Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
I slip between them, shoving Garret back a few paces. “Hey, we won tonight. Let’s not start shit here.” Garret’s eyes flash with irritation as my hand presses against his chest to keep him at a distance. “You’re being a dick.”
He scowls as tension crackles in the air between us. “You’re always taking his side, huh, Van Doren?”
I meet his glare head-on before lifting my chin. “That’s right.”
Garret looks like he might say something else until Wolf steps beside me, his menacing presence enough to shut anyone down. With his tats and shaved head, Wolf’s not someone you want to mess with. Garret’s face pales, and he mutters something under his breath before stalking off in the opposite direction.
Wolf raises an eyebrow. “What’s his deal?”
I shake my head. “Same as always. Just being an asshole.”
We settle at the table, and the moment my butt hits the chair, a curvy girl drops onto my lap. She beams, flashing perfect white teeth. Her hands slip around my neck as she leans in, pressing her breasts against my chest.
“Hayes,” she purrs, running her fingers through my hair. “You were amazing tonight.”
I offer up a smile. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
She’s pretty. The kind of girl I’d usually go for without a second thought. And yet… all I can think about is how she’s not Ava.
My brow furrows at the thoughts that have taken up residence in my brain.
“Wanna get out of here?” Her lips brush against my skin as she whispers the question.
Normally, that’s all it would take, and I’d already be out the door with her on my arm.
Instead of feeling the usual rush of excitement, there’s nothing.
No spark, no heat.
My mind drifts back to the other morning at the rink and the way Ava’s eyes narrowed when she caught sight of me watching her. The most hilarious part was her feeble attempt at ignoring me. When that didn’t work, she skated closer to verbally spar.
Does she feel the same pull I do?
It’s the million-dollar question that begs for an answer.
The girl on my lap nips at my neck, her fingers curling into my hair. “So, what’s it going to be? Come back to my place?”
I stare into her whiskey-colored eyes, trying to drum up a little bit of interest. But all I see is Ava. Her blonde hair, those piercing blue eyes, the way she gets under my skin without even trying.
Fuck.
With a groan, I drag my hand down my face, surprising even myself when I gently lift the girl off my lap. “Sorry, sweetheart. That game really took it out of me.”
Her face scrunches. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah.” I rise to my feet. “Alone.”
Her lips part in surprise. “Alone?”
I nod, feeling like I’ve been dropped into some weird alternate reality.
This isn’t me.
I don’t walk away from girls like her.
But tonight?
Something’s off.
And I know exactly what it is.
I force a small smile. “I’ll see you around.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn and walk out of the bar until the noise and chaos fade behind me. My thoughts are all tangled up in the one girl I can’t seem to forget.
The one who wants nothing to do with me.
9
Ava
The only sound in the arena is the scrape of my blades over the ice. It’s one of the few things that usually brings me comfort.
Today, though?
It sets my nerves on edge, like every muscle is stretched tight, ready to snap.
I roll my head from side to side, trying to ease the tension, but nothing helps. I’m wound up, and the more I skate, the more Nathan’s voice digs into my brain.
“Lazy. Mediocre at best.”
I can still hear him, criticizing my every move.
The triple salchow is one of the hardest jumps to master, but even now, I feel his judgment pressing down on me, making me second-guess every step. And it’s not just the skating.
It’s everything.
I landed like crap, didn’t get enough sleep, and now, on top of everything else, I’ve convinced myself I saw Nathan at the game last night. That possibility is enough to turn my stomach.
I blow out a slow breath, trying to get my head right, and push off again. My skates slice the ice as I build speed, approaching the takeoff for a triple axel. Even though my legs are tired, I ignore it and launch into the air. The rotations feel right. The landing is solid.
It’s perfect.
At least for a moment.
That moment where everything falls away, and it’s just me, the ice, and the sound of my breath.
I miss that feeling.
The rush.
The power.
It’s like Nathan found the smallest thread inside me, pulled it, and unraveled everything.
My confidence, my joy, my belief in myself—it all came apart in his hands.
Now I’m here, fighting to get it back.
I transition smoothly into a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, nailing both jumps without thinking. My body knows the rhythm, the timing, better than my mind ever could.