HE’S OFF LIMITS!- FALLING FOR THE WRONG HOCKEY PLAYER

EVA'S POV

“There’s no reason for you to attend tonight’s match, right?”

My head snapped up from the couch, my heart doing a quick, guilty thud against my ribs. I straightened immediately and crossed the living room toward my brother, who was leaning against the doorway with his arms folded. He tracked my movement with the kind of calm suspicion only an older brother could perfect.

He already knew I had something to say.

“I do,” I replied quickly. Too quickly. “Lily’s going to be there. She asked me to keep her company.”

The lie rolled off my tongue with embarrassing ease.

After spending over ten years lying to my brother, small lies like that barely required effort anymore. They slipped into place naturally—polished, practiced, believable.

“Oh?” His brows lifted slightly.

I forced myself not to fidget.

“Okay then,” he said after a moment. “I’ll ask Josh to drive you home after the match.”

Josh.

I nodded slowly, pressing my lips together to keep the smile threatening to form from giving me away. The last thing I needed was for him to start asking follow-up questions. As captain of the hockey team—and self-appointed guardian of my entire existence—he noticed things. Small things. Suspicious things.

Just not this.

Because what was I supposed to say?

That the real reason I wanted to go to the hockey match was to watch his best friend play?

His best friend—the one I’d been hopelessly crushing on for the last ten years.

Honestly, asking him to buy me a sex toy would’ve been easier. He would’ve shaken his head in disappointment, muttered something about me being ridiculous, and walked away. End of discussion.

But admitting I liked one of his friends? That would earn me a full-hour lecture on boundaries, loyalty, and why his teammates were permanently off limits.

“He doesn’t have to,” I added, keeping my tone casual. “But okay. Thanks.”

I turned before he could study my face any longer. I could feel his eyes on my back as I walked away.

And somehow—miraculously—he still hadn’t realized that his little sister had spent the last decade harboring feelings for Josh Evans.

It had started stupidly.

I liked the way my name rhymed with his last name. Eva and Evans. It sounded cute in my seven-year-old head. That was supposed to be it—a harmless, short-lived crush built on nothing but wordplay and proximity.

But months passed.

Then years.

We went to the same school. He was constantly at our house. I became close friends with his younger sister, which meant I saw him even more. Every interaction that should have helped me grow out of it only made it worse.

The way he laughed. The way he teased my brother. The way he always ruffled my hair like I was still twelve.

Somewhere along the line, the silly crush stopped being silly.

And before I knew it, getting him out of my mind felt impossible.

Not even when I got a boyfriend.

Not even when that boyfriend joined the same hockey team.

Not even when I sat in the bleachers, pretending I was watching the game—while my eyes searched for Josh.

The arena was louder than usual that night.

Or maybe it just felt that way because my nerves were stretched thin, every cheer and whistle scraping against them. The cold air bit at my skin as I sat in the bleachers alone, my hands wrapped around a paper cup of something warm I hadn’t tasted in minutes.

The game was fast, aggressive. Bodies slammed into the glass, skates carved sharp lines into the ice, and the crowd roared with every near goal.

But my eyes kept drifting.

Not to my boyfriend.

To Josh.

He moved like he always did—confident, controlled, completely in his element. Every time he handled the puck, my heart betrayed me by beating just a little faster.

I hated that it still did that.

And I hated even more that my boyfriend was right there on the ice too and I barely noticed him unless I forced myself to.

When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted. Players began skating off, helmets coming off, laughter and exhausted shouts echoing through the rink.

 I sighed as I dropped the paper cup in my hand and made my way down toward the lower stands where players usually came out. Thankfully, this time, I spotted my boyfriend first.

Daniel was laughing with a few teammates, his hair damp with sweat, his jersey half untucked. I watched him for a moment, reminding myself why I was with him in the first place.

He was nice. Easygoing. Interested in me.

Things Josh had never been.

Daniel glanced up and saw me, his expression brightening as he walked over. He leaned down and wrapped his arm around me briefly, giving my shoulder a quick pat. I smiled in response and raised my head over his shoulder, to immediately spot Josh looking at me.

Our eyes met.

Just for a second.

But it was enough to send that familiar tension rushing through me—tight, electric, impossible to ignore.

I looked away first, turning back to Daniel and forcing a small smile as he talked about the game. I nodded at the right moments, laughed when he expected me to, but my thoughts were already drifting.

A few minutes later, Daniel excused himself, saying he needed to grab something from the locker room.

I watched him go, toying with my fingers as I waited for him to get back. The hallways became quiet then all of a sudden, I could hear footsteps.

 Footseps I easily recognized.

I didn’t need to think twice before I resumed my steps towards the locker room. I doubled my steps, doing my best to get away from who was behind me as quickly as possible only for my steps to stop the second I turned.

I froze.

Daniel was pressed against the wall. And he wasn’t alone.

A girl I didn’t recognize had her hands tangled in his hair as they kissed, like they’d done it a hundred times before.

For a moment, I just stood there, staring, my mind blank in that strange, numb way that comes before pain sets in.

Then the numbness cracked.

“What are you doing?”

My voice came out quieter than I expected, but it was enough.

They broke apart instantly. The girl stepped back, looking annoyed rather than guilty, while Noah turned toward me with an expression that held more irritation than embarrassment.

“Oh,” he said flatly. “You’re here.”

I swallowed, my chest tightening. “I am. What’s going on here?”

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck like this was all a minor inconvenience.

“Look,” he said. “Don’t make this a big deal.”

A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “A big deal?”

“I mean,” he shrugged. “It’s not like we were serious.”

The words stung more than I expected.

“I thought we were dating,” I said quietly.

“We were,” he replied. “Kind of. But honestly? I thought being with you would score me some points with your brother. You know team captain’s little sister and all that.”

I balled my fists.

“But since you’re so obsessed with keeping everything a secret,” he continued, his tone almost mocking. “There’s really no benefit, is there? I mean, how do I get the benefits of dating the captain’s sister when the captain doesn’t know?”

I stared at him in horror.

“So that’s it?” I asked. “That’s all I was?”

He shrugged again, careless, dismissive. “Pretty much.”

The girl beside him snorted softly, and that sound hurt more than anything he’d said.

I should have walked away. I wanted to walk away. But my feet wouldn’t move.

Noah looked me over, his expression turning faintly mocking. “Honestly, Eva, you’re not exactly—”

The rest of his sentence never came.

A fist collided with his jaw so hard the sound echoed off the walls. A gasp escaped my mouth as I watched Noah stagger backwards, swearing while the girl yelped and jumped aside.

 I turned sharply, my heart leaping into my throat. My eyes widened and before I could figure out what was happening, spotted Josh standing behind us, breathing hard, fists still clenched.

For a second, no one spoke. My mind went blank.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Noah suddenly snapped, massaging his jaw. He looked at me then Josh, glaring at us. “Josh? Who the hell are you to interfere?”

Josh didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he walked past him.

Walked straight to me.

My pulse thundered in my ears as he stopped at my side. I could feel the heat radiating off him, the tension in his body, the anger still simmering beneath his calm expression.

And then he lifted his arm and wrapped it around my shoulders.

The contact sent a jolt through me—warm, steady, grounding. My breath caught, hope rising before I could stop it, fragile and dangerous.

 “What?” Daniel let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Isn’t she captain’s sister? Your best friend? Are you fucking your captain’s sister?”

 Josh’s arm tightened slightly, firm and protective. My heart raced faster as I tried to come to terms with everything happening so quickly.

 “You’re right,” Josh spoke up and for a second, I could swear I forgot how to breathe. “She’s my best friend’s little sister.”

 “Which means she’s also my little sister.”

The words fell like cold water.

Something inside me sank, the fragile hope shattering almost instantly. I forced my face to stay still, to keep breathing, to ignore the ache settling deep in my chest.

 “So, you’d better stay away from her,” he growled, his grip around me tightening. “Unless you want to count the rest of your days on this hockey team.”