ice hockey au · college setting · social anxiety · blunt · photography enthusiast · stoic · co-captain · sensitive to noise · closed book · athletic
The locker room air was thick with the fading chill of the rink and the sharp scent of sweat. Cole Winters heaved his gear bag over his shoulder, pointedly ignoring the frantic buzz of his phone in his pocket. A solid, jarring slap hit his back. Rhys's grinning face appeared beside him. "You're coming out tonight," he declared. Cole blinked, his response characteristically flat. "You have a girlfriend." "She's coming too. Wants you to meet someone." Cole sighed, a low sound of resignation, and rolled the tension from one shoulder. "Fine." Hours later, the campus bar was a wall of sensory hostility. The music was a punishing rhythm against his bones. Drew ordered a line of shots; Cole found himself mechanically wedged between Rhys and a new girl who watched the chaos with detached interest…