All Chapters of Breaking The Ice Between Us: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Harper POVI did not ask for a campus-wide social revolution.I asked for five minutes of peace and maybe one day where my chest didn’t feel like it had been put through a blender.And yet.When I walk out of my morning class, I realize something is… off.Not quiet.Not calm.Just… different.Normally, the quad is a zoo—especially with the hockey team walking through it. Girls linger. Laugh too loud. Pretend to check their phones while absolutely checking them out. It’s like gravity bends a little when they pass.Today?Nothing.A group of Delta Zeta girls walks straight past Marco like he’s a lamp post.Two Alpha Chi girls cross the quad right in front of Zack without even glancing up.A brunette who once tripped over her own feet trying to talk to Logan literally adjusts her headphones and changes direction to avoid him.I slow.Then stop.“What the hell…” I murmur.Lila walks up beside me like this is a perfectly normal Tuesday. “Oh good. It started.”My stomach drops. “Started wha

Harper POVThe shutdown is… subtle.If you weren’t paying attention, you might not even notice it.But I am.I notice it when I walk into the sorority kitchen and there’s the usual noise, the usual chaos, the usual complaints about coffee and deadlines—but not a single conversation about who hooked up with who last night.I notice it when I cross campus and the hockey guys are walking in clusters without their usual orbit of girls around them.I notice it when Marco tries to flirt with a girl outside the library and she just smiles politely and keeps walking.It’s not dramatic.It’s not angry.It’s just… different.And weirdly coordinated.The girls aren’t acting like they’re on strike.They’re acting like they’re tired.Tired of being convenient.Tired of being the end-of-the-night option.Tired of being something that happens instead of someone that’s chosen.This isn’t about me.I know that.It just started near me.I walk through the house and see Maya and Jess working on decor mo

Harper POVIf there is a hell designed specifically for people who are trying very hard not to think about one particular boy, it looks exactly like a conference room with bad lighting and a long polished table.And Logan Shaw sitting across from me.I don’t look at him.I’ve gotten very good at that in the last twenty-four hours.I’m sitting straight-backed, legal pad open, pen in hand, doing my absolute best impression of a woman who has her life together and definitely did not have sex with the hockey captain twice and then get emotionally ghosted.Beside me, Lila is flipping through the sponsor packet like she’s genuinely interested in font choices.Across from us are three people from the fundraising committee and, at the head of the table, Daniel Myers and Richard Hargreeve—the lead sponsor, alumni donor, and the man who single-handedly turned our charity gala into a date auction instead of a silent auction.I still don’t know whether to thank him or key his car.Logan is two ch

Logan POVI should’ve known it wouldn’t be optional.That’s the thing about decisions that involve money, media, and men in suits — they stop being suggestions real fast.Coach doesn’t even pretend this is a conversation.He stands in the doorway of the locker room with his arms crossed, watching me lace my skates like he’s waiting for me to screw up just so he can say told you so.“Office. Now.”I don’t argue.I follow him down the hall, past the smell of ice and sweat and disinfectant, into his little glass fishbowl of a workspace.I know I’m in trouble the second I see who’s waiting in Coach’s office.Daniel Myers.Suit too clean for a rink. Smile too practiced for nine in the morning.Coach closes the door behind me and doesn’t sit.Neither does Myers.That’s never a good sign.“Logan,” Myers says, holding up a hand before anyone else can speak. “I know the sponsor meeting caught you off guard. And I know you already said no to the date.”Coach shoots him a look.I don’t say anyth

Logan POVThe rink smells like cold steel and bad decisions.My skates hit the concrete harder than they need to as I walk into the locker room. My shoulders are tight. My jaw’s been clenched so long it actually hurts.I’ve already said no.Twice.Doesn’t matter.PR doesn’t care.Coach doesn’t care.The donors sure as hell don’t care.All they see is headlines.Golden boy captain.Campus sweetheart.Charity gala.Date auction hype.They don’t see the way Harper won’t look at me anymore.They don’t see the way she stiffens when I’m near.They don’t see the way I left her bed like a coward because I didn’t know what the hell to say after.They just see a product.I drop my bag onto the bench and start untying my shoes.Cole’s already there, leaning against his locker, watching me like I’m a bomb with a faulty timer.“You look like you’re about to commit a felony,” he says.“Give me ten minutes,” I mutter.“Is this about the date?”My hands still.Slowly, I look up at him.“Don’t say tha