Chapter 10

It's been two weeks since I came to stay with Gavin, but I might as well have stayed in a hotel for all I see him. He's given up on the morning workouts and doesn't even stick around for the coffee I make him every day—he just pours it into a travel mug and leaves. He stays at the office until midnight and sometimes I'm already asleep by the time he gets home.

I know the fucking coward is trying to avoid me. And yeah, okay, we had a couple awkward moments on the couch and at skating. But what the actual hell? We can't clear the air and talk about it like the fucking adults we're supposed to be? Apparently not. Apparently, he'd rather keep me at arm's length and go live in his office instead. I wouldn't be surprised if he had an air mattress under his desk.

If he's so adamant about ignoring me, then what the hell am I still doing here? I'm not ready to go back to Georgia, but maybe I should rent a car and just start driving. See where the road takes me. At the very least I should get myself a hotel room so Gavin can have his apartment back.

I'm up before Gavin's alarm goes off in the morning and I'm determined not to let him leave until we've had words. My bag is already packed, just in case. I'll figure out the rest once he's disappeared for work.

Except he doesn't scurry from his bedroom straight into the bathroom like he's done for the past two weeks. He stops in the kitchen where the coffee machine is gurgling behind me.

"Morning." His voice is still scratchy from sleep and it melts some of the chill I've been feeling around him.

"Morning."

He tugs at his t-shirt and shifts from foot to foot. "Um, so, I got tickets to the game tonight."

I cross my arms and lean back against the kitchen counter. "What game?" Because I'm done playing.

"The hockey game?" Gavin's eyebrows lift and come together like he's not sure whether hockey's even a sport.

It takes me a moment to realize what he's saying and as it dawns on me, I push away from the kitchen counter. "You got tickets to the Rangers game tonight?" That's the only game that's within driving distance.

"Uh, sure?" Gavin shrugs. "I don't know which team it is. My company has season tickets to a bunch of sports and the guy who was supposed to go tonight can't anymore." He holds out his phone with the tickets already pulled up.

It is the Rangers game, and… "Holy shit, these are lower bowl seats in the neutral zone."

Gavin stares at me like I'm speaking a foreign language. "That's good?"

"Good?" I come around the end of the kitchen counter and grab him up in a big bear hug, lifting him right off his feet. "They're fan-fucking-tastic!"

It's only when I've placed him back on the floor that I realize what I've done. We're touching chest to stomach, his arms are looped around my shoulders, and my hands have settled at the small of his back. A rush of awareness runs through me at how good it feels to have him right there.

I don't have to look into Gavin's eyes to know he's thinking exactly the same thing. We both stiffen and push away from each other. I clear my throat and turn to grab coffee mugs from the cabinet. Gavin makes a squeaky sound and sprints for the bathroom.

Fuck. Okay. So whatever happened two weeks ago hasn't dissipated with time like I hoped it would. Maybe Gavin was right to avoid me. Maybe he knows something I don't.

I stop, holding the coffee machine carafe in midair. Does he know something I don't? Does he know what this thing simmering between us is?

Could it be that he has feelings… no, it couldn't. He would've said something if he did. I would've known.

I shake my head as I pour our coffees—with extra cream and sugar for Gavin. There's no way he could be attracted to me. We've known each other since we were kids. There would've been signs of it before now. And besides, I'm not gay. So it doesn't matter if he's attracted to me, because I can't reciprocate.

I take a sip of my coffee, waiting for it to trickle down and settle in my stomach. Right. Of course. I can't reciprocate, so there's nothing to worry about.