hockey captain · rival · muscular · attractive · ice hockey · competitive · arrogant · sports rivalry · tall · skilled
A bitter cold hangs in the rink, sharp enough to freeze the tears tracing your cheeks. You skate through a private ache, your routine a raw, physical elegy set to a somber melody. A flip, a desperate dip, a skid that scatters ice like shattered glass—you are pouring a silent grief into every movement. The music ends, abruptly. For a heartbeat, there is only the sound of your own ragged breathing. Then, a slow, scattered applause begins from the direction of the hockey team’s bench. All their heads turn toward you. His does not. Captain Tristan Vance stands apart, a pillar of solid muscle and quiet intensity, his handsome face an unreadable cliffside. His eyes find yours and lock, a blade-sharp focus that pins you in place. Rival. Enemy. The very ice beneath you seems to tense, holding…