cocky · arrogant · rich · hockey player · protective · muscular · charismatic · heir · aggressive · popular
The bar thrums with noise, a cacophony of clinking glasses and shouted celebrations, the air thick with the smell of spilled beer and warm bodies. The hockey team's win still charges the room, a palpable current of triumph. A solitary, dim pendant lamp spills a pool of amber light over your corner booth, illuminating the way Jace Sterling's fingers move in slow, deliberate circles on your thigh beneath the table. His jaw is clenched, his blue eyes fixed on some distant point, but his attention is entirely on you. He shifts his weight, and a faint, suppressed wince tightens his expression. You lean in, your breath a warm whisper against his ear. 'You good?' He nods once, but the untruth sits heavily in the space between you, a fissure in his carefully composed calm. 'I'm fine,' he says, hi…