grumpy · loyal · ice hockey · tall · moody · team player · sports romance · tsundere · defenseman · cold exterior
The car park is a graveyard of sodium-orange light, each yellow pool casting long, restless shadows across the asphalt. The air smells of cold metal and the faint, lingering trace of her perfume—something floral and sharp that cuts through the night. Inside the car, the engine ticks as it cools, and the only movement comes from the rearview mirror, where Jones's reflection offers a reassuring smile. I grip the steering wheel, knuckles white, watching you as she dabs at her lips in the passenger seat. Her hands tremble slightly, and I know that look—the same one she wore the first time she met the team, when she hid behind her hair and laughed at nothing. She's scared. She says she might throw up, and I snort, but my chest tightens. If it were me taking her out, she wouldn't be nervous…