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17.Anger Wasn’t the Word For It
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2026-10-28 16:00:00I didn't plan what I was going to say. I just knew I couldn't sit in my dorm one more night pretending the silence between us was normal.
Jace opened the door before I even finished knocking, like he'd heard my footsteps in the hallway and known exactly who they belonged to."Blair." My name came out flat. Guarded."Can I come in?"He stepped back without answering, which I took as a yes. His room was a mess,books scattered across his desk, a jacket thrown
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Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 40.The Quiet Kind of Alone
Jace's POVDalton emptied out fast once finals ended, the campus shrinking from a few thousand loud, distracted students down to the handful of us with nowhere better to be.I told everyone I was staying for extra conditioning work, which wasn't technically a lie ,Coach had left the weight room open for anyone who wanted it, and I used it more than I probably needed to, if only because it gave the empty days some kind of shape. The truth, the part I didn't say out loud to Blair or Liam or anyone else who asked, was simpler and harder to admit: I didn't have anywhere else that felt like it was actually waiting for me.My mom had moved in with her sister two states away after everything with my dad. We talked on the phone sometimes, careful and a little too polite, the kind of relationship that had never quite recovered from losing him. Going back there for the holidays meant sitting in someone else's guest room, eating someone else's traditions,
Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 39.Home for the Holidays
Home smelled the same as it always had cinnamon and pine and the particular staleness of a house that had been closed up for a semester, waiting for someone to bring it back to life.My mom hugged me so hard I nearly dropped my duffel bag in the doorway, already talking a mile a minute about the neighbors, about dinner plans, about how thin I looked and whether Dalton's dining hall was actually feeding me properly. I let the familiar chaos of it wash over me, grateful for something that hadn't changed while so much else had."The Callahans are coming over Thursday," she said, pulling back to look at me properly. "Diane's been asking about you nonstop since Liam told her you two made up. She missed having you around, sweetheart. We all did."Something in my chest tightened at that the easy, uncomplicated affection of two families who'd been intertwined since before either Liam or I could walk, who had no idea about agreements or hallways or equipment rooms, who j
Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 38. Trying Again
Jace texted me Wednesday afternoon, three days into our unofficial break, with something that felt like an olive branch disguised as a casual question.Jace: Dinner and a movie Friday? No pressure. Just want to actually talk without either of us bracing for a hard conversation.I stared at the message longer than it probably warranted before typing back.Me: I'd like that.---Friday afternoon, before any of that, I found myself back at the rink, watching one of the last practices before winter break properly started. Coach had eased everything into maintenance mode, but Jace and Liam still moved through drills with the kind of focus that made it clear neither of them had ever really known how to do anything halfway.I settled into the stands beside Chloe, who'd become a fixture at these practices right alongside me at this point, whether she wanted to admit that or not."You're here a lot for someone who's 'taking s
Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 37.Trying Harder
Liam's POVI almost canceled on Reagan twice before actually showing up at her place that evening.Not because I didn't want to see her. If anything, that was exactly the problem some guilty, tangled part of me kept thinking about the coffee shop conversation with Blair, and it felt wrong to walk into Reagan's apartment carrying that unspoken weight, like I'd be lying to her just by existing in the same room without saying it out loud.But I hadn't promised Blair anything. We hadn't promised each other anything, actually, beyond both agreeing to actually try to give the people we were with the fairness of a real chance instead of using them as some placeholder while we figured out a feeling that might not even be real once we looked at it directly. So I went. Because Reagan deserved someone who showed up, not someone who hid behind convenient excuses.She opened the door already smiling, hair pulled back, wearing one of my old team hoodie
Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 36.Unplanned
I hadn't meant to end up at the same coffee shop as Liam. Fate, apparently, had other plans, or maybe just bad timing and a campus with only so many places that served decent espresso.He was already there when I walked in, sitting alone at a corner table with his laptop open, a textbook shoved to one side like he'd given up on it an hour ago. He looked up when the bell over the door chimed, and something in his expression shifted ,surprise, then something softer he didn't quite manage to hide fast enough."Hey," he said."Hey. Studying?""Trying to. Failing, mostly." He gestured vaguely at the closed textbook. "You want to sit? I could use the distraction, if you've got a minute."I hesitated for exactly one second before pulling out the chair across from him. It felt easier than it should have, given everything sitting unresolved underneath the surface of just *sitting with Liam at a coffee shop.*"How's the semester winding down?" I asked
Caught Between Two Hockey Stars 35. Somewhere Else Entirely
Liam's POVReagan's hand fit nicely in mine. That was the thought I kept circling back to, sitting across from her at the little Italian place off campus, like reminding myself of the plain, uncomplicated facts that might help me actually stay present in them."You're doing the same thing again," she said, not unkindly, twirling her fork through her pasta."What thing?""The thing where you're technically here, but your eyes go somewhere else for a second. It's fine, I just noticed it." She said it lightly, no accusation in it, which somehow made me feel worse than if there had been."Sorry. Long week." It wasn't a lie, exactly. It just wasn't the whole truth eitherShe studied me for a moment, something patient and a little too perceptive in her expression. "You know, for someone who's supposedly having a long week, you talk about hockey like it's the easiest part of your life right now.""It kind of is
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