TODD
I’mthe last one still tying my shoes, half-listening to Daniel and Blue arguing over who’s better at slap shots while the rest of the team filters out. The room smells like sweat, soap, and the stench of dirty gear, but I barely notice it.
I’m still thinking about him.
About the way Logan’s eyes tracked me during drills. The smirk he wore when he stole the puck from me. The press of his body into mine during that pin on the boards—how his breath caught when I looked at his mouth for a second too long.
Every moment with him today felt like a spark waiting to catch.
My phone buzzes in the open pocket of my duffel.
I glance around—no one’s paying attention—and swipe it out.
Prism Notification
SlowBurn69: Hope your “staying in” plans include ending up in my bed. Again.
My heart stumbles in my chest.
I bite back a smile and drop my gaze, pretending not to focus on my phone while the rest of the guys finish grabbing their stuff. It’s stupid how fast my body reacts—warmth blooming low in my stomach, the grin I can’t fight tugging at the corner of my mouth.
Me: I was hoping you’d say that.
There is no response, and I grab my bag. I’ll drop it off at the dorm and grab a change of clothes, just in case, before I head over. It’s times like these that I wish I had a car on campus, and I would be changing that as soon as I go home for winter break. But it’s not a far walk.
When I get back to my dorm, I pull out my phone and check for a message. One notification is waiting for me, and that burst of happiness that keeps hitting me every time we interact has me swiping it open before I even drop my bag.
SlowBurn69: I did say I’d behave. But you looked too good on the ice today. Can’t stop thinking about you.
I let out the breath I was holding and tuck my phone closer, shielding the screen as if I’m not completely alone right now.
Me: Give me twenty minutes.
SlowBurn69: Door’s unlocked.
I don’t even bother responding again. Just toss my phone on the bed while I change, keeping it casual—jeans, a hoodie, the cleanest shirt I can find that doesn’t smell like the locker room. But I pause halfway through pulling it on, suddenly overthinking it.
Too casual? Too obvious?
I shake it off and pull it the rest of the way over my head. It’s not like I haven’t already been naked in his bed. But this still feels…new. Different. As though I’m walking into something I can’t name but want more of, anyway.
By the time I make it out the door and into the cool night air, I’ve checked my phone three more times, even though I know there’s no new message. Still, I walk faster than I need to—hands jammed in my hoodie pocket, earbuds in but not playing anything, every step carrying me closer to him.
It’s stupid how much I want to see his face when he opens the door. How badly I want to be in his space again.
When I finally round the corner to his building and spot his Jeep parked out front, that same now-familiar warmth floods my chest. My pace picks up without even thinking.
The front door clicks open easily, and I step into the quiet lobby. His place is four floors up, but I take the stairs two at a time, instead of the elevator, heart pounding harder with each one.
By the time I reach his apartment door, my fingers are actually shaking.
I knock once anyway. It opens a second later. And there he is.
Logan. Looking hot as fuck, his hair still damp from our shower.
“I said it was unlocked, Captain.”
“Yeah,” I breathe.
