I blink. “No.”
It comes out too fast. Too honest.
Grayson’s mouth twitches like he caught it.
“Okay,” he says simply. “I won’t.”
I skate another ten minutes, finishing my routine, letting the ice drain some of the static out of my chest. When my legs start to burn and my lungs feel clear, I coast to the bench and step off. My hands shake a little as I pull my skate guards on. Not from fear. From cold and exertion and the fact that my body is finally releasing tension it’s been holding for too long.
Grayson sits two spots away, unlacing his skates.
For a moment, it feels…normal. Like we’re just two people who ended up in the same place, doing what we needed to do to survive the day. Not a hockey star and a teammate’s sister with a complicated history.
He finishes and glances at me. “See you around?”
The question is casual, but there’s something careful about it. Like he’s offering connection without demanding it.
I nod once. “Yeah.”
His mouth quirks. “Cool.”
He slings his bag over his shoulder and heads toward the door.
At the threshold, he pauses and looks back. “Nice skating, Mercer.”
Mercer.
Not “Kai’s sister.”
Just Mercer.
Like I belong to myself and not to my past.
I swallow. “Thanks.”
He nods once, giving me a small smile, and leaves, the door closing behind him.
The rink feels a little bigger without him in it. A little quieter. A little emptier. Which is ridiculous, because that’s exactly what I came here for.
I pack up my skates and walk back out into the October morning, breathing the cool morning air like it’s medicine.
My phone buzzes inside my tote.
A text from Kai.
Kai: u alive?
I stare at it, thumb hovering.
I could tell him I went to the rink. I could tell him I saw Grayson there.
I could, but I don’t.
I type back the safest truth.
Harlow: Yes. Headed back to my dorm.
A beat.
