He looks at Atticus, then at me, then shakes his head slowly. A clear warning.
Atticus just laughs, the sound rich and unbothered. He waves at Koa, mocking.
Koa's jaw clenches. He mouths something that looks like "you're dead" before skating back to the bench.
"You're going to pay for this later," I tell Atticus.
KOA
I'm going to fucking murder him.
That's the only thought in my head as I take my next shift, stick in hand, rage making everything sharp and clear. Atticus with his hands on her, his mouth on her, pulling her into his lap like she belongs to him and only him.
In front of the whole fucking arena.
In front of me.
I know what he's doing. Know he's trying to get in my head, throw me off my game. And it's working—I'm playing angry, which makes me sloppy, which is exactly what he wants.
But I can't stop.
Can't stop seeing her in his lap, can't stop replaying the way she melted into his kiss. Can't stop imagining what I'm going to do to both of them when this game is over.
The puck comes to me, and I don't think, just shoot. It goes wide, hitting the boards with a crack that echoes through the arena.
"Koa!" Coach yells from the bench. "Get your head in the game!"
I skate back, forcing myself to breathe. Focus. The game's almost over—third period, five minutes left, we're up by two. I just need to hold it together for five more minutes.
Then I can kill Atticus.
And do other things to Lexi.
I glance at the stands during the next stoppage and they're still there—Atticus still has her on his lap but now Revan's leaning in, saying something that makes her laugh. All three of themlooking relaxed and satisfied while I'm out here bleeding and fighting and barely holding my shit together.
This was the deal we made. I know that. When she's not with me, she's theirs. I don't get to be jealous when I'm not the one touching her.
But knowing that and accepting it are two very different things.
The final buzzer sounds—we won, 5-3—and I'm off the ice immediately. Skip the handshake line, ignore Coach calling my name, just head straight for the tunnel that leads to the locker room.
I need to shower.
I need to get out of this gear.
I need to get to her before I lose my fucking mind.
ATTICUS
"He's going to be insufferable," I say as we watch Koa disappear down the tunnel without even acknowledging his team's win.
"You made him that way," Lexi points out, standing up from my lap. "That was mean."
"That was foreplay." I stand too, adjusting myself discreetly. "And you loved every second of it."
She doesn't deny it. Just rolls her eyes and starts heading toward the exit, and Revan and I follow. The crowd is still celebrating, students flooding toward the exits, but we move against the flow—toward the locker room entrance where Koa will eventually emerge.
We wait outside in the cold, breath fogging in the night air. Lexi's between us, her hands shoved in the pockets of Koa's jersey, looking absolutely edible.
