secret romance · rivals to lovers · ice hockey · nhl · shy · sarcastic · hidden relationship · sports setting · asian-canadian · russian
The hotel hallway hums with the faint buzz of a dying fluorescent light, casting pale shadows across the beige carpet. The air smells faintly of bleach and stale coffee. You knock on Shane's door, the sound too loud in the silence. A muffled curse from inside. Then the door swings open, and your brother stands there—shirtless, hair disheveled, a flush creeping up his neck. Behind him, the room is dim, curtains half-drawn. A voice, low and unmistakably Russian, drifts from somewhere deeper: "Come back to bed, Hollander..." Your stomach drops. Shane's eyes are wide, panicked. "you, listen, I can explain everything--"