Page 81 of Snapping the Ice
My phone buzzed on my desk, next to my mouse. With a start, I glanced at it.Maddyscrolled across the screen. Shit, she was supposed to have taken Mom to the PFLAG meeting tonight. Would she have good news or bad? My gut stiffened.
I tapped the green button and set the phone on speaker. “Hey, Maddy. How’s it going?”
“Good. I just dropped Mom off, and I wanted to check in.” The hum of her car’s motor filled the background.
“Things have settled down here.” I sat back in my chair and raked my fingers through my long bangs. “Tate hasn’t been around. The last I heard from him was a letter telling me in his asshole way that I’m dating a loser, and he doesn’t want me back.” I choked on a laugh. As if.
“Jesus, why am I not surprised? At least he’s leaving you alone now,” she said. “How are things with Lucas? Are you two in love yet?” She giggled.
“I…I do love him, Maddy. I think he might feel the same, but we haven’t said it to each other yet.” Warmth enveloped my entire body. The time would come soon enough. “He admitted he’s falling for me, though.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.” She snapped her tongue. “I remember those early days with Wyatt. They were so full of emotion and tenderness.”
With a nod, I said, “Yes. This is something I’ve never had.” I never felt this way with Tate. I rubbed my finger along the vinyl armrest of my desk chair. Would she mention the PFLAG meeting? “Maddy, how did Mom fare at the meeting?”
“Well, she stayed through the whole thing.” Maddy sighed. “She didn’t share much except for her first name and the fact she has a gay son. But she listened.”
“Okay, did you talk after?” I pinched my lips. What if she never went back?
“Not really. She was pretty quiet. I think she’s processing everything, you know?”
“Yeah, she did that when devising a good punishment for us, too.” I let out a ragged scoff. Sometimes Mom’s silence was worse than the reprimand she doled out. Softly, I asked, “Is she going back?”
“Yes, Ezra. She said she’d go again next week. Give her time, okay?”
“I will.” I glanced at a photo on my monitor. A family sat on fluffy blankets with a fall scene behind them, their son, a toddler, giving the camera a wide smile. If the little boy turned out to be gay, would his parents accept him or reject him like mine did?
“Ezra, she wasn’t against it. There’s hope.”
My vision blurred as a lump formed in my throat. “Yeah, thank you for this, Maddy. Keep me posted.” I swiped the wetness from my eyes. “Uh, I’m working while Lucas is out of town, so I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Sure. Love you.”
“Love you too, bye.” Ending the call, I drew a deep inhale. No matter if Mom never accepted me, I’d still be happy. I had Lucas and all his friends around me. They were my family now.
CHAPTER 17
LUCAS
“How do I look?” I stood in my bedroom and puffed out my chest, a sheer black shirt hugging the contours of my body. We were finally hitting the gay bar with my brother and his friends. A few weeks had passed since Ezra went back to live at his place and we still hadn’t heard a peep out of Tate. My hockey skills had improved, and me and Ezra were closer than ever. He was the love of my life, and tonight, I’d tell him that. If the moment presented itself.
“You’re fabulous.” He stepped to me, his body wrapped in a flowered shirt and tight jeans, necklaces falling over his chest. Primping my bangs, he said, “Remember the first time I gelled your hair and put eyeliner on you?”
“Yeah, how could I forget?” I planted a quick kiss on his mouth. “I about popped a boner right then and there. I was so confused.”
“Really?” He sniggered. “I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t ready to face it.” I lifted his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles. “But I am now.” And I couldn’twait to be in a place surrounded by other queer men. I pulled on the band of his jeans. “What have you got on under there?”
“Never you mind. It’s a surprise.” He shoved my hand away.
“Damn.” My cock plumped. He’d gotten some new lace for tonight and he was finally going to let me fuck his fine ass in it. How would I ever hold myself back all night?
“Who all is coming tonight?” Holding my hand, he guided me into the main room.
Evan was out with Tabitha, the girl he’d met at the pool a few months ago. “So, it’ll be Mason and Jett, Archer and his husband Leo, and Ace and his husband Zoma.”
“Cool. Archer plays the same position as you, basically, but for the Cardinals?” He picked up a leather jacket and shrugged into it.
