Summer Ice

Hello all,

Here is the sequel to "Trading Ice." You don't have to have read that one first to enjoy this one, but it is

where the romance started, after all.

Please read, enjoy and comment.

Happy Reading!

M. ;)

***

Even though he spent his life living a dream and doing what he loved, Max's favorite part of the day fast became the time when he left the arena behind. He would skip having a shower at the arena following some games or practices, when he knew Mary would be at home. In spite of her half-hearted protests, she'd join him in the shower every time.

Sometimes he would be too tired to do much besides wash. Other times, they'd merely tease each other and then race stark naked across her apartment to the bed. Still other times, they would make love under the hot spray of water and Max would cradle Mary close as he carried her to bed.

Those were Max's favorite days.

It was one of those days when Mary commented on the amount of time he was spending at her place.

"I mean, the playoffs are starting next week and you spend more time here than at your own house," Mary said. "

Your

house that you

bought

. You've spent barely three nights at home in the past two weeks!"

"Are you complaining?" Max asked as he stroked his palm from her naked hip to her rib cage.

"Not at all," she breathed as he gave her a light squeeze. "But don't you want to get some use out of your house?"

Max pretended to consider, letting his mind run through the possibilities. Then he grinned and leaned close to Mary. "We could go there now. I have almost no furniture, so we'd just be doing this on bare floors."

Mary rolled her eyes and smacked him on the shoulder. "Seriously. You spent all that money on your house and you're hardly ever there. Don't you want to be?"

He shrugged one shoulder and ran his fingertips along her arm. He paused at the crook of her elbow, stroking the soft and sensitive skin there, grinning when goosebumps appeared on her arm. "I'd rather be here, doing this," he told her, and meant it.

She blushed and buried her face in her pillow, drawing a laugh from Max. He still loved how flustered she'd get around him and he loved to watch the color rise in her cheeks. Now that he could look at her naked all he wanted, he loved the way the color would spread down her neck and across her pale chest.

At the moment, she was hiding from him so he couldn't see any of the sweet color, anywhere on her body. Reaching out, he turned her and pressed her onto her back. He smiled down at her and winked. She laughed and shook her head at him. Grinning now, Max relaxed, letting his weight press her into the bed.

"God, you weigh a ton," she complained and laughed at his mock wounded expression.

"I can fix that," he assured her a second later and rolled, hauling her over him as he went.

She sat upright, grinning down at him with a dark look in her eyes that got him excited all over again.

This woman,

he thought in wonder, spreading his fingers over her waist and running his hands up her sides.

She is... she's...

He couldn't complete the thought, but he knew that Mary was everything to him at this moment, as she moved over him. For a long while after, he forgot even what his own name was.

***

Mary whistled as she walked from the train station to Beans & Steam. It was unlike her to whistle but she just couldn't seem to help herself. She couldn't contain her mirth and it was spilling out of her. Her friend and co-worker, Rebecca, looked up as she walked into the coffee shop, giving her a funny look. Mary grinned and waved a hand.

"Good morning!" Mary chirped as she walked behind the counter. "Isn't it an amazing day out there?"

"God, you know I never thought I'd be the one to say this," Rebecca said with a smile. "But you're positivity is starting to worry me."

Mary laughed and gave her friend a light shove before disappearing to tuck her belongings away in the staff room.

"Seriously, Mary," Rebecca continued as Mary returned. "You're kind of freaking me out."

"Am I?" Mary asked, winking at her friend. "Well, you just might have to get used to the new me."

Rebecca rolled her eyes and tossed a wet rag at Mary. "The new you. You've been seeing Max for two weeks."

"Yup," Mary agreed as she caught the rag from Rebecca. She turned to start wiping the counter down. "It's been the best two weeks of my life."

"What happens when the playoffs start? Are you going to cut him off?"

Mary whipped around to stare at her friend. Rebecca was grinning mischievously at her. "Cut him off? Why?"

"Because obviously he can't be distracted when the Flames are trying to win the game, right?"

Now it was Mary's turn to roll her eyes. "OK, one; it's not just one game, it's several, and two; so far, being with me hasn't distracted him, so why would we stop now?" A new thought occurred to her and she grinned at Rebecca. "Besides, most hockey players are pretty superstitious. We can't stop now or it might ruin everything."

Rebecca laughed as Mary moved out from behind the counter to clean the tables.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. The crowd into, and out, of the coffee shop ebbed and flowed like the tide and before she knew it, Mary was rushing down the street to catch the bus to her night class. She was waiting at an intersection, hopping from foot-to-foot in her impatience, when a familiar vehicle rolled to a stop in front of her.

"Hey, sexy," Max's gravelly voice greeted her as the window rolled down.

"Hi there," she replied, ducking her head to look in at him.

"You need a ride somewhere?"

"I don't accept rides from strange men," Mary replied with a grin.

"Well, that's good. I might have to kick some ass if you did."

"Not

my

ass!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"Of course not. Now get your fine ass in here before I change my mind."

Mary laughed and pulled the door open. She hopped in just as the light changed. Max pulled away from the curb, sliding back into traffic and taking them towards Mount Royal College. It was a familiar route, since he'd been driving her occasionally to her evening classes for longer than they'd been together.

"How was practice this afternoon?" Mary asked.

"The usual," Max replied with a shrug. "Skate, shoot, don't hurt each other by checking the wimps into the boards."

Mary laughed as he said this with a tone meant to imitate his coach. "Are they

all

wimps? I like some of them."

Max lifted his dark brows at her in a serious expression but Mary could see the sparkle in his deep blue eyes. "They aren't always wimps. Just when I check them into the boards."

She punched him in the arm and told him to play nice with his own teammates. He scowled playfully at her and rubbed his arm where she'd hit him.

"I've been their fan for longer than I've known you, mister," she said, wagging a finger at him. "If I find out you've injured them, days before the playoffs begin..."

"You'll what?" Max asked, facing her with a cheeky grin as they reached a red light. "Stop giving me blow jobs until I say I'm sorry?"

Mary's mouth dropped open as a fiery blush spread across her face. Max just winked at her and reached for her hand as the light changed to green.

"Did I embarrass you, Mary?"

She snorted and gave him a look. "Every day, Max. Every day."

"I don't know how you put up with me."

"Believe me, it's a challenge."

"I guess I'm lucky that you love a challenge."

"Maybe you're just plain lucky," Mary replied and smiled at him.

He grinned in response and lifted her hand to his lips. He dropped light kisses on her knuckles that made Mary clamp her legs together to stave off the instant desire that rose up.

They chatted for the rest of the drive across town to the college and too soon, Max was pulling up beside one of the student entrances. Mary turned to him with a smile and he pulled her close, sealing his lips over hers in a demanding and hungry kiss. She moaned and clung to his shoulders, trying to keep her head from turning to complete and utter mush.

At last, Max drew back, kissing her on the nose and then he sat back. "Will I see you later?"

"I'll call you when I'm home," she answered and reached for the door handle.

"No, call me when your class is over. I'll come pick you up."

She laughed at him. "You don't have to do that. I don't mind taking the bus."

"I know. I thought we'd go back to my place after. You're right about not spending any time there."

"Oh yeah? Am I just supposed to go naked tomorrow or wear dirty clothes?" Mary asked with raised eyebrows. "Oh, and I won't be able to brush my teeth or wash my hair, either. You don't mind me that way?"

Max laughed but tugged on her hand until she was forced to face him again. He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek in his warm palm. "I don't mind anything about you. Naked or with clothes on, brushed hair and teeth or smelly breath and tangles."

Mary blushed and looked down. She watched through lowered lashes as Max moved his hand, tilting her chin back up. She met his blue eyes and smiled at him.

"If you want those things, we'll go to your place first and then to mine."

"Don't you have a morning practice?" Mary asked. She desperately wanted to spend all the time with him that she could, but she knew how much playoffs with his new team meant to him.

"I do, but you can still sleep in if you want to."

Her eyes widened. "You'd leave me alone in your house?"

"Sure, why not? Besides, I like knowing that you might be there waiting for me," he said with a grin. "Naked," he added, bringing the color instantly back to Mary's face.

"You're impossible," she muttered, shaking her head and trying to will the heat from her face.

"Challenging," he corrected and leaned forward to give her another kiss.

After several minutes, he released her and she wandered to class in a fog, her mind already leaping to the evening ahead. She was happy to see Max as often as he seemed to want to see her, so she was excited to go to his place. Even though it meant she'd get very little sleep and end up dragging her ass through her shift later the following day.

Oh well,

she thought with a shrug as she settled into her seat in class.

You only live once.

***

Max eagerly awaited his girlfriend's call that evening. The thought that she was his girlfriend brought a smile to his lips. He stared off into space for a minute, grinning like an idiot as he called her face to mind. He was forever glad that he'd taken that chance two weeks ago and thrilled that Mary still hadn't told him to take a hike.

As he flipped through channels on TV that evening, his phone rang.

"Hello?" he answered without looking at the caller display.

"Hey Max, how's it going?" his old friend, Charlie, cried on the other end.

"Charlie, how are you man?" Max exclaimed, shutting the television off. He hadn't spoken to his friends in Montreal in a long time. The last time he'd talked to them, was just a brief conversation to let them know he was moving to Calgary.

"Drunk!" Charlie replied and laughed.

Max laughed too, hearing more noise through the line that made him think his high school chum was in a bar. "What's up? Why are you calling me?"

"We were just all together here wondering when you were going to come home," Charlie told him.

Laughing again, Max shook his head. "I don't know. Not for a couple months, if I'm lucky."

"Lucky? Dude, you don't need luck," Charlie said. "You're a superstar!" he added and laughed at his own joke.

Man, he is tanked!

Max thought with a grin. He heard a familiar voice in the background and felt an actual tug of longing to see his hometown again. "Is that Guy?"

"Yeah, you want to talk to him?" Charlie asked and didn't wait for a response before passing the phone on with more drunken words.

"Max?" Guy's familiar voice greeted him. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Max replied honestly.

I've got a great job and a great girl, what else do I need?

"We miss you out here. You coming home this summer?"

"I might be able to."

"What do you mean, 'might?'" Guy scoffed.

"Well, I don't want to jinx it, but the playoffs start in two days. It could be a while before I can even plan to leave."

"Make a plan," Guy ordered. There was a shriek and a boom of laughter from the background. "Geezus, Charlie, sit down before you hurt someone!"

Max hooted with laughter. "I'm glad nothing has changed."

"Maybe they should," Guy replied with a sigh. "So what else is going on with you? Besides hockey, of course."

Chuckling, Max told him about his house and spending time with the guys. "There's this girl I've been seeing," he concluded with that grin he had every time he thought about Mary.

"A girl?" Guy repeated and Max could almost hear his smile through the phone and across the country. "Is she real or imagined?"

"Real, you jerk. I met her a few months ago."

"You've been together that long? Wow, I'm impressed."

"Well, we've been dating for two weeks. We were friends before that."

A brief silence greeted his announcement. "Guy? You still there?"

"Yeah," Guy replied. "You're dating a friend?"

"Sure. Why is that so strange?"

"Max, you wouldn't make any kind of commitment with Rachel when she brought it up two years ago," Guy replied, "and you've been friends with her since junior high school."

"What the hell does that have to do with Mary?" Max demanded with a frown. He hadn't even thought about Rachel in months. Sure, they'd been close for years, and she'd hinted more than once that she'd like to be even closer, but Max had never felt that way about her. He also hadn't wanted to risk his friendship with her by dating.

"Her name is Mary?" Guy said instead, skirting Max's question altogether. "Tell me more about her."

Max did, just because he loved talking about her. By Guy's intermittent comments, he thought his friend understood his enthusiasm.

"Is she going to come home with you?" Guy asked after he was done singing Mary's praises.

"I don't know if she could," Max replied. "She takes classes at the local college. I don't know yet if she's taking summer courses or not."

"Well, bring her with you if she's free," Guy said and there was another loud sound in the background. "Whoa, I'd better go before Charlie breaks something."

"All right. Say 'hi' to everyone and tell them I'll see them all soon."

"Not too soon, I hope" Guy added and they hung up a few seconds later.

Max wandered through his house after hanging up the phone. He thought about Guy's comments about Rachel and wondered why his friend even cared. Sure, he'd known Guy, Charlie and Rachel for years and they all talked about everything, but they'd never been the types of friends who had real heart-to-heart conversations. He shrugged it off and paced back towards the kitchen when the phone rang again.

"Mary, I was beginning to think you were blowing me off," Max said instead of a simple hello.

A heavy sigh greeted him and instantly he went on alert. "Hi, Max," she replied in a tired voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Yeah right,

Max thought and rolled his eyes as he walked down the hall to the front door. "Then why do you sound like you just found out your dog died?"

Another sigh, sharper than the last. "You know, what if my dog

had

died, Max?" Mary demanded, her voice still tired, but now with a distinctive edge to it. "And you just made some stupid joke? How do you think that would make me feel? How would you like making me feel that much worse?"

Max blinked, staring at the keys in his hand. He swallowed and tried again. "I'm sorry, Mary.

Did

your dog just die?"

"I don't have a dog, you jackass," she replied sharply.

"Then why the hell are you ripping me a new one for making a joke?" he demanded with a light laugh.

"I had a hard night, that's all."

"OK. Well, it'll take me fifteen minutes to pick you up and then you won't have to think about school again."

"Max, I don't think I feel up for doing anything tonight," she said with another heavy sigh. "I think I'll just catch a bus home."

"No way are you taking a bus now," Max replied firmly. "I'm coming to pick you up."

"Max..." Mary tried again but he wasn't having it.

"I'm on my way. Don't go anywhere."

"Fine," she agreed at last.

They hung up after agreeing which entrance to meet at and Max was in his car minutes later. He whistled along with the radio as he drove the short distance from his neighborhood to Mount Royal College, contemplating all manner of ways to improve Mary's mood once he got her home. So when he pulled up in front of the doors where Mary was waiting, it was with a broad, wicked grin on his face.

She took one look at him before lifting her eyebrows and pulling the seatbelt across her chest. As he pulled away from the curb, she didn't say anything. Starting a conversation fell to Max.

"So, now that I know your dog is all right..." he started, breaking the silence a few blocks away from the college.

"I don't have a dog," she snapped, turning her face towards him.

"Even better!" Max replied with a smile. "No dog to worry about dying!"

Mary was glaring at him but, when he glanced in her direction, he could see her fighting a smile.

"Do you want a dog?" he asked, trying a different tack.
"What, to cheer me up?" Mary scoffed. "Why stop at a dog? Why not buy me a Mercedes? Some fancy jewelry? You know, I've always wanted a small island. How about that?"

"Wow, how about I buy you a better mood and me a new head since you seem to enjoy biting mine off," Max retorted, exhaling noisily.

"How about you stop trying to make jokes when I'm tired?"

"Oh, so I can only make jokes if you're

not

tired?" Max replied with a crooked smile. He looked over at her as he rolled to a stop at a red light. "What other times am I allowed to make jokes?"

"When I'm asleep?"

Max blinked at her and then started to laugh. A moment later, he heard her light giggles join in and he reached over for her hand. The light turned green but he didn't take his foot off the brake pedal. He drew Mary's fingers to his lips and kissed them.

"I'm sorry that your dog died," Max murmured to her, his eyes on her face.

She tried valiantly to glare at him but she just couldn't hold it. With a sigh and smile, Mary leaned forward, meeting his lips briefly with her own. "I'm sorry for snapping. I just had a tough class."

"Tell me about it."

She smiled and glanced sideways out the windshield. "Shouldn't we get moving again?"

Just as he looked up, the light turned yellow and then back to red. He looked back at her and his smile widened to a grin. "Looks like we've got time now."

She grinned back at him and shook her head. "You're impossible."

"Challenging," he corrected automatically. "Tell me what happened."

With a sigh, she did. It had been something to do with the last paper she'd turned in. They'd all taken turns that night reading passages aloud and someone in the class accused her of plagiarizing her paper. The resulting arguments had not exactly resolved the issue and she'd left the class with a few glares from fellow classmates. At least the professor had offered her some reassurance, not believing that she'd cheated.

"I didn't know what to think," she said and rubbed her forehead. "I can't believe he'd say those things to me." She was referring to the student who'd thrown out the accusation.

"He's an idiot," Max replied right away.

"No, he isn't."

"And an asshole," Max added, ignoring her. "What's his name? I'll get the team together and we'll kick his ass all over campus."

Mary laughed and leaned towards him again for another kiss. He obliged, letting his anger over her wrongful accusation fade into the background.