5– Gabrielle

My skin was buzzing. 

A persistent tingling sensation hummed beneath the surface of my flesh, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake it.

It had been hours since Kayden and I had tangled ourselves in his sheets to take those staged photos. 

We were barely minutes away from the arena now, but the only thing my body seemed capable of remembering was the overwhelming heat of his touch.

The warmth of his breath against my jaw.

The rhythmic vibration of his chest as his heart pounded raggedly against mine.

Why on earth was I reacting like this?

I tried to tell myself it was simply a physiological response. It had been a very long time since I had been in such intimate proximity with a man. 

That had to be it. 

Because it could not be because of Kayden Alvarez. 

I didn’t even like the man enough to tolerate his presence for a full hour, let alone crave his touch.

There had to be something wrong with my brain today.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kayden’s deep voice suddenly filtered into my space, startling me as if he had read my chaotic thoughts.

I swallowed hard around the sudden dryness forming in my throat, refusing to look at him. 

“Nothing,” I answered, my voice clipped.

I unlocked my tablet and logged into his official social media profiles. The post had only been live for a short while, but the metrics were skyrocketing. 

The photos had cleared over a million views and were climbing by the second. 

A faint smile touched my lips. People were actually buying the romance angle. The reshares and comments proved the narrative shift was working exactly as planned.

Though I was still being dragged through the mud. But it was to be expected.

My smile quickly vanished, my lips twitching as I slowly swiped through the twenty-slide photo dump.

A breathless gasp escaped me, a wave of heat rushing up my neck. 

It wasn't a pleasant warmth. It was a scorching wave of embarrassment. 

Looking at the pictures, a sense of shame settled in my chest because I had let Kayden take far too many liberties with me under the guise of "authenticity."

The possessive way his arm had wound around my waist.

The way he burrowed his face against my collarbone.

The worst part, though? The way I burrowed my own face into the crook of his neck.

We didn’t just look like a convincing couple. I looked like a woman who was enjoying herself in his arms.

“Do you like them that much? You haven't stopped staring at them since we left the house,” Kayden observed, a hint of amusement lacing his tone.

I tilted my head, cutting my eyes over to him until they were narrowed into slits. “I didn’t realize we had crossed that many boundaries. We were too close.”

“So?” He raised a brow, looking unbothered.

“What do you mean, ‘so’?”

“What I mean is,” Kayden shifted, turning his body toward me as he leaned a shoulder against the leather seat, “how else were we supposed to take a convincing photo? The proximity was a necessity at the moment. You're the PR expert, Gabrielle. You know a cold selfie wouldn't have saved your job.”

“As if my job was the only thing on the line,” I bit out.

Kayden scoffed. “What? You think I’ll be dismissed as an athlete because a video of me kissing a woman surfaced? Come on, Gabrielle. All this is for you more than it is for me.”

I stared at him, my jaw clenched. Of course his logic was flawless. But I was unwilling to concede the point to him.

“Whatever,” I muttered after a tense moment.

I looked away from his piercing gaze, staring out the window as the city blurred past.

The driver soon slowed the car to a stop in the underground, private garage meant only for athletes and their personal staff. 

"Stay in the lounge while we hit the ice," Kayden said as he grabbed his gear bag. He sounded more focused and serious. "I'll see you after the skate."

"I'll be watching from the glass," I replied, forcing my professional mask back into place. "I need to monitor how the team's media reps are handling the press block downstairs."

“You don’t have to monitor anything, Gabrielle,” Kayden countered. “You’re my girlfriend as of today, not my handler.”

“I will be watching, Kayden.”

“You want to watch me practice that much?” He teased.

I tilted my head, staring at him with raised brows that asked the question: are you being serious?

“Always so difficult.” Kayden rolled his eyes and turned on his heels.

I almost laughed as I watched him walk away.

Such a child.

A few minutes later, I was standing in the empty lower bowl, leaning against the plexiglass of the rink. The freezing air radiating off the ice bit at my cheeks, but it was refreshing. 

Kayden’s team was already in motion, executing their rigorous pre-game routine. The sharp scraping of skates cutting into fresh ice filled the arena, punctuated by the loud, echoing slaps of pucks hitting the boards.

My eyes never strayed from Kayden. Not once.

He was a machine on the ice. His movements never failed to impress me. Always so majestic and fluid. 

He moved through the passing drills, gliding effortlessly across the rink before blasting a one-timer directly into the top corner of the net. 

I almost cheered for him, but reminded myself that this was just practice and the arrogant fucker would hold it over my head.

But Kayden looked at me anyway. A huge smile broke across his lips and he waved at me with an excitement that left me startled.

I waved back.

Then I laughed when his teammates practically climbed him. 

I knew they were teasing him because of me.

"Excuse me, Ms. Gabrielle?"

The familiar voice broke my concentration. I turned around to see our driver standing there, holding a brown paper takeout bag and a steaming paper cup.

"Oh, hello," I blinked, confused. "Am I needed for something?"

"No, ma'am," the driver smiled warmly, holding out the bag and the coffee. "Mr. Alvarez asked me to fetch this for you. He mentioned you hadn't eaten a single thing since morning because you were too busy dealing with the media stuff."

My heart did a strange, uncomfortable flutter against my ribs. "He did?"

"Yes, ma'am. He said you usually skip your meals when you're stressed." The driver held out the food. "He told me to stop by your favorite restaurant to get you a toasted everything bagel with herb cream cheese."

I stood frozen, completely shocked. I stared at the bag. He was right. That was my stress-comfort food. 

But there was no way Kayden would’ve just ordered me a meal. 

My defenses flared up, trying to find a reason to rationalize it.

"Thank you, but I really can't take the coffee," I said, offering a tight, polite smile. "Kayden and I have different tastes. He drinks those overly sweet, iced caramel monstrosities. I don't want his order."

The driver chuckled softly, shaking his head. "This isn't his order, Ms. Gabrielle. Mr. Alvarez was very specific. He told me to get a hot blonde roast, three pumps of sugar-free vanilla, and just a splash of oat milk. He said if it was regular milk, you wouldn't touch it."

The breath caught in my throat.

I stared at the steaming cup in the driver's hand, a stunned silence echoing in my head. 

I had never told Kayden my coffee order. Not once in six months. I usually picked it up before I ever arrived at his house, or ordered it on my app if I was too busy.

He hadn't just guessed. He got everything correct, as if he had been observing me for months, memorizing the tiniest, most insignificant details of my daily routine while I was busy thinking he was nothing more than an arrogant man-child.

"Thank you," I murmured, my fingers trembling as I took the warm cup from the driver.

"You're very welcome, ma'am. Enjoy your meal."

As the driver walked away, I looked back toward the ice. 

Kayden was leaning against the team bench, squirt-drinking water from a plastic bottle while his coach talked. As if feeling my gaze, he suddenly turned his head.

His eyes locked onto mine, holding my gaze for a moment before looking down at my hands.

A slow, almost imperceptible smirk spread across his lips before he turned back to the ice.

My skin started buzzing all over again.