Chapter 1 What a total menace

Summer's Pov:

The steady thump of pucks against the plexiglass usually calmed me. Tonight it just sounded like a countdown.

“Sum, breathe,” Ali called from the equipment bench. She tossed a roll of grip tape into a bin, her bright pink nails standing out against the gray room.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, still running my fingers along the freshly sharpened skate blade, hunting for any tiny burrs.

“Yeah, sure. And I’m the next starting goalie for the Boston Bruins,” Ali snorted. She leaned against the workbench, adjusting her oversized crewneck. “You’ve been pacing like a caged animal since noon. Brooks’s plane landed two hours ago. You’re losing it.”

My stomach twisted at his name. Brooks—my best friend since we were kids. The guy I’d been quietly in love with for the last three years.

He’d finally broken up with Taylor two weeks ago, right before leaving for that elite summer hockey camp in Canada. He’d called me from the airport, sounding lighter than he had in months. Just the two of us again. Tonight I was finally going to tell him how I felt. We were meeting at our favorite diner off campus.

“I’m just nervous,” I admitted, setting the skate down with a clank. “What if I ruin everything?”

“Summer, he’s been single for two weeks and he’s coming straight to you,” Ali said, grabbing my shoulders. “He’s a hockey guy—he’s dense, but he cares about you more than anyone. Just tell him. No more sidelines.”

I gave her a small smile “Yeah. Okay.”

“Atta girl.” She smirked and handed me a heavy leather bag. “Do me a favor? Drop these sharpening tools in the varsity locker room cage before you go. Coach doesn’t want the freshmen messing with them.”

I sighed but took the bag. After Ali left for her wine-and-face-mask night, the arena fell quiet. I've been helping out with the equipment for months now, as a way to show the school I was active. Scholarship stuff. I headed down the dim hallway, and pushed open the heavy double doors to the varsity locker room.

The place smelled like steam, and body wash. I was halfway past the first row of stalls when I heard skin against skin sounds, and a low gasp.

I should’ve turned around. Instead, I took a few more steps.

There, pressed against the metal lockers, was a girl with her hands buried in dark, messy hair. Wrapped around her was Ace Hunters, team captain and campus golden boy, and right now, he was very naked from the waist down, towel discarded on the bench.

I froze. The girl glanced over his shoulder and spotted me. She gasped and shoved at his chest.

Ace didn’t flinch. He just slowly turned his head, those sharp gray eyes locking onto mine. A faint, arrogant smirk tugged at his mouth, like getting caught mid-sex was nothing new.

My face burned. “Oh my god…I’m sorry.”

He didn’t bother covering up. “Locker room’s open, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and lazy.

“I’m just… leaving the tools here,” I stammered, dropping the bag quickly. I spun around, nearly tripping over a stray stick, and bolted.

I didn’t stop running until I hit the cold night air outside. My heart hammered as I rubbed my flushed cheeks. Ace Hunters. Total menace and a walking cliché.

Focus on Brooks. Just Brooks. I chanted.

—----

The neon sign of The Daily Puck buzzed overhead, casting a warm glow over the damp sidewalk. I stood just outside the campus diner, my fingers nervously smoothing down my dark green skirt for the fifteenth time in the last two minutes.

“Ali, I look ridiculous,” I muttered, staring at my reflection in the glass door. The skirt was a little shorter than what I usually wore. “I should have gone home and changed into my old flannel. This isn't me.”

Ali rolled her eyes, grabbing my wrists to make me stop fidgeting. “Summer, shut up. You look stunning. That skirt shows off the legs you usually hide under baggy sweatpants. Trust me, it’s perfect. It’s exactly what a guy wants to see when he comes back from a long trip.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, glancing down at my black ankle boots. “I just feel exposed.”

“The only person who’s going to look at you is Brooks, and he’s going to realize what a total idiot he’s been for the last three years,” Ali said firmly, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She adjusted her own purse strap. “Are you going to finally tell me why you looked like you’d seen a ghost when you ran out of the varsity wing?”

A sudden rush of heat flooded my cheeks. I leaned in closer to Ali, dropping my voice to a harsh whisper. “Because I did see a ghost. Or worse. I walked in on Ace Hunters.”

Ali’s eyes instantly widened to the size of saucers. “What? Doing what? Was he working out?”

“No, Ali. He was definitely working out, but not with weights,” I hissed, my face burning. “He was against the metal lockers making out with a girl. And we made eye contact.”

Ali let out a loud, choked gasp, clapping a hand over her mouth. A group of passing freshmen turned to look at us, and I quickly nudged her with my elbow to make her shut up. “No way,” Ali whispered furiously, her eyes gleaming with pure gossip. “The Ace Hunters? Naked?”

“Yes! Completely naked from the waist down,” I whispered back, covering my face with my hands. “And he didn't even panic and called me sweetheart. He is so disgustingly arrogant.”

“Oh my god, Summer. You got a front-row seat to the campus holy grail and you’re complaining?” Ali giggled, nudging my side as she pulled open the door to the diner. “The guy is a walking menace, but you have to admit, he’s built like a Roman god. Half the girls on this campus would pay your tuition just to be in that locker room.”

“Well, they can have him,” I muttered, stepping into the warmth of the diner.

The diner was loud, bustling with students catching up after the summer break.

I took a deep breath, my eyes scanning the room, searching for the one face I actually wanted to see.

“There he is,” Ali whispered, pointing toward a booth in the far corner.

My heart did a violent dance against my ribs. Brooks was sitting there, his broad shoulders filling out his gray university hoodie. He looked happy, exactly like the boy next door I had spent a lifetime yearning for.

“Go get him,” Ali whispered, giving me a gentle push forward. “I’m going to go sit at the counter. Good luck, Sum.”

I nodded, my palms sweating as I walked away from her. With every step toward the corner booth, the anxiety in my chest grew heavier. This was it. The moment I had been building up the courage for all summer.

“Brooks?” I called out gently as I reached the edge of the table.

He snapped his head up, and the moment his eyes landed on me, a massive grin broke across his face. “Summer!”

Before I could even say another word, he slid out of the booth, stepped forward, and wrapped his massive arms around me. He pulled me into a heavy hug, lifting my feet slightly off the floor.

“God, I missed you, Sum,” he murmured into my hair before pulling back, his hands resting gently on my shoulders. He looked down at me, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Look at you! You look... wow. Are you dressed up for something?”

A shy, breathless smile spread across my face. I looked down, my fingers tangling in the edge of my sweater. “Thanks. I just... I wanted to look nice tonight. Since it’s your first night back.”

“Well, it suits you,” he said warmly, sliding back into his side of the booth and gesturing for me to sit across from him. “Sit down, sit down. Man, you have no idea how good it is to be back. Canada was intense, but all I could think about was getting back to campus.”

I slid into the vinyl booth. But looking at Brooks, seeing the genuine warmth in his eyes, made the nervousness start to fade. He was still my Brooks.

“I missed you too,” I said, my heart swelling with hope. “You sounded really relieved on the phone when you told me about... you know. You and Taylor.”

Brooks’s smile softened. He reached across the table, briefly squeezing my hand. “Yeah. It was a long time coming, honestly. We were just going around in circles, toxic as hell…..”

This was it. The door was wide open.

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs. I squeezed his hand back before he pulled it away.

“Actually, we…..” He started, but I cut him off

“Brooks, I’m really glad you’re free of that. Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a really long time. While you were away, I realized that I don't want things to just go back to the way they used to be. I want….”

“Hey, babe, sorry I’m late! The traffic near the dorms was absolute murder.”

The sharp, high-pitched voice cut through the air, completely freezing the words in my throat.

Before I could even register what was happening, a slender hand with perfectly manicured acrylic nails slid over Brooks’s shoulder, followed by a sleek mane of blonde hair.

Taylor.