All Chapters of Claimed By The Hockey Captain: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

LoriMy underlying worries about what would happen to our relationship over the long summer break didn’t linger in my head for long. The moment Lucas pulled his truck off the highway and bumped over the sandy incline leading toward the shore, every anxious thought about our future flushed away entirely. It was instantly replaced by an overwhelming sense of fear. I had lived near the coast for years, but I had never been to the beach at night.The shore stretched out endlessly in the darkness, illuminated only by a pale silver moon casting long, eerie shadows across the tide. White waves crashed aggressively against the dark ocean, their rhythmic roars echoing through the empty night. The air was heavy with salt and mist, and the towering palm trees swayed like tall, dark silhouettes against the velvet sky, creating a vast, beautiful, yet terrifying landscape.The freezing air rushing off the open water slammed directly into my face through the cracked window, whipping my dark hair hi

Lucas My bed felt empty as I tossed and turned against the tangled sheets, completely unable to find a comfortable position. It had been barely twenty four hours since Lori had packed her luggage and left for the national fashion summer camp, but the suffocating silence in my room made it feel like whole weeks had already crawled by. I missed her so intensely that it was an actual physical ache in my chest.I lay flat on my back, staring up at the dark ceiling as the sheer irony of my situation stared right back at me. Just one year ago, I would have scoffed and laughed in the face of anyone who dared to tell me that I would one day fall so helplessly in love with a girl that her absence would leave me completely hollow. I had been the reckless, untouchable campus playboy. The guy who never kept a girl around past sunrise and never, ever let anyone get beneath my armor.Yet, here I was, completely undone by one girl, and I didn't even mind the

LoriMy heart caught in my throat as I stared up at the digital screen mounted at the front of the hall. My mind went completely blank, refusing to process the bold letters staring back at me.“Will the three top scoring designers please step up to the main stage right now?” one of the lead judges announced into her microphone, her voice echoing loudly off the high ceilings.I remained rooted to the exact spot where I had been standing, my hands trembling against my thighs. I was in total, complete shock. Against all the odds, against twenty seasoned industry professionals who had looked down on me from the moment I arrived, I had actually made it. My name was sitting comfortably at number two on that published leaderboard.“Hey, Lori! Aren't you going up?” Philip whispered excitedly, nudging my arm with his elbow to snap me out of my trance.I turned my head toward him, nodding frantically like a puppet.“Then what on earth are you still waiting for, girl? Go get your score!” Philip

Lori I practically bolted out of the main hall and ran at full speed back to the hostel suite the second today's competition came to an end. I had been holding in a bursting bladder for the past two hours, refusing to step away from my workstation while constructing my high fashion headpiece.My plan was simple: burst into the room, quickly ease myself, rest my aching feet for ten short minutes, and then head straight back down to the main hall to hear the results.I rushed inside, sprinted straight into the bathroom, slammed the door shut, and handled my business with a heavy sigh of relief. But the moment I turned around, reached for the door handle, and gave it a firm push, the door refused to budge.A confused frown pulled at my forehead as I gripped the handle harder, rattling it up and down. The lock bucked slightly inside the frame, but the latch remained locked.A sharp jolt of icy fear immediately seized my

Lucas While my teammates lazily passed the puck around the center of the ice rink, I remained positioned near the far corner glass, waiting for Coach to step out of his office so I could report their lack of seriousness.“Hey, Miller! Don’t be silly! Get off your high horse and come join us!” one of the forward line guys shouted across the rink.The rest of the squad immediately joined in, letting out a round of loud, mocking laughter that echoed off the high rafters. I glared back at them through my visor, hating the thick mockery lacing their voices. Ever since Coach stripped me of my captaincy, half the team had been acting like I was suddenly fair game for their bullshit.The second Ricky started gliding across the ice toward my corner alongside the guy who had cracked the joke, I knew they were up to something. I adjusted my stance, squaring my shoulders and bracing myself for whatever garbage they had planned.“Miller, did you hear what he just said to you, or should I tell him