He deserves every second of this, and yet the sight of him getting chirped sends an involuntary spark of satisfaction through me. Not the satisfying kind. The dangerous kind.
The kind that means my life is about to get complicated.
And of course, that’s exactly when Bryce glances up at me.
And smirks.
I grip my clipboard and pray for strength.
Coach blows the whistle and calls for a shooting drill. Bryce launches into full show-off mode like someone cranked his ego dial to maximum.
He digs in for a hard turn, showers the ice with snow, and fires a wrist shot that rings off the crossbar. Then he follows it with a slapshot that could break the sound barrier.
The guys ooh like he’s performing in a talent show. Bryce doesn’t acknowledge them. He is too busy pretending he isn’t looking directly at me.
I take notes so aggressively I might snap the pen.
He skates by my side of the glass. Slows. Looks up.
And winks.
I choke on my own spit.
Dex immediately collapses on the ice behind him in the most dramatic fall I’ve ever seen. “Oh no,” he moans, clutching his chest. “The romance is killing me.”
Bryce whips around and flips him off. Dex blows him a kiss.
I am losing control of this situation. Rapidly.
By the time practice ends, I’ve decided to avoid Bryce for the rest of my life… which lasts approximately fourteen seconds, because he corners me in the hallway.
He blocks my path with one arm braced on the wall. It would be obnoxious if he weren’t still slightly damp from practice and smelling like clean soap and adrenaline.
“Are you going to pretend last night didn’t happen?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
He lifts a brow. “You kissed me back.”
“It was an accident.”
He steps closer, not enough to crowd me, just enough to raise the temperature of the entire building. “Accident? You sure?”
I cross my arms. “Your flirting is unprofessional.”
He smirks. “Your denial is adorable.”
I glare. “Grow up.”
“Stop thinking about it and I will.”
“I’m not thinking about it.”
“You’re thinking about it right now.”
I make a noise that is definitely not human and definitely not dignified, then storm past him.
He absolutely watches me walk away. I don’t have to look to know.
