All Chapters of FAKING IT ON ICE: DATING THE SPORT KING: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

SEVEN.I watched Mikka from across the street.She didn't move right away after I opened the passenger door. She stood there holding the handle of her suitcase like it was the only thing keeping her standing. The wind pushed loose strands of her hair across her face, but she didn't even brush them away. It was only then that I noticed something I should have seen days ago. She was wearing the exact same clothes from the night we met.Slowly, she crossed the street.She stopped beside my SUV and looked at me through the open door."You really read it."I blinked."What?""My notebook."She smiled, but it was a tired smile."You read it."I frowned."I never told you that.""You didn't have to."She nodded toward the notebook resting on the dashboard."There are sticky notes everywhere."I looked at it and almost laughed."I guess you caught me."She climbed into the passenger seat, carefully placing her suitcase by her feet."Thank you."Those two words caught me completely off guard.

SEVEN.I couldn't stop thinking about the look on Mikka's face.It followed me long after the dark sedan disappeared into traffic. I had seen fear before. I had seen it in my own reflection after waking from nightmares about the Beast. I had seen it in my mother's eyes whenever the council reminded her that this house no longer truly belonged to us. But Mikka's fear was different. It wasn't panic. It was recognition. She had looked at that car like she already knew exactly what it was capable of.She climbed into my SUV without saying another word.I started the engine, but instead of pulling away immediately, I looked at her. She was staring straight ahead, hugging her notebook tightly against her chest. Her breathing had slowed, but her fingers were still trembling. She kept swallowing hard, like she was forcing herself not to say something."Mikka."She turned slowly."Yeah?""Has someone been following you?"Her smile appeared too quickly."No."I held her eyes."You answered that

SEVEN.The moment I stepped out of my SUV, I knew I had made a mistake.I had been so focused on finding Mikka that I forgot who I was in the eyes of everyone else. Before I had taken five steps, students were already slowing down to stare. Someone whispered my name. Another person lifted a phone. Within seconds, more cameras appeared from every direction. It felt like the entire courtyard had stopped moving just to watch me walk across campus.Then I saw Mikka.She stood near the entrance of the faculty building, clutching the strap of her backpack with one hand while her other hand held her phone. She looked frozen beneath all those eyes. When our gazes met, she forced a small smile, but I could tell it took everything she had just to stay where she was. She looked like she wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.I walked straight to her."Hey."She nodded."Hi.""You ready for practice?"She glanced around at the students recording us before looking back at me."Now?""If

SEVENPractice ended with everyone looking impressed with me than they had in weeks, but I barely noticed. My legs were tired, my shirt clung to my back with sweat, and all I wanted was five minutes of silence before going home. Instead, one of the staff members stopped me outside the locker room and told me my mother was waiting in the players' lounge. My stomach sank immediately. Mom never came here unless something was wrong, and the serious look on the man's face told me this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation.When I stepped into the lounge, she was sitting alone beside the window with a cup of untouched coffee. She didn't look angry. Somehow that made things worse. She slowly looked up at me, then gestured toward the chair across from her. I sat down without saying a word, and neither of us spoke for several long seconds. The silence felt heavier than any lecture she had ever given me."Practice looked better today," she finally said."It did.""I'm glad."She reached in

MARA.I was someone who always trusted facts over rumours. That was how I survived the council, and that was how I protected Seven.So no matter how many photographs or gossip pages appeared online, I couldn't stop thinking about what I had seen at the rink. Mikka had not acted like someone chasing fame. She spent every minute focused on Seven's skating, speaking quietly while everyone else watched in silence. The more I remembered it, the less the rumours made sense.The next morning, I decided to find answers myself—not from social media, and not from the council, but from the people who actually knew her.I made several calls before finally reaching a professor from the University of Toronto's Kinesiology department. I introduced myself without mentioning Seven or Levi. I simply told him I wanted to ask about one of his graduate students. There was a short silence before he answered."You mean Mikka Rowan?""Yes."His voice warmed immediately."One of the brightest students I've su