Chapter 5

Liam

The strong, metallic smell of the ice rink always had a way of clearing my head. Usually.

Today, it wasn't working.

"Carter! Eyes up!" Miller, our starting left winger, yelled as he fired a crisp pass across the blue line.

I snapped out of my daze just in time, catching the puck on the tape of my stick. I dug my skates into the ice, spraying a curtain of white frost as I pivoted past our freshman defenseman, handled the puck with a quick deke, and buried a backhander into the top right corner of the net.

"Nice finish, Cap!" Chase called out, skating past and giving my pads a hard tap with his stick.

I nodded, breathing heavily through my mouth guard. As the team's center and captain, I was supposed to be setting the pace, but my mind was stuck in low gear. Every time I looked at Chase, I saw Ava. Every time I skated hard, I remembered the way her eyes blazed when she was mad at me.

"Alright, bring it in!" Coach Danforth barked from the bench, clapping his clipboard. "Good hustle today, boys. Lines are looking tight, but I want more communication on the backcheck. Hit the showers."

The team skated off, the heavy thud of blades on the rubber mats echoing through the tunnel. By the time we hit the locker room, the energy shifted into the usual post-practice chaos.

"Hey, Carter, you're looking a little sluggish today," joked Hudson, our goalie, as he unstrapped his massive leg pads. "Ex-girlfriend drama keeping you up late?"

"Shut up, Hudson," I muttered, tossing my sweaty jersey into the laundry bin. I didn't need a reminder about my ex, Sarah. We had broken up a month ago, but she still acted like she owned my schedule.

"Nah, he's probably just exhausted from move-in day," Miller chimed in, leaning back against his locker. "Speaking of move-in day... Chase, man, I saw your little sister on the quad earlier. Holy hell. Why didn't you mention she was an absolute rocket?"

The locker room went dead silent.

I froze, one shoulder pad halfway off.

Before I could even blink, Chase lunged. His face twisted in pure, protective fury as he grabbed the front of Miller's shirt, slamming him hard against the metal lockers. A row of water bottles rattled and crashed to the floor.

"What did you just say?" Chase roared, his knuckles white as he bunched Miller's jersey in his fists. "You talk about my sister again and I'll put you through the glass, Miller!"

"Whoa, Chase, chill! I was just paying a compliment!" Miller gasped, hands raised in surrender, his eyes wide with shock.

Chase pulled his fist back, completely losing his mind.

"Chase! Drop it!" I barked, stepping in instantly. I grabbed Chase by the bicep, using all my strength to wrench him away from Miller. I got right between them, shoving my hand against Chase's chest to keep him back. "Stand down. Now."

Chase was breathing like a runaway train, his eyes wild. "He was talking about Ava, Liam—"

"I heard him," I said, my voice dropping into my stern captain's tone. "Miller was being a dumbass. But we don't fight our own line. Breathe, man. Look at me. Let it go."

Chase stared at me, his chest heaving. Slowly, the blinding rage left his eyes, replaced by embarrassed frustration. He ripped himself away from my grip and slouched onto the wooden bench, burying his face in his hands. "Yeah. Fine. Sorry."

I glanced over at Miller. "Apologize."

"Sorry, Chase. Seriously. Crossed a line," Miller muttered, looking genuinely apologetic as he slunk off toward the showers.

I let out a long breath, checking on Chase one more time before turning to my own locker. My heart was pounding, and not just because of the near-fight. Hearing another guy talk about Ava like that had sent a dark, possessive jolt through my own stomach... a jolt I had absolutely no right to feel.

I reached into my locker, digging through my gym bag to pull out my phone. The screen lit up with a notification from an unknown number.

It was a video file. No text, just an attached media clip.

Frowning, I tapped the screen.

The video opened, shaky and dark, but the neon blue lights of the nightclub from last night were unmistakable. The camera zoomed in on a corner booth.

It was me. And Ava.

She was pressed against the leather seat, her hands tangled in my hair, her lips locked with mine in a frantic, devastatingly passionate kiss. The lighting was clear enough to show both of our faces perfectly.

Fuck.

My blood ran completely cold. Someone had been watching us.

The video looped on my screen, five seconds of pure, unadulterated heat. Her hands in my hair. My mouth hungrily tasting hers. The exact moment she let out a soft gasp into my mouth that had nearly driven me insane.

My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. I clicked the screen off and slowly, reluctantly, turned my head.

I looked over at Chase. He was still sitting on the wooden bench, his elbows resting on his knees, staring at the floor tiles as he tried to calm his breathing. His knuckles were still red from gripping Miller's shirt. This was a guy who would lay down his life for me on the ice, and a guy who had just threatened to put our own teammate through the glass just for calling his sister a "rocket."

Chase loved her. He protected her like a religion. And I was his best friend. His roommate. The guy he trusted above anyone else on this campus to have his back.

A sick, cold dread settled heavily in my gut. If Chase found out about that night, it wouldn't just be a locker room scuffle. It would destroy him. It would destroy our friendship, the team, and everything we had spent three years building.

I looked down at the black screen of my phone, my thumb trembling slightly against the edge.

Miller had just used a single word, and Chase had snapped.

What the hell was he going to do to me when he found out I had taken her virginity?