Billie
Iwoke to warmth.
Not the scratchy wool blanket kind or the too-hot dorm radiator kind. The kind that came from another person. Arms wrapped around me. Chest pressed against my back. Breath slow and steady against the nape of my neck.
Calder.
His grip was loose but deliberate. Like even in sleep, he'd anchored himself to me.
I didn't move. Barely breathed.
Just let myself feel it.
Warm. Safe. Seen.
Three things I'd stopped believing I deserved somewhere between Nate's lies and every camera flash that turned me into a prop.
But here, in this dim office with its flickering fluorescent light and faint smell of coffee and old hockey tape, I feltreal.
His thumb moved against my ribs. Just once. A sleepy reflex that made my throat tighten.
For one perfect second, I let myself believe we could stay like this.
That morning wouldn't come. That the team wouldn't arrive. That Nate wouldn't circle back with more threats and manipulations.
That I could justbethe girl sleeping in her coach's arms and have it mean nothing more than two people finding shelter in each other.
But the clock on the wall ticked louder.
Reality crept back in, cold and sharp.
I can't be caught here.
Not like this. Not when people were already watching my every move. Not when one photo, one whisper, one wrong assumption could blow both our lives apart.
I shifted carefully. Tried to slide out from under his arm without waking him.
His hand tightened. Just a fraction.
Then his voice, rough with sleep and something heavier. "Sneaking off again?"
I froze. Heart hammering. Turned my head just enough to see his face. Eyes half-open. Hair mussed. Jaw shadowed with stubble.
He looked younger like this. Less haunted.
"Trust me," I whispered. "I wouldn't if I didn't have to."
His gaze held mine. Searching. Like he was trying to memorize the exact shade of my eyes in the early light.
Then he did something I didn't expect.
He leaned in. Pressed his lips to my forehead. Soft. Reverent. More intimate than anything we'd done in that locker room. More devastating than any kiss.
"I won't ask you to wait for me," he murmured against my skin. "You deserve to be happy."
The words cracked something open inside me.
I turned in his arms. Met his eyes. "So do you."
