All Chapters of Skating Into Sin: Fake Dating My Hockey Bully: Chapter 31 - Chapter 39

Asher Finally, it's the Tournament day.The hotel buzzed with the kind of restless energy that only showed up before a game that actually mattered. Players moved through the lobby with headphones on, duffel bags slung over shoulders, each locked inside their own pre-game ritual.Mine usually involved coffee.
Today it involved trying very hard not to look for one particular person.It wasn’t working.We loaded onto the team bus just after eight. The guys were louder than usual, throwing predictions around like confetti.“If Jax misses another open net,” Ethan announced from somewhere behind me, “I’m requesting a new assistant captain. Effective immediately.”Jax looked personally offended. “I miss one goal—”“You missed three.”“They were calculated.”“They were embarrassing.”Laughter ripped through the bus. I barely heard any of it.My eyes drifted down the aisle.Ivy sat three rows ahead by the window. Earbuds in. Phone in her hand. Not editing. Not scrolling. Just… sm

AsherWestlake equalized midway through the first, capitalizing on a sloppy neutral-zone turnover, and took the lead early in the second. By the time we clawed back to make it 2–2, every shift felt like survival.They were targeting my left side. Whether they knew about the injury or just figured out I was favoring it, every heavy check seemed aimed directly at my shoulder.With three minutes left in the period, Ethan cleared the puck down the ice. I chased it into the corner, bracing for impact.A Westlake defenseman didn’t even bother playing the puck; he just drove his shoulder straight into mine.Pain exploded—not a dull ache this time, but a blinding, sickening flash that stole my breath and left my left arm completely dead at my side. I stumbled hard against the boards, sliding to one knee as the play swept past me.“Captain!” Jax yelled, spinning back.“I’m—I’m good,” I gasped, gritting my teeth so hard my jaw ached.I hauled myself up using the top of my stick, the join

Ivy After walking for about fifteen minutes, we ended up at a twenty-four-hour diner three blocks down from the hotel. It was quiet, lit by the harsh, humming glow of fluorescent overhead tubes and smelling faintly of stale coffee and grilled grease. A tired-looking waitress dropped two cracked mugs of coffee on our sticky laminate table, slapped a plastic menu down, and vanished back behind the counter without a word. Across the small booth, Asher sat with his left forearm resting carefully on the table, the stark white athletic bandage looking entirely out of place against the diner's chipped red vinyl seats. He looked exhausted. The championship adrenaline had finally burned out, leaving behind the heavy toll of a brutal game and a battered body. Yet his eyes hadn't left me since we sat down. I stared into my steaming mug, tracing the rim with my thumb, knowing I needed to speak first. Before I could deliver the speech about ending our fake relationship, I remembered what

Ivy I read the email for the fourth time, hoping the words would somehow change, but they didn’t. Due to immediate postseason media requirements, embedded media staff member Ivy Hart has been reassigned to travel exclusively with the hockey team for the remainder of the championship press tour. I dropped my phone onto the bed. “You have got to be kidding me.” I had done my part. A volunteer couldn’t attend the tournament, so I’d stepped in to cover their assignment. It was supposed to be temporary, something I could complete, collect two points for, and then return to campus. The committee had taken five points away from the total I needed following the scandal with Asher. I’d planned to return to school, catch up on my coursework and find another opportunity to earn the remaining three. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but at least I had a plan. Now, apparently, someone had decided to rewrite it for me. I picked up my phone and checked the email again. There was no men

Jennie“You all can go back without me,” I said before I could stop myself.The head counter turned towards me, looking slightly confused.“What do you mean by you’ll stay behind? For what?”“I have something really important to take care of here.”He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head.“Hmm, Jennie. That’s really up to you, but you should know that Ivy was the only one whose transportation was arranged separately because of her reassignment. Everyone else is expected to return with us. If you decide to stay, that’s out of my hands.”“I understand. I can always call my driver to come pick me up.”He looked at me as though he wanted to ask more questions, but eventually shrugged.“Fine. Just make sure you inform the school if your plans change. We can’t be held responsible for your transportation.”“I will.”He nodded and turned back to the others, instructing everyone to settle down while he completed the final headcount.I remained standing outside the bus,