Page 36 of Breaking the Ice

“Are you Cecily?” I ask, rubbing my ribs where Hadley just jabbed me. “From your play?”

“Yes! That’s one of her lines. I wasn’t sure where to find a costume at the last minute, but the theater department let me borrow this one.” Her face lights up, until she glances around the room, and her happiness dims. “Although I’m not really sure if it, uh, fits.”

She gestures at the costumes surrounding us, and yeah, hers definitely has a different vibe. But she’s just as sexy as Harley Quinn in the kitchen or Barbie on the sofa. In fact, something about her curves in that dress, all buttoned up, just makes her more enticing.

“No, it’s great,” Hadley says, adjusting her black sequined fedora. “There’s no certain type of costume you have to wear.”

“You look amazing,” I tell Isabella as Hadley bounces back over to Jonas. I grab her hand in a friendly gesture, of course. My thumb rubs over her knuckles of its own volition.

“I’m not sure.” She bites her lip, and looking at her mouth makes all the blood leave my brain and head south. “I guess I should have been, like, a Sultry Cecily and worn half this dress.”

“But would you have picked the left half or the right?” I’m gratified when she laughs, meeting my gaze. “Seriously, I like your costume. You stand out in a good way. It’s better than another sexy nurse or slutty cowgirl.”

I never thought that could get old after a while, but here we are. Isabella outshines every other girl at this party.

“Thanks. Hadley and Jonas are cute, though.” She waves at them, leaning against the wall in the living room, dressed as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Then she gives me a once-over and raises a brow. “Really? A toga?”

I shrug and adjust the knot on my bedsheet. “It’s classic for a reason.”

“I think that’s laziness.”

“Not when you look this good.” I gesture up and down my bare chest, gratified when she looks away and swallows. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it, right?”

“Great motto.” I’m pretty sure she’s blushing, and it makes me bold.

I step closer. “Okay, you’re right. It was also cheap and easy.”

“Like you?”

I put my hand over my heart. “You wound me. Besides, I’m not that guy anymore.”

Isabella’s eyes lock on mine. “But you admit you used to be?”

“Yeah, I have no problem admitting I used to sleep around.” I gaze at her, letting my emotions seep into my words. “And then I met someone, and it didn’t hold as much appeal.”

“Oh.” She stares down at her shoes, then back up at me. “But I’m not that girl. The timing’s not right. You agreed⁠—”

“I may have agreed that the timing wasn’t right.” I shake my head. “I never said you weren’t that girl.”

I ache to kiss her, but I hold back. She needs to know I’ll wait until she’s ready. She bites her lip, and I know she feels it, too. This pull between us. But she was the one who pumped the breaks—for good reason—so she has to be the one to come to me. That’s okay. Despite how I first appear, I can be patient. She’s worth it.

“I—It’s just…it’s complicated, you know?”

“I know. You mentioned that before.” And yet, here we are, drawn together again.

Isabella shakes her head. “I’m not going to suggest we sneak around behind my dad’s back. Because you are worth so much more than that. You deserve to be with someone who will shout about it to the sky.”

My mouth drops open. No one has ever said anything so nice. I’m usually a dirty little secret, the guy no one wants to take home to their parents. A fun fling but not a long-term prospect.

Sure, I’m not a long-term prospect here, either, but not because she’s ashamed of me.

I clear my throat. “That means a lot to me. There, uh, was this girl my freshman year.”

Bella raises a brow. “A girl?”

“Yeah. Ava. She was a junior, and I was a dumb little freshman. We were together for a couple of months. It should have been a red flag that she always wanted to stay in, never hang with her friends or anything. But I thought it meant something. Until her parents came to visit. When I asked if she wanted me to join them for dinner, she laughed in my face. Told me I was a good time but not the kind of guy who meets the family.”

Isabella’s mouth drops open, and her eyes widen with indignation. “She didn’t!”