Page 204 of Break the Ice
A modern adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
JJ
Field research. I like it!
I glance up at him. He’s grinning at his phone like it just told him the funniest joke in the world. The kind of grin that makes him look younger than he is. Lighter, even with the weight he’s been carrying lately.
JJ
Have fun, baby
A selfie pops up—a kiss blown straight to the camera, her smile bright enough to cut through every shadow I didn’t realize was clinging to my ribs until right now.
Fin
Miss you both.
Four days, sweet girl. X
Fin
Counting themdown, bombshell!
My eyes stay locked on her picture even after the chat goes quiet.
“You okay?” Jayden asks beside me.
“Trying not to freak out about her being across the country on her own.”
He angles his phone toward me, the pin on the map moving steadily across L.A. “She’s having a normal girls’ night with her friend. Fin deserves that.”
“I know. She needs freedom. She deserves a normal life.”
“Exactly,” he says, but I’m not sure whether he’s agreeing with me or convincing himself.
It feelsgood to be upgraded to a healthy scratch. Obviously, I don’t want any of the team to get injured, but being the next man up means I’m getting closer to getting back on the ice.
We’ve barely made it back to my suite from the team meeting when both mine and Jayden’s phones buzz at the same time.
Jayden snatches his up first and we perch on the vanity close to the closet as Finley’s face fills the screen. She’s all bright smile and flushed cheeks with messy hair falling around her shoulders. Just like that, something tight inside my chest loosens.
“How was it?” he chuckles, because her first words are a breathless, “Samson—off,” and the camera jolts as the dog tries to give her mouth-to-mouth.
Only when she flops onto the couch and lets his heavy head sprawl across her lap does she catch her breath. “It was great.”
“What did you watch again?” I ask, unable not to stare at the little things—her red mouth, the heat in her cheeks, the way her nails are painted to match. Small signs that there’s a whole life blooming in her now. Hope disguised as polish.
She groans. “Honestly, I’m still questioning what it was.” She pets Samson’s head down to her chest when he noses the camera. “I can tell you it wasn’t anything like the cute movies we’ve watched together.”
Jayden snickers, reaches across the narrow space between us, and tucks a loose curl back into my bun like he owns the right. “Told you. Nothing beats The Lion King.”
“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t that.” Her smile grows as she watches himbully my hair into submission. The warmth of his knuckles skims my temple; I don’t move away.
“Where’s Christina? Is she not staying with you tonight?” I scan the dim behind her, listening for another voice. Nothing.
She shakes her head, and Jayden asks, “How was the theatre experience?”
“It wasn’t terrible… just needed more story and fewer… distractions.” Her cheeks flare a deeper crimson, and she ducks behind Samson’s skull like it could shield her.
