Ice.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Avery

I've been making out with Finn for the past 25 minutes. Literally no talking. Just full on lip locking.

It's different than anything we've done before. It's slow and intimate, the possibility of being interrupted not being a threat as we lay in my hotel room. He's only in his boxers while I'm just in one of his t-shirts, yet neither of us are roaming each others bodies hungrily like we usually too. Our kisses are deep and passionate, yet soft and sweet. I fucking love it.

He pulls away from me, his hand brushing my hair out of my face as his nose grazes mine. His hand comes back to grip my face and he kisses me again. I wrap my fingers around his wrist as his thumb brushes my cheek. I breathe in through my nose deeply, moving myself closer to him.

I've said it a million times, but I'll say it again. I've never felt like this before. I've never felt so cherished and wanted before. I've never felt so beautiful before. I've never felt so much admiration and need for someone else before. And every time I'm with him it feels like the first all over again.

My hand goes to his cheek now and his goes to my waist as he pulls me on top of him for a second. I lean over him and rest my elbow on the pillow next to his head before I run my hand through his hair. His hand presses into my back before he flips us. He hovers over me now, my hand still in his dark locks and his holding me in place. He digs his face against mine, pushing my head further into the bed as he tries to deepen the kiss even more. Fuck. I never want this feeling to fade.

He pulls away and falls onto his back, his dimple popping out as he looks at the ceiling with a small smile. I pout and furrow my eyebrows, going back over to him with a whine. "No. Don't stop."

I connect my lips with his again and he kisses me back before pulling away again with a playful smirk on his face. "God. Needy much?"

I narrow my eyes and lean back in again. He meets me half way and kisses me deeply, like all the other ones tonight have been. We both pull away this time, our distance increasing but by only a few inches. "I love it when you're clingy."

"Then why did you stop kissing me?"

"Because you're cute when you're frustrated," he answers, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

I nuzzle deeper into the pillow as my eyes scan his face, taking in every detail on his skin. The scar above his brow, the places where the blue swirls into purple around his eye. The little dent that is permanently etched onto his upper lip. I notice a small hole on his right nostril for the first time. Huh.

My finger comes to graze it. "What's this scar from?" I ask, knowing it's probably just another hockey injury.

His cheeks and the tips of his ears go pink as he looks at me. "Would you believe me if I told you I had a nose ring?"

My jaw drops. "No way."

He nods. "Yeah. I had to take it out for games though. Then once I moved here I never put it back in. It just wasn't worth the hassle anymore."

"You probably looked really hot with it," I speak without thinking. He grins at me and I add, "You know what's really cute?"

His grin turns to a shy smile as he keeps his hand resting on my head, his finger gently brushing the hair behind my ear. "What?"

"When you blush, the tips of your ears get red."

His eyebrows furrow before his hand leaves my hair and goes to his own ears. "No they don't."

"Oh, yes they do. It must be the Canadian in you, with your red ass cheeks and ears," I grin. I bring my hand to his ear now, taking the top of it between my fingertips. "I like it when you blush."