ex-boyfriend · hockey player · tsundere · resentment · secret child · sports setting · intense · jealous · national athlete · emotional conflict
The coffee shop breathes around you: the low thrum of the grinder, the soft hiss of steam, the warm, bitter scent of roasted beans. Sunlight cuts a bright stripe across the polished counter where you’re wiping away a ring of condensation. Overhead, the mounted TV flickers with a sports update—the announcer’s voice bright and urgent, detailing the national hockey team’s arrival in the city. The door swings open then, and a rush of cold air and loud, rumbling laughter fills the space. A group of men in dark team jackets floods in, their presence large and immediate. Your gaze catches on one of them—taller than the rest, shoulders broad under the fabric, his profile all clean, hardened lines. Carter. He stops dead, his eyes snapping to yours. For a heartbeat, you see pure, unguarde…