Fake Dating The Hockey Captain

Chapter 1

Sienna

I stood at the sink in the girls’ locker room, splashing cool water over my face after another long cheer practice. My arms ached and my legs felt heavy. The clock on the wall already read five in the evening. After saying goodbye to the rest of the squad and collecting my bag, I walked straight across campus toward the hockey field. Lucas should have finished practice by now, and I wanted to catch him before he left.

The field was completely empty when I reached it. My brows drew together. Not a single player remained. Had the team already packed up and gone home? Did practice end early today? Why hadn’t Lucas sent me a message about it?

I pulled out my phone and started walking toward the main gates while I checked.

**Hey, had to take off early. Stuff to handle at home. Don’t bother coming by.**

The text made a small smile tug at my lips. At least he had taken the time to let me know instead of leaving me standing there waiting for nothing.

Lucas Kane and I had been together for the past six months. The night the coaches named him captain of the hockey team and he asked me out, we instantly became the golden couple of the entire school—me as a senior on the cheer squad, him as the newly appointed team captain. Well… former captain now. Two months ago the team suffered two crushing losses back-to-back, and the coaches stripped him of the title. The blow hit him hard. It hit our relationship just as hard. The easy, almost perfect phase we had been living in ended almost overnight.

He was still the school’s star forward, still the guy everyone looked up to. In public he remained the perfect boyfriend—attentive, charming, always ready with a smile and an arm around my shoulders. But the moment we were alone, the distance became impossible to ignore. I could feel the growing neglect, the sharp edge of irritation whenever I didn’t give him exactly what he wanted the second he wanted it. Still, every relationship goes through rough patches. Lately his mood had started to improve again. He was determined to win the captaincy back, and as his girlfriend I tried to be understanding. I gave him space. He would come around. For most of our relationship he had been good to me. As long as he never crossed any real lines, I told myself we were still okay.

I was almost at the parking lot when I remembered the library book still sitting in the bottom of my bag. I had nothing else planned for the evening, so I might as well return it while I was still on campus.

The library was nearly empty when I stepped inside. I handed the book over to the librarian, then lingered between the shelves, scanning the spines for something new to take home. The quiet was absolute except for the soft scrape of a chair somewhere in the distance and the low hum of the air conditioning.

Then I heard it—heavy breathing. Followed by the unmistakable wet sound of kissing. Soft, breathy moans.

Someone was making out in the library.

“Come back to my place.”

The low, familiar voice stopped me cold. I knew that tone too well.

“I can’t, Lucas. I’ve got projects and deadlines stacking up,” another voice answered—equally familiar, equally unmistakable. My best friend, Isla Reed.

I edged forward just far enough to see into the next aisle. They were on the floor between the shelves. Lucas had her pinned beneath him, kissing her like he couldn’t get enough, while Isla moaned into his mouth without the slightest hesitation.

“One night won’t put you behind. I need you, Is. Last time you made me feel so good we actually won the game. You’re my good-luck charm. Be a good girl and don’t make me beg for it.” He pressed open-mouthed kisses along the side of her neck.

She laughed. She actually laughed while my boyfriend cheated on me with her.

“I liked it too, Lucas. I know how this whole thing started—”

“Shh. We’ve already had that conversation. Don’t kill the mood. Just come with me.”

He brushed her concern aside and she sighed in surrender.

“Fine. But drop me home before ten, okay?”

“Whatever you say, baby.” He laughed as he helped her to her feet. She smiled up at him like nothing in the world was wrong.

Tears burned behind my eyes—not because Lucas still held that much of my heart, but because it was Isla who had shattered it. Isla, the girl who had been closer to me than any sister. Sisters didn’t sleep with their sister’s boyfriend.

I stayed hidden behind the shelves while they gathered their things, still whispering and touching, preparing to leave so they could finish whatever they had started at his house. I watched them walk out of the library together, his hand low on her back.

The moment the heavy doors closed behind them, I sank

against the nearest shelf and completely fell apart.