Chapter 1: The Girl in the Last Row

The arena roared with deafening cheers.

“RYDER! RYDER! RYDER!”

The name echoed through the massive ice hockey stadium as students jumped to their feet, waving banners and wearing the university colors. The bright arena lights reflected off the smooth ice, turning the entire rink into a glowing battlefield.

At the center of it all was Ethan Ryder.

Fast. Confident. Untouchable.

The captain of the Northbridge University hockey team glided across the ice like he owned it. His red jersey clung to his broad shoulders, and his dark hair was damp from the intensity of the game.

Girls screamed every time he touched the puck.

But high in the back row of the arena, someone watched quietly.

Lila Bennett sat alone with a notebook resting on her lap.

While everyone else cheered wildly, she stayed silent, her pen moving quickly across the page.

Her round glasses slid slightly down her nose as she scribbled another sentence.

Ethan Ryder scored again tonight.

She paused, glancing down at the rink.

Right on cue, Ethan sped past two defenders and shot the puck toward the net.

The crowd held their breath.

The puck slammed into the goal.

The stadium exploded.

“GOOOOAAAL!”

The noise was overwhelming.

Students jumped, screamed, and hugged each other in excitement.

Lila simply smiled softly.

Then she wrote another line.

He looks happiest when he’s on the ice.

She had been writing about Ethan Ryder for two years.

Two whole years.

Two years of watching him from a distance.

Two years of pretending she didn’t care when girls lined up just to talk to him.

Two years of knowing someone like him would never notice someone like her.

Because Ethan Ryder was the campus king.

And Lila Bennett?

She was invisible.

A quiet computer science student who spent more time in the library than anywhere else.

Her oversized cream sweater hung loosely around her small frame, and her brown hair was tied in a messy bun. A stack of textbooks rested beside her seat.

Not exactly the type of girl a hockey star would notice.

Down on the ice, Ethan raised his hockey stick as his teammates surrounded him in celebration.

The crowd chanted his name again.

But suddenly the noise shifted.

Students started cheering even louder.

Lila already knew what that meant.

Vanessa Hart had arrived.

Sure enough, the stunning blonde appeared at the edge of the rink, dressed perfectly as always. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders, and her bright smile instantly captured the attention of half the arena.

Vanessa was beautiful.

Popular.

Untouchable.

And she was Ethan Ryder’s girlfriend.

Lila quickly looked back down at her notebook.

But it was too late.

Vanessa ran onto the ice the moment the referee signaled the end of the game.

The team had won.

Ethan barely had time to react before Vanessa jumped into his arms.

The crowd cheered wildly as he caught her.

Then she kissed him.

Right there in front of everyone.

Lila’s pen stopped moving.

She stared at the page for a moment before slowly closing the notebook.

It shouldn’t hurt.

She had known this for two years.

Still…

It did.

A loud voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

“Seriously? You’re writing notes at a hockey game?”

Lila looked up quickly.

Three girls stood in front of her row, laughing.

One of them stepped forward with a smirk.

Chloe Simmons.

One of Vanessa’s closest friends.

Her eyes flicked down to Lila’s notebook.

“Let me guess,” Chloe said loudly. “You’re writing another fantasy story about Ethan Ryder?”

The other girls laughed.

Lila’s cheeks burned.

“I…I’m just studying,” she murmured.

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Studying?” she repeated mockingly. “At a hockey game?”

She leaned closer.

“You know Ethan Ryder doesn’t even know you exist, right?”

More laughter.

Lila swallowed and grabbed her books quickly.

“I have to go.”

She stood and hurried down the bleachers before they could say anything else.

Behind her, the girls continued laughing.

But Lila didn’t stop walking.

She pushed open the arena doors and stepped outside into the cold night air.

The campus was quieter here.

The distant cheers from the stadium faded behind her.

Lila hugged her books against her chest and started walking toward the dorms.

She should stop coming to these games.

It was stupid.

Pathetic, even.

But every time she promised herself she wouldn’t come…

She still did.

Because watching Ethan Ryder play hockey was the closest she would ever get to him.

Suddenly, the arena doors burst open behind her.

Footsteps approached quickly.

Lila stepped aside, expecting a group of loud students.

Instead, someone grabbed her arm.

She froze.

Slowly, she turned around.

And her heart stopped.

Standing right in front of her…

Was Ethan Ryder.

The captain of the hockey team.

The boy she had secretly loved for two years.

He stared down at her with curious blue eyes.

Then he spoke.

“Hey,” Ethan said.

“Did you drop this?”

In his hand…

Was her notebook.

The one filled with pages about him.

And judging by the way his brow was slightly raised…

He had already opened it.

Lila’s heart slammed violently against her ribs.

Her notebook.

Ethan Ryder was holding her notebook.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe.

Her eyes widened behind her glasses as she stared at the familiar gray cover resting in his hand the same notebook filled with two years of secrets. Two years of quiet observations. Two years of words that were never meant for him to see.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

Panic flooded her chest.

She quickly stepped forward and reached for it.

“Th-that’s mine.”

But Ethan didn’t hand it over immediately.

Instead, his gaze shifted between her face and the notebook like he was trying to connect two pieces of a puzzle.

“You left it on the bleachers,” he said casually.

His voice was deeper than she expected. Calm. Slightly amused.

Lila forced a shaky smile.

“Thank you. I’ll just”

She reached again.

This time he handed it to her.

The moment the notebook touched her hands, she clutched it tightly against her chest like it contained classified secrets.

Because it did.

Ethan shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and studied her for a second longer.

Up close, he was even more intimidating.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Dark hair slightly messy from the game.

His jersey was still damp from sweat, and there was a faint bruise forming along his jawline.

He looked like someone who belonged under bright stadium lights.

Not standing under a quiet campus streetlamp with her.

“You stayed until the end of the game,” he said.

It wasn’t a question.

Lila blinked.

“Uh… yeah.”

Smooth, Lila. Very smooth.

Ethan tilted his head slightly.

“I didn’t think I’d seen you here before.”

Of course he hadn’t.

She had spent two years making sure she blended into the background.

“Well… I come sometimes,” she admitted quietly.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Do you like hockey?”

Lila hesitated.

The truth?

She liked watching him.

But saying that would probably cause her soul to leave her body permanently.

“I like sports,” she said weakly.

Ethan chuckled.

The sound made her stomach flip.

“Right.”

A brief silence fell between them.

Lila prayed he hadn’t opened the notebook.

Please don’t have read it.

Please don’t have read it.

Please

“So,” Ethan said slowly.

Her heart stopped.

“I didn’t know people took notes at hockey games.”

Her stomach dropped straight to the ground.

He opened it.

He definitely opened it.

Heat rushed to her face instantly.

“I—uh—”

She couldn’t form a single coherent sentence.

Ethan’s blue eyes watched her carefully, like he was waiting for an explanation.

“My professor gave us an assignment,” she blurted suddenly.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

“An assignment… about hockey?”

“Yes,” she said too quickly.

There was a pause.

Then Ethan laughed softly.

Not a cruel laugh.

But definitely amused.

“I see.”

Lila wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

He knew she was lying.

Before the awkward silence could grow worse, a loud voice suddenly called from behind him.

“Ryder!”

Both of them turned.

A group of hockey players were walking across the parking lot, laughing and pushing each other.

Lucas Hale was among them.

The team’s goalie.

He was taller than most of the players, with messy blond hair and a calm expression. His eyes briefly scanned the area before landing on Lila and Ethan.

Lucas slowed down slightly.

His gaze lingered on Lila for a moment.

Then he smirked.

“Well, this is interesting.”

Ethan sighed.

“What do you want, Lucas?”

Lucas approached with the rest of the team trailing behind him.

“We’re celebrating the win,” he said. “Coach says we’ve got the weekend off.”

Another player grinned.

“Party at Mason’s place tonight.”

Ethan glanced back at Lila.

She suddenly felt very out of place.

Standing here with a group of confident athletes while holding her stack of textbooks and looking like she’d just escaped from the library.

Lucas noticed the books immediately.

“Let me guess,” he said.

His eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Ryder’s getting tutoring already?”

The team laughed.

Lila’s cheeks burned.

Ethan rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, Hale.”

Lucas raised his hands innocently.

“Hey, I’m just saying.”

He glanced at Lila again.

“You must be one of those genius students they keep threatening Ryder with.”

Lila blinked.

“What?”

Ethan groaned.

“My professor says if I don’t pass my next exam, I’m off the team.”

Lucas grinned.

“So now he’s hunting for smart people.”

Another teammate nudged Ethan.

“You found one yet?”

Ethan looked at Lila thoughtfully.

Then something strange happened.

His expression changed slightly.

Like he had just made a decision.

“Actually…” he said slowly.

Lila’s stomach tightened.

Ethan gestured toward her.

“I think I just did.”

Everyone went quiet.

Lila stared at him in shock.

“What?”

Ethan looked straight at her.

“You’re in Professor Carter’s programming class, right?”

Her eyes widened.

“How do you know that?”

He shrugged casually.

“You answered every question during the last lecture.”

She had?

She didn’t even remember him being there.

Ethan stepped closer.

“So tell me something, Bennett.”

Her brain short-circuited.

He knew her name.

“How would you feel about being my tutor?”

The hockey team erupted in teasing whistles.

Lucas chuckled under his breath.

Lila felt like her brain had completely stopped working.

Tutor Ethan Ryder?

Spend time alone with him?

Study with him?

Her heart raced wildly.

“I—”

But before she could answer, a sharp voice suddenly cut through the night.

“Well, this is adorable.”

Everyone turned.

Vanessa Hart stood a few feet away.

Her arms were crossed.

Her eyes were locked directly on Lila.

And the smile on her lips was anything but friendly.