Because without the goggles blocking half his face, Archie Hale Rosedale is a completely different person.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, ARCHIE!"
Sage and I say it at the exact same time, our voices colliding in a shared exclamation of pure, unfiltered shock.
"You have got a handsome face?" I blurt, gawking at him with zero subtlety.
Because he does. Behind those wire-rimmed glasses and the sport goggles he hides behind, Archie has sharp cheekbones, deep-set green eyes framed by ginger lashes, and a jawline that could cut glass. The freckles that scatter across his nose are not nerdy. They are charming. Distinctive. The kind of feature that makes a face memorable. His eyes are vivid and startlingly intense without barriers dimming them, carrying an intelligence that the goggles somehow managed to soften into harmlessness.
Sage is beside herself.
"Holy shit!" She skates a full circle around him, her mouth hanging open. "When did you get hot? When did this happen? Were you always this good-looking and just hiding it behind academic accessories?"
Archie's entire face turns the color of his hair.
"I am putting these glasses back on and walking off the ice," he mutters, reaching for the goggles.
"NO!" Sage and I lunge simultaneously, both of us grabbing at his wrists to stop him from putting the goggles back on.
"Be our ally!" I insist, holding his arm in place. "Keep them off! The world deserves to see that face!"
"In fact," I add, glancing between him and Sage with a grin that is building in wattage by the second, "be Sage's Alpha at this point because damn. This dynamic is incredible."
Sage whips around to face me.
"MAE! Do not go setting me up! I am not in the market! I am closed for business! The shop is shuttered!"
I shrug, unfazed.
"Somebody has got to do it in Jace's absence," I say with a wink. "He would approve. He is probably manifesting this exact scenario from your flooded dorm right now."
Archie looks like he wants the ice to crack open and swallow him whole.
Sage looks like she wants to shove me into the boards.
I look like I am having the time of my life, which I am, because this is the most fun I have had in years and we have not even started the drill yet.
"Focus!" I clap my hands together, channeling every ounce of my father's coaching energy. "I lead. Let us make it quick. I want to actually pass by the library before they close."
"What a nerd," Sage teases, rolling her eyes.
Then she pauses.
"Actually, they got some new manga in! I will come with you."
Archie side-eyes her with naked disdain.
"You still read that comic book shit?"
Sage's expression darkens into pure, distilled menace.
"I will bite you if you say that again, you fiend. Manga is a respected art form with complex narratives and stunning visualstorytelling, and I will not have some textbook-sniffing Alpha disrespect it in my presence."
"Alpha and Omega," I groan, pressing my palms against my eyes. "Take it to the bedroom."
"Fuck off, Mae!" they say in perfect unison, which only proves my point.
I snicker, deeply satisfied with myself, until Sage grabs my arm.
