Hot Ice With My Brother's Hockey Best Friend

~Chelsea~ “Babe... honestly, you moving in here would be complicated.” Gareth’s forehead pulled together into that worried look he always made whenever he was trying not to upset me. Even through FaceTime, I could see it clearly. My chest tightened a little. “Why?” I sighed, dropping onto my suitcase where I stood outside the small convenience store down the street from his place. “I wanna be with you instead. Isn’t this supposed to be the silver lining? I get to spend the semester with you instead of my brother.” His expression softened. “And besides,” I added dramatically, “You don't have a roommate. But he does.” “My cousin drops by once in a while,” Gareth reminded me. I groaned loudly. “Babe... c'mon, I can't do sweaty hockey-ass dudes around me. Unless it's you.” His lips twitched. “Oh? So now I’m excluded from the sweaty hockey dude category?” “You’re the only acceptable one.” We both laughed. God. I missed that laugh. Missed him. One year apart wasn’t supposed to feel this long. “Fine,” he said eventually, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know what? We’ll talk about it later. I gotta go. See you in the evening.” The call ended before I could say much. “Yeah...” I mumbled quietly. But the word died in my throat. Because the truth was… I wasn’t in my old city anymore or hours away. I was literally a block away from Gareth’s house. A surprise visit. A stupidly romantic surprise visit. My stomach flipped as I looked down at my packed bags beside me. We hadn’t seen each other in so long. And tomorrow was our four-year anniversary. Four whole years together. What better gift was there than showing up unexpectedly? Okay... maybe transferring schools to be closer to him counted too. Though that part wasn’t entirely romantic. My mom had made it very clear that my grades were becoming a problem. New environment. Better focus. Better results. Her words. Not mine. I adjusted the strap of my bag and sighed. The only issue now was my i***t brother. Somehow… Brandon had managed to mess up the hostel placement forms and accidentally put his own details instead of mine. Which meant I got shoved into the boys’ hostel. Absolutely not. Brandon had offered for me to stay with him and his roommate until things got sorted. But no. No offense to him, but if I had the option between my brother and my boyfriend of four years? Easy choice. Very easy. I bit my upper lip as I stared up at the brown apartment building in front of me. This was where Gareth lived. After months of calls, late-night texts and facetime. I was finally here. A smile slowly spread across my face. Oh, he was going to lose his mind when he saw me. Probably scream. Definitely kiss me. Maybe cry. Okay, maybe not cry. I dragged my suitcase behind me and headed inside, my heart beating faster with every step. Flat 5B. I stopped outside the door and stared at it for a second. This was it. I lifted my hand and pressed hard against the doorbell. Once… Twice. Nothing. I frowned. But then I heard it, really loud music, vibrating through the door. I moved closer, my brows slowly pulled together. Was he having people over? I knocked harder this time. Still nothing. The music kept blasting from inside. I didn’t know Gareth liked loud music now. Back then, whenever I blasted pop songs at full volume in Dad’s garage, he would groan, snatch the speaker from me, and complain that my music taste was slowly destroying his ears. Now, the walls of his apartment practically vibrated from the bass. The doorbell clearly wasn’t doing anything, and after pressing it for what felt like the tenth time, I stared down at my phone, debating whether to call him and ruin the surprise or keep trying. My fingers wrapped around the knob absentmindedly while I thought about it. I gave it a soft push, and it clicked right open. Weird. It was unlocked. The apartment looked exactly how I remembered Gareth describing his place during late-night calls… clean, organized, almost annoyingly perfect. Everything in the living room sat neatly in place, from the cushions to the shoes arranged by the entrance. It was so typically Gareth that for one stupid second, excitement bubbled in my chest again. Did he somehow know I was close by? Was he hiding somewhere? I stepped further inside, adjusting the strap of my bag while scanning around, but the music blasting through the apartment made it difficult to think properly. The place felt empty despite the noise. “Gareth?” I called out. Nothing. My eyes landed on the hallway leading toward the bedroom area, and that was when I noticed the clothes scattered carelessly along the floor. At first, my brain refused to process what I was looking at because Gareth wasn’t messy. Yet there was a skirt near the hallway wall, a hoodie tossed halfway across the floor, and heels lying carelessly beside the doorway. Then I heard it. Not the music. Something underneath it. A sound that immediately made something uncomfortable twist in my stomach. I moved slowly toward the room, each step heavier than the last, and before I even reached the doorway, a sweet floral scent hit me. It was strong enough to make nausea roll through me instantly. Then I looked up, my entire body froze in place. Gareth was on the bed.. completely naked. And there was a girl on top of him. “Mhm... yes, baby,” he muttered distractedly. My hand shot toward the doorframe because suddenly my legs didn’t feel reliable anymore. My stomach twisted so hard I thought I would actually throw up right there. The noise must have caught their attention because both of them turned. “Chels… how the hell did you get here?” Gareth’s voice cut through the room, sounding caught somewhere between panic and irritation. I barely heard him. Because the girl had already pulled the sheet around herself. And I knew that face. Of course I knew that face.