Page 33 of Date With Skates

“Yeah, who else is going to annoy the shit out of me?”

There’s the slightest change on his face. If I hadn’t been so close and staring, I would have missed it. A flash of hurt. But it’s quickly covered up by a big, playful grin.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

I like to think we’re both lying to each other, because even though I’m not the settling down type of guy, I can see myself spending time with someone like Étienne.

And maybe not just someone… but him specifically.

Too bad it’ll never work.

Chapter Sixteen

Étienne

Nico wins the gold.

Am I surprised? Not even for a second.

Am I concerned? Hell yes.

His head is already struggling with that giant ego, and now? It may pop completely.

Too bad, because it is a pretty head.

There’s something bugging him, though. Through all the excitement and chaos over him winning, there’s something underneath his proud glow. But he won’t tell me what it is. Except he doesn’t have to because I know what it is.

Or rather… who it is.

Nico is done competing. He won the gold. We’re done here. The Olympics are almost finished for everyone, and that means a certain hockey player has to leave, and Nico will never see him again. At least not in person.

I know the feeling… because regardless of what I allow myself to admit, I am going to miss Connor McVoy. Somehow, someway, he wormed his way into my chest and he’s sitting there eating at me like an annoying little parasite.

I don’t want to deal with feelings and missing people. I want to move on with my life, enjoy everything that I can. I can’t be weighed down by the sadness of missing someone.

That’s not me. Definitely not what I do. I’ve never been so caught up in someone before. One and done has always been easy for me—because it’s what I want. What I like.

It’s not the way Nico is either; yet we’re in the same boat.

Only, the other doesn’t really know that, because we won’t talk to each other about it.

This is just how we are. Just how it is. One of us will break, eventually. We’ll spill our guts a month from now, and then we’ll move on.

Right now, though? It’s not the time to worry about it. Because my cousin just won the gold freaking medal and I am here to celebrate with him!

Problem is that he keeps getting pulled left and right for media stuff. We’re used to it, and I think by the time he gets a break, he’s going to want to go to sleep. That’s okay. We can celebrate at home. I shouldn’t take his time away from him and Roman because it’s limited. And if I’m honest, as excited as I am to celebrate my cousin, my best friend, I keep thinking about Connor and how our time is limited, too.

I get to go home with Nico. These hockey boys that we’re so fond of get to go home together. They’ll see each other all the time; the same way Nico and I will see each other all the time.

But we will be nearly two thousand miles away from each other… which is a really crappy thought.

Nico is talking to some kind of media person—I can never keep track of all the stations or names, so I just call them media people—so I wait to the side so I can grab him before he has to move onto the next one who’s waiting just outside of frame so he can hop in the second it’s his turn. They’re vultures, and it disgusts me, but it comes with the job.

The moment the media woman thanks Nico, I take a step closer, ready to pounce before the other media guy can. I slip in quickly, grabbing Nico’s arm and yanking him into a hug. The guy frowns at me, opening his mouth as if he’s going to tell me off.

“I love you, Nico. Congratulations. I’ll see you later.”

When I pull back, he gives me a genuine smile.