Page 66 of Off The Ice

If I had other options, crappy as they were, I had to take them.

“That’s different.” He crossed his arms. I hated that I stared at them.

“How?”

“Because I’m not a creep.”

“Well, I didn’t know that when I moved in.”

“Which shows your lack of judgment!”

I pulled away, reeling from the sting of his comment.

“Cassie.” He huffed out a frustrated sigh, “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just—”

“You just what?” I glared at him accusingly.

“I just don’t want you to end up in another bad situation,” he said, voice softer now. “I want you to take your time looking forsomewhere you’re really going to like. Somewhere you’ll be safe and happy.”

I stared at him, a thousand thoughts going through my head.

How could I tell him that I’d already found a place where I was safe and happy and that it hurt knowing I had to leave it for somewhere infinitely worse? How could I tell him that anywhere else was going to be a downgrade because he wouldn’t be there? How could I admit to myself that the reason I needed a new place so urgently wasbecauseof how comfortable I was getting here?

I couldn’t, so I just stared at him as we lingered in the tense silence that filled the air like a smoke-filled room.

Finally, he spoke, shoulders deflating, the defensiveness in him retreating.

“Just… keep looking. Okay?”

I nodded, afraid of the relief I felt that he was giving me the gift of more time here.

With him.

“Okay.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Liam

I’d always thought my self-restraint skills were above average, to say the least.

I’d never been the type to indulge in anything I deemed unnecessary. I got my ass to the gym every day. I never missed practice. I didn’t spend money on anything that wasn’t a necessity. There was nothing that caused me to slip up, to cave into my lesser urges.

At least there hadn’t been.

I’d tried to stay away from her. I’d really fucking tried. But apparently, my self-restraint only went so far when it came to the tiny blonde who had taken up residency in more than just my apartment.

She was like an infection that had spread inside me at a rapid pace. I thought about her when I wasn’t with her. I wanted totalk to herallthe time. And worst of all, I was fucking terrified of her leaving.

It took me a minute to realize what the feeling was. I wasworried.

I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t end up in some scummy place that she could barely afford. Or worse, she’d end up with some random, sketchy roommate.

Cassie was… delicate. I didn’t want her to end up with a random person who left messes in their apartment or brought strangers back to the place Cassie was living. It just wasn’t safe.

But what could I do? Beg her to live with me forever? No, I very well couldn’t, which left me with one option.

Convince her to postpone until we found somewhere actually suitable. Even though I’d made a big deal of it at the start, it wasn’t awful having her here. I didn’t mind waiting as long as it took for her to find a safe, affordable apartment.

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