Page 23 of On Thin Ice

“You don’t need to be, not anymore.” Finn remembered what Jacob had said about him just last night.

We gotta find that confidence on the ice.

They would. Together. Finn felt sure of it. He could already see the end of this agony, and he’d never been as ready as he was right now to put it all behind him.

No matter the cost. Whatever it ended up being, he’d pay it, willingly.

“What are you doing?” Ramsey asked again. Like phrasing it differently would give him an answer this time.

“What I have to do,” Finn said and turned and walked off.

Finn wasn’t stupid enough to think the conversation was permanently over, but at least Ramsey didn’t follow him.

It was about a fifteen-minute drive over the winding West Hills to get to Jacob’s house.

He hadn’t known what to expect last night when he’d come here, but this remote home, set way back from the road, its jagged but graceful peaks looking like it belonged in the forest where it sat, was not what he’d imagined.

It had been a good reminder then—and was still a good reminder now—that he didn’t know Jacob Braun all that well.

Most of what he’d learned about the man was reading between the lines of what his dad said about him, not from the half a dozen times he’d met the man in person over the years.

Finn parked his SUV, grabbed his bag, and made his way to the house.

This time when he knocked on the front door, it opened immediately, like Jacob had been waiting for him.

Something fizzed inside him at that thought, but Finn shoved the thought away.

He wasn’t here to seduce or be seduced.

He was here to become the best version of himself.

Chapter 5

“Hey,”Jacobsaid,openingthe door and gesturing him inside. He was wearing a plain navy blue T-shirt and a pair of loose gray sweatpants. His hair was lighter, less black than chestnut brown, the ambient light in the house picking up little hints of red in it. But his beard was dark as ever, even though it looked to Finn like he’d trimmed it.

“Hey,” Finn said, suddenly nervous.

He wasn’t sure if that was due to him realizing just how little he didn’t know about Jacob Braun—or whether Jacob’s appearance, clothed or naked, apparently had the same effect on his cock.

Unfortunately.

Jacob was eyeing him up and down. They were dressed similarly. He’d just thrown on the sweatshirt because of the early December chill, but otherwise, he was dressed to work out.

But would they be working out? It was a big house, but surely not big enough to hold any ice. They’d need to figure out a solution for on-ice practice. Maybe Jacob had some connectionsthey could use, or Finn could ask Coach B how they could use Hossa Rink during off hours.

These were all things, Finn realized belatedly, they should’ve discussed last night. Not how badly they wanted to hop on each other’s dicks.

“What are we up to tonight?” Finn asked, shifting from one foot to the other, because Jacob’s silence was freaking him out a little.

“You still want to do this?”

“Are you serious?”

“It’s a serious question.” Jacob hesitated. “Maybe why I said no at first bothered you. Maybe you don’t want to be alone with me.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “I’m not worried about you at all. I’m only worried that . . .” Suddenly the emotion of it felt too close to the surface. Whatifhe had to keep going this way? What if there was never an end to this relentless pressure? What if he never felt comfortable on the ice again? What if all this bullshit ended up chasing him away from hockey? What if, even worse, it meant that he never succeeded?

He’d been drafted in the third round by the Tampa Sentinels. Everyone had said, at a volume impossible to tune out, that he’d only been taken that high because of his last name. And even if they hadn’t said it, Finn would’ve believed it.

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