I heave out a breath, ripping off my helmet, and throwing it down onto the ice. “Alright, you wanna do this? You wanna hit me?” I don’t back down. “Go ahead. Hit me for kissing her. Hit me for thinking about her. Hit me for wanting her when I know I shouldn’t have.”
He steps closer, his hands balling into fists, his jaw tight with rage. He grabs the front of my jersey and yanks me toward him.
“I told you not to go near her,” he spits.
“I know, man,” I reply, shaking my head. “I know. It wasn’t about the sex for me, alright? I fell in love with her.”
Nathan’s face twists, and he shoves me back. “Oh yeah? You loved her from the start, did you?” he sneers. “You just knew? You knew the second you met her that you’d be in love with her?”
I wince, trying not to let it show, knowing at the beginning it was just pure attraction and only sex between us. But even back then, I knew that what we were doing was more than sex. I just wanted to see her. To kiss her. To talk to her. Sex was a perk. A really good, fun perk.
“I… I don’t know when it happened, alright?” I bite back. “But this thing between us is real. And I can’t walk away from it. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but now that it has, I’m not going anywhere.”
Nathan’s glare turns sharper, colder. “Bullshit, Ryan. You can’t even keep your attention on a girl for longer than a week. What makes my sister so different?”
“I don’t know, Nathan,” I tell him honestly. “I don’t. But what I do know is that I’ve never felt this way before. I love her, man. And I’m not going to hurt her. Ever.”
His eyes narrow, and I can see the doubt still clouding his judgment. But at least for a moment, the silence hangs heavy between us, and something in his eyes softens, like he believes what I’m telling him.
But Coach’s booming voice cuts through, making both of us snap to attention.
“What the hell is going on here?” he asks, stepping onto the ice. “You two are supposed to be practicing, not about to tear each other’s throats out!”
The previous look in Nathan’s eyes is erased, replaced by a glare as his jaw ticks. “You want to tell him, or should I?” he asks.
My stomach sinks, dread twisting inside me like a knot. I know what’s coming. And I can’t do shit to stop it.
He turns toward Coach before I can say anything. “Ryan’s been messing around with Izzy. They’ve been sneaking around behind our backs.”
Coach’s face hardens, his eyes narrowing as he processes what Nathan just said. For a long moment, he just stares atme, like he’s trying to figure out if we’re just messing with him. But then his jaw tightens, and his face turns red. “Mydaughter, Ryan? Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I can’t even look at him. Coach is waiting for an answer, but I don’t have one. Not a good one, anyway. There’s nothing I can say that will make him not want to wring my neck.
Austin picks this moment to chime in. “Coach, come on. You can’t be pissed he fell in love with her. He wouldn’t have kept it this quiet for so long if it wasn’t important.”
Coach whips his head toward Austin like he’s ready to strangle him. “You knew about this?” His eyes narrow, pinning him in place.
Austin blinks, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh… knowledge is a tricky thing.”
Nathan groans, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Austin…”
Austin sighs, defeated. “Yeah, I knew. I walked in on them in the hot tub fuck—I mean… kissing,” he finishes, his eyes widening, and I kiss my good looks goodbye.
Will Isabella even want to be with me after they’re finished pummeling me into the ground?
Coach spins his attention to me, his brows tugged in anger. “You had sex with my daughter in the hot tub?”
Nice going, Austin.
I wonder what’s beneath this ice. Can I crack it and drown, please?
“The hot tub I then went into for a relaxing midnight dip?” Coach groans, his hand going to his forehead like he’s about to pass out. “Oh Jesus. I need to wash my body with fucking bleach. I’m gonna have a fucking rash.”
I want to tell him I actually came inside her—not in the water—but I doubt it’d bode well so I keep my fucking mouth shut, pressing my lips together to keep from laughing.
Coach is still grimacing, looking like he’s seconds away from having a breakdown. “Christ, this is gonna give me a heart attack.”
Nathan’s eyes are still burning with rage. “Do I have permission?” he asks his dad, his fists still clenched.
