The Temperature Of Me And You

"This is a notice regarding proper use of the air conditioning. Please sign to acknowledge receipt." My six-year-old son stood there with a stern little frown, slapping a sheet of paper down in front of me. I glanced at the page. Written in colorful marker were several neatly listed "charges." The whole thing felt absurd. When I did not respond, he pointed at the paper like a tiny adult. "Mom, you didn't turn the air down in time yesterday. That could've affected my health. It was very irresponsible." I looked toward my husband, who had just gotten home from work, hoping he would say something, anything, in my defense. Instead, he snatched up the paper and slapped it down on the table, his voice sharp. "Can't you be more attentive? Our son's health comes first. If you can't even handle something this simple, what kind of mother are you?" With someone backing him up, our son's eyes immediately reddened. He burst into tears. "Mom doesn't love me!" The two of them, playing judge and jury, left me suddenly breathless. "Fine," I said at last. "If I'm such an unfit mother, I'll leave. Let your father find you a new one, someone who knows how to set the air conditioning properly."

"What do you want? I thought I warned you to stay away from me the last time we talked on the phone?” I said, with my hands across my chest. “Alexandria! What did I do wrong? Please tell me, if it's something I can fix, I will gladly do it! Why all this coldness towards me?” He said, moving closer towards me, and I did not move. Looking at his cute face, I sigh softly. “Fred, you did not do anything wrong, okay! We just had fun, and nothing more!” “Fun? Was that all it was to you?” He asked, his eyes turning red at my words. “Yeah! What else? I asked you out myself, didn't I?” “Yeah, but I thought we were dating? Alex, please don't do this to me! After what I have been through, I thought, I have finally found someone who is genuine, and sincere to fall in love with!” He said, with so much passion that I felt it a little bit. But then, I wasn't the type to love someone. "Can't you see? I have fallen in love with you! I'm head over heels for you, Alex!” He spoke softly, holding my hands again, and looking into my eyes. I could see the truth in his eyes, I could tell that he really does love me. But then, it's a pity that I can't feel anything for him.

She was rejected. He was cheated on. He was cold. She was never the same. He was a Beta. She was a nobody. She was heartless. He gave her life meaning. They said she was colder than ice. But he didn't want her any other way.

For ten years, Cal Mercer and Ethan Locke have been the hockey league’s favorite scandal: fists thrown, penalties stacked, a rivalry so vicious it sells jerseys. Then a trade puts them on the same bench... and everything ignites. Their chemistry isn’t friendly or forgiving. It’s brutal, exacting, and charged with tension that feels far too personal. Cal, feared for his massive body and punished for his powerful temper, secretly craves rules that he was never allowed to name. Ethan, ice-cold and commanding, thrives on control, until Cal’s instinctive submission cuts too close to a need Ethan has so far refused to acknowledge. As the season tightens and scrutiny mounts, their power struggle stops being accidental and becomes chosen. Lines are drawn, boundaries are negotiated, and a Dom/sub dynamic is explored. What begins as hatred turns deliberate, dangerous, and achingly intimate – something neither man can afford, and neither can resist. 'Thin Ice Between Us' is a forbidden M/M romance set inside a league that celebrates sanctioned violence while outlawing intimacy between men. This isn’t love at first sight, but something sharper: dominance earned, submission chosen, and conflict transformed into trust. On the ice, they’re allowed to destroy each other. Everywhere else, wanting becomes a real risk... but being discovered will cost them everything

In a world where judgment is so easily passed, how can love be free and true? Is there a world where two people can freely express their love for one another and show their true color? How can someone so sure about himself become so conflicted about everything because of a stranger he just met?

My older sister Katie said she missed me and requested I visit her. The second day at her place, the apocalyptic heatwave arrived. I fought tooth and nail in the supermarket for food and coolant—she told me I'm shameless and have no self-respect. I offered a high price in the community chat for supplies—she sneered at me and said that anything stored for so long must be disgusting, contaminated by bacteria. Yet, she threw herself into the arms of the man living across the hallway just for a bit of food. While cuddled in his arms, she watched me die in the heatwave. When I opened my eyes again, I heard her on the phone saying she missed me. Well, keep on missing me!