother moved toward her, but Arielle flipped her off and grabbed the arm of a wooden bench to steady herself.

Before I could do anything, my father had Tyce pinned against the fence by the front of the restaurant. Sam was yanking on my dad's arm, trying to get him away from Tyce.

"What the fuck did you do to my son? All this is your fucking fault," he snapped, poking Tyce in the chest. Tyce just stood there and let my dad scream in his face. I wanted him to punch my dad. "You must have turned him queer, because he was a normal kid before he met you."

"We met when we were seven years old. He was my best friend," Tyce said. The look my dad gave Tyce made my skin crawl.

"I kissed him first," I shouted. My dad let go of Tyce and whirled around, glaring at me. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Paul, but it was me who jumped on him. So you probably owe him an apology. If anyone is at fault, it's me. His mom should be shouting at me for turning him gay."

My father turned an interesting shade of dark purple and I wondered if he was going to stroke out right in front of all of us.

"You fucking piece of shit! This isn't a joke. I've had all sorts of calls from people asking me what the hell is up with you. Rochelle's dad came to work today and fucking screamed at me for an hour about how devastated their daughter is about you breaking off the engagement. My email is full of pictures of you with different
people.
"

"People? Holy fuck, Dad. Pictures of me with people. How terrible." I sneered. "Life is so tough for you."

The vein in his neck pulsed so violently that it looked like it was going to break through the skin. I stood my ground, waiting for him to make his move. This time I wasn't going to let him get in a punch. I was going to deck him and ask questions later. But my mother stepped in front of him and hissed something in his ear, making him skid to a quick stop. His head snapped up. There was a large group of people gathering outside the restaurant. I heard my name whispered and the clicks of phone cameras. The manager opened the door, striding out with a phone in his hand. More people poured out of the restaurant to see what all the fuss was about.

"It would be best if you left," he said to my father. "Or I will be forced to call the police." The manager then turned his attention to Arielle and helped her sit down on the bench, asking her if she was okay. She rubbed her ankle and looked like she wanted to throw her shoe at my dad's head.

"Oh, that's just great," my dad shouted.

"Paul," my mother said. "There are people watching and listening as you spill all our trash."

Everyone who was within earshot of my mother gasped. Arielle closed her eyes and leaned forward, holding her head in her hands. My mother had basically called me garbage and even though I expected something like that, it really hurt to hear her say the words out loud. My father allowed my mother to lead him toward their car. Sam put his arm around Tyce and mumbled something. Tyce shook his head and frowned, looking up at me with sad eyes. Something in me snapped and before I knew what the fuck I was doing, I grabbed Tyce and pulled him to my side.

"Watch this Dad," I shouted, smashing my mouth down on Tyce's lips. I expected a fight from Tyce but he immediately kissed me back, wrapping his arms around my neck. The kiss was sweet and gentle and it made me realize how hard I was falling for him. It was an odd moment for those feelings to surface.

"Christ," Tyce muttered when I let go of him. "That's one way of totally outing yourself."

"Fuck," I said. "I'm sorry. I didn't… I shouldn't have done that to you."

Tyce gaped at me like I'd sprouted a horn in the center of my forehead. "I could have shoved you away," Tyce said.

Arielle opened and closed her mouth several times. We'd rendered her speechless again, but we'd silenced everyone in the parking lot as well.

"You do know that by the time we get into the car that picture is going to be tweeted, tumbled, and up on Facebook for the entire world to see," Sam stated.

"God, I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm sorry you had to see that and…"

"Don't apologize for your parents, Erik. You can't control what they say or do," Tyce said. He leaned into me and put a comforting arm around my shoulders. My heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I bent at the waist, placing my hands on my thighs, taking several deep breaths to calm myself. It wasn't really working.

"I'm so sorry, Erik," Arielle said, finally finding her voice. "I can't believe she said that."

"It doesn't matter," I said, shaking my head. It did though. It hurt and I knew it was written all over my face. How could a mother call her own son trash just for loving another boy? "I need to go."

"What? Go where?" Tyce shouted.

I started to speak, but the sound of a car roaring by us silenced me. My father was slouched in the passenger seat and my mother didn't even look over at us as she drove the car away from the restaurant.

"I need to skate," I said as I pulled out my phone and before anyone could stop me, I called Dix. Dix cursed me several times, shouting about his date and how close he was to closing the deal. I shouted back, telling him he didn't have to answer his stupid phone if he didn't want to talk to me. But when I told him what happened, the line went quiet and he agreed to call about ice time.

"Will you come with me?" I asked Tyce.

He nodded and I could tell he knew why I needed to take to the ice. I did my best thinking while skating and it made me feel like I had control over something even though my life was spiraling down a deep trench.

"Arielle, Sam, you're welcome to join us," I said.

"I'd like to watch," Sam said. Arielle agreed and tugged at Sam's sleeve, pointing at her car.

"Let's leave them alone," Arielle said to Sam.

"Only if you let me drive, sugar," Sam said.

Tyce shoved his face into my jacket to stifle a laugh, but we were both reduced to gaping fools when Arielle tossed her keys to Sam. Tyce and I were still standing in the parking lot staring like idiots when Sam floored the car and raced out of the lot.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked. "She's never even let me drive that car and I'm her brother."

"This night is fucked up," Tyce mumbled, bringing me back to the ugly reality of the situation.

"It's my fucking fault," I said.

"Erik, please, quit apologizing."

"I have to. If you weren't hanging around me again, none of this would have happened."

"Exactly," he said, staring directly into my eyes.

"What?"

Tyce shook his head. "Come on. Let's get out of here. These people have already had enough of a show tonight."

I'd forgotten about our audience.

When we got back to the apartment, Dix was sitting on the couch with a beer in one hand and large scowl on his face. He obviously didn't get laid and once on the ice, I had a sinking feeling I was going to get smacked into the boards big time, even if we were on the same team.

"The rink is available in twenty minutes, so get your shit together. I made a few calls, but I don't know exactly how many people will show up. Some people can be such shitheads," Dix grumbled.

"I'll meet you at the rink," Tyce said. "I have to go pick up my gear."

"Okay," I said and went to change clothes. Five minutes later, Dix came into my room. He leaned against the wall and stared at me.

"It's everywhere, Foxy," he said.

"What is?" I asked the question even though I was pretty sure he was talking about the pictures of Tyce and I kissing.

Dix just shook his head and stared at his phone.

"I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Obviously."

"My dad makes me crazy." I frowned. "Oh, fuck, Dix, maybe this isn't a good idea."

"Foxy, you laid it out there. People are going to talk and you shouldn't give a fuck what they have to say. Let's go play hockey, not chat about who you're kissing." Dix threw his hands in the air and headed out the door. "Well, you coming?"

"Yep," I said. I tugged my jersey over my head and followed him out the door.

We tossed our bags in the backseat. As we were climbing into his car another car drove by with some guy hanging out the back window screaming the word faggots at us. Dix scowled and gripped the steering wheel so hard I thought he might crush it.

"Guilt by association," I said.

"Aw, fuck 'em," he grumbled. "Let's go play hockey. I need to hit someone."

I felt sorry for whoever was in line of fire, myself included. Dix was revved up and ready to play. Tyce was already on the ice when Dix and I arrived at the rink. He nodded as we sat down and got into our gear. Dix was dressed and on the ice before I'd taken my skates out of my bag. He'd knocked down two guys before I laced up my final skate.

"Fuck," Tyce said when he came off the ice. "Dix is wound tight."

I shrugged. "He got called a faggot."

"Oh, that would do it," Tyce said.

Some guy skated by us. "Are you two ladies going to spend the evening kissing in the corner or are we here to play hockey."