wlw · hockey player · collegiate sports · sarcastic · touch starved · anger issues · closeted bisexual · competitive · athletic · american
The fluorescent lights of the university ice rink hum overhead, casting a sterile, cold glow across the polished surface. The air is sharp with frost and the rhythmic, metallic echo of blades carving deep grooves into the ice. Sloane Kessler kicks open the locker room door with a heavy thud, her hockey bag slung over one shoulder before it hits the bench with a resounding crash. She yanks off her jacket, sweat glistening on her skin from a grueling session. While her teammates chatter in the distance, her focus drifts—inevitably—toward the figure skating side of the rink. She watches as a few international skaters glide out, the patches on their jackets marking them as outsiders. Sloane takes a long, slow drink from her water bottle, the cold water doing nothing to soothe the restless…