Page 21 of On Thin Ice

“That you can, little brother.” Bryan patted him on the shoulder. “But I bet I can still take you down today.” He gestured to the top of the hill they were heading towards and then took the fuck off, finding a new gear.

Jacob made an outraged noise and pushed his legs harder, faster, lungs bellowing.

They raced up the side of the gently rolling hill, and by the time they got to the top, he was breathing hard and his legs were burning, but he felt better, too, like he’d sweated out the last vestiges of the wine.

“I hate it when you’re right,” Jacob told his brother when he’d finally caught his breath.

“Hey, it was to your benefit, too,” Bryan teased. “So you’re really going to do this and not tell Morgan.”

“If he’d even take my call—”

Bryan interrupted him. “He’s going to find out. And then he’s going to be really,reallypissed.”

“Why?” Jacob asked even though he knew exactly why Morgan might be pissed. “It’s not likehecan teach Finn how to be abetter goalie. And he’s Morgan so he’ll want his son to be the best. Even if that means I’m involved.”

“So youdowant to tell him.”

“No.” Jacob let out a hard breath. “Because he’ll assume . . .because we all know what he’ll assume, and it won’t bethatfar from the truth, probably.”

“That far, huh?” Bryan teased.

“It’s not going to happen. There’s a line I won’t be crossing. A line I won’t lethimcross.”

“You told him that?”

“Yes,” Jacob said. Sighed. “I’m gonna have to find a better coping mechanism than a bottle of wine, though.”

“Hard running, that’ll do it,” Bryan suggested, a light in his eyes. “Trust me, I know.”

He and his ex-wife Marlena had gotten divorced five years ago, when she’d taken a once-in-a-lifetime job working at a brain injury study clinic in Switzerland. Their marriage had been over before that, but when Marlena had decided to move, taking the job, they’d agreed to co-parent, only.

And Bryan, with the primary custody of Jacqueline and Krista, found himself a single parent with not much time or energy to devote to dating. It didn’t matter that he was bi and would’ve been happy with either sex. Even though the reasons for his dry spell were different than Jacob’s, they’d both found themselves in the same position. Single. Alone. Sexless.

“I keep thinking, I come out, and maybe I’ll finally find a guy who’s willing to put up with me for more than just a night,” Jacob said.

“But you’re not really making much progress on that,” Bryan guessed.

“Nope. I get Sophie and Mark’s hesitancy, I do, but it’s driving me crazy now. I’ve . . .I’m ready. And I feel like now that I’m finally there, they keep throwing up roadblocks.”

“They trying to keep you in the closet?”

“The opposite.” Jacob hesitated. Wiped his face down. Pulled a water bottle out of the light pack he wore. “They keep putting together crazier and crazier coming out plans. And I wondered, is that why all their suggestions suck?Arethey trying to hold me back?”

“Holding you back is still holding you back.”

“Well, I’m going to be getting a different perspective on the whole thing,” Jacob said wryly.

“Let me guess—that’s what Finn’s going to be giving you. Not his dick.”

“Not his dick,” Jacob agreed. He ignored the pulse of disappointment and instead said, “Race you to the bottom?”

Bryan groaned, but the moment Jacob took off, he was hot on his heels.

“Where you off to in such a hurry?”

Finn had hoped he’d be able to slip off unnoticed at the end of the team’s weight room session.

Jacob had texted him around noon and said to come to his place again at seven-thirty.

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