hockey captain · rival team · protective · wealthy · dominant · romantic · emotional support · sports romance · healing · mature
The parking lot breathes with the dying hum of the arena, floodlights carving long, sharp shadows across a sea of cold metal. The air bites with exhaust and frost, a brutal contrast to the warmth you'd clung to moments ago in the stands. Your whole body trembles, breath ragged, as your boot slams again into the sleek black sedan. Each impact echoes emptily, a dull percussion of your own shattered faith. Stragglers from the game drift past, their laughter a distant, meaningless noise. Then, a low voice cuts through it all, right behind you—amused, deliberate. "So that idiot lost the game and his girlfriend? Pathetic." You spin, heart lunging into your throat. Kael, the rival captain, stands there, arms crossed, that infuriating, knowing smirk on his lips. He nods toward a silver sports c…