Page 42 of On Thin Ice

“No.” Finn patted Ramsey on the arm. “Thanks for what you’ve done. But I gotta . . .I gotta deal with this in my own way. On my own terms.”

Ramsey looked floored. “Who are you? Did Jacob perform brain-swapping surgery with someone else? Is his dickthatgood?”

“His dick’s not anything.” In fact, he was very much trying tonotthink about Jacob’s dick, thank you very much.

“God, you really mean that.” Ramsey made a face. “I’m almost disappointed.”

“You want it, you go get it.” Finn regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. He didn’t want Ramsey propositioning Jacob. He didn’t want Ramsey anywhere near Jacob.

First, Ramsey would chew Jacob up and then, because he was Ramsey, casually but kindly discard him after. And Jacob deserved better than that, deserved better than a few orgasms.

Second, because Finnreallydidn’t want to share.

It was unfair, but there it was.

“You don’t mean that.” Ramsey called him on his bluff, grinning.

Finn made a face. “I don’t mean that.”

“See? I told you that you wanted him.” Ramsey slung an arm around Finn’s shoulders. “It’s so much better when we’re honest about these things.”

It sounded painfully like what Finn had told Jacob the night they’d agreed to this exchange. But it hadn’t reallyfeltbetter. Instead, it felt like really fucking unfair, because if they wanted each other, couldn’t they just take each other?

No. Absolutely not.

“Or not,” Finn said wryly.

“Aw.”

“It’s not happening. No matter how you push and prod and attempt to maneuver us into it.”

Ramsey made a transparently sad face. “I’m offended.”

“Oh come on, youknowyou’re the master at moving us around like fucking chess pieces.” Finn picked up his bag and headed towards the door to the locker room.

“Well,yeah. I’m offended that you’d call it anattempt,” Ramsey teased.

Finn wanted to tell him he was wrong, that sometimes itwasjust an attempt, that he didn’t get to dictate to everyone, but then, wherehadhe gone wrong recently?

Behind him, he knew he’d see Mal and Elliott’s heads close together, miraculously on the same page after over a year of intense bickering. And later that night, if he popped into Sammy’s or the library, he’d probably see Brody studying withhis boyfriend, Dean, the way they looked at each other making their mutual affection blatantly obvious.

“I’m not a project for you to fix,” Finn said. “Or even worse, to pair up.”

He gestured behind him at where Mal and Elliott probably were.

“But that worked out, didn’t it?” Ramsey nudged him. “See? Better to just bow to the inevitable.”

Chapter 7

“Ican’tbelieveIgot a babysitter for this,” Bryan said, the teasing glint in his eyes making it clear that he was totally giving Jacob shit.

“It’s good for you to have a night off.” From the start, Jacob had pretended that this was forBryan—a fun evening out, he’d referred to it when texting his brother earlier in the day. But the truth was, they were here forJacoband they both knew it.

“But at a hockey game? Acollegehockey game? In Salem?”

“The Evergreens are good this year,” Jacob said.

“Yeah, that’s why we’re here. Because the Evergreens are good this year,” Bryan deadpanned. He glanced over at Finn, standing in the goal. “So, how’s he doing?”

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