In her house

Jason's POV

I'm in her house. Holy shit!

I'm sitting on one of her couches, watching as she paces around the small space in her living room. Worry lines crease her features as she bites her fingernails nervously.

A text comes into her phone, and she hurriedly looks at it. "He's texting again," she mumbles as she reads the message.

"What should I say to him? I can't keep ignoring his messages..."

I stand up, and in one move, I snatch her phone away. "That's exactly what you'll do."

Her big doe eyes go wide as she watches me. "What?"

"You'll ignore him," I say as I return to the couch.

"What?" She scoffs again as she faces me.

"You said he almost kissed his friend in your presence, right?" I ask.

"Yes, but..."

"Exactly. You need to put up a fence if you want to get what you truly want."

"But he's going to be mad. I know Dave. He'll barge in here if I keep ignoring him and..."

"And what?" I interrupt.

She sighs and takes the seat opposite mine. "I just don't want to lose him," she whispers, worried.

The look on her face makes my heart shatter. If she were some other lady, I'd happily give her an easier solution to her problems, but the problem is, she's not just some other lady.

She's the woman I've been in love with my whole damn life. The one I foolishly lost because I couldn't get to her fast enough. I've watched her grow and turn into the beautiful lady she is. The plan was to go to her and ask her out after I won my Stanley Cup championship. I wanted to seek her out as a proud champion. I thought I'd have a higher chance of winning her heart if I won, but Dave... that bastard.

He stole her.

But I can't place all the blame on him. I was the shortsighted one, and it's thanks to him that I'm with her right now.

I get to see her at a closer range. I get to see how she looks when she's anxious and worried.

With my hand supporting my face, I lean in properly and just... watch her.

She hasn't changed one bit in the last year. Brown curly hair. Big doe eyes. And cheeks that are completely kissable.

I don't know how long I stay in that position, but I come out of my thoughts when she snaps her fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, are you listening to me? Why are you so silent?"

I immediately lower my hand and sit up.

"What do you think I should do when I see him? We need a plan, don't we?" She asks.

"First of all," I start.

"You'll ignore him for three days."

"What?"

"Even if he shows up, ignore him, give him a lot of attitude, and make him think you want to break up with him."

"Then Saturday, you'll show up at the rink. There's practice."

"Practice? You want me to suddenly show up at his practice after ignoring him for three days?"

"Who says you're showing up for him?"

"What?" She blinks. "I don't understand."

"You'll be coming for me. I'll also be there. At practice," I say.

She pauses again, then digests my words.

"I'll introduce you to my teammates. I'll introduce you as my girlfriend."

"But his teammates already know who I am."

"Yes, but they don't know you as his girlfriend. He never introduced you to them, did he?"

Her eyes lower as she thinks briefly. "What next?" She asks.

"Then we'll watch him go crazy. Knowing Dave's temperament, he won't be able to handle it and will snap. He'll try to fight me."

"But... is that a good thing? What if you actually get into a fight?"

"Fighting is normal," I chuckle.

"But... but..."

"You don't have to worry. It won't be that serious. The team members will stop us before it gets intense. And he won't get hurt, I promise."

Promise my ass. I'll beat the crap out of him if he gets close to me. But I won't do it in front of her, or she might hate me. And we don't want that.

"What happens afterward? Will he finally fall in love with me after that?"

"No. A single meeting will not be enough to convince him. We'll have to meet up regularly. Do you know about the boys' house? The house where all the team members reside?"

"Yes, but I've never been there. He's never taken me there."

"Then we'll have a lot of our meetings there. The key is to meet up repeatedly where he can see us, where his friends can see us," I explain.

She nods, seeming excited by the plan.

"He should be able to fall in love with me before the month ends if we meet up a lot," she whispers, a smile lighting up her brown eyes.

I chuckle.

Yes. That's the end goal for Dave. But not for you. I don't say it out loud, though, and quietly rise to my feet.

She rises with me. "Are you leaving now?"

I nod. "I have somewhere I need to be." I return her phone to her.

"Alright, thank you for showing up on such short notice, and thank you for listening to me complain. I feel so relieved after pouring my heart out. I never had anyone to pour my heart out to."

"You're welcome," I say as I head to the door. We get there and stop.

She unlocks the door and holds it open. "Alright, see you on Saturday," she smiles, waving as she watches me with her bright eyes.

I'm tempted to run my fingers through her curly hair, but I don't want her to see me as a weird person or get uncomfortable around me. I need to be careful.

So I smile at her. "See you on Saturday," I reply, stepping out of the house.

"Jason, right?" She asks.

"Jason Blackwood," I respond.

"It's good to see you, and sorry for slapping you earlier at the rink. I was out of it," she apologizes.

I wink at her before heading to my motorbike.

I see her watching me from the window as I get on it. I put on my helmet and am about to drive off when a text comes into my phone.

I open it to see a written message from Dave. There's also a photo of me, Noah, the late Owen, and Dave himself.

'Do you remember where we took this photo? The four of us? Let's meet at that location. I've also called Noah over, and he's heading there. If you don't want to see your bestie dead, then answer my calls.'

After reading the message, I pocket the phone and immediately start my bike. I can't control how easily my face turns to stone or how blood fills my mouth because of how hard I'm biting my lip.

As I speed onto the highway, I have only one mission in mind: destroy everything Dave has built over the last year.

I get to the location in less than an hour.

It's a playground.

A place where the four of us met.

I spot Noah the minute I stop my bike, and I don't miss the look he gives me.

'You shouldn't have come here. Go back. It's a trap. Dave is only baiting you. He doesn't mean any good.'

'I already know that.' I give Noah a reassuring look after I take off my helmet and get off my bike.

Showing up at the game and snatching all the attention from him, I knew he'd react. I expected this much from him. It's not a surprise. But the thing Dave doesn't know about me is that I'm different now. I'm different from the way I was a year ago.

I'm not some helpless guy who let his best friend die because he didn't have enough power to protect him. And I'm not going to let Dave use my other best friend to torment me. I will never lose another person close to me.

Never again.

"Oh, you really came?" Dave is with his friend—or should I say, his minion—who's also a Ravens team member. They both laugh when they see me.

"You must have a death wish, Jason. Why would you come knowing how things will turn out?" Dave stands up from the slide and starts to approach me.

Noah rushes over and stands between us when Dave comes close enough.

"Let's not do this. Please." He turns to Dave. "We used to be really close. We were best buddies. Let's not do this, please," he pleads, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Noah is a softie. An introvert who doesn't have the guts to mingle outside the club. But he's a beast on the ice. A true beast. And I'm proud of him.

But Dave's minion pushes him out of the way.

"Get out! This is between the two of them. You have no right to interfere in their fight," he growls at Noah.

I glare at him once he does that, and when he notices my stare, he lowers his head and backs away.

Yeah.

Like the coward he is.

"I didn't come alone," Dave says to my face.

My lips twist into a dangerous smirk as I stare back at him. "I know. I'm sure you brought your daddy's bodyguards, like some scared pussy," I mock.

His face turns white with rage, and he takes a step back. At one whistle from him, his father's men emerge from the shadows.

The three of them. Bulky. Tall.

I chuckle.

And he laughs in my face.

"You can't even bring yourself to face me. You have to bring third parties into our fight. But no problem..." I reach into my pocket and retrieve my fighting gloves. I dropped by my house to pick them up.

Then I put them on.

"I'll teach you a hard lesson."