LOGINAugust's POV I probably shouldn't have come. I was sitting in one of the chairs at the rink, dreading what my teammates would say when they saw me. I was suspended, so I still couldn't play. I'd even gone back to Dr. Henderson's office this morning to beg her one more time, but she'd given me the coldest shoulder I'd ever received. The scrimmage was happening away, not at home, so I'd had to drive almost two hours out of Tallahassee just to get here. And now, I was regretting it. I looked around. As promised, Everett and his entire motley crew from Kaiser University were here to taunt us. They were sitting a few rows to the left, and Everett was shooting me taunting looks. For a moment, I wondered if he was the one who'd taken that video of Dona and I; it was just the kind of messed-up thing that he'd do. The thought made me furious again, I managed to stay composed and ignore him. Meanwhile, Atlanta Northern Tech was already prepped and warming up on the ice, but FSU's team was
August's POV I got to my hotel and headed straight for the suite. I quickly unlocked the door. When I stepped inside, I found Dona sitting on the couch, cross-legged and looking dejected. Piper was walking around the suite, admiring the French windows and how they overlooked our part of Florida. When Piper saw me, she stopped and glared at me. "How the hell can you afford to stay here? I didn't get a proper look the last time I came." She moved from the kitchen to the bedrooms, then to the bar, touching everything like she was inspecting displays a museum. I raised an eyebrow. "Piper, if you're trying to case the place for a robbery, you're doing a very terrible job." "Ah ha!" She curled her lips in disgust. "There's a reason I never liked you in the first place." I ignored her and went straight to Dona, sat beside her on the couch and stared at her face. She didn't say anything, but there was a look of hopelessness in her eyes that left me feeling empty. It hurt to see that muc
August's POVI stood in front of the Athletic Director's office door, staring at the nameplate. My hand hovered near the wood, but I couldn't bring myself to knock. Every part of me wanted to turn around and walk away and pretend the email had never come. But I couldn't do that.I finally summoned the courage and knocked twice."Come in," a voice called from inside.I pushed the door open and stepped in. The Athletic Director sat behind a large desk, her hands folded neatly in front of her. She was a Black woman in her middle age, with graying hair pulled back into a neat bun and a calm smile on her face. The plaque on her desk read: Dr. L. Henderson, Athletic Director."Mr. Reynolds," she greeted warmly. "Please, sit down."I sat, gripping the armrests of the chair nervously.She leaned back in her seat and that smile stayed plastered on her face. "I've been following your progress this season. You're quite the star player. Your stats are impressive, especially for a transfer student
Dona's POV Piper continued eating in silence for a few minutes, chewing aggressively like she was taking her frustration out on the food. Then she suddenly gave a start, as if she'd just remembered something important. "Oh, oh!" She turned to me. "My mom called yesterday, and she told me to tell you she went to see your mum." I straightened immediately. "What? She went eventually? Tell me everything." Piper set her fork down and wiped her mouth. "She said she went to speak to your mom herself. When she got there, your mom was very much on edge and jumpy, moving around a lot...." I nodded, remembering how she was the last time I'd been to the house. "Then she said your mom was doing a lot of unnecessary cooking too." I sighed. "My mom likes to cook when she's stressed. It's how she copes." "That's what my mom thought too." Piper nodded. "But your mom kept saying everything was fine, and Peter was treating her well. She even said she was worried about you leaving the house becau
Dona's POV I couldn't stop staring at the message August had just sent to me: Hope you had a better day than I did. I read it over and over again, and a bitter knot formed in my throat. I missed him, which was ridiculous considering we'd only been super close for a little over a week. But the longing for him was still there; it felt like a wire pulled tight across my shoulders, vibrating every time I tried to relax. I couldn't lie to myself anymore—I was more than just attracted to him. I really, really liked August, way more than I did when we first met. And that terrified me, because what did this mean for my mom's relationship with Peter? What did it mean for me? Every time I thought about it too hard, my brain started spiraling into worst-case scenarios that I couldn't control. "What are you looking at?" I jerked my head up in surprise. I was lying on the floor in Piper's kitchen, sprawled out on the cool tiles because the couch had started to feel too stuffy in the Floridan
August's POV We ran drills for the next hour, and I noticed it immediately. Every time I called for the puck, it did not come to me. Mason had it, and then he skated right past me even though I was wide open. Diego got possession, then he looked my way and while maintaining hard eye-contact with me, he passed it backward to Tyler instead. "Diego!" I yelled, skating hard to catch up. "I was open! You could have passed to me!" He didn't respond. He just kept moving past me, as if I hadn't said a word. The same thing happened again, and again. Caleb had the puck near the blue line, and I was positioned perfectly for a one-timer. I slapped my stick against the ice. "Caleb! Here! Pass to me!" But Caleb passed it to Diego instead. Diego fumbled it, and the other line stole possession. "What the hell?" I shouted, throwing my arms up. "I was right there!" Tyler skated over to Caleb. "Dude, he was open. Pass him the puck!" "I didn't see him, Tyler." Caleb muttered. "Bullshit," Tyler
Dona's POV I pushed my laptop away once Piper left three hours later. We had actually gotten a lot done on our Psychology of Gender project, but my brain wasn’t on the textbook anymore. Not with the image of August yanking me behind a wall earlier today replaying in my head. And worse was the sigh
Dona's POVI slammed the door to my mother’s room behind me and stomped down the hallway. My face burned with disgust. Peter. A towel. Just a towel. Ugh. I could still see it in my head, and the memory made my stomach twist like I’d just swallowed bad milk. Who walks out like that in someone else’
Dona’s POVPost-hangout with August found me hiding in my room and reminiscing on what I'd witnessed that day, when I heard a knock on my door.“Dona?” Piper’s voice carried through the wood, followed by the sound of it creaking open before I even had the chance to answer. That was Piper for you: p
August's POV The spare bedroom that I occupied in this new house was way smaller than my bedroom in Chicago, and even the hotel I stayed in for a month after arriving in Florida. But in a matter of two days since I moved in, I had managed to transform the room, even a tad bit. I was stretched acr







