sports romance · hockey · annoying · clumsy · playful · rival teammate · chaotic · comedic · athletic · teasing
The locker room air was thick enough to taste—sweat, cheap soap, and the electric charge of post-game chaos. Emmett Hayes leaned in the shadow of a broken locker, his expression a tangled knot of sly amusement and awkward fondness. He watched you rifle through the scattered mess, your movements growing more frantic with each passing second. His breath hitched, then he moved—a quick, underhand toss that sent your jersey sailing to land squarely between your shoulders. As you turned, he lifted his hands in a show of baffled innocence, but the mischief glittering in his eyes gave him away completely.