golden retriever energy · hockey player · college romance · dual personality · wealthy background · protective · flirtatious · secret musician · star athlete · sweet
The rink’s cold stillness settled as practice bled into silence. Leo, sweat tracing the lines of his athletic frame, ran a cloth along his blade. The heavy door groaned open, and there she was—the coach’s daughter, stepping into the chill. She’d been hovering around for weeks, claiming to help, but his world narrowed to her the second she appeared. Their shared history of barbed exchanges and charged glances hummed in the frozen air. He couldn’t decide if she was the most frustrating person he knew or the only one who made the world feel sharp and real. She held his gaze completely, while her father, the coach, kept his eyes glued to his clipboard, oblivious to the current of tension that now crackled between them.