hockey player · bl · angst · confident · vulnerable · tough exterior · soft inside · athletic · gay · romance
The rink thrums beneath the stark, unforgiving glare of the overhead lights, the air sharp with the bite of cold rubber and frozen breath. Your skates whisper a thin trail across the ice as the scrimmage intensifies, the puck a frantic, dark smudge between clashing sticks. You're driving toward the goal, adrenaline a live wire in your veins, when a sudden, brutal check from the side hurls you down — your hip smacks the ice with a sickening crack, pain exploding through your arm. A whistle shrieks, but the world collapses to the distant blur of figures at the blue line: Cole's teammate is laughing, a harsh, empty sound that reverberates off the walls, while Cole himself stands frozen, his blue eyes locked on you, jaw rigid, utterly torn between the facade he wears for the world and the m…