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Chapter 25: Mixed Signals
publish date:
2026-06-29 00:22:16
Latest chapter
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 28: Just Dean
I had three pages of notes and 37 photos, and none of it translated into anything useful when I opened a blank document. The cursor blinked like it was waiting for me to admit I didn’t know what I was doing. I flipped between my notebook and the screen, hoping something would click into place if I stared long enough. “This is your thinking face.” Melissa leaned against the doorway with a coffee, watching me like she’d walked in on a rerun she’d seen before. “I thought my thinking face looked smarter.” “It does,” she said, dragging a chair over and sitting across from me. “That’s the problem.” I slid the notebook toward her. She flipped through it slowly, humming under her breath as she skimmed, pausing here and there like she was testing the weight of something. When she closed it, she didn’t rush to fill the silence, which made me sit up straighter. “Interesting.” “That’s all?” I asked. She tapped the cover. “You’ve barely written anything.” “I know.” “No tragic backstory
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 27: Step Closer
My alarm went off at five, sharp and unforgiving, and for once I didn’t argue with it. I silenced it before it could escalate and lay there for a second, already awake in a way that felt unfamiliar—yesterday had been enough of a lesson. I wasn’t about to repeat it. My phone buzzed just as I set it down. Unknown number. I opened the message, expecting something routine, and instead found: Hi. It’s Dean. Melissa gave me your number. You don’t have to come in this early today. I figured we could finish the interview after practice this evening instead. Hope that’s okay. I read it twice, slower the second time, as if the meaning might shift under scrutiny. It didn’t. It was straightforward, practical, and unmistakably him. A small smile slipped in before I could stop it. Of course Melissa had handed over my number. I would have done the same. I typed back before I could overthink it. That works perfectly. Thank you. And thanks for not giving up on the interview after yesterday. The
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 26: Almost
Two hot chocolates. The phrase lodged itself in my head with absurd persistence, as if my brain had decided this was the detail worth circling back to while everything else moved on. Ryan had already forgotten it, Dean hadn’t reacted at all, and yet it lingered, quietly rearranging something I hadn’t realized was unsettled. When I looked at Dean, he met my gaze with the same steady calm he always had, like nothing had shifted, like nothing had been revealed, and that somehow made it worse. “Can we talk?” I asked, my voice coming out drier than I intended. “Sure.” No hesitation, no edge, no sign that I’d inconvenienced him. Just an agreement, simple and immediate, like it cost him nothing. It should have eased the knot in my chest. It didn’t. “I just need to finish editing a few things first,” I added, gesturing vaguely toward the media room as if that explained anything. He nodded once. “I’ll wait.” “You don’t have to.” “I know.” A faint pause, then, “I’ll wait.” There wasn
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 25: Mixed Signals
I dropped my bag the second I got into my dorm and let it hit the floor harder than necessary. My shoulders felt heavy in that dull, lingering way that comes after a long day that wasn’t bad, just… full. I crossed to my bed and fell onto it face-first, pressing my cheek into the pillow like I could sink into it and disappear for a minute. I stayed there, breathing in the faint smell of detergent, letting everything from the morning come back in pieces instead of forcing it into something neat. My phone buzzed beside me. I didn’t need to look, but I did anyway. AVA CALLING. Of course. I answered without moving, my voice muffled into the pillow. “Hi.” “Well?” I rolled onto my back, a laugh slipping out before I could stop it. “Hello to you too.” “No,” she said, already halfway into interrogation mode. “I’ve been waiting all day. I want everything.” “You’re exhausting.” “And you’re avoiding.” “…Fine.” I stared up at the ceiling and started from the beginning, walking her thr
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 24: Off The Record
“Yeah.” It came out too fast. I heard it as soon as I said it and almost wanted to grab it back, like I’d answered a question I hadn’t fully understood yet. Dean paused just long enough to check if I meant it. “I mean…” I lifted my notebook, half laughing at myself. “The interview’s technically done. I’ve got enough for the feature.” He gave a small nod. “Good.” The hallway settled into a quiet that wasn’t awkward so much as aware, distant voices, the hum of overhead lights, the weight of my notebook still in my hands like it mattered more than it did. Dean checked his watch, then looked back at me. “Have you eaten?” I blinked. “What?” “Breakfast.” He adjusted the strap of his bag, already moving forward in his own logic. “There’s a diner a few minutes from campus. Good food. It’s quiet.” He didn’t ask me to come. He didn’t need to. The invitation was already there, steady and unforced, like he’d simply made room for me in whatever came next. “I’d like that,” I said, surprisin
Across The Ice: Falling for my ex’s biggest rival Chapter 23: Beyond The Captain
By the time warmups wrapped, I had already filled two pages, though none of it would impress an editor looking for clean stats or structured observations. Instead, it was a collection of small, telling details—the kind you only notice when you stop trying to prove something and pay attention. Dean thanked every trainer he passed, not loudly or for show, but in a way that suggested he meant it. He returned equipment without being asked, listened fully when someone spoke instead of waiting for his turn, and somehow managed to move through a crowded rink without ever pulling attention toward himself. The labels people used for him—captain, leader, ambassador—felt heavy when I considered them. Dean didn’t. “You’ve been staring at the same page for five minutes,” he said, breaking into my thoughts. “I’ve been thinking,” I replied, though the defensive edge in my voice softened when I saw the faint amusement in his expression. “I can tell.” “How?” “You tap your pen against your note
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