Page 64 of On Thin Ice

Chapter 10

Finnhadhisclosetopen, staring at the contents within, temptation warring inside him as he tried to decide what to wear to this dinner tonight, when his phone rang.

Before, when he’d glanced at the screen, he might’ve let it go to voicemail.

Then might’ve eventually replied to his dad when he sent a follow-up text, and then another.

Avoidance had not been a particularly good strategy, though. It had pissed Morgan off, and in some ways, Finn wondered if it made him push him harder. Plus, it wasn’t like it made Finn feel any better either. He’d still been drowning under all that pressure.

“Hey, Dad,” he said, tucking his phone between his ear and his shoulder, flicking through the clothes hanging in his closet.

The restaurant Jacob had texted him the address of was dressier, not that much in Portland required more than jeans.

Hecouldwear jeans and a nice sweater.

Or he could make Jacob swallow his tongue.

He’d intended the former, until last night, when Jacob had taken him out for milkshakes and it felt like things had shifted between them.

Now he was conflicted.

If they crossed the line, it would be so messy. That hadn’t changed. But that wasn’t all Finn saw anymore. The tantalizing possibilities of what it couldalsobe danced just out of reach.

“Great game Saturday,” Morgan said.

“Yeah,” Finn said.

There was a weird pause on the other end of the phone. Like his dad hadn’t expected him to agree.

Or maybe he just hadn’t expected him to answer the goddamn phone.

“Didn’t expect to get you,” Morgan said, and hesitation had crept into his dad’s normally purely confident tone.

“Yeah,” Finn said.

“Finn,” his dad said sternly. “This is serious.”

Finn was five seconds away from pretending ignorance and saying,oh yeah, really? I had no fucking idea. But he remembered what Jacob had said Saturday. Not just the pressure of Jacob’s fingers on his chin, but how Jacob had told him he liked to deflect.

That would be all that comment would do. Deflect, with the added benefit of pissing his father off.

“No shit, Dad,” Finn said.

There was another long pause.

“Are you okay? What are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Trying to decide what to wear to this dinner,” Finn said. He didn’t say who it was with, because his dad would totally lose his shit.

“A date?”

Finn laughed. “No. Not exactly. But . . .I wouldn’t mind it if itwas.”

And he wouldn’t. He realized that now. Maybe Jacobwasserious. Finn wasn’t sure hewasn’tserious, anymore.

“I didn’t realize you dated during the season.”

“I said it wasn’t a date,” Finn reminded him firmly. “Only that I’dlikeit to be. And let me remind you that youmarriedMom during the season.”

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