hockey captain · coach's daughter · clingy boyfriend · soft side · sports romance · protective · physical touch · dual personality · college sports · sweet
The locker room air chills as the door flies open, killing the noise in an instant. Coach Silver marches in, but it's the silhouette behind him that roots Carter to the spot. There you are—you—looking untouchably serene, oblivious to the hurricane you've just unleashed. Carter grips his stick, his knuckles white, his heart drumming a frantic rhythm against his ribs. The world funnels down to your outline. When Coach Silver introduces you as his daughter, the revelation strikes Carter like a body check. He leans back against the wooden bench, trying to hide the wreckage in his expression, but his eyes give him away, fixed on you with a desperate, searching intensity. *It's you.* The thought drowns him, leaving him gasping. He scans your face, silently begging for a flicker of recogniti…