CHAPTER TWO: DEEP THOUGHTS

Luca's POV

The roar of the crowd was a deafening, vibrating wall of sound, but the moment my blades hit the ice, it all turned into background noise.

The sharp blare of the referee's whistle and the rhythmic, metallic ring of steel scraping against the fresh sheet of ice pushed my adrenaline into overdrive. The other players on the rink became a blur of moving jerseys and swinging sticks. I tuned out everything except the black rubber puck sliding beneath my blade.

This was the semifinal.

There was no room for mistakes.

I skated hard, my muscles burning beneath the heavy gear as I manoeuvred the puck around every obstacle in my way. My stick moved quickly between my hands, keeping the puck under control as I searched for an opening.

As captain, I had exactly one job today: destroy our rivals, win this semifinal, and take my team straight to the championship finals.

My father's corporate scouts were watching from the box suites.

Failure wasn't an option.

I could practically feel the pressure sitting on my shoulders.

One mistake could change everything.

I cut sharply to the left, leaving a defenseman trailing in my wake. The goal was getting closer, the crowd growing louder with every second. I lowered my shoulder, shifted the puck to my other side, and pushed harder. I was charging directly toward the opponent's goal, my hockey stick cocked back and ready to strike, when a sudden, heavy shove from behind threw me completely off balance.

My skate scraped against the ice.

A shadow crossed my vision. The puck was stolen right out from under me.

Instantly, the stadium erupted into cheers for the opposing team.

The sound twisted my stomach into a tight knot of pure fury.

I didn't hesitate.

I spun on my blades, kicking up a spray of white ice, and charged right back after him. We fought aggressively for positioning, our shoulders clashing as we raced toward the perimeter. I leaned into him, refusing to give him an inch, until I finally slammed him against the thick plexiglass, separating the rink from the front row of the stands.

And that's when the world completely stopped. Right over the chaotic noise of the stadium, a single, sharp shriek cut through the air.

"Dylan!"

It was a girl's voice.

High, excited, and painfully familiar.

My head snapped up automatically.

My eyes locked onto the stands behind the glass, only inches away from where I had pinned the defenseman.

For one second, I didn't understand what I was looking at.

Then I saw her.

Sienna.

I hadn't seen her in years. The last time I'd seen her, she had been seventeen. Now, sitting among the crowd in her brother's jersey, she looked completely different from the girl I remembered.

Older.

More confident.

Changed.

I stared for half a second too long.

Her eyes met mine through the glass. And recognition hit me just as hard.

That's Sienna Hayes.

The realization threw me completely off rhythm.

Not because I suddenly felt something I hadn't felt before.

Not because some buried part of me had been waiting for her to return.

It was simply unexpected.

I hadn't expected to see her here.

And for one stupid second, my brain stopped paying attention to the game.

That was enough.

A sharp whack against my stick snapped me back to reality.

The puck was gone.

"Fuck."

I pushed away from the boards and turned, but the opposing player had already sent the puck toward a teammate. I chased after them, but the damage was done.

The Ravens surged forward, taking advantage of the opening I'd given them.

I gritted my teeth and forced my attention back onto the ice.

Focus.

Just focus.

But the mistake had already shifted the momentum. The opposing team charged toward our goal. Our defenceman scrambled to recover.

I skated harder, trying to close the distance, but the puck moved faster than I could.

A shot flew.

Our goalie blocked it.

The rebound bounced loose.

Another player caught it.

Then came the final strike.

The puck slammed into the net.

The stadium exploded.

I stopped several feet away, staring at the goal. My jaw tightened.

No.

The final buzzer sounded a short while later. The game was over.

We lost.

I stood frozen on the ice for a moment, breathing heavily as the opposing team celebrated around us.

My teammates looked just as frustrated. We had been one game away from the championship final.

And now we weren't.

As I skated toward the tunnel, I didn't let myself look toward the stands again.

There was no point.

Whatever had distracted me was irrelevant now. I needed to deal with the consequences.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing out there, Bennett?!"

Coach's voice hit me the second the locker room doors slammed shut. His voice echoed violently off the cold concrete walls, bouncing over the heads of my silent, defeated teammates.

I sat heavily on the wooden bench, staring straight down at the floor between my skates.

I didn't look up.

I didn't defend myself.

There wasn't much to say. I'd made a mistake.

A stupid one.

And everyone knew it.

Coach paced in front of us, his face red with frustration.

"We had that game!"

Nobody answered.

"You were supposed to lead this team, Bennett. You're the captain. You don't get to lose focus when the game is on the line. My fingers tightened around the edge of the bench.

He was right.

That was the worst part.

I'd lost focus.

For a few seconds, I'd let something completely unexpected get inside my head.

Sienna Hayes.

I exhaled slowly.

I hadn't thought about her in years. There had been no reason to. She'd gone on with her life, and I'd gone on with mine.

I'd rejected her when she was seventeen because I simply hadn't felt the same way about her. It had been years ago. There was nothing complicated about it.

But seeing her again?

That had been unexpected.

And apparently, unexpected was enough to cost me a game.

"Bennett!"

I finally raised my head. Coach was standing directly in front of me.

"Get your head straight before the third-place consolation game," he warned, his expression hard.

"We are not leaving this tournament looking like absolute jokes to the scouts. Do you understand me?"

I nodded once.

"Yes, Coach." He held my stare for another second before turning away.

"Good."

He stormed out of the room, slamming the heavy door behind him so hard the lockers rattled. Silence settled over the room. I leaned back against the concrete wall and ran a hand through my damp hair.

The loss still burned.

Tomorrow, we had the third-place consolation game. There was no championship final for us anymore.

I glanced down at my hands.

Then, despite myself, the image from the ice flashed through my mind again.

Sienna Hayes was back in New York.

I shook my head once.

Whatever.

She was here.

That was all.

I'd just have to make sure she wasn't a distraction twice.