Chapter: Chapter 13: Boxed InJAXSON"Smile, Feya. People are taking photos," I murmured, keeping my voice low as we stepped out into the freezing air of the quad."Smiling without a genuine emotional trigger creates an unnatural facial contortion," Feya said flatly, her eyes locked on the stone steps. "Observers will recognize the disingenuous nature of the expression."God, this woman. "They don't want genuine, Ghost," I said, slinging my arm over her shoulder and pulling her against my side. "They want to see that the Ice King hasn't lost his mind over a bad game, and that his genius girlfriend isn't dumping him."Feya went completely rigid against my chest. "Your grip is applying excessive pressure to my trapezius muscle.""It's called affection," I whispered, chuckling as I adjusted my hand against her shoulder. "Try to look like you actually enjoy being in my presence for five minutes.""I am tolerating your presence to ensure compliance with our contract," she muttered, though she didn't pull away.Across
Last Updated: 2026-07-22
Chapter: Chapter 12: Different StrategyFEYA"The current probability of you retaining your position as team captain is dropping exponentially," I said.Jaxson didn't answer. He was lying flat on his back on the training rink ice, his arms splayed out to his sides, staring up at the high ceiling rafters. It was Monday evening, exactly three days after the Northport disaster. Maya had successfully looped the security cameras again, giving us our sixty-minute window of complete privacy."Did you hear me, Mr. Rivers?" I asked, tapping the tip of my pen against my clipboard."I heard you, Einstein," his raspy voice echoed weakly across the empty, freezing cavern. "I'm just trying to make the rafters stop vibrating. There are twenty of them, right?""There are twenty-four," I corrected flatly. "Your vertical tracking is still exhibiting a significant deficit. Sit up, please. We are wasting valuable data collection time."Jaxson let out a long, heavy groan, rolling onto his side before pushing himself up into a sitting position.
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Chapter: Chapter 11: On a Thin LineJAXSONMy hands immediately dropped from Feya’s waist. I stepped in front of her, instinctively putting my body between her and the door, though my vision was spinning so badly I could barely see the outline of my father's face.Arthur Rivers didn't look at the equipment. He didn't look at the dim lighting. He kept his eyes locked on me, his knuckles white around the silver head of his cane."Get out," Arthur said. His voice wasn't loud. It was a low, commanding freeze that made the air vanish from the room.Feya didn't move. I could hear her steady, quiet breathing right behind my shoulder blade."I am currently assessing the physical and mental state of my…romantic partner as well as provided emotional comfort, Mr. Rivers," Feya said, her voice entirely flat and devoid of fear. "This has not been accomplished yet."Arthur finally shifted his gaze to her, his brow twitching with pure disdain. "I know exactly who you are, girl. You're the Baldwin felon's daughter. I told my son to cle
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Chapter: Chapter 10: Miss/KissFEYA"He's going to miss it," I whispered woodenly, my fingers digging into the fabric of the unfamiliar jersey I was wearing?Maya briefly glanced up from her phone screen then dismissed the game, refocusing her attention. "What, Jax? No way, Fee. He’s been hitting the target perfectly all week in practice. The muscle memory is locked in.""The muscle memory is dependent on a stable visual baseline," I said, my eyes tracking Jaxson’s silhouette on the ice. "Look at his posture. His shoulders have dropped lower than usual and his skating stride has slowed by six percent. He’s lost the confidence he started with. He’s unsure."Below us, the arena was a chaotic wall of sound. Three thousand people were screaming, their voices bouncing off the high metal rafters of the St. Jude rink. The bright stadium lights beat down on the white surface, creating a massive, blinding glare.I could see the faint, rhythmic movement of Jaxson’s hand tapping against his thigh. He was trying to reset his
Last Updated: 2026-07-03
Chapter: Chapter 9: Ran Out LuckJAXSONFriday night came faster than I wanted it to.The St. Jude arena was completely packed. The roar of three thousand fans blared through my skull. The bright stadium lights beat down on the ice, creating that familiar, terrifying yellow shadow around every player, every stick, and every line on the floor.I stood in the tunnel, my heart hammering against my ribs. I kept my eyes closed, tapping my fingers rhythmically against my thigh, waiting for the double vision to stabilize."Alright boys, let's move!" Coach Wallace yelled, slapping my shoulder pad. "Saints on three!""One, two, three, Saints!" the team roared.We skated out onto the ice. The noise was deafening. I looked up at the VIP boxes. There, sitting in the front row with a heavy, silver-headed cane resting between his knees, was Arthur Rivers. He wasn't smiling, as he never did, the fucker. He was staring down his nose at me like I was a disappointment. Which wouldn’t be surprising as I never measured up in his eyes
Last Updated: 2026-07-03
Chapter: Chapter 8: Lies and PucksJAXSON"Just running some extra visual drills, Coach," I said, forcing my voice into an easy, relaxed drawl. I leaned back against the equipment trunk, keeping my leg pressed against the canvas jersey hiding Feya's sensors. "Feya was just explaining some Physics stuff to me while I train. Since she's my girlfriend, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone while she does her homework."Caleb leaned against the doorframe, his dark eyes sliding over Maya’s closed laptop, then to Feya, and finally settling on me. "Perks of being with a genius, I guess. A win is a win, bro.”"Don’t I know it," I lied smoothly, offering him a sharp grin. "Every little bit helps. You know how it is, Sterling. Gotta keep the edge."Coach Wallace stepped further into the room, his boots heavy on the floor. He looked at Feya, who was staring fixedly at his top jacket button, her hands buried deep in her oversized sweater sleeves."Miss Baldwin," Wallace said, his gruff voice surprisingly quiet. "Is this t
Last Updated: 2026-07-01
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