Page 313 of Pucking Feral: Part Two

Nothing is the same without all five of us on the ice.

My fingers curl around the armrest until the metal frame groans.

I force them open.

Ivy crunches popcorn beside me, her attention on the ice below, but I can tell she isn't completely paying attention.

Maybe because I'm losing my fucking shit behind her.

"Hey," she says after a minute.

I look down at her with a soft questioning growl.

"The Cedarbrook trip. I've been thinking."

I tilt my head.

"Can you even drive right now?"

I hesitate before answering her honestly. I don't know.

"I could drive. It isn't like I have to hide anymore," she says. "I mean, it's a long fucking drive, but that's fine." She sets the popcorn bucket aside and twists to face me completely, pulling her legs up and crossing them in my lap. "I was thinking, though… are you sure you want it to just be us?"

I groan before I can stop it. Yes. I'll lose the will to live if it's Whiskey and Plague. And Thane is too emotional.

"Thane isn't that emotional⁠—"

He IS. I sign it emphatically. He hovers. He will look at me with his sad puppy eyes and⁠—

I mime Thane's exact eyes, brow furrowed, trying to make my eyes as big and wet as I can, like I'm trying not to cry.

Ivy presses her lips together, fighting back laughter.

It's not funny.

"It's a little funny." She takes a deep breath, composing herself, and wipes her eyes. "Okay. No Thane." She taps her chin theatrically. "What about Valek?"

Oh.

This is where she was headed with it the whole time.

I hesitate, unsure.

"He's the opposite of emotional," she continues. "He'd just sit there and read a book and not ask you a single question about your feelings. Actually, he would love to never talk about feelings with anyone, ever. Trust me."

That's… actually accurate.

"And," she adds, grinning now, "from all the stories Whiskey has regaled about the Canada trip, Val is an excellent driver."

I manage a soft laugh at that.

She has a point. It would be safer for her. I bolted into the fucking woods last time.

Valek could handle me.

Maybe, I sign.

Ivy's grin softens into a smile that makes the constant fire in my jaw feel further away. She turns back around and sinks against my chest, pulling the team blanket up to her chin and retrieving the popcorn bucket.