LOGINRyder’s alarm blared like a siren.He groaned, swiping at his phone until the noise cut off. For a second he just lay there, blinking at the ceiling. The light streaming through the blinds was soft, filtered through a sky still half-frozen with morning frost. His head felt clearer than it had in days.He stretched, wincing a little, but the ache in his body was the good kind, earned, not given. He could still hear the low murmur of voices from last night, Drew and Connor sprawled on his floor, talking about everything except the things that mattered. They hadn’t grilled him for details they didn’t want to know, or judged him for the mess he’d gotten himself into. They’d just stayed. Hid with him. Kept him anchored when his head was trying to spiral.He smiled faintly, remembering Connor’s half-slurred pep talk about not letting “some rookie with hair gel and too many abs” throw him off his game. Drew had snorted beer out his nose laughing, and Ryder had finally stopped thinking about
The gym doors banged open as Ryder pushed through them, the night air hitting him like a slap. Cold and merciless. His breath came out in short, angry bursts as he stalked across the lot, jaw clenched, every muscle still trembling from exhaustion and adrenaline. His hoodie clung damp to his back. The humiliation burned hotter than the cold could cool.Before he could break into another run, something slammed into his side. Then another weight hit him from the other direction. Ryder hit the grass hard, air punched from his lungs.“Got him!” Drew grunted, pinning his arm.Connor dropped down beside him, knee pressing to Ryder’s shoulder to hold him still. “What the hell, man? You trying to blow a gasket?”Ryder thrashed, fury spiking again. “Get off me!”“Dude, calm down!” Connor barked, tightening his grip. “You’re shaking like crazy.”Zach hovered at the edge of the lot, eyes wide. “Guys, seriously—we’re gonna get in so much trouble if someone sees this!”Ryder tried to buck them off,
Ryder stayed under the spray long after his skin felt numb.Rage sat heavy in his chest, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Every second replayed in brutal detail. Calloway’s smirk, his voice, the way he’d walked out like he hadn’t just stripped Ryder down to nothing.He slammed a hand against the tile, jaw tight. No one got under his skin like that. Not on the ice, not in bed, not ever. He’d been humiliated twice today, once in front of the team, and once when no one was watching.That ended now.He dragged a hand through his wet hair, the sting of water mixing with the raw burn of fury. He needed to do something. Move, hit something, lift until his arms gave out. Anything to quiet the noise in his head.Ryder shut off the shower, grabbed a towel, and dressed in jerky, angry movements. The locker room was empty now, the air thick with humidity and the faint scent of soap and sweat. He tugged on a hoodie, slammed his locker shut hard enough to echo, and stalked out.Outside, the nigh
Ryder’s irritation burned hotter with every lap around the rink. He told himself it was just competition, that Calloway was a show-off, a rookie trying too hard, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt personal.Every move the guy made grated at him.The next drill started: a full-ice scrimmage. Drew tossed Ryder the puck for the opening rush. He sprinted down center ice, cutting past the defense. Just as he lined up his shot, a blur of black streaked past him. Calloway, intercepted at the last second. The puck snapped off his stick and curved neatly into the net.The whistle blew. Cheers erupted from the bench. Beck clapped Calloway’s shoulder. “Nice play!”Ryder’s stomach twisted. His own teammates were grinning like they’d just found their new favorite player.The next rotation came faster. Ryder forced his legs to move, sweat burning down his neck. Every pass, every shift, Calloway was there. Smooth. Precise. Effortless. The bastard didn’t even look like he was trying.During a corn
Ryder woke to silence.No bass pounding through the floor, no voices, no laughter, just the steady hum of the heater and the dull ache in every muscle of his body.The other side of the bed was empty, the sheets twisted around his legs, the morning air thick with the ghost of heat and sweat. The faint scent of Lila's perfume lingered in the air, floral and sweet, undercut by something more masculine.Lila was gone.So was Calloway.He noticed a folded scrap of notebook paper sitting on the dresser, written in Lila’s looping, careless handwriting:Had to run. You were incredible, baby. xoxoRyder stared at it until the words blurred.Memories hit in jagged flashes. Skin, breath, heat. The press of weight behind him. The sound of his own voice when he’d lost control. How long that guy had kept going after Lila had drifted off, the rhythm that wouldn’t stop, the way his body had responded again and again like it didn’t belong to him anymore.He scrubbed a hand over his face, willing it
Ryder lay on his side, sheets twisted around one leg, facing the wall, eyes shut. His body was tense, his breathing forced slow and even. He wasn’t asleep. Not even close. But he didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to look, didn’t want to exist. Pretending was easier.His skin still buzzed, over-warm and over-sensitive, every nerve raw. His brain wouldn’t shut up or make any sense.He couldn’t believe he’d just cum again.That quickly. That hard. That way.He hadn’t even known it was possible. Not after everything else. But his body had betrayed him in the worst, most humiliating way, and now he was lying there, wrecked and quiet, while that asshole was still going like it was just a casual Saturday night.Lila had been thrilled, of course.“Oh my god, Ry,” she’d giggled, breathless and glowing, still stroking his hair. “That was so hot. You were so intense—I knew you’d be like that.”He hadn’t answered. Couldn’t. His face burned with it all.Jax had just looked at him. Calm. Composed.
Noah’s knees struck the mat beside the massage table, the scent of massage oil thick in his nose. Sharp and clean but layered over Sterling’s skin and sweat. That mix—masculine, earthy, warm—went straight to his head, dizzying and heavy. The heat between his legs pulsed.He stared up at Sterling’s
The girl’s laugh echoed around the dark lot as they stumbled against the side of Noah’s pickup truck, mouths still fused together, her hands in his hair.Noah reached behind her blindly, patting for the handle of his bag tossed in the cab. Somewhere in there was his phone, his ride app already pull
The taste lingered.Noah could still feel it ghosted on his tongue, in the back of his throat, like the heat of Sterling’s body had branded something inside him. He downed two bottles of water before morning practice, rinsed with mouthwash twice, and still it clung to him. Not unpleasant. Just... t
Noah didn’t say a word.Mostly because he didn’t trust what might come out if he did.He just stood there in the middle of the lot, arms crossed over his chest, watching the show unfold in front of him. A slow, amused smirk curved his mouth as Sterling’s fiancée continued to hold court like the par







