Novels by Moreof_biits

Julian’s POV:The next morning, the rink smelled faintly of damp ice and cleaning chemicals. Practice started at eight sharp, and Coach Harris was already barking at us to warm up before I’d even finished lacing my boots.Our schedule was brutal today, six hours to drill the new routine we’d perform against Northeastern. It wasn’t the hardest choreography I’d ever done, not by a long shot.The transitions were clean, the lifts of the arms felt natural, and the footwork flowed easily under my blades. For me, anyway.The others? Not so much. Mind you, I’m being extremely humble.Half an hour in, two of the guys still weren’t hitting the timing on the turns, and one of the girls kept losing balance in the synchronized sequence. I caught Coach Harris pinching the bridge of his nose, muttering something about “seeing high school kids doing better.”“Julian,” he called, voice sharp. “Help Parker with his camel spin. We have to get this right before the match, people!”I sighed but skate

Julian's POV:Lunch wasn’t supposed to be a social activity.At least, not for me.I found a quiet corner in the central dining hall and rushed towards it with my tray that held a bowl of noodles, a sandwich, and an apple I wasn’t sure I’d actually eat. Thankfully, the dining hall was half empty. Just the hum of other students at their own tables, chatter mixing with the clatter of trays. The kind of noise I could easily tune out.Halfway through eating my sandwich, a familiar voice rang across the table.“Wow, you really eat like a normal person. I don’t know why I thought figure skaters only ate salad and drank coffee.”I froze mid bite, a piece of lettuce hanging from my mouth. Then I looked up and of course, Gabrielle Tanaka was sitting and sliding her tray down across from me, grinning like we were best friends.I chewed and swallowed quickly before scowling. “What are you doing?”“Sitting,” she said simply, stabbing her fork into her butter chicken like she’d had been waiting

Julian's POV; My alarm dragged me out of sleep at seven sharp. I rolled out of bed without thinking, feet hitting the cold floor, mind already sour at the thought of the day. My apartment was small, too close to the university and neat because I couldn’t stand clutter.Everything was where it should be: my skates by the door, textbooks stacked on the desk, a half-empty mug from last night’s tea on the counter.Okay, Maybe too neat. I made a quick breakfast, toast and eggs, nothing fancy. Coffee too, though I didn’t linger over it. Caffeine was fuel, not an experience.I pulled on jeans and a sweater and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Class first, then practice. That was my routine.Campus was buzzing like usual, groups of students clustered together, some rushing, some lounging. I kept to myself. My headphones were on but not playing anything, just giving people a reason to not talk to me.I walked straight to my classes, which were usually…..er….fine. They were boring, but

Julian’s POV; The head coach’s office wasn’t built for this many people, It was packed to the point of suffocation. Too many bodies, too little space. Every chair was taken, and the rest of us were crammed along the walls, shoulders brushing, knees almost colliding.The air felt heavy with the smell of sweat, damp gear, and coffee that had probably been sitting in the pot since the previous day. The walls seemed closer than usual, lined with framed photos of championships and trophies no one here cared about at the moment.My team was stuck to one side of the room, shoulders brushing, blades and skate guards resting against our bags on the floor. Coach Harris stood alongside us looking nervous and sweaty, that was enough to know that bad news was coming.Across from us, the hockey players sprawled out like they owned the place. Even in normal clothes they took up more space than they should’ve, they laughed loudly as usual, their sticks and bags littered on the floor in a huge smel

Evan’s POV;The silence sat between us like an iron wall, pressing down on my chest until it hurt to breathe.I’d asked him the question but even as the words left me, I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. Everything was a mess.Blake’s lips parted, he didn’t hesitate as he said, “No,” he said firmly, almost desperately.“I don’t want to end this. I can’t.”The conviction in his voice startled me. For a second, it pushed back against the heaviness in my chest, creating a fragile space for hope. But that hope was thin, trembling.“Then what?” I asked quietly, my voice hoarse. “Because I’m not going to be your secret. I can’t sneak around while you play someone else’s perfect fiancé. I won’t do it, Blake.”His jaw clenched. He looked down, exhaled hard, then brought his gaze back to me, raw and unflinching. “You won’t be my secret. I promise you that, Evan. I just… I need to untangle this mess. And I will. Quickly. I can’t pretend with her anymore. I don’t love her, not the way she deser

Evan’s POV;I couldn’t believe my ears.She’s my fiancée.It didn’t matter that his voice had been soft, or that his expression carried weight and regret. The words still cut through me in a sharp and merciless manner.Fiancée.The air around us suddenly felt colder as though the city had taken a step back to watch this unfold.Somewhere deep down, maybe I had expected it. A part of me had braced for the worst when that woman walked in.But hearing it out loud… I laughed, I couldn’t help it. A bitter and broken laughter short enough to feel like a dry cough.“Fiancée,” I repeated, tasting the word in my mouth, spitting it out like something sour. “You’re engaged to the beautiful woman that walked into the office today?”Blake’s jaw tightened, but his gaze didn’t leave mine. He didn’t flinch.“Yes,” he said, voice low. I swallowed, hard. My throat burned.The situation had intensified, the tightness in my chest felt like it wanted to crush me.“You kissed me,” I said, my voice trembl

Evan’s POV;The three words wouldn’t leave my head.We need to talk.The words looped in my mind until my pulse thudded in my ears, my stomach flipped.Not butterflies. More like lead bricks.I stared at those words for what felt like forever before I finally typed back:Me: Where?His reply came faster than I expected: There’s a small diner two blocks down from the office. Ten minutes?I gulped and my hands were shaking as I typed back.Okay. I’ll meet you there.The diner was warm, cozy, and smelled faintly of espresso beans and pasta sauce. I picked a corner booth with two mismatched chairs, sat down, and immediately regretted not bringing water because my throat was desert dry.I ordered a matcha latte to calm down.It’s my go-to, don’t judge. I looked around the diner, it wasn’t fancy, it had brick walls, and a warm lighting.I downed the first drink and ordered another one.And then another, because every time I checked my phone, every time I saw that Blake still wasn’t here, m

Evan’s POV;There were only thirty minutes left in the workday.Not that I was counting.Okay, I was counting. I wanted the day to end so I could meet up with Blake. He had looked at me three separate times since lunch with something soft in his expression, a look that wasn’t entirely work-appropriate. We were texting with teasing softness and girlllll, I could not count the amount of times I blushed.His occasional soft smiles(which were not physically directed at me but I knew were meant for me) made me think he might pull me aside again if Dennis stepped out. Quin was only popping in and out to see if we had any problems with the system. So that’s one down.I can’t believe that I was counting down like a middle schooler waiting for recess.I was mid email, trying to explain the mistake in the ledger to our client’s accountant, when the sound of heels clicking across the tile made me glance up.Red stilettos.I could see the legs that ran for days, long and smooth in expensive loo

Evan’s POV;I don’t know what I expected, honestly. Maybe a glance or a smile thrown my way. Maybe a secret little signal between us. Something, anything!But when I got to work that morning, Blake Thatcher might as well have been a stranger again.He was already in the conference room when I walked in, flipping through a thick file of documents like we hadn’t kissed each other breathless in a blackout just days ago. Like he hadn’t looked at me like I was something fragile and extremely important. Like he had not looked me in the eyes to say he liked me.And me…..?I stood there like an idiot with my chest full of fireworks and a tupperware of cookies I brought from last night’s baking show.“Morning,” I managed to say, mostly to the room. Not to him specifically.Duh….Definitely not to Quin either, she gave me a stink eye the moment I stepped into the room.“Morning,” Dennis replied without looking up and I smiled.Blake? Nothing. Not even a nod.I took my seat at the table nex

Evan’s POV;There was flour in my hair.Not the cute type like there’s a little flour on my cheek. I mean, it looked like a whole bag exploded on top of me. Courtesy Hailey Wang.“That’s what you get for trying to smack me with a spatula,” she said sweetly, licking cookie dough off her finger before she continued to ridiculously sing which honestly might’ve been louder than the mixer whirring on low.I dropped my forehead to the counter. I only tried to smack her with a spatula because she wouldn’t stop singing “I kissed my boss….. and I liked itttt🎶”“Please shut up.”“Why?” Hailey chirped. “I’m just providing the soundtrack.”“I should never have told you anything,” I groaned, squinting up at her through the cloud of flour. “You're never going to shut up about it.”“Absolutely,” she said, grinning like an evil godmother. “Plus you smile whenever I bring it up. Like a lovesick Victorian heroine who just got her first letter from an outcast.”I pressed the back of my hand to my chee