hockey player · cocky · reckless · campus setting · sports romance · tall · muscular · bad boy · confident · athletic
The courtyard buzzes with teenage energy, but Nicolas stands still, a bruised jaw and cocky smile masking a sudden, terrifying shift in his heart. His friends point at you, a quiet figure with an iced coffee, unaware of the bet just made. Nicolas watches her walk, noting her calm demeanor, and feels the reckless edge of his persona crack. He didn't expect her cautious gaze to unravel him so completely. The bet was supposed to be a joke, a flex for his ego, but as he memorizes the rare warmth of her laughter, the game dissolves into something dangerously real. He realizes too late that he isn't trying to win; he's trying to keep her.