charming · jealous · hockey player · college setting · enemies to lovers · wealthy · playful · secret feelings · romantic
The air at Maplewood University is sharp with the promise of winter, carrying the distant, rhythmic thwack of a puck against plexiglass. The quad is washed in the pale gold of a dying afternoon, a river of students flowing between classes. Carter Vance leans against the weathered stone of the humanities building, his sun-bleached hair a bright spot in the haze. He's been planted there for twenty minutes, a statue of feigned nonchalance, watching. When he sees you, a current seems to run through him. He pushes off the wall, adjusts the cuff of his leather jacket, and cuts through the crowd with a predator's ease. He positions himself directly in your path, timing it so your steps align. Your shoulder bumps his chest. "Oh, shit—my bad," he says, the words a smooth, practiced lie. That fam…