Fire on Ice (Fire on Ice Series) (8 page)

Eight

Taylor

I woke up with a terrible stomach ache. My sister had plied me with an entire pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream just to get me to stop crying. I didn’t stop crying but I did eat every bite of the ice cream.

I had been trying to read my new psychology journal all morning but I couldn’t get past the first paragraph on the first page. My thoughts kept drifting back to Kian.

I thought about what my sister had said before she left:
he didn’t actually sleep with that slut after he met you
. I guess she had a point but it didn’t hurt any less. The tramp was hanging all over him like she owned him and he didn’t do anything to dissuade her.

But he looked so hurt, so pained. His eyes looked dead, like I had killed him when I left him there with her. What was I supposed to do? Jump her and beat her up? Fight her for him right there outside the stadium?

I wanted him to be different. I didn’t want him to be another jock who slept with anything with a vagina. I didn’t want him to be like Austin.

And I didn’t want to fall head over heels in love just to get hurt again.

But I guess I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. Not after everything I said and definitely not after I walked away and left him there—with her.

All I could think about was her hands on him.
The two of them kissing. His hands on her. Him being inside of her.

It made me sick.

I considered spending the entire day in bed. I didn’t have to study. I knew I was prepared for the exam tomorrow. But Kyle had insisted. He said he wanted to be sure we both got perfect scores because it would look good on our graduate school applications. But I wasn’t sure I could face Kyle, especially after what happened with Kian. He would ask questions as soon as he saw my swollen eyes.

When I heard a knock on my door, it surprised me. It was way too early for Kyle to be there. When I opened the door, three guys were standing there, their arms filled with flowers and balloons.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Are you Taylor Thompson?” one of the guys asked.

I nodded.

“We have a delivery for you,” one of the other guys said.

“Okay, you can just put it on my desk.”

I let the guys in and was surprised by the sheer mass of the flowers and balloons. I figured they had a number of other deliveries to make in the area.

“All of this won’t fit on your desk,” the first guy said. “It’s too small.”

I was confused. “What do you mean
all of this
?” 

The second guy gave me a look like I was crazy. “We need to leave all of this here. It’s all for you.”

“All of it,” I exclaimed finally cluing in. “There must be some kind of mistake. All of this can’t be for me.”

“There’s no mistake,” the first guy said. “Just tell us where you want us to put all of it.”

“Wherever it will fit, I guess.”

The guys started piling the balloons and flowers wherever they would fit until the entire room was filled.

“Is there a card or anything?” I asked.

“No, no card,” the second guy said.
“Just this.” He motioned around the room at the vast display.

“Thank you,” I said as the delivery guys started out the door.

“Enjoy your gifts,” the second guy said as the three guys disappeared into the hallway.

“This is crazy,” I
commented to myself as I scanned the room. My tiny suite looked like a florist shop the day before Valentine’s Day.

Even though there wasn’t a card, I had a feeling I knew exac
tly who all the flowers and balloons were from. And as if he knew exactly when his amazing gift was being delivered, Kian texted me a message:
Did you get the flowers I sent?

Me:
Yes, thank you.

Kian
:
Do you like them?

Me:
There are a lot of them. It’s a little overwhelming
.

Kian
:
I wanted you to know how special you are to me
.

Me:
Thanks
.

Kian
:
I’m sorry
.

Me:
You really hurt me
.

Kian
:
I hope you can forgive me. I didn’t mean to hurt you
.

Me:
I’m trying
.

Kian
:
Maybe you can give me another chance?

Me:
Maybe. I’m still thinking about it
.

Kian
:
Can I phone you tomorrow after practice?

Me:
What time is that?

Kian
:
After eight.

I looked around the room at all of the flowers. It was such a sweet and crazy gesture but was I really willing to give him another chance? It was just one phone call. I tried to convince myself it was no big thing. If I didn’t like what I heard, I never had to see him again.

Me:
Okay but just a phone call
.

Kian
:
I’ll talk to you at eight tomorrow
.

I didn’t know if I should be scared to death or thrilled about talking to
Kian again. I knew that it was probably equal amounts of both. I was miserable at the thought of never seeing him again. Never touching or tasting him again. Never seeing his outrageously sexy smile again. It seemed completely insane that I already had such strong feelings for Kian, perhaps even stronger than any feelings I ever had for Austin.

But stronger feelings also meant the possibility of being hurt worse than I was when Austin broke my heart.
A heartbreak of that magnitude had the potential to completely destroy me.

All of my confusing thoughts were rattling around in my head when there was another knock. Still too early for Kyle, I thought as I opened the door.

It was my sister.

“Hey, little one,” she said. “Just want to see how you’re doing after last night and I’m going to drag you to a late lunch.”

I rubbed my stomach. “I’m not sure I’m that hungry. Between the entire pint of ice cream that still seems to be sitting in there from last night and the general queasiness every time I think about that tramp with her hands all over Kian, I don’t think I can eat.”

“You have to eat,” she warned. “You’re nothing but skin and bones.”

Zelda barged in even though she wasn’t actually invited. “Holy Shit,” she practically screamed as her wide eyes scanned the room. “Where did all of these flowers and balloons come from?”

I frowned. “Where do you think?”

“The hockey hunk?” she asked.

“Yes, they’re from
Kian.”

“That guy is a piece of work. First, he wants you to come watch him play, so he leaves super expensive seats at the box office. Then he says he’s going to take you out to dinner but he allows a slut to hang all over him instead. Then he sends you several hundred
dollars’ worth of flowers. The guy is playing with you like a yo-yo.”

“That’s actually an excellent synopsis and fitting metaphor. But what do I do about it?”

“You could just fuck him and get it over with. Maybe the two of you can just get each other out of your systems.”

“I’m not like you, Zelda. I don’t just sleep with guys like that.”

“Maybe you should give it a shot. You’ll greatly reduce your chances of getting hurt that way. Take if from one who knows.”

“Maybe I’m just old school but I really don’t want to have sex with someone I don’t love.”

“Geez, if I waited to have sex until I was in love I’d never have sex. I love sex too much for that anyway.”

“I’ve only been with one guy,” I finally admitted.

My sister looked at me like I just got beamed down to Earth from another planet. “That’s a serious problem.”

“Why?”

“How will you have any basis for comparison? You’re the one who’s into research. Don’t all valid experiments require a large sample for comparison?”

I sighed. “I guess so.”

“Well, now’s the time you should be sampling as much of the goods as you can get your hands on. That’s what college is for. It’s like a smorgasbord of men. What are you going to do, marry the next guy you sleep with? Then what happens when you’re 40 and realize you’ve never had an orgasm because the one guy you slept with in college  and ended up sealing the deal with has no idea what he’s doing in bed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I shook my head. To say my sister was dramatic would be an understatement. At least she was studying for the right profe
ssion. “First of all, I just turned twenty-one, so forty is a long way off. And second of all, I don’t think there’s any danger of me getting married any time soon. Not only because there are no serious prospects but also because there are a lot of things I want to accomplish before I even think about settling down, the first of which is earning my doctorate. I also never said I had to marry a guy just because I slept with him. And third, who said I’ve never had an orgasm?”

“You’ve had an orgasm?” My sister looked shocked. “I know it wasn’t with Austin.”

I could feel my face heating up. I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with my sister. “There are other ways to have an orgasm, even if you’re not currently in a relationship.”

My sister’s mouth actually gaped open. “I would have never guessed. Do you use a dildo or a vibrator?”

I put my hand up. “Enough. That’s just TMI.”

“Come on, we’re finally having some real girl talk and you just shut it down.

“Okay, fine. A vibrator. Are you happy now? If we’re going to go to lunch, we’d better go now because Kyle wants to study this afternoon.”

“Now it’s becoming a lot
clearer how you’ve gone three years without a man.”

I gave my sister a playful slap on the forearm. “Where do you want to eat?”

“The Twisted Mug, where else?”

I grabbed my purse from my desk.
“Sounds good. Let’s go.”

***

My sister and I both ordered avocado wraps and peach smoothies. I had to admit, it made me a little sad to think about the last time I was in The Twisted Mug with Kian. I thought about the way he made me laugh and the twinkle in his radiant blue eyes when I caught him staring at me and the way he so boldly kissed me and how just the touch of his lips to mine made my entire body tingle.

I wanted that feeling again. 

“What’s on your mind?” my sister asked as we took a seat near the window to people watch.

“What do you think?” I replied.

“Hmm,” she feigned deep thought. “A hunky hockey player?”

“This is where he took me on our first—well—our only date.”

“You fall for guys fast,” my sister remarked before she took a tiny bite of her wrap. For someone so tall and curvy, she ate like a bird.

“That’s the weird thing. I never fall for guys.
Ever. There’s just something about Kian.”

She actually laughed. “Yeah, he’s completely fucking hot. And he obviously wants you.”

“I’m still confused.”

My sister put down her wrap and looked at me with a serious expression. “I know what Austin did to you was unforgiveable. I know he not only broke your heart but your spirit as well. And I know it’s taken you a long time to heal. I also know you have a difficult time trusting guys. I don’t blame you for any of it. But I think it’s time for you to start being the master of your own destiny instead of the victim of your past fate.”

“That’s a good one,” I said. “Where’d you get it? A fortune cookie?”

“You like it? It was the quote of the day on my calendar. How cool is it that I was able to fit it right into the convers
ation?”

I laughed. “You’re too much sometimes.”

“But you love me anyway, right?”

“Of course.”

“But seriously. I know it’s hard but you need to start taking a few risks.”

I nodded in agreement then took a sip of my drink. “This peach smoothie never disappoints. It’s like a little piece of heaven in a 16 ounce cup.”

My sister took a sip of her smoothie. “Agreed. The only thing that could make it better is a little shot of vodka in the mix.”

I was about to make a smart comeback when I thought I saw
Kian down the sidewalk heading toward The Twisted Mug. As he got closer, I was sure it was him and he had a short guy with him.

My sister must have seen my expression change because she asked me what was wrong.

“Kian,” I barely got out because my throat had suddenly gone completely dry. I put my hand to my chest in a futile attempt to slow it’s now rapid pace. It was beating so fast, I thought it might beat right out of my chest.