Page 83 of Hot Ice, Tennessee

“Bug me all you want, okay? I never hate getting a call from you. And I mean it—if you ever need to get out of there, the Hard Spot and my house are always here.Yes, Max, I’m coming!Later, J.”

“Bye, K.”

I hung up, sliding the phone into my sweatpants.

>>Mason: Apparently Wayne Gretzky stayed at the hotel I’m at, once. He’s important, right?

It was Mason’s first day in Atlanta, and I got the text right after finishing lunch. I laughed as I saw it, and tapped out a reply.

>>Jesse: He’s a little-known hockey player. Really kind of an unknown.

Mason was so unfamiliar with hockey that I wasn’t even sure if he’d get the joke, but luckily, he sent me an eye-roll emoji afterward.

>>Mason: Well, I can feel like I’m in the presence of hockey greatness even though I’m hours away from you.

>>Jesse: If Wayne Gretzky shows back up again and you hook up with him instead of me, I’m going to be so jealous. And I’ll have… lots of questions. For him.

>>Mason: LOL. Promise I wouldn’t. You’re hotter.

Hours later, when I was back at home after visiting Kane for a while, I decided to send Mason another message. I took off my shirt, hopped onto my bed, and snapped a selfie. I sent it over to him with a text:

>>Jesse: This is what you were missing out on last night, just so you know.

>>Mason: Mmm. Bed Jesse. I really like Bed Jesse.

>>Jesse: Next time stay over, then.

>>Mason: Maybe.

It was another couple of days before he texted me again, showing me a picture of some of the repairs he’d helped out on for the volunteer project. He also sent a photo of him and his friend Mary, which he captionedme and my sister from another mister.

>>Jesse: You guys look great. Miss you.

>>Mason: I’ll be back soon enough.

>>Jesse: You know something? My text notifications used to annoy the shit out of me and they don’t anymore. I get excited that it might be something from you.

Damn.

Maybethatwas a little too boyfriendy, too. I stared at the ceiling, hoping he wasn’t reading my texts and slowly starting to back out.

>>Mason: Careful what you wish for. I’ll start texting you too much.

>>Jesse: Don’t think there’s any such thing. By the way, I saw a horse today.

>>Mason: Where?

>>Jesse: On campus. They had a couple of horses, actually. Some group was there to promote animal rights awareness. There was also a pig, a goat, a dog, and a ferret.

>>Mason: A real Mount Rushmore of different animals.

>>Jesse: Imagine owning a goat.

>>Mason: It’s always been something I wanted.

>>Jesse: No fucking way.

>>Mason: I’m a rancher, Jesse. It’s what we do.

---