Chapter 39
THE ICE QUEEN
Well, fuck.
The Ice Queen has been royally checkmated. After months of investigation and countless hours of critical analysis, I must admit defeat. The relationship I was certain was fake? It’s the most real thing at this entire university.
I’m not even mad. Watching Jackson identify his boyfriend by ass-feel alone, seeing the way Drew trusted him completely, and witnessing their genuine joy when the blindfold came off, was kind of beautiful. In a weird and deeply uncomfortable way.
So their love is real, their asses are memorable, and somewhere along the way, they made a believer out of me.
It’s almost depressing to have to move on from these two lovebirds.
But that’s the beauty of being the Ice Queen.
There’s always a new scandal brewing, always fresh meat to investigate.
And while the campus celebrates true love or whatever nauseating hashtag they’ll slap on Drew and Jackson’s confession video, I’ve already got my sights set on the next story.
Oliver Jacoby and Ryan Abrams.
Drew’s teammate and Jackson’s abandoned roommate.
The boy who dresses like he stepped out of a 1950s catalog and speaks with the formality of someone raised by a militant father.
The same Ryan Abrams who knew Oliver Jacoby long before BSU.
Before hockey. Before that impressive physique that has half the crowd fumbling for their phones whenever he walks by.
I pull up the photos from that night in downtown Berkeley Shore, showing paint-slicked bodies and theatrical grinding. There, in the corner of one shot, barely visible in the crowd, is Ryan with a face full of heartbreak.
The thing about unrequited love? It leaves breadcrumbs everywhere if you know where to look.
My fingers fly across the keyboard as I piece together what I know.
Ryan and Oliver, childhood friends in a military base town.
Separated when Ryan’s father got reassigned—classic military brat trauma.
Years pass. They both end up at BSU, but now Oliver’s this confident hockey god while Ryan’s still the quiet kid who practiced his confession speech a hundred times but never delivered it.
Second chance romance? Try a second chance at complete emotional devastation.
This investigation will require a different approach from Drew and Jackson, from Gerard and Elliot. Where those couples were easy, Oliver and Ryan are a slow burn that’s been smoldering since they were kids sharing juice boxes.
I crack my knuckles, a grin spreading across my face. Time to do what I do best—dig until I strike gold.
Poor Ryan Abrams has no idea what’s about to hit him. But then again, neither does Oliver Jacoby. Because the Ice Queen always gets her story, and this one?
It’s going to be written in the stars.